Informal traders whose stalls are situated outside banks in BCM will have to relocate soon.
The metro has resolved to enforce a reviewed informal trading by-law that prevents trading in front of banks.
The by-law was approved in a council meeting last month, together with six other by-laws, following a workshop attended by councillors and traditional leaders in July.
At the workshop councillors agreed that having informal traders in front of banks was a security risk.
BCM deputy head of municipal courts Siphatho Handi said the process of preparing the adopted by-laws for publishing in the Government Gazette would start this week.
Once the by-laws have appeared in the Government Gazette, informal traders will no longer be allowed to trade in front of bank buildings as the new by-law reads:
“No traders will be allowed to trade in shacks or shelters in non-demarcated areas.”
However, informal traders operating in East London’s CBD said they had no knowledge of the changes.
Masilakhe Mvila, who hawks goods in front of FNB, said: “We have not heard about this. We chose this place because it is very busy with customers, although we are not really safe. If they move us they must move us to a safe and busy street where we can sell and make a living for our families.”
Another East London hawker, Happy Mwashusha, who sells art pieces in front of Standard Bank, said: “This place is very good for business because it is busy.
Other newly-adopted by-laws apply to outdoor advertising; the BCM fresh produce market; arts, culture and heritage facilities; cemeteries, undertakers and crematoria; municipal parks, recreation and conservancy as well as events.
The updated events by-law will not apply to events of fewer than 200 people where there is no amplified sound or no temporary structures are used.
BCM spokesman Samkelo Ngwenya said a technical team, comprising legal services and all the metro directorates, was formed in preparation for the implementation of the by-laws once promulgated in the Government Gazette...