For more than a month motorists and pedestrians have been bombarded with election posters trying to convince them to vote for a particular candidate in the municipal elections that were held on Monday, November 1.
With the final results officially announced, it goes without saying that these posters no longer serve any purpose. That’s why the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) recently released a statement by its Acting City Manager Floyd Brink saying, “Parties that contested the election must remove campaign posters within 14 days after the elections,” said.
Section 28 of the City’s Outdoor Advertising By-laws (2009) stipulates that posters must be removed by the person displaying it within 14 days after conclusion of the election or voter registration, failing which, the Council shall within 14 days after the conclusion of the election or voter registration notify the relevant party to remove the posters within a time period specified, failing which, the Council may remove the posters itself against a prescribed fee per poster payable by the relevant party.
“We trust that all the parties will do what is required of them in terms of the by-laws. It is a short time, hence the further grace period but the City cannot become unsightly due to posters that no longer have relevance. It almost becomes a type of littering if left unchecked,” Brink explained.
Every poster that is removed by the City after the grace period will be tallied up for each party and a fine of R1 000 per poster will be issued accordingly.
