By Nangamso Mabindla
22 July 2004

BUFFALO CITY municipality has called on the city's businesses to comply with advertising signage rules.

This call follows a complaint a resident made to a local newspaper about the dangers of unauthorized signage.

"We saw a letter in the Daily Dispatch from one of our citizens in Gonubie. He said there were a lot of these adverts along the Gonubie main road," said the City's advertising signage controller, Mbewu Mbolekwa.

"We decided that, starting this week, we would clamp down on unauthorised signs in our city."

Buffalo City has already removed advertising in East London - in Gonubie, West Bank, Chiselhurst and Oxford Street.

Businesses needed to apply to the municipality before putting up signboards, said Mbolekwa.

"We're not saying they shouldn't advertise, but they should approach us and we'll see if they comply with our basic rules."

These rules specified:

• Only products or services legally available or offered on a particular site may be advertised.
• Schools and sports clubs have special dispensation to allow a maximum of 10 advertising boards of uniform size on their grounds, subject to the signs being a maximum size of 2,5m x 1,25m.
• Signs are not allowed on the verges of roads. This includes small signs on steel pins normally erected on centre islands and verges.
• Estate agents may display "for sale" and "sold" signs at a property, subject to the signs not exceeding a size of 600mm x 450mm. Larger development signs may be considered on the merits of each case. "Show house" signs may only be displayed on the day of the show.
• Residential erven from which businesses are run and bed-and-breakfast establishments may display a single sign on the building or on the boundary wall, provided that the sign does not exceed 2000cm squared.
• Posters may be displayed on lampposts subject to approval and payment of a fee. Only posters concerning community events or elections are permissible and they must be removed after the event; otherwise the deposit is forfeited.

Mbolekwa said billboards were not permitted on or facing on to residential property. Billboards could only be erected subject to a contract with the municipality. "The laws are there to assist businesses," Mbolekwa said. The municipality also has laws governing trailer signs, direction signs and sandwich boards. Applications and enquiries can be directed to Mbolekwa, the advertising signage controller, on 043 705 2019.