GOOD Statement by Matthew Cook, GOOD National Chairperson & City of Johannesburg Councillor:
The City of Johannesburg cannot claim to be serious about economic inclusion while spraying informal traders with water cannons in the name of bylaw enforcement.
Yesterday, the MMC for Public Safety, Mgcini Tshwaku, posted a video showing a municipal water cannon truck dispersing street vendors in Johannesburg’s inner city. Later, Executive Mayor Dada Morero reposted the footage, stating that “any illegal traders operating outside designated trade zones will be taken out.”
This approach is deeply concerning. Informal traders are not criminals; they are residents trying to survive in one of the toughest economic environments our city has faced in decades. Many are supporting families, paying school fees, and keeping local neighbourhood economies alive. Treating poverty with force sends the wrong message about the kind of city Johannesburg aspires to be.
Bylaws must be enforced fairly and consistently. But enforcement cannot become humiliation. If traders are operating outside designated zones, the first question the City should ask is whether sufficient, accessible, safe, and economically viable trading spaces actually exist. Too often, designated areas are poorly located, lack basic services, or do not attract foot traffic. Enforcement without viable alternatives simply pushes people deeper into desperation.
Johannesburg’s unemployment rate remains devastatingly high. The informal economy absorbs thousands who have nowhere else to go. A developmental city supports micro-enterprise; it does not douse it.
If the City has resources for water cannons, it must also have resources for trader engagement, permit system reform, market upgrades and transparent allocation of trading bays. The solution lies in structured dialogue, spatial planning reform, and inclusive economic policy and not in an Apartheid-style PR spectacle.
GOOD calls on the Mayor and MMC to urgently engage trader organisations, publish clear guidelines on designated trading zones, and ensure that enforcement operations respect dignity and proportionality.
Johannesburg must decide whether it wants to be a city that pushes the poor out of sight, or one that builds pathways into opportunity.
GOOD Manifesto on Gender Equality: Advocating for gender equality and women’s rights.
Mr. 44
A South African, an Australian and an Englishman are all having a drink
The Englishman and South African both drink from Pint Glasses, the Australian from a bottle.
The South African, upon draining his glass, drops in back down on the bar, pulls out a pistol, and shoots the glass.
\”In South Africa, there is so much sand that I never drink from the same glass twice!\”
The Australian, having drained his bottle, sets it down upon the bar and, upon seizing the South African\’s pistol, shoots his bottle.
\”In Australia, there is so much booze that I never drink from the same brand twice!\”
The Englishman, likewise having drained his glass, sets his glass upon the table, seizes the pistol the pistol from the Australian, and shoots the South African and the Australian, quite dead.
\”In England, there are so many of you bastards that I never drink with the same two twice!\”
Scooby Did
African men do not fear lions because they are aware of the bug, which is an immediate threat