MMC urges officials to sustain service delivery efforts in Wynberg
Pan Africa Shopping Centre was swept clean, stormwater drains were unblocked, and illegal electricity connections were cut during the city’s high-impact service delivery operation, but will these efforts last beyond the one-day blitz? MMC Eunice Mgcina says they must.
Major by-law enforcement operations in Johannesburg’s informal trading hotspots continue to draw criticism for their short-lived impact. In areas like Pan Africa Shopping Centre, informal traders often return within days of being removed, raising questions about the sustainability of the city’s approach.
The Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) and Crime Prevention Wardens routinely dismantle stalls, confiscate stock and trading tables, and disperse traders found violating municipal by-laws. Yet, the same areas are soon reoccupied, with business resuming as usual once enforcement teams depart.
Read more: MMC and JRA celebrate completion of major projects in region E
Recently, the MMC for Development Planning in Johannesburg Eunice Mgcina called on officials to continue with by-laws enforcement and service delivery even in the absence of the MMCs and the executive mayor.
“We are calling upon our officials to not do the work when we are here only; they must continue to do the work. When we leave here as MMCs and the executive mayor, they must remain behind and finish the job. They must always be on the ground,” Mgcina said. She was speaking on the sidelines during the mayor’s high-impact service delivery operation in Wynberg on Tuesday.
Also read: MMC of Community Development
She stressed that city departments must fulfil their mandates consistently. Those responsible for cleaning must clean, those tasked with patching potholes must do so, and those assigned to fix streetlights must carry out their duties. She also urged residents to take ownership of their surroundings.
“We call upon our communities to take care of their environments and report service delivery issues. We urge them to do their best in keeping their communities clean, because part of the reason we have children getting sick is due to unclean environments,” she said.
MMC for Human Settlements Mlungisi Mabaso, also present at the operation, said the city was assisting Region E in enforcing by-laws and addressing illegal activities. “We are unblocking this stormwater drainage system. We have dealt with illegal informal traders,” he said.
The operation also involved Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) teams repairing tar roads, while City Power officials cracked down on dangerous illegal electricity connections along 2nd Street in Wynberg’s Council Informal Settlement.
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