Mayor Morero defends M1 billboard removal, highlights city's transformation agenda

Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero has confirmed that city officials ordered the removal of Solidarity's 70-meter-long orange billboard on the M1 South, between Smit Street and Empire Road, for violating city by-laws.

The controversial billboard, intended to greet G20 Summit delegates, labelled South Africa as the "most racially regulated country in the world".

The removal, which followed Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi's instruction on Monday amid a social media dispute between provincial leaders and Solidarity members, was addressed by Morero during a media briefing on the CEO's Clean Up Campaign and the Bomb Squad's work.

Morero criticised Solidarity, asserting that freedom of speech must be balanced with the country's transformation agenda.

He said: "Part of the transformation process is to address the imbalance of the past, where a particular section of society was disenfranchised, oppressed, and suppressed. The billboard violated city laws, which is why it had to be taken down."

The mayor's comments coincided with the launch of the CEO's Clean Up Campaign, a long-term urban renewal alliance involving 150 business leaders.

This initiative for sustained cleanliness and civic ownership will commence in the inner city on Wednesday and Thursday, before moving to Soweto on Friday.

"Tomorrow (Wednesday), Johannesburg’s top CEOs will roll up their sleeves and join our teams on the ground to take part in visible clean-up and revitalisation work across priority precincts," Morero said.

"Their mission is straightforward: to fix what is broken, clean what is dirty, enforce where there is lawlessness, and restore dignity to our communities. But let me be clear: this is not a three-day campaign. This is not a once-off activation for cameras."

Morero also highlighted the Bomb Squad, unveiled before the G20 Leaders Summit on November 22 and 23 at Nasrec Conference Centre.

He stressed: "Let me state clearly: the Bomb Squad has introduced a new culture of urgency and accountability in Johannesburg. It has been shown that when we coordinate, when we act together, and when we stay focused on results, progress can be made within hours — not months."

He reaffirmed that the Joburg Turnaround Plan continues "decisively beyond major events like the G20".

These efforts to restore the city come days after the Gauteng Provincial Government reported vandalism of new G20 Summit signage near Nasrec and damage to streetlights and traffic lights along the R55 route.

Attempts to get comments from Solidarity were unsuccessful at the time of going to print. However, on Monday, the Afrikaner interest group stated that it would take legal action and erect more billboards

"Our giant advertisement welcomed leaders of the G20 Summit to the most racially regulated country in the world. The sign was placed on the M1 South between Smit Street and Empire Road, and all the necessary processes were followed by an advertising agency.

"We will be taking legal action following confirmation from an advertising company that the Johannesburg city council removed the billboard because they did not like the message," Solidarity CEO Dirk Hermann said in a statement.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za