JOBURG – Honeydew CPF public relations officer urges community to take down illegal adversiting boards in their suburbs or to inform the Metro Police of them.
Honeydew CPF public relations officer Jon Rosenberg stands next to an illegal advertising board in Weltevreden Park.
Illegal advertising has become a big problem in parts of Roodepoort, Randburg and Northcliff as Honeydew CPF public relations officer Jon Rosenberg explained.
“The biggest culprit in many cases is realty companies – the so-called ‘big brands’. They should be setting the example to smaller companies which they aren’t doing.”
Jon Rosenberg states that this board is also illegal.
He explained that the suburbs are overflooded with sign boards from various companies advertising homes for sale or to let.
“Not only does it make the suburb look untidy but it also makes it dangerous for motorists as these advertisement boards are placed on street corners and one can’t see past them when you want to enter an intersection. These signs are way too big in most cases as they exceed the size of 600mm x 450mm as stated in the Outdoor Advertising Bylaws of 2009.” Rosenberg continued, “By erecting these illegal boards they are breaking the law, this brings into question the integrity of such companies.”
Various types of Illegal advertisements are scattered near an intersection in Weltevreden Park.
“Our stance now at the CPF is to remove all illegal signage and we are doing that on a weekly basis. Last week alone we removed around 55 of these signs.”
Metro Police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said that JMPD fines each agent for the boards when they take them to the Metro compound. “The owners of these signs can only get them back from the compound by paying a fine of R2 300.”
“What the companies don’t understand is that while the proliferation of these boards might bring in a new client, the majority of residents don’t appreciate that their suburbs are being downgraded. The sad part of it is that so many of the guilty agents don’t live in the area where they erect these boards and are therefore not proud residents of the suburb. If residents see any illegal signs they can feel free to phone the Metro Police to report them,” concluded Rosenberg.
