A lady of the night runs the moment a spotlight is shone in her direction. She runs round the corner and disappears into a house in Kruger Street.

At 22:00 on an icy cold evening, she wears a short skirt, trying to attract some business. She was seen standing in Pretorius Street on the evening of May 30.

Could she have been one of the former residents of the infamous ‘blue house’ in Joubert Street? The residents of the blue house were given eviction notice about two months ago.

“We will fight prostitution,” Mr Mapholi, Director: Technical Services of the Makhado Municipality said on May 22.

“We would have liked to tell them to go to Hillbrow to conduct their business there and not here. But even in Hillbrow it would not be correct,” Mapholi said.

The Makhado Municipality’s spokesperson, Mr Peter Muleya, confirmed on May 29 that the business that was conducted from the blue house was prostitution.

“Their business was illegal,” Muleya said.

The dilapidated house, situated in Joubert Street between Krogh and Munnik Street was regarded as contributing to the deterioration of the neighbourhood.

Local police spokesperson Inspector Nelwamato Vele said that the station management, the community police forum and other role-players went to the municipality to address the problem.

“They closed the water and forced them to move out,” Insp Vele said.

The house is standing unoccupied in a ramshackle state, with broken windows. On one unbroken window remain the words somebody had written there “No beaches allowed”.

Insp. Vele said that, for the past two months, they no longer had a problem there.

“In the past, prostitutes stayed there but other criminals ended up hiding there,” Vele said.

Municipal spokesperson Mr Muleya said that one reason for the eviction of the residents was that the house was zoned for residential use and not “what they were utilizing it for”. He said on May 29 that the building inspectors were still busy investigating the structures inside with regard to possible demolishing. The other reason he named was their illegal business.

Sex workers aged between 13 and 18 told in 2004 that they were involved in prostitution because they wanted money to buy groceries, trendy clothes and cell phones. It came to light that at the time the girls sold their bodies for as little as R50. But they charged more in the festive season.

Evicting the alleged sex workers from the ‘blue house’ forced them to move out. But as long as there are clients, business will continue. Dr Johan van Rensburg, pastor of the AFM church and a leader of the town watch patrol, says that it might help to display the registration numbers of the regular clients in town.

“While driving night patrol to combat crime, members of the night watch write down registration numbers of the vehicles picking up ladies. They see ladies at three o’ clock in the morning standing on the street corners of Rissik and Grobler Street,” van Rensburg said.

Insp Vele mentioned the same location as a hot spot. Vele requested the public to inform the police when they see cars moving around at night or parked on the side of the road.