JMPD can only impound illegally erected billboards
JMPD said they cannot arrest perpetrators for contravening the Outdoor Advertising By-Laws, only the court can decide if a perpetrator should be arrested or not.
A Vorna Valley resident Mark Straw describes the spike of illegal billboards in the area as an ‘eyesore and that it makes the suburb look neglected and uncared for’.
And as a result, Straw said one cannot feel proud of the area you live in if it looks shoddy and unkept which is why he took it upon himself to remove illegal billboards without the council’s approval.
He said around 2019, a developer started putting their marketing boards on lampposts and road sign poles through Vorna Valley to their development in Kyalami Hills.
“Boards with council approval have a luminous sticker with approval details printed on it. None of their boards had council approval. I took photographs of all the signs and sent through numerous complaints to Johannesburg Metro Police Department’s (JMPD) By-law Enforcement Unit. I got very little feedback,” said Straw.
He eventually got tired of seeing the signs still up, despite laying numerous complaints to the JMPD’s by-law department. So he began taking them down the same year and dropped them off at the Vorna Valley JMPD station.
Straw said he only cleans in and around Vorna Valley where he lives and works.
He said the challenge was that these developers have unlimited resources to keep putting up boards and have a team doing so every day of the year.
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“There don’t seem to be any developments currently being marketed within Vorna Valley, so the problem here has diminished considerably for the moment. By-law enforcement with heavy fines and prison for repeat transgressors could be a solution.”
JMPD spokesperson Officer Xolani Fihla said the by-laws they enforce through the management unit currently impound material, instruments and tools used to illegally put up or erect a billboard without prior approval from the City Council.
He said the department works closely with the Planning and Single Law Enforcement Outdoor Advertising Department where the owner of the illegal billboard is meant to be traced by them and fined.
“Unfortunately, we cannot arrest perpetrators for contravening the Outdoor Advertising By-Laws, we can only impound material, instruments and tools used to put up or erect the illegal billboard. Only the court can decide if a perpetrator should be arrested or not. The Outdoor Advertising By-Laws are stringent. Firstly material, instruments and tools are impounded from the sub-contractor putting up the billboard and an impoundment fee of R3 551 needs to be paid for the release of these items,” said Fihla.
A R500 fine is issued to the owner once they are traced by the City’s Planning and Single Law Enforcement Outdoor Advertising Department.
Ward 132 councillor Annette Deppe said resident were allowed to remove the posters as long as they don’t have approval stickers on them. She added that the posters were a big issue and posed a ‘visual pollution.’
“If we have more residents like Mark Straw who are prepared to give of his time, we would have a cleaner suburb. The City is busy with new policies for outdoor advertising at the moment, it’s out for public participation. I encourage our residents to give input to it,” urged Deppe.
She concluded that those who wish to advertise by following the procedures needed to apply to the City’s Outdoor Advertising Department and pay for their space.
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