There may not be a single resident in Edenvale who is not offended by the “Dr Penis” style advertisements pasted on municipal bins, electric boxes and street lights.
“Notwithstanding the ongoing efforts made the Outdoor Advertising Department to remove these adverts and officers from the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) trying to catch the perpetrators, they are simply fighting a losing battle as they do not have sufficient resources,” said the ward 18 councillor in Edenvale, Clr Heather Hart.
Clr Hart has asked council for a special task team to be established in customer care areas.
She recommended that the special unit be tasked with tracking down both the practitioners who paste the adverts everywhere and the advertisers.
“It is illegal advertising like this which further denigrates our urban environment and in vulnerable areas like informal settlements and townships, is makes a bad situation worse,” said Clr Hart.
She added that advertisers spare nothing.
“They will stick these adverts on the walls of schools, new malls, taxi ranks, street signs and lampposts with absolutely no respect for the residents in the area,” she said.
The NEWS sent an enquiry to the spokesperson for the EMM, Mr Themba Gadebe, regarding illegal advertising in Ekurhuleni on November 17.
Comment was requested by November 21 but at the time of going to print, no comment was received.
