Ward 93 councillor Vino Reddy had a multi-departmental meeting recently, which laid bare the difficulties the City of Johannesburg faces in tackling illegal billboard structures across affected areas.

Reddy, who serves on the economic development Section 9 committee, confirmed, on April 14, that a joint sitting was held with the development planning, as well as safety and security, committees to address the growing concern.

Read more: Ward 93 councillor on cloud nine as illegal billboards come down

“The chief executive of development planning told us about the difficulty they have in being able to take down the remains of these signs.”

According to him, one of the key issues raised during the meeting was the sheer size and complexity of the structures.

“These are massive, heavy structures that can’t just be cut down easily with an angle grinder. You need specialised, heavy-duty equipment.

“Big billboards are brought in using superlink carriers, which can handle up to 30t or more. They do this bit by bit, so that they are not noticed, and then reported.”

However, he said the city currently lacks both the equipment and capacity required to remove such installations. As a result, he said the committee has called for the city to consider sourcing the necessary resources, either internally or through appointed contractors, to deal with the issue.

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“There again, it comes down to funding. The city needs to find the money to be able to do things like this and that becomes a problem.

”Reddy acknowledged that while illegal billboard removal may not always be viewed as a priority, compared to other service delivery challenges, it remains an important issue that cannot be ignored. “It isn’t seen as a priority because we have greater needs in the city, but we can’t allow structures like this to be left standing.

“The minute the purpose is removed, the signs just go back up. If the structures aren’t there, the signs won’t go up.”

He added that, while entities such as Johannesburg Property Company and development planning are engaging with advertising companies, there is still uncertainty around the effectiveness and long-term impact of these efforts.

“We’re not aware of how far that goes, and whether these signs won’t go back up again.”

The City of Johannesburg was reached out to for comment on April 14. An update will be provided as soon as the information is available.

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