<\/p>\n
The future of hundreds of Ethiopian traders whose businesses were closed down last week at the Marble Towers precinct in central Johannesburg will depend on the owner of the property, the City of Johannesburg says.<\/p>\n
The traders sold Chinese fast fashion, shoes, braids, wigs, cosmetics, food and other goods on the corner of Von Wielligh and Rahima Moosa streets.<\/p>\n
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On Wednesday 15 July, the containers from which they operated were demolished by the city, which says the structures were illegal and unsafe.<\/p>\n
Mayor Dada Morero said on the day: \u201cWe are implementing the city\u2019s decision at Marble Towers by removing illegal structures that have been erected in violation of the law and in defiance of court orders.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the city would go after \u201cthose who continue to erect or operate illegal structures\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is about restoring order, protecting public safety, and rebuilding an inner city that works for its residents, businesses, and visitors. We will not turn back.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe remain committed to reclaiming the city one precinct at a time,\u201d said Morero.<\/p>\n
Johannesburg city officials and the owners of the Marble Towers complex conducted a joint inspection on Tuesday, ahead of the demolitions on Wednesday. Image: Ihsaan Haffejee\/GroundUp<\/p>\n
The demolitions followed years of battles between property owners Goldenrod Group and the city, which has been warning Goldenrod since 2022 to comply with building and fire safety regulations.<\/p>\n
In May this year, Goldenrod went to court to prevent the city from demolishing structures at Marble Towers. But on 28 May, Judge Leicester Adams refused the interdict, noting that Goldenrod \u201chas had four years to submit building plans for approval and to regularise the container structures\u201d but that \u201cit failed to do so\u201d.<\/p>\n
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Adams said the city has \u201ca constitutional obligation to ensure that buildings are safe for occupation\u201d.<\/p>\n
He ruled that Goldenrod must stop anyone occupying or using structures identified by the city as non-compliant, seal off such structures within 72 hours, erect warnings, and remove any structures on pavements or municipal property.<\/p>\n
The judge said Goldenrod must, within 20 days, submit building plans for all structures and make the building compliant with fire safety, emergency exits, lighting, fire detection and protection and evacuation procedures, and provide written proof to the city.<\/p>\n
The city would be entitled to inspect and take steps if Goldenrod was not compliant.<\/p>\n
Shopkeepers watch anxiously as city officials and the owners of the Marble Towers complex conduct a joint inspection of the shops on the property. Image: Ihsaan Haffejee\/GroundUp<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, dozens of traders, mostly Ethiopian and some from Congo and Nigeria, gathered outside Marble Towers, waiting to be addressed by the mayor, who was scheduled to speak. Meanwhile, officials and representatives of Goldenrod conducted an inspection.<\/p>\n
But the mayor did not arrive. Spokesperson Khathutshelo Mulaudzi said he was meeting the Minister of Finance.<\/p>\n
Chair of the Ethiopian Association in South Africa, which represents the majority of the traders, Jhon Kebede, said the demolitions were done without prior notice. He said 90% of the shops were run by Ethiopian nationals and close to 300 traders had been affected.<\/p>\n
Few people managed to rescue their stock; many lost stock worth millions of rands.<\/p>\n
Kebede said one trader had been arrested when he tried to retrieve stock from during the demolitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur traders are refugees and asylum seekers who are legally in the country.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe city has treated us harshly, and we feel as if we have been selectively prosecuted,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are part of the economy in South Africa, and the city should allow us to run our business.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jhon Kebede, chair of the Ethiopian Association in South Africa. Image: Ihsaan Haffejee\/GroundUp<\/p>\n
Shop owners told GroundUp that since the demolitions there has been no further communication. Many said they have lost their source of livelihood and hope to reopen their shops.<\/p>\n
Joseph Balech, who has been importing clothes from China for sale for more than 10 years, said he can barely manage to put food on the table since his shop was shut over a month ago. He managed to rescue his stock but has not found an alternative site from which to trade.<\/p>\n
Balech said the Marble Towers is a busy fast-fashion hub, loved by local and cross-border traders.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t wait for a chance to reopen my shop and to start selling clothes again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Uche Ezeokafor from Nigeria said he lost around R50 000 in stock. He sold clothes and shoes, and paid rent of R4 000.<\/p>\n
He now sells socks from a small box on the street and barely makes enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe city should reopen our shops. Even though I lost lots of money in stock, I am not afraid to start again from scratch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Signs pasted on shuttered shops around the Marble Tower complex read \u201cClosed until further notice\u201d. Image: Ihsaan Haffejee\/GroundUp<\/p>\n
Asked what would happen to the precinct and its traders, mayoral spokesperson Mulaudzi said occupancy would \u201cdepend on the property owner\u2019s compliance with the court order, rectification of all fire safety and regulatory deficiencies, and approval of all necessary building plans\u201d.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe city recognises the potential hardship caused to traders. Nevertheless, public safety and legal compliance must take precedence,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe city cannot authorise occupancy or operation of structures that have not been regularised and approved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about the lack of notice to the traders, he said: \u201cThe city\u2019s engagement and enforcement processes have been directed primarily at the property owner, who bears the legal responsibility for ensuring the property\u2019s compliance with building legislation, municipal by-laws, and fire safety standards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Goldenrod did not respond to repeated requests for comment.<\/p>\n
Tanya Zack, an urban planner and author of The Chaos Precinct: Johannesburg as a Port City, said Marble Towers and the surrounding area had served as \u201can inland port\u201d, with immigrant traders having transformed it into a cross-border and local shopping hub.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we did a study in 2017, cross-border shoppers alone accounted for 70% of shoppers in the area, and they were spending R10 billion a year, which was twice the annual turnover of Sandton City shopping centre, which at that stage was the biggest shopping centre in Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said the city should do more to build infrastructure to support traders in the inner city.<\/p>\n
Zack said traders at the precinct had consistently been under pressure from authorities, with goods being confiscated, whether counterfeit or not.<\/p>\n
She said while some of the buildings could be categorised as illegal and irregular, the city should make space for traders in a regularised and organised way.<\/p>\n
The area around Lilian Ngoyi (formerly Bree) and Rahima Moosa (formerly Jeppe) streets is bustling with small shops. Image: Ihsaan Haffejee\/GroundUp<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2026 GroundUp. This article was first published here.<\/p>\n
#Joburg #CBD #shopping #hub #shut #city #demolishes #illegal #structures<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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