Newcastle Municipality has taken a no-nonsense approach to those breaking the law within the central business district (CBD).

This was evident yesterday (June 18) when Local Economic Development (LED) officials, together with multiple law enforcement officials, were spotted demolishing illegal structures within the lower CBD.

According to a statement released on its official Facebook page, the municipality said this was the enforcement of Phase 1 of ‘Operation Sweep the Town’.

“The operation focused on demolishing unauthorised illegal trading structures following the LED Container Verification Exercise, which identified 115 illegal structures operating in the Newcastle CBD without the required permits,” read the statement.

Operation targets unlawful structures

According to the municipality, ‘Operation Sweep the Town’ aims to remove all unsafe and unlawful developments while transitioning informal traders into regulated and permitted trading areas.

“The demolition process will take place in two phases. Phase 1 was successfully completed on Thursday, with authorities removing unpermitted shacks to enforce municipal by-laws and dismantle structures that could contribute to criminal activity.”

The second phase will focus on removing containers, as well as Wendy houses, that do not comply with basic municipal requirements.

Municipality reclaims public spaces

Mayor Xolani Dube has said the operation will form part of the municipality’s ongoing efforts to reclaim public spaces and improve the town’s appearance.

“The municipality issued two pronouncements to owners regarding the placement of illicit structures, and those who did not heed our call have now faced the consequences,” explained Dube.

He continued that, “Time for negotiations has come to an end!”

He concluded by saying that the municipality has now taken a firm stance against unauthorised occupation by removing all unlawful structures to minimise street clustering and urban congestion.

The news provided to you in this link has been investigated and compiled by the editorial staff of the Newcastle Advertiser, a sold newspaper distributed in the Newcastle area. Please follow us on Youtube and feel free to like, comment, and subscribe. For more local news, visit our webpage, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and follow us on our WhatsApp Channel