Over the coming weeks, the department of economic development, Transport and Public safety will work jointly to intensify bylaw enforcement under the banner of Buya Mthetho in the Johannesburg inner city. 

 

The City released a statement detailing how this initiative would work out.
"This is a continuation of last week’s operation during which the Joburg Metro Police and Economic Development departments launched an inter-departmental initiative to regulate informal trade in and around the central business district (CBD), in particular around the Archbishop Desmond Tutu and High Court precincts” said the statement. 

 

“In December 2021, Executive Mayor Councillor Mpho Phalatse received a request from Father Xolani Dlwati of St Mary’s Cathedral to declare the area around the cathedral the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Precinct in honour of the late Anglican clergyman. In April, the Multiparty Government duly acceded to Father Dlwati’s request in Council and renamed the precinct. 

Pursuant to that Council resolution, the Departments of Economic Development, Transport and Public Safety will undertake key projects to revitalise that precinct and the inner city in general”. 

 

“JMPD will continue to maintain a constant presence in and around the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Precinct, along De Villiers Street, to ensure that informal traders without proper documentation or the right to trade do not return to the site”. 

 

“This is also part of efforts to regulate informal trading, allowing verification of traders’ details as part of the implementation of the new Informal Trade Policy. We believe this new policy led by the Department of Economic Development will help the City regulate the number of informal traders in the Inner City”. 

 

Records show that there are well over 14 000 informal traders (inclusive of spaza shop owners) in the City, with only capacity for 8 100. At least 50 informal traders have since come forward to verify their details. 

 

The statement also emphasized that the ‘joint revitalisation initiative’ will also extend to the High Court Precinct, along Pritchard Street, which houses the South Gauteng High Court. Legal practitioners, including judges, have complained about the state of the precinct, with some reporting incidents of muggings, harassment, severe shortage of parking and traffic congestion. 

 

“The Transport Department, together with the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA), is completing the development of the Inner City Transport Master Plan. It aims to improve the inner city’s transport system through the implementation of several projects and programmes over a 10-year period”. 

 

The Transport department will undertake the following projects: 

·       Raised intersections on Von Brandis/Pritchard streets, Pritchard Street adjacent to the entrance to the High Court and Von-Wielligh Street/Pritchard Street intersection. 

·       Road markings 

·       Disabled parking demarcations 

·       Parking management, especially for taxis and 

·       Permanent road closure or controlled access to Von Brandis Street to be implemented by JRA. 

 

“This inter-departmental initiative demonstrates a commitment not only to restoring respect for the rule of law but an adherence to upholding the rights of all residents of the City, including those who wish to trade as well as their counterparts who consequently wish not to be inconvenienced by the effects of unbridled trade”. 

 

“This is a balance we will be careful to strike at all material times and we call for patience and compromise from all stakeholders. The work the City seeks to undertake in the inner city will require other departments to also come on board”.