“The periodic special by-law operations aimed at cleaning up the Germiston CBD are going to be the order of the day until the illegal activities are eliminated,” said Wilfred Kgasago, spokesman for the EMPD.
Last Thursday, between 9am and 2pm, the multi-pronged approach of enforcing the by-laws, by involving various departments of the Ekurhuleni Metro, the SAPS and Home Affairs, was once more adopted, to raid taxi ranks, streets and businesses where by-laws are commonly contravened.
Twenty-two businesses were either served with notices or noted for later verification of ownership and validity of permits or licences.
Both the Germiston and Simmer Road taxi ranks were cleaned up and information pamphlets issued to educate operators and commuters about the city’s by-laws, in order to assist them to stay on the right side of the law.
Thirty-five people were arrested, including 25 undocumented individuals.
Four suspects were nabbed on warrants of arrest, two for common assault, one for theft and fraud and one for shoplifting.
All the arrested suspects were expected to appear in the Germiston Magistrate’s Court on November 14.
A variety of counterfeit goods, goods displayed illegally on the pavements, thus obstructing pedestrians, and dangerous items such as huge gas cylinders stored unsafely were confiscated.
