Tshwane Mayor, Dr Nasiphi Moya, along with law enforcement and city officials, conducted a by-law enforcement operation on businesses operating in Marabastad recently, uncovering an illegal Early Childhood Development (ECD) centre in the process.

The operation took place at the Oriental Plaza in Marabastad on August 6, with the TMPD, SAPS and the SARS Customs Unit participating.

The departments conducted inspections to verify compliance with business registration, electricity connections, waste management, health regulations and fire safety standards.

Moya said the city would maintain a zero-tolerance approach to lawlessness in the capital.

“Assisted by the Provincial Department of Social Development, we uncovered an illegal early childhood development facility inside a hijacked city-owned building in Marabastad. The city has disconnected the illegal electricity connections in the building and the provincial government will take the necessary action against the ECD,” Moya said.

Pavement traders were also moved to ensure open walkways, improve fire safety, and clean up the area, while authorities confiscated hundreds of counterfeit clothing items and checked businesses for formal compliance.

The provincial police held a similar operation the week prior in the inner-city, as part of a week-long effort targeting counterfeit goods and producers.

The operation executed a search-and-seizure warrant at business premises in Pretoria Central, where police confiscated 109 counterfeit HP toner cartridges with an estimated value of R327 000.

The city’s broader economic strategy is to transition Marabastad from an unregulated, informal sector into a structured, formalised commercial hub and to enforce the city’s newly approved Informal Trade and Township Economy By-law.

The operation uses Section 56 non-compliance notices under the Businesses Act to push unregistered vendors to register their operations with the metro.

In March, Moya and her administration initiated the construction of 60 new dedicated market stalls next to the Tshwane Retail Market, to begin clearing out unpermitted and unsafe structures and steering micro-entrepreneurs – particularly food vendors – into these structured, clean, and municipal-managed spaces.

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