A popular shopping spot know for bargains, Dragon City, descended into chaos as authorities raided it to enforce bylaws on Tuesday afternoon.
Boxes of stock were left scattered across the corridors as several shops were swiftly closed by owners who allegedly did not have compliance certificates when the City of Johannesburg officials conducted an inspection.
The enforcement operation was led by MMC for public safety Mgcini Tshwaku on Tuesday at the Dragon City shopping centre. Teams of inspectors inspected the businesses to check compliance with the city's regulations.
Some of the shops were closed quickly, and people believed to be undocumented foreigners were seen running away from police and JMPD officials.
One of the shop owners, Ebrahim Omar, claimed that he was compliant with the city's bylaws but whenever inspectors arrived at his shop, they would ill-treat him.
He said he wasn't aware how often the health inspections are conducted at the centre, but the centre management usually conducted them monthly, especially regarding pest control.
He said if a disaster such as fire were to happen at the centre, it would have been a struggle to contain the fire given the overcrowding inside the centre.
“I fear for customers. There are a lot of people who come here, and as you can see, this is the only exit, or you have to go the other way round. With this crowd, I don't think a lot of people will make it out,” he said.
Omar said the business's papers were up to date. He urged the city to constantly conduct the operation and do inspections , letting owners know their mistakes so they can fix them.
Tshwaku said the operation was yielding good results. He said their inspections were not meant to close businesses but to ensure compliance.
“The place must be zoned as a business or a place of human settlement. Most of these places don't comply. Some of them didn't even know what the bylaw is,” Tshwaku said.
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He added that the city's aim was to teach people to comply and not punish them. He said the aim was to warn the businesses if their building plans were not compliant.
“The problem is that once a place like this burns, then I have to go and answer questions in the commission of inquiry. So they're going to ask, did you go there? What did you do as the MMC?
“We need to tell the people to comply, and I'm saying to them, all the businesses out there, please, if you have any issues, please contact public safety and the city. We are willing to help you. Remember that Usindiso building,” he said.
He added that the city was fixing the inspectorate department and ensuring that the bylaw and enforcement units were working together.
“Remember, before you can enforce, you must have inspected. Inspectors must inspect, and then a person must comply within seven days. Failure to comply will lead to closure.
“We said in our document that there is a bylaw strategy that's going to be adopted by the city. All the departments must be on board with Pikitup.”
TimesLIVE
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