The City of Johannesburg has issued permits to more than 160 informal traders in the inner city, marking the first phase of a court-mandated process to regularise street trading in the CBD.
This comes after the Johannesburg High Court ordered the city to verify, register, and formally allocate trading bays to at least 500 informal traders by Tuesday, following a legal challenge brought by the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI). The court found that the city’s prior removal of traders during cleanup campaigns infringed on their constitutional right to earn a living.
Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero is expected to brief the media later today on the progress of the verification and registration drive, which began two weeks ago.
“We have now received new applications, and the number is about 1,500 people who want to trade in the inner city,” Morero said last week.
“We will be looking at innovative ways to ensure they can trade in proper designated areas and stop avoiding pavements.”
The surge in new applications reflects the growing desperation of informal traders seeking legal recognition — and the city’s challenge in accommodating them all. While more than 160 have now been granted permits, hundreds more are still waiting for approval and allocation of space.
The city is now working against the clock to meet the court-imposed deadline, while balancing pressure from urban management operations and demands from unemployed residents turning to street trading as a livelihood.
How We Got Here
The dispute began after the city intensified its cleanup operations in early October, removing traders operating outside of designated zones. SERI took the city to court, arguing that the traders were being punished for lack of access to the very system that would allow them to work legally.
The High Court agreed — ordering the city to reopen the registration process and issue formal permits.
A System Under Strain
With 1,500 new applications — three times the original batch — the city faces mounting pressure to expand its formal trading infrastructure in the CBD. The mayor has hinted at new approaches, but details remain unclear.
What’s Next
A full update from the city is expected later today, including:
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The number of traders verified so far
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Total permits issued
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Locations of allocated stalls
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Plans for the 1,500 pending applications
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Measures to prevent a return to unregulated pavement trading
With Tuesday’s deadline hours away, Joburg’s informal trading economy — and thousands of livelihoods — hang in the balance.