Municipality says councillor repainting road markings could lead to copycats

The Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape is using a by-law adopted by the now defunct Camdeboo Municipality to prosecute councillor Eldridge Ruiters for repainting Aberdeen’s road markings.

The Camdeboo Municipality closed down in 2016 when the Municipal Demarcation Board merged several Karoo municipalities to form the Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality based in Graaff-Reinet. The Camdeboo Municipality originally included the town of Aberdeen.

Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality spokesperson Edwardine Abader said the by-law was adopted by the Camdeboo Municipality, but in terms of the law, they were allowed to use the by-laws of municipalities that had been merged to form the current one. She said nobody else had been prosecuted for contravening this by-law.

Read more: Municipal councillor summonsed to appear in court for repainting faded road markings in Karoo town

“He is the first that has done road markings without the necessary permission granted. He was fined in the first instance, but chose to proceed with road markings without authorisation, nor did he deem it necessary to consult with Municipal Administration for guidance on the process to receive authorisation (if he was not aware) on the work/campaign he is embarking on. Also, upon assessment, some of these markings already done, are not as per the required specifications,” said Abader.

She said the by-law used to fine Ruiters was gazetted by the former Camdeboo Municipality in 2007, but explained that former municipalities’ by-laws remained in force until reviewed or new by-laws were gazetted.

“The importance for the municipality in this regard is to prevent unlawful road markings and to ensure that all specifications are within the law. We cannot condone the transgression of by-laws by a councillor and create a precedent that community members can follow suit,” she said.

Abader said they expected Ruiters to apply to the municipal manager, who would send the recommendation to the acting director for community services for approval, provided that an authorised official assisted with applying road markings.

Abader also insisted that they had a “scheduled programme” to paint road markings in the entire municipality.

Read more: Karoo councillor fined once more — for repainting pedestrian crossing and parking spaces at church

Reuters said the municipal officials should point out to him where he had made a mistake as he was merely repainting existing road markings.

“I check everything I do and it is correct according to the Road Traffic Regulations. Not one official has been around to show me where we have made a mistake,” he said.

“For me, the by-law is a secondary issue. I want my day in court. I want to go tell the magistrate that we ask and ask and ask and the municipality never does anything,” he said.

“Also, I want to show him how the ‘painting teams’ arrive here – they get subsidies to travel and subsistence subsidies and they do nothing all day. I will admit that I painted without permission, but I am telling the magistrate that if we didn’t do it, nobody else would ever get to it,” he said.

“If you want to talk about safety, let’s talk about how unsafe faded road markings are,” he said.

He said he had done more with paint worth R7,000 and a few brushes than what the “team” had done all year. DM