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City of Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero.
Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero believes the City has a strong case against the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI) over the removal of informal traders.
The parties will battle it out in the Johannesburg High Court on Monday. Both parties met behind closed doors on Friday but failed to reach an amicable agreement on the matter.
SERI, which represents informal traders, has argued that the removals are in violation of the hawkers’ right to trade.
The City insists it is implementing by-laws and that this is part of its efforts to reclaim the City and regulate trading.
Morero says the City’s proposals for informal trading in safe and designated areas are fair and genuine.
“We are going [to court] on Monday. The City has a strong case, and we believe that the proposals we presented to SERI, which the judge also requested that we submit to him, are likely to form part of the judgment. Because they are fair and genuine.”
“The intention is really, firstly, to ensure that we strengthen informal trading by ensuring that it is in the right places, in safe places, and in designated areas. So that the City can give the support through its programmes,” adds Morero.
