Businesses in Pretoria Central were recently visited by the Mayoral Committee, led by the MMC for Environmental and Agricultural Management, Obakeng Ramabodu, with the hopes of instilling a culture of adhering to municipal by-laws in the traders who work in the area.

The operation focused on identifying and disconnecting illegal electricity connections that continue to pose serious safety risks to residents and contribute to revenue losses for the city.

Ramabodu said that the joint operation marked a ‘decisive step’ in restoring law and order within urban communities, ensuring compliance with municipal by-laws, and promoting a safer, healthier living environment.

“One of the operations that we embarked on was revisiting those whose electricity had been previously disconnected, to check if their power is still off.”

Ramabodu said they found that the areas and establishments had just reconnected illegally again.

“This is worrying because these contractors come back and switch on the electricity after we have left. This is the crisis we have been experiencing, the lawlessness and lack of respect for our by-laws.

“Our worry is also the hawkers, who set up and sell without adhering to by-laws. We have also written letters to businesses in the area, urging them to come on board in making sure Sunnyside is clean,” he said.

He added that they look forward to relocating hawkers stationed on Sebokwe Street to alternative areas, where they can trade legally and open up the Sebokwe Street sidewalks for pedestrians.

“The lawlessness that is happening here must not be accepted. We are going to continue following up; we have closed down many shops here that do not comply.

“We have done walkabouts, educating business owners on how to achieve a clean city.”

He said he hoped their efforts would yield good results.

“We’re going to work together to achieve a clean city. A city that respects itself, with residents who don’t urinate on the streets, who don’t litter on the streets, don’t create illegal dumping sites, who adhere to by-laws, pay their municipal accounts and make sure the infrastructure is protected,” Ramabodu said.

During the operation, a store was fined R5 000 for improper waste removal, as the waste had remained on the sidewalk for more than 10 minutes, which is a breach of city by-laws.

“These are the by-laws we spoke about. The problem was not anyone; it was the leadership that did not enforce the by-laws.

“We have issued letters to businesses asking them to take care of their outside areas, and this by-law will be the one assisting us to make sure that all businesses don’t just throw their waste outside. They [must] wait for the waste management trucks and communicate with them,” said Ramabodu.

MMC for Health Tshegofatso Mashabela, who was also in attendance for the operation, said illegal connections not only endanger lives through electrical hazards and fires but also place an unfair burden on law-abiding residents who pay for their services.

“This decisive action reaffirms our commitment to protecting public health and ensuring that all food-handling establishments operate within the parameters of the law. Non-compliance will not be tolerated, as our duty is to safeguard the well-being of our residents and uphold the integrity of our environmental health standards,” she said.

Watch here:

♦️In Pictures♦️

Today, our department, in collaboration with the Electricity and Finance Departments, conducted our first bylaw enforcement operation in Sunnyside, House 22 and sunny park area. The operation focused on identifying and disconnecting illegal electricity… pic.twitter.com/i5qhQHgbrn

— Obakeng COT MMC Environment Agriculture . (@RamaboduObakeng) October 27, 2025

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