The eThekwini Municipality has, again, warned parties to remove their election posters by the end of this weekend or face thousand of rand in fines.
The City said parties have until the end of the month to remove their posters
In a statement, the City said political parties located in the eThekwini Municipal area have until June 30, to remove their election posters erected on electricity street poles and any other municipal infrastructure or will be fined R1 193 per poster by the municipality.
Political parties must remove posters within 30 days after the date of the elections.
The Development Planning, Environment and Management Unit is responsible for the regulation of outdoor advertising in the municipality among other responsibilities.
During the election period, consideration was given to relaxing some of the requirements in the spirit of promoting democracy.
Sagren Naicker, acting manager: general advertising in the Development Planning Unit said political parties or candidates were allowed to have 800 posters per ward.
“Should political parties fail to remove their posters during the stipulated period the municipality will remove them and fine the political party based on the number of posters removed,” said Naicker.
This also applies to political parties that were given permission to advertise on the highways and the beachfront for the purpose of elections only, he said.
“We are strict in implementing advertising by-laws within the municipal area. No one is allowed to erect any advertisement without the prior permission from our unit,” he said.
eThekwini city manager Musa Mbhele said now that the election period is over, election posters must be removed.
“We are governed by a council resolution regarding the removal of election posters. This will also assist in keeping the City clean, as some posters have been blown off street poles while others are hanging precariously. The resolution is clear, posters should be removed 30 days after the elections,” said Mbhele.
The Mercury