City of Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba has disclosed that 464 warrants of arrests have been issued for by-law contraventions‚ mostly for illegal street trading and residents who dump their refuse illegally.
Last year, the mayor warned he was going after offenders befouling the city‚ saying it costs approximately R170m a year to clean street littering and illegal dumping sites, which was money that should be used for service delivery.
Explaining why he was focusing on the issue‚ he said: "The residents of Johannesburg have the right to work‚ play and raise their children in a clean and safe environment. Overgrown grass‚ unmaintained buildings and illegal dumping pose an unnecessary health and safety risk to our residents."
On Thursday‚ Mashaba said the majority of warrants of arrest issued are for offences under Street Trading By-Laws (321 cases) and Waste Management By-Laws, that is, illegal dumping (99 cases). Other offences include contraventions of the National Building Regulations and Standards Act‚ Outdoor Advertising By-Laws‚ Water Services By-laws and Noise Control Regulations.
The cases are being overseen by municipal courts, with Mashaba saying operations to catch offenders will continue on a daily basis.
As the raids are likely to result in a spike of cases coming before the municipal courts‚ Mashaba said his administration is looking into the viability of establishing new courts to service areas such as Alexandra‚ Protea Glen and Orange Farm.
The City of Joburg currently has five municipal courts operating in Randburg‚ Midrand‚ Meadowlands‚ Johannesburg Central and Roodepoort from premises provided by the Justice Department.
Municipal Courts are an extension of Magistrates Courts‚ dealing with cases such as prosecution of traffic offences as well as contraventions of municipal by-laws.
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