Billboards earn city $3,6m annually

HARARE City Council is raking in $3,6 million annually in advertising revenue from seven companies it signed deals with, but could be losing millions more from those illegally erecting billboards.

The city receives an average $300 000 per month from 1 103 billboards owned by the seven companies.

According to the recent Environmental Management Committee meeting, the City of Harare recognises seven billboard companies which are on its billing platform namely JCDecaux, Primedia Zimbabwe, Alliance Media, Askeland Media and Advertising, MED lighting solutions, advertising industries and AXA Holdings.

Apart from the 1 103 billboards, there were an extra 300 billboards on private properties that were excluded from the city’s billing platform.

“The Harare (Control of Advertising Signs) by-laws Statutory Instrument 908 of 1981 as amended, did not mandate the city to collect billboard rentals from private properties. However, a report had since been prospered seeking authority from council,” reads part of the minutes.

“Council received an average $300 000 per month from the 1 103 billboards owned by the companies mentioned above, street lighting advertising by MED and Primedia was under a Memorandum of Agreement that exchanged public lighting infrastructure with advertising rights. In addition, council receives five percent of gross annual advertising revenue from these companies.”

The committee noted that City of Harare only dealt with billboard companies on matters related with allocation of sites, plan approval and billing.

Marketing, sales and collection of revenue of advertising space was done by the individual billboard companies.

It also heard that the city had no control over the nature or frequency of advertisements that were placed on billboards.

The city intervenes only in cases where the message or advert, in its content is prejudicial to public morals, objectionable, offensive, racial indecent or rather suggestive.

“Vacant billboards (without advertisements) did not affect the city’s billboard revenue base as the companies were expected to continue paying billboards rentals according to the allocated number of sites,” reads the minutes.

Last year an audit of bill boards in greater Harare showed that poor management of billboard records by the city was costing it thousands of dollars as some companies were erecting billboards without paying for them.

The committee resolved that council cross functional management committee on billboards be resuscitated and that the traffic and transportation section carries a 100 percent physical count of all billboards for every company and compile a register.