DURBAN - THE eThekwini Municipality has launched an aggressive clean-up operation taking shop owners and businesses in and around Durban to task for failing to adhere to its by-laws.
On Durban’s South Beach, city officials on Tuesday ordered one of the busiest fast-food outlets, Big Jo’s to shut down indefinitely. Officials allegedly discovered leaking sewage in the shop’s kitchen where food was being prepared for customers.
Environmental health officials and Durban metro police led by the municipality’s spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela conducted a clean-up operation in the Point Precinct targeting shops that violated the by-laws in the Point Precinct.
Peter Roberts, the city’s Environmental Health Manager, who ordered Big Jo’s to be closed, said that customers could not be subjected to an environment which posed a risk to their health.
“I am ordering you to shut down this shop until you have fixed the leaking sewage in the kitchen. We are also going to impose a fine on the shop for failing to ensure that their kitchen adhered to the municipality’s by-laws,” Roberts said.
Big Jo’s manager Haider Kamrul said the sewage started last week when there were heavy rains in Durban. He said they asked the landlord, who owns the building, to fix it but the landlord had not responded.
Shoprite in South Beach was ordered to remove their massive backup generator from the road as it was obstructing traffic. The shop’s assistant manager said that she had already discussed removing the generator from the road.
Mayisela said the operation was an ongoing project to ensure that the shops were functioning within the laws of the city.
“Operation Good Hope is meant to take back the city and end lawlessness. We are ensuring that all the shops are compliant with all the by-laws, and this will continue throughout the next week and beyond. What happened here at Big Jo’s is very unfortunate and the rotten food being sold cannot be consumed by our people hence we had to close the shop,” Mayisela said.
Mayisela added that the city had been invaded by people who had no respect for health and safety. He warned that those who break the law would be forced to shut down.
Meanwhile, in North Beach, the business community, including the Love Durban and the Urban Improvement Precinct companies on the beachfront, have teamed up with a security company, Boss-UIP, to help clean up the area.
Boss-UIP founder Raz Ali told the Daily News that this was a voluntary initiative meant to assist the city to regain its top spot in tourism, and continue attracting tourists and investors.
“It has become increasingly frustrating for visitors to be bothered by the undesirable individuals who aggressively demand money and other things from people. These individuals also break into shops and strip windows of the properties in the area. We think it’s important to partner with the city of eThekwini, City Parks and other stakeholders to help end this torture,” Ali said.
Daily News