The City of Johannesburg says it has in the past few months collected about R100m in revenue following its crackdown on illegal outdoor advertising across the city.
The city says this landmark achievement was done through its entity, the Joburg Property Company (JPC).
The city has attributed the increase in collection to its ongoing compliance and law enforcement operations aimed at ensuring adherence to the City’s Outdoor Advertising By-Laws while improving revenue collection to support service delivery.
“When we started this operation in January, many media owners came forward to engage with the city and enter into formal agreements.
We started from a base of about R4 million per annum, and we are now reaching close to R100 million.
This demonstrates that there was significant revenue leakage within the outdoor advertising portfolio, money that rightfully belongs to the city to support service delivery,” said JPC Chief Executive Officer Musah Makhunga.
Makhunga assured residents that the city would continue intensifying enforcement operations across municipality, to ensure all outdoor advertising companies comply with municipal regulations.
He highlighted that such operations help to improve revenue collection to support service delivery.
“We will continue pushing hard because there are still areas where illegal outdoor advertising is mushrooming.
The revenue collected through compliance will assist the city in addressing critical service delivery challenges, including infrastructure maintenance, fixing potholes, and improving urban management,” explained Makhunga.
Meanwhile, Senior Law Enforcement Officer for Development Planning dealing with outdoor advertising infringements, Tembinkosi Mvelase, said the latest operation followed investigations conducted after illegal billboard structures were identified at properties along Republic Road.
He said notices were issued to the responsible parties, but no corrective action was taken within the stipulated timeframe, resulting in enforcement action by the City.
“The advertising structures are not approved by the City of Johannesburg.
There is a detailed approval process that includes notifying the City, submitting applications, paying the required fees, and undergoing technical evaluations before any sign can be erected,” explained Mvelase.
