The DA in Buffalo City Metro has accused the ANC and EFF of breaking municipal bylaws because the parties’ election posters have been pasted on public and private properties.
The city confirmed on Monday that at least one party, even though BCM spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya would not name and shame it, had been warned about violating bylaws.
He said each party was only allowed to put up one election poster on a pole.
DA councillor Sue Bentley presented an urgent motion in council recently, calling for action to be taken against the alleged bylaw transgressions.
The party said the ANC and EFF had posters on bins, electric boxes, memorials and public and private buildings.
“The bylaws state that posters can’t be put up on public and private property. The number of posters one can put on one pole is only relaxed during election time.
“But the EFF and ANC particularly continue to put posters anywhere, including bins, electric boxes and walls. There are posters of [President] Cyril Ramaphosa on bins, there are EFF posters at the memorial next to the Buffalo City College.
“We want the relevant BCM department to remove these posters at a cost to the parties concerned,” she said.
“The ANC is governing this city but it breaks the bylaws. How can they enforce any bylaw if they break the same bylaws they are supposed to enforce?”
In an interview on Monday, the ANC denied any wrongdoing, while the EFF said it was unapologetic about the move, saying they would take things further and “paint statues red”.
ANC chief whip councillor Mawethu Marata denied the allegations and accused the DA of being behind the illegal posting. “We put our posters up in a very professional manner. The people who are accusing us of wrongdoing are the same people who are removing our posters and pasting them where they should not be.
“They are trying to paint us in a bad light,” said Marata.
EFF regional chair Mziyanda Hlekiso, said the party was not apologetic about pasting posters on war memorials.
“These bylaws you are talking about need to be checked if they are serving their purpose.
“I don’t think we are the only party that is pasting posters on bins – even the war memorials you are talking about, we don’t subscribe to anything that reminds our people of how they were treated previously. Even the statues we will paint them red,” said Hlekiso.
Ngwenya said the city was aware of the impact made by the election season to the municipal bylaws.
“Already there is one political party that we have written to after we saw a transgression on their posters and we have given them a period of time.“You are not allowed to hang two posters on one pole so if we see the transgression, we will take it down ourselves and we will charge those concerned for that labour and those efforts.“[The] same applies when you put posters in areas that are not allowed for anyone to do that – we will write to you and give you a period of time to act, failing which we will do it as the council and then you will get a bill.”He said BCM urged all political parties to adhere to bylaws and to ensure that the city was kept clean.mamelan@dispatch.co.za..