In a mission to revitalise Mthatha City and give it the aesthetic look it deserves, the municipality has started an operation to remove all billboards and marketing posters that are illegally placed within KSD jurisdiction. These advertising materials are erected alongside main roads, pasted on building walls, and mounted on streetlight and traffic light poles.
The purpose of the operation is to maintain order through the enforcement of the bylaw for outdoor advertising, which stipulates the processes for outdoor advertising and the fines posed for failure to comply therewith.
The Outdoor Advertising Bylaw was approved and gazetted early last year by Municipal Council as the Municipality has the mandate in terms of the Municipal Systems Act of 2000, the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act No. 16 of 2013, and the National Environmental Management Act No. 93 of 1996 to regulate outdoor advertising.
A joint team that comprises the Building Control, Electricity, Roads and Works, and Law Enforcement sections has been on the ground removing illegal posters and billboards. The campaign is scheduled to last until June 2023 and is carried out twice every month.
Outdoor signage board is fined R4500 for removal and storage while posters are charged a R600 fine. Also, there are penalties posed for pasted posters, which amount to R495 and R200 for unpasted respectively.
The goal of the project is to prevent the community from posting ads anywhere they like throughout the city, which occasionally clogs up traffic and makes the area look untidy. The same operation will be implemented at Mqanduli.
Notices were issued informing billboard owners to comply with the Outdoor Advertising By-Law and failure to adhere will lead the municipality to act against illegal signage.
The program is a part of the Municipality’s extensive efforts to solve issues, one of which has been illegal advertising, and to enhance the image of our wonderful city. It also falls within a plan of revenue enhancement and investment attraction. It also fits into a strategy for revenue enhancement and attraction of investors.
Application forms for outdoor advertising can be obtained from our Building Control office or downloaded from www.ksd.gov.za.
