The City of Joburg’s Joint Operations Committee (JOC) is designed to ensure all events hosted within the jurisdiction of the municipality comply with stipulated legislation and by-laws.
The JOC comprises of officials from various departments and entities within the City, who are regulated by law to sanction events hosted or occurring in Johannesburg.
The JOC requirements comprise of an event overview, venue permission letter, event security plan, crowd management plan, liquor license, and proof of payment to relevant departments, to name a few. These documents are used to compile a file that event planners need to present to the JOC committee, which assesses whether the event is safe enough to take place. All JOC requirements are mandatory.
Shaun Harrison, who represents the City’s Emergency Management Services at JOC, says the committee is the municipality’s way of being proactive in providing a one-stop-shop that allows event planners to apply for legal permission to host an event.
Harrison says some event planners don’t comply with all JOC requirements as stipulated in the Events Act, and this is a contravention of the relevant legislation and may lead to a fine. He stresses that JOC requirements are meant to ensure the safety of patrons at events, and that they are not optional but enforceable by law.
Harrison says the lack of understanding of JOC regulations plays a major role in event organisers flouting the rules. This is why the City’s Events Office hosts regular workshops to demystify JOC requirements for people in the event business. These workshops also allow for an in-depth explanation of why JOC requirements are paramount and to clarify the by-laws that support them.
Harrison emphasises that event organisers cannot plead ignorance when there is plenty of information available on the Internet on how to host JOC-compliant events.
He notes that it is incumbent on every event organiser to conduct the necessary research to ensure theirs is a safe and JOC complaint event.
“The aim of JOC stipulations is to ensure that event organisers see the importance of complying with every single requirement in the law and to understand why they are there and what would happen should they not comply,” he explains.
Event planners who fail to comply with a provision of the relevant Act of Parliament, municipal regulations, and CoJ EMS by-laws shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine, or face imprisonment.
“Do things the right way, educate yourself on JOC and, should you be confused, contact the EMS or Events Office for more information or attend a workshop,” says Harrison.
Written by Buhle Mpeoa
06/08/2021