5 bizarre Cape Town by-laws that have finally been dropped
The City of Cape Town has officially repealed 306 outdated by-laws as a means of reducing red tape and cutting down on conflicting laws.
These repealed by-laws were enforced by former municipalities which were incorporated into the City of Cape Town in 2000, to standardise the job of enforcing laws across the city.
Before the creation of the uni-city, the Mother City consisted of 30 smaller municipalities which all had their own municipal councils and which were all able to create their own by-laws.
These former municipalities no longer exist, making these by-laws redundant. They have never been repealed, which technically means that they are still in existence and in force within the areas of the municipal courts which adopted them.
Some of the by-laws date back to as early as 1950.
Some of the more interesting and outdated by-laws are detailed below. You can find the full list of repealed by-laws detailed here.
You can now go over 60 km/h
The former City of Cape Town’s (the municipality) traffic by-laws date back to the 1970s. That means that despite the introduction of the general speed limits in terms of the South African National Road Traffic Act and its regulations 1989 (60 km/h on a public road within an urban area; 100 km/h on public road outside an urban area which is not a freeway; and 120 km/h on freeways) if you were to follow these road rules, you were technically breaking the law.
You can now get DStv
Still in effect are by-laws from various municipalities on aerials for television reception. These by-laws were primarily enacted in 1975, meaning they do not account for satellite aerials and current national laws with regards to placement, repair and permitted sizes.
Taxi drivers no longer have to wear a clean white coat
One example of the strangest by-laws relates to the control of taxis. It stipulated that no person would be able to operate a taxi without wearing a clean white coat approved by the Chief Traffic Officer of the Durbanville Municipality. Today, rules governing taxis are applied in terms of national laws, thus rendering all previous laws irrelevant.
Hawking, peddling and vending
Several Cape municipality by-laws still prescribed very specific areas in which hawkers were allowed to operate and sell their goods. Several by-laws have since been introduced to account for a growing population and to remove these stricter measures to allow for a more enabling environment and for more sites to be established.
Taking leave
Many of the municipalities leave by-laws date back as far as 1950. This includes the total of leave days you are entitled to based on your occupation,; how leave is accrued; when/how you can be disciplined; as well as differing amounts of leave days based on your position in the company.
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