‘The ball has been dropped’: Morero blames shop owners for filth in Joburg CBD

Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero has warned shop and property owners in the CBD the city will no longer tolerate practices that contribute to filth and illegal activity as authorities move to intensify efforts to reclaim the inner city.

Morero was in the Johannesburg CBD on Monday with the ward councillor, the COO of Pikitup and law enforcement officials, where shopkeepers were instructed to clean pavements outside their premises and remove waste from surrounding areas.

In videos shared on his social media platforms, Morero accused shop owners of undermining the city’s cleanliness efforts.

“Property owners and shop owners around here contribute immensely towards the dirtiness in the city. Now we have taken it again upon ourselves to reimplement our programme we started on October 2. So we are going to intensify our programme,” he said.

He said officials had observed a decline in cleanliness standards, coupled with a resurgence of illegal trading.

“We are in the inner city. I’m with the ward councillor, the COO of Pikitup, and the chief of police is around. What we have discovered is that the city is becoming dirty again. The ball has been dropped; illegal trading is back."

Morero has faced heavy criticism in recent months after the city ramped up service delivery initiatives, including pothole repairs, traffic light maintenance and cleaning operations before the G20-related activities.

Residents questioned why similar urgency was not applied consistently throughout the year and whether the clean-up drive would be sustained.

Addressing those concerns, Morero said the city’s efforts would continue beyond G20-related preparations. “This also includes illegal taxi ranks. We will impound those vehicles that are parked or are ranking in areas that are not allowed for ranking. So that’s what we’re going to do to ensure we continue our programme to reclaim the city.”

Morero called on residents to assist the city in enforcing compliance: “Residents of Johannesburg, we need support from you to help us deal with this problem.”

We are here full-time again in the inner city, and we are sending a warning to those trading illegally that we have made provision for them to come and register so that the city can allocate them stalls

—  Dada Morero, Johannesburg mayor

He again blamed shop owners for the filth in the CBD. “Shop owners have continuously undermined the cleanliness; they are contributing to the decay in the city. They are throwing their plastics and their boxes right in front of the streets on the pavement with no regard for the law,” said Morero.

“I think it’s time South Africans stand up and challenge the shop owners to behave in a way so that we can keep our city clean. It’s a programme we are committed to, and we will deliver on our programme.”

Morero also warned illegal traders that the city had made provision for compliance. “We are here full-time again in the inner city, and we are sending a warning to those trading illegally that we have made provision for them to come and register so that the city can allocate them stalls.”

He added shop owners were required to comply with municipal bylaws, including waste management regulations. “We have made provision for shop owners that they must each have at least two dustbins to collect their waste. Now arriving here, they don’t even have dustbins, which is an indication that they have no regard for our bylaws.”

Failure to comply will result in shop closures, he added. “Otherwise we will be forced to close the shops. So that’s what we are doing, and Pikitup will ensure all of them are registered, receive their bins and start paying for waste removal.”

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