Pillar to post: Jozi councillor ‘inundated’ with complaints about party posters still on street

Political party posters remain on street poles around South Africa more than eight weeks after the elections.

Ward 102 councillor Lucinda Harman says residents across Johannesburg have been complaining to her and other councillors about promotional material from various political parties.

According to the City of Johannesburg Outdoor Advertising By-law (2009), parties must remove their posters from outdoor advertising locations within five days of an election, failing which “the Council shall within 10 days after the conclusion of the election or voter registration notify the relevant party to remove the posters within a period specified”.

If a party fails to do this within the specified time their posters will be removed against a “prescribed fee per poster payable by the relevant party”.

This fine is reportedly R500, though Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) spokesperson Xolani Fihla has told The Citizen no fines have been issued yet.

Residents unhappy

Harman, a Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor, says residents have been nagging her incessantly to take the matter up with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) long after the 29 May election.

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When The Citizen enquired about the IEC, one of its media liaisons said it is the responsibility of each municipality to deal with the removal of election posters, and the commission will not comment on the matter.

While City of Johannesburg spokesperson Virgil James had previously enlightened the media about the city’s bylaw pertaining to outdoor advertising (listed below), it was fellow spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane, who now directed media to JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla for comment.

“The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department is actively engaged in a meticulous operation to remove election posters that remain unattended by political parties,” Fihla said.

Locations documented

“As part of this initiative, fines have not been imposed thus far. Instead, the focus has been on documenting the locations where these posters have been successfully removed.

“This information will enable us to coordinate visits to political parties efficiently and charge them collectively.”

In response to this, Harman said she and other DA ward councillors have notified the JMPD “over and over” about where posters are.

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City of Johannesburg Outdoor Advertising By-law (2009), prescribes as follows, on its Section 28 (1) (e): “any poster contemplated in this section, must be removed by the person displaying it within five days after conclusion of the election or voter registration, failing which, the Council shall within 10 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”.