Mbongeni Nkabinde (21) and Tshepo Mabunda (27) are one of many young men who stand at various intersections offering windscreen washing services to motorists.
Mbongeni and Tshepo said they wash windows for a living, as it keeps them away from being involved in crime.
Tshepo said he had to drop out of school because of a lack of finances. He wanted to study engineering.
“I am the first-born of five siblings living with a single parent and I have to take care of my family,” he said.
Mbongeni, on the other hand, only attended school until grade 7. He said he lives in a household of eight people.
Despite their attempts to earn an honest wage, it is still illegal to offer these services to motorists.
Mbongeni and Tshepo stand on the corner of Greenstone Drive and Van Riebeeck Avenue.
The Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) spokesperson, Chief Superintendent Wilfred Kgasago, said the intersection is a grey area.
“In terms of the official demarcation, it falls under the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department’s (JMPD) jurisdiction. Nonetheless, both metros attend to complaints and accidents that occur in that location,” said Chief Supt Kgasago.
He said the area is periodically monitored.
“A weekly crackdown on hawkers and window washers is planned,” said Chief Supt Kgasago.
According to Chief Supt Kgasago, the National Road Traffic Act does not allow pedestrians to linger at intersections, or to offer any kind of trade.
Both window washers and hawkers are therefore committing an offence in terms of the Act.
The JMPD spokesperson, Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar, said they have a campaign where illegal window washers are arrested on a regular basis.
“However, they return to the streets to wash windows because that is where they make money. So the routine gets repeated,” said Chief Supt Minnaar.
He highlighted that the main intersections where illegal window washers are removed include Greyston Bridge, Marcia and Albertina Sisulu, William Nicol Drive and Rivonia Drive.
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