By Charmaine Ndlela
The City of Johannesburg has recovered nearly R100 million in revenue after intensifying its crackdown on illegal outdoor advertising, with officials warning that enforcement operations will continue until all non-compliant advertising structures have been removed.
Inside Metros accompanied the City of Johannesburg, the Joburg Property Company (JPC), the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) and City Power on Tuesday as officials removed illegally erected billboards along Republic Road and other parts of the city.
Among the billboards dismantled were advertisements for well-known brands, including Fanta, RocoMamas and Smirnoff. City officials stressed that the operation targeted illegally erected structures, not the brands being advertised.
The operation forms part of the City’s “No to Illegal Outdoor Advertising” campaign, launched in December 2025 under the leadership of City Manager Floyd Brink.
The campaign seeks to enforce the City’s Outdoor Advertising By-Laws, recover lost municipal revenue and improve public safety.
The City said the Outdoor Advertising By-Law of 2009 is clear that no advertising structure may be erected without prior municipal approval.
All advertising signs require written approval from the Council, as well as consent from the property owner.
According to the City, outdoor advertising companies previously contributed only about R4 million a year.
Since the compliance campaign began, that figure has risen to nearly R100 million, highlighting what officials described as substantial revenue losses that had deprived the municipality of funds for infrastructure maintenance and service delivery.
Speaking to Inside Metros during the operation, the City’s Executive Director for Development Planning, Eric Raboshakga, said illegal billboards posed a significant public safety risk.
“If you look at where these things are, they’re a public safety issue. Drivers cannot have all these distractions on the road. It causes accidents and other problems. We don’t want a city where people simply do as they please. We want people to invest and do business in Johannesburg, but they must follow the proper process,” he said.
Raboshakga said owners of illegal billboards erected on private property could face penalties of up to 12 times the normal rates and taxes, while structures on public land could be removed once the required notices had been issued.
He said billboard approvals remain valid for five years, provided operators continue to comply with all conditions. However, approved structures must be erected within six months or the approval lapses, requiring a fresh application.
“These approvals are temporary. They are not permanent rights. If you don’t build within six months, you must start the application process all over again,” Raboshakga said.
He added that the multi-agency operation extends beyond illegal advertising, with officials also targeting illegal electricity connections, unauthorised infrastructure and other by-law violations encountered during enforcement operations.
During Tuesday’s operation, Inside Metros witnessed one illegal billboard being dismantled after officials discovered that the advertising material had allegedly been removed overnight before demolition crews arrived, raising suspicions that details of the operation had been leaked.
Responding to questions from Inside Metros, Raboshakga acknowledged that maintaining operational secrecy remained one of the City’s biggest challenges.
“We try to keep the circle very small, but sometimes operations continue into the following week. That’s when information begins to spread, and we lose the secrecy around the operation. Without that secrecy, it becomes much more difficult to carry out the operations,” he said.
The City said compliance inspections would continue across Johannesburg to eliminate illegal outdoor advertising, improve public safety and ensure advertising operators contribute fairly to municipal revenue.
It urged billboard owners and advertising operators whose structures have been identified as illegal to approach the relevant municipal offices to regularise their applications in accordance with the Outdoor Advertising By-Law.
Officials warned that the enforcement campaign would continue until all non-compliant outdoor advertising structures had either been regularised or removed.
INSIDE METROS
