IN PICS | Joburg mayor Dada Morero determined to reclaim inner city

From clearing unregistered hawkers selling goods on the pavements of Johannesburg's inner city to filling potholes and inspecting hijacked buildings. 

These were some of the activities that City of Johannesburg officials, led by mayor Dada Morero and MMCs, were engaged in during “an accelerated service delivery operation” on Wednesday.

The exercise was part of the inner city revitalisation programme aimed at addressing service delivery failures focusing on all 11 wards in the inner city. 

The focus areas included problem properties, illegal advertising, illegal dumping, illegal trading, crime prevention, displaced people, bylaw enforcement and illegal taxi ranks. Several illegal traders were evicted around Sophie de Bruyn Street in the CBD with their stall materials confiscated. Several MMCs and city officials conducted operations in several parts of the city. 

During the briefing, Morero appealed to residents and businesses to contribute towards helping them clean up.

“It starts with you by ensuring that you pick up litter, that you don’t litter anywhere, you don’t just dump waste anywhere,” he said.

He said for the city to succeed in objectively winning the battle, residents of the CBD have to get involved. 

His spokesperson, Chris Vondo, said the mayor and his leadership were focused on reclaiming the city.

“This operation is starting today [Wednesday], and will continue every day for the next month, the officials from the city and the entities are going to be stationed here. The mayor is going to do an official launch with all other partners, but the city felt it's important that they start this work,” he said. 

He said there was going to be an official launch with all the partners who were already engaging with the mayor.

“You know there is a partnership with Jozi My Jozi, there is a partnership with businesses, we have partnered with business formations across Johannesburg.

Vondo said that Morero invested a lot of time in the inner city and had engaged a research institute in the precinct.

“There are conversations with many partners and stakeholders that are coming on board and are joining forces with the city. The executive mayor is on record that he is going to reclaim the city,” he said.

He said there were many residents in the city who had volunteered and furnished the mayor's office with information.   

“There is Vanin Court in Hillbrow where the mayor conducted an operation and had it  evacuated, and people are voluntarily leaving the building.

“It has been a crime hotspot — people are volunteering because the mayor has had constant engagement with the people. Most people in the inner city are starting to appreciate the role that the city must play in so far as bad buildings are concerned,” he said. 

He said the city focused on problem buildings and bylaw enforcement to address the lawlessness in the inner city.

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