{"id":849025,"date":"2026-01-27T20:53:45","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T18:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=849025"},"modified":"2026-01-27T20:53:51","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T18:53:51","slug":"illegal-outdoor-advertising-crackdown-in-south-africas-richest-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/media\/849025\/illegal-outdoor-advertising-crackdown-in-south-africas-richest-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Illegal outdoor advertising crackdown in South Africa’s richest city"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The City of Johannesburg is cracking down on illegal outdoor advertising, targeting both static and digital billboards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday, 27 January 2026, the city undertook another major enforcement operation as part of the crackdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six illegal advertising signs were affected, including large, high-impact billboards along Winnie Mandela Drive and the N1 corridor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a focus on digital advertising structures drawing electricity unlawfully from the city’s network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Digital billboards were a key focus due to their high electricity demand and the increasing prevalence of illegal and unsafe power connections,” the city said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These connections place the city’s electrical infrastructure at risk, endanger surrounding communities, and constitute electricity theft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The operation identified serious contraventions, including unregistered advertising structures and illegal electricity infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the digital billboards were also found to use unapproved or non-compliant electricity meters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Illegal outdoor advertising and unlawful electricity use undermine public safety and damage municipal infrastructure,” the city said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city reiterated that all advertisers operating in Johannesburg must comply with municipal requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This includes registering advertising structures, obtaining the necessary approvals, and opening a City Power account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advertising companies also need to obtain an approved meter and pay for the electricity they consume. “Failure to comply will result in enforcement action,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of a bigger crackdown on illegal outdoor advertising<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The latest action forms part of a months-long operation to address the growing prominence of illegal outdoor advertising across the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musah Makhunga, the CEO of the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC), said that unlawful structures are a big problem in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained that these unlawful structures compromise public safety, disrupt infrastructure, and deprive the City of much-needed revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This operation reflects a firm stance against non-compliance and a renewed commitment to enforcing by-laws without fear or favour,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johannesburg’s Executive Mayor, Dada Morero, added that the companies behind the illegal billboards violate advertising by-laws and engineering certification standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained that the operation, which involves reclaiming public spaces and restoring order, is related to illegal outdoor advertising in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Makhunga added that the operation, which was launched in December 2025, will continue until all outdoor advertisers are compliant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The City is sending a clear message: unauthorised structures that bypass engineering safety and steal from municipal revenue will not be tolerated,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Outdoor advertising crackdown in Johannesburg<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The City of Johannesburg is cracking down on illegal outdoor advertising, targeting both static and digital billboards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":849027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5554],"tags":[24620,2016,20394,24619,24621],"class_list":["post-849025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media","tag-billboards","tag-city-of-johannesburg","tag-dada-morero","tag-johannesburg-property-company-jpc","tag-outdoor-advertising"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849025"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":849041,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849025\/revisions\/849041"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/849027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}