The Johannesburg Metro Police have converged with leaders of ministries following the shut down of 16 churches in Yeoville, to pave a way for compliance and termination of illegalities in the fraternity.
Chief of JMPD David Tembe told journalists at a media briefing on 9 October at the department’s headquarters in Martindale that 144 churches were raided in Yeoville on 29 September resulting to 16 closed down for contravention of by-laws.
Tembe said the raids, which were carried out in conjunction with the liquor board, the police, emergency services, Joburg Building Control, City Power, environmental health, customs, SARS and brand managers, were conducted after receiving complaints from the public. He said the complaints were related to contravention of by-laws including noise pollution, obstructing of traffic, the illegal connection of electricity and water, waste management and non-compliance with building regulations.
“We won’t allow churches to continue operating if they don’t meet all the requirements. I want to emphasise that we are still going to close down more churches that are operating illegally,” said Tembe.
Bishop Musa Sono from the Grace Bible Church, one of the attendees at the meeting, said they were optimistic that the meeting held with the Metro police on 8 October would yield positive results in addressing the problem of illegal churches. Sono said in some instances, church leaders apply for zoning of properties but due to the long process by the City of Johannesburg, some resort to operating without finalisation of the process. “Some buy property from private developers and start a church without receiving the final zoning documentation from the City. We welcome the suggestion by Chief Tembe that we need to facilitate meetings with the minister fraternal to educate our members on by-laws and compliance,” he said.
Sono added that one of the major challenges faced was the lack of accountability by some churches who do not belong to any denomination. “The Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities Rights Commission is currently discussing the issue of regulation. There’s a lot of progress so far and there are about seven key areas that have been identified including compliance, good relations with government, respecting rights of the community and other religious groups, handling of funds and others. We are hoping that by mid next year the discussions would be concluded and a resolution would be made. We, however, do not support any illegal churches.”
Tembe said that they were committed to building a good relationship with all religious groups to ensure that they all abide by the City’s by-laws.
What do you think is the solution to illegal churches?
Related Article:
https://northeasterntribune.co.za/142421/illegal-church-receives-interdict/
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