The evicted booksellers of Johannesburg

Like many Joburgers, I’m happy to see the city sprucing up for the G20. But it’s hard not to think back to those heady days of the World Cup, when the improvements felt like they could benefit everyone. New trains, new bus lines, better roads.

Now it feels like people are being pushed out of the way, with little communication about what’s happening or what’s next.

All around Park Station, or at least the parts where drivers and Gautrain riders tend to pass, vendors have been forced out. Some of the social media posts from the city make it sound like it’s just the street vendors who don’t have permits for the sidewalks. But an entire block of the purpose-built Joubert Street market has also been evacuated, along with many of the surrounding blocks.

I checked about six blocks today, and 11 booksellers have been evicted – along with all the other people selling clothing, food and household items. That’s about 15% of the booksellers in the city centre. The timing couldn’t be worse for them, for readers, or for students. This is the peak season when students finishing the year sell their textbooks and incoming students buy them. People buy books for their holidays and for their gift-giving. And the remaining booksellers don’t benefit from additional trade, because shoppers in general aren’t coming to town. Today should be packed with weekend shoppers, and the streets are nearly empty.

For those whose stock wasn’t confiscated, they now have to find a place to store it. Most store their books at night in lockers in the market. Those lockers are gone. One has been storing hundreds of books at Bridge, but that’s not a long-term solution. Another found temporary storage, but doesn’t know if he’ll be allowed back, so he doesn’t know how to keep them there, or if he should find a new space. Most have followed the process announced this month to apply for space under the new rules, but no one has been told when a decision will be made.

All of us want the city to be cleaner, safer, and easier to walk. Bylaws should be enforced. But there’s a huge space between chaos and total eviction. The southern end of the Joubert Street market and the Kerk Street market are neat, clean and orderly. The model exists, just a few meters away.

Look how deserted the market is, on what should be a busy Saturday.

Incidentally, all of these posts go out in our Substack newsletter. You can subscribe in the footer or sign up here.