JOHANNESBURG - The City of Johannesburg has embarked on a crackdown on illegal structures in the CBD where trading is taking place unlawfully.
This forms part of the City’s broader efforts to clean up the inner city.
Officials have already demolished several illegally erected structures along Small Street and the surrounding areas.
The City says the operations will continue in other parts of the inner city.
According to the latest Statistics South Africa figures, 8.1% of South Africans are unemployed. In Johannesburg, the South African Cities Network reports that 19.5% of the working-age population is unemployed.
As a result, many people rely on the informal sector for survival.
Nosipho Hlatshwayo from the South African Cities Network says that while many of these structures are not adequate, some also serve as shelter.
She adds that for many people, informal trading spaces are the only affordable option.
"The increasing demand for affordable, accessible spaces and housing strips municipalities of resources," she says.
"The sustainability of the interventions by the City needs to be judged against the backdrop."