Here’s how much Johannesburg and Cape Town fine political parties for election poster ‘littering’

Election campaigns have transitioned from the streets to boardrooms, but political posters remain a nuisance on streetlights and poles in Johannesburg and Cape Town. On Tuesday, the municipalities of both cities reminded political parties of their responsibility to remove these eyesores within specified timeframes.

The cities have differing fines for the parties, but both emphasize the reasons for removal. The Johannesburg municipality explains that leaving campaign materials up indefinitely is a form of public littering, detracting from the city's appearance, compromising road safety, and defacing municipal assets. They urge political parties to show civic responsibility by promptly cleaning up public spaces utilized during the election campaign.

Cape Town's City of Cape Town (CoCT) distributed guidelines on posters and swivel banners before the elections. They set a hard deadline of November 18, urging residents to report any posters remaining after that date to the relevant political parties. If posters are not removed within this deadline, the city will remove them at the political party's expense, charging R123.48 per poster or banner, excluding VAT.

In Johannesburg, posters violating section 28 of the municipality's outdoor advertising by-laws will remain in violation for two weeks after the election. Transgressing parties will initially receive a warning before being fined by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department. Posters left up after this period will result in a formal notification from the city, giving the party a specified timeframe to clear them.

The city will impose a penalty fee of R500 per poster directly to the non-compliant political party to recover removal costs. All election materials must be completely cleared within the legally prescribed grace period to maintain the city's infrastructure free of clutter and aesthetic degradation.