The Madibeng Municipality has announced that all outdoor advertising signage must now be declared, approved and paid for. This applies to any signage that is visible from a public space.
Notices are currently being delivered to premises across the Madibeng municipal area, informing business owners that they have to pay for any signs visible from public spaces.
All signage displayed on exterior walls promoting businesses, products or services, including those of tenants inside business centres, constitutes chargeable advertising space.
All advertising signage must be approved prior to installation, and the applicable tariffs paid. The cost consists of an administrative fee of R745 and a licensing fee of R607 per square metre of signage.
According to the notice, outdoor advertising includes wall-mounted signs, signs on boundary walls and fences, free-standing signs and billboards, as well as posters and promotional material visible from public spaces.
For business premises such as malls and shopping centres, this can easily amount to hundreds of thousands of rands. The management of malls and shopping centres is responsible for ensuring that all advertising by tenants on their premises is declared to the municipality and that the applicable fees are paid, according to the notice.
Madibeng states that failure to comply with the by-law may result in fines and penalties, removal of signage, billing for unauthorized use of advertising space, and legal action.
Irate business owners told Hartbeespoort News this week that, on top of already high service fees charged by the municipality, the new revenue enforcement drive will have a detrimental impact on businesses.
“Our municipal bills are already so high. It seems as if the municipality is permanently finding ways to milk us dry. This will add to tenants’ costs of running a business. In some cases, with these increasing costs, it may not be worthwhile to do business,” said Werner Wenhold, owner of De Handelspost in Hartbeespoort.
The owner of a small business in Brits said the municipality is welcome to remove his sign. “I have been here for decades and, on top of rent and high municipal costs, I am now supposed to pay for my business’s name being displayed? I am not going to pay. The municipality can remove my signage.”
He said municipal officials told him he could display his signage on a window, but not on the wall. “How ridiculous is that?”
Another business owner, Jacques van Rensburg of Pumba Signs in Hartbeespoort, said businesses not only now have to pay the municipality to display their names, but also have to deal with the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL), which has been clamping down on signage along its roads.
Although enforcement of these by-laws is only taking place now, the Outdoor Advertising By-law was adopted by the Madibeng Municipality as far back as 2010.
Businesses are advised to legalize their advertising immediately by contacting the municipality’s Department of Local Economic Development: Lebogang Tsogang at 012 493 7663/lebogangtsogang@madibeng.gov.za, or Michael Mpofy at 012 493 7769/ mikempofu@madibeng.gov.za
Hartbeespoort News is waiting for comment from the municipality.
