The Sol Plaatje Municipality in Kimberley says damaged street and lamp poles will be replaced, as well as damaged electrical kiosks.
All signboards, owned by the municipality or privately owned, will be audited and illegally erected private sign boards removed.
This follows comments from Sharon Steyn, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Northern Cape Business Chamber (Nocci). She recently posted pictures to accompany her social media post lamenting the decaying state of Kimberley.
She says Kimberley is a city that “we love and want to invest in”.
“Why would investors want to invest, or people relocate here. Look at the knocked-over lamp and street poles, potholes, fly-tipping, water and sewage leaks and overgrown verges.
“Some poles are knocked down in accidents, and there are six main areas where the traffic lights have not been working for over five months.
“The municipal traffic department does not realise the hazard of poles lying on pavements. Many streetlights are not working.”
Thabo Mothibi, municipal spokesperson, says they have a programme to replace all knocked-down streets lights.
“The contract for the supply and delivery of materials was awarded late in 2023, after the replacement of the poles programme was delayed. Electrical kiosks will also be repaired.
“We do have an operations and maintenance budget.
“Regrettably, we have also noticed that vandals keep on breaking down these facilities. Components within the traffic lights are being stolen by thieves, rendering their functionality ineffective. We are working on an effective strategy to hold those that destroy the infrastructure liable.”
Damaged municipal erected sign boards will be replaced, and disposed of. The process to remove damaged poles will be done within a week once the ownership audit has been completed, whereafter a procurement process to replace it will start.
The municipality is conducting an audit of signages which are erected and owned by the municipality, or privately owned and erected.
“The municipality has also noted that there are private businesses and institutions that erect sign boards without following proper procedures as per our Municipal Outdoor Advertising Signs By-Law of 2006.
“Privately owned signs that were erected by private businesses either illegally or legally, but had become damaged, will be removed and letters of notification will be issued to the owners,” said Mothibi.
