HARARE City Council has ordered all political parties to remove their campaign posters to reduce litter, warning that failure to do so would result in penalties being imposed. Council spokesperson Michael Chideme said all campaign posters should have been removed by political parties four days after the July 30 polls.
BY XOLISANI NCUBE
“We are appealing to all parties to pull down their posters because elections are over. At the moment, those posters are not serving any purpose,” he said.
“As you might be aware, before they put those posters, they pay $100, which should be refunded if they remove their posters. We are saying every political party or candidate has an obligation to clean their mess.”
Harare has become an eyesore due to posters littering the city.
“As council, our mandate is to keep the city and these posters are a mess now. If political parties remove their posters, council will refund them. However, we do not regulate issues to do with billboards. Those, we refer to advertising agencies with whom we have contracts with. The duration of billboards is determined by advertising agents,” Chideme said.
Almost every wall in the capital’s central business district has a campaign poster, with some at road sign posts in violation of the electoral laws and city by-laws.
At least 55 political parties battled it out in the July 30 elections vying for various posts, while 23 candidates contested for the presidential post, controversially won by Emmerson Mnangagwa, and his victory is now subject of a court challenge.
