City of Joburg cracks down on informal traders
While enforcing its by-laws, the City of Joburg warns informal traders not to operate on pavements without permission.
The City of Joburg (CoJ) is taking a firm stance against informal traders operating on pavements without permission.
According to its by-laws, no person can do informal trading activities in prohibited or restricted public areas.
All traders must get permission from the CoJ to trade.
Recent JMPD inspections in La Rochelle and Rosettenville vendors infringing the by-laws or creating health and safety hazards removed.
Although these traders do not intentionally set out to cause health or safety hazards, open fires and the waste from the food they sell cause many environmental problems.
The CoJ aims to clear the illegal traders but hopes to have designated areas in the city where they operate legally and safely.
The JMPD is enforcing these by-laws:
• Informal trading: The selling of goods and/or services by an informal trader in a designated area, which includes, without limitation, the forms of trading more fully set out in Section 3.
• Intersections are as defined in the regulations promulgated in the Traffic Act.
• A kerb line, as defined in Section 1 of the Traffic Act, is the boundary between the shoulder and the verge of a street or road or, in the absence of a shoulder, the part between the edge of the roadway and the verge.
• Linear market means a designated area in a pedestrian environment.
JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla spoke about the reason for enforcing these by-laws, “The JMPD is following the guidelines set out by the city’s by-laws because we want to keep our city clean and safe.”
CoJ spokesperson Georgina Lefifi said illegal traders would be removed but not persecuted.
“We want to mitigate the health and safety issues illegal traders pose to the public and the environment. They provide food for the community, so we cannot persecute them for that. We need to create a safer, cleaner and more controlled environment for them to operate,” said Lefifi.
The city urges informal traders to familiarise themselves with the by-laws and get permission before operating on pavements.
The enforcement of these by-laws is part of the city’s efforts to create a safer and more orderly environment for residents and visitors.
