Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero has refuted allegations that the City of Johannesburg is forcibly evicting informal traders from the city centre. He emphasised that the city’s actions are strictly in line with municipal by-laws regulating street trading.
Morero clarified that vendors were being moved only from unauthorised areas and that those operating legally in designated markets continue to trade without interference.
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His response comes ahead of a legal confrontation between the city and the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI), scheduled for Tuesday next week in the Johannesburg High Court. The case concerns alleged rights violations of informal traders.
Dada Morero Says City Is Enforcing By-Laws, Not Evicting Traders
Morero expressed confidence that SERI’s case against the city would not succeed, insisting that no traders had been unlawfully removed.
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“So, we have not removed anyone, they are going to lose the case because no one was evicted and, the traders that have committed and are legit and are trading in the right places, in the markets that the city had long traded in, are trading, including those whose tenants have expired, we are helping them to get their tenants removed.
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“In fact, today we will issue out those that have committed smart cards so that we can manage the trading,” said Morero.
The mayor added that the introduction of smart cards for authorised traders is part of the city’s broader effort to regulate and streamline informal trade within Johannesburg.
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