City of Joburg requests SANDF backup for inner-city enforcement operation

The City of Johannesburg has requested assistance from the South African National Defence Force ahead of its next by-law enforcement operation at Marble Towers in the Johannesburg CBD.

Johannesburg Mayor, Dada Morero, says the request comes amid concerns over possible resistance from illegal traders operating at the building.

The city is intensifying its crackdown on illegal trading in the inner city, with Marble Towers identified as the next target in its by-law enforcement campaign.

Morero says the city has formally requested SANDF support ahead of the next week’s operation after officials previously encountered resistance during enforcement action at the site.

The mayor says officials uncovered widespread illegal activity around Marble Towers during a walkabout inspection on Wednesday.

“We are making a request today and writing an official letter to also request the Defence Force, especially as we go to the Marble Towers because of historical reasons where in the past we did experience resistance from those who are conducting illegal business that site. So we are going to be requesting that to the minister, because they’ve already deployed in the province of Gauteng, if they can also beef us up on Tuesday as we go to Marble Towers,” he said.

Morero says the operation forms part of the city’s broader efforts to restore law and order in the Johannesburg CBD.

The mayor says the city remains committed to reclaiming public spaces and clamping down on illegal structures and unlawful trading operations across the inner city.

Morero also admitted that the city “dropped the ball” on its inner-city clean-up campaign following last year’s G20 summit.

He says the clean-up programme slowed between December and March due to internal operational challenges, including poorly managed leave schedules that affected cleaning and enforcement teams.

“The G20 came and passed, it was in November. But they are correct, we did drop a ball around the period of December and January and March, yes, we did drop a ball, but we are taking up where we left and we’re accelerating on the program. There were issues internal in the city, one of them being a leave schedule which was not properly managed.”

Meanwhile, the city says it is investigating allegations that some traders operating illegally on Small Street were paying rent to a church.

Morero says the officials discovered that some of the shops extend directly into the church building, complicating demolition efforts because the structure itself cannot legally be demolished.

“The church has no zoning to conduct any form of business. So the business in the church remains illegal. Now, unfortunately, you can’t demolish because it’s the church structure,” said Morero. “Now we are going to work with the church so that those that are trading there should know that they’re trading illegally. So we’ll work with the church to sort out that part of the issue. And anything illegal on the structures that they built, we have removed them yesterday. We just have to deal with the inside of the church, which is quite difficult.”

Morero added that if the church wants to legally operate businesses on the property, it would first need to apply for rezoning and begin paying business rates.

He says the city will now engage with the church to address the illegal business activity and ensure compliance with zoning regulations.

We are reclaiming the inner city, precinct by precinct. What we started in De Villiers Street last year has now moved to Small Street, and this operation will continue throughout Johannesburg. This is not a once-off intervention. We are intensifying by-law enforcement, removing… pic.twitter.com/ewTDkUu8Jt

— Executive Mayor: @CityofJoburgZA (@DadaMorero) May 13, 2026

Written by: Lebohang Ndashe