The IFP and the EFF are the latest political parties to see their adverts pulled from public facilities as elections loom.
The IFP’s digital adverts were removed from screens at the OR Tambo International Airport and the King Shaka International Airport last month following a directive by the Airports Company South Africa (ACSA).
The adverts had been running for about a month.
ACSA told the Sunday Times that it took a decision during the last national elections in 2019 to introduce a policy that excludes political advertising on its premises.
“It is in line with this policy that ACSA recently removed digital adverts paid for by the IFP which were flighted at OR Tambo International Airport and King Shaka International Airport,” said ACSA.
The company said that while it is majority-owned by the state, it remained an independent organisation that serves the interests of the people of South Africa.
“ACSA, like any other business, has the prerogative to determine its own policy, taking into account its mandate, on how it interacts with other stakeholders in its sphere of influence,” ACSA stated.
ACSA said while the placement of all advertisements at its premises was handled by contracted media buying companies, it encouraged the public to report directly to it any ads in contravention of its policy which prohibits advertising political parties.
However, IFP treasurer and national campaign committee chair Narend Singh said they believe ACSA succumbed to political pressure to block their ad campaign.
He said he opted to advertise at the airport after seeing an ANC digital advert at the OR Tambo airport a few years ago.
“Apparently, with our adverts there [OR Tambo and King Shaka airports], people would get the view that ACSA supports the IFP. We did not agree with the assumption because in the past the ANC was advertising at the airport,” Singh said.
“Politically, it’s incorrect for ACSA to do what they have done, it would seem to us that there must have been political pressure on them to withdraw our adverts,” Singh said.
He said with elections around the corner, he did not have time to take ACSA to task.
“I’ve been watching these adverts for years while flying in and out of the airports and it’s something I told myself as a campaign manager and treasurer-general that one day I will put IFP adverts there,” Singh said.
Also finding themselves in a no-go space was the EFF, whose banner was removed from Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital’s St John Eye Hospital two weeks ago after the Gauteng department of health raised concerns about it.
This comes after a large ANC wall banner was removed from the boundary wall of Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, a day after the Sunday Times ran an article about it last month.
An ANC banner that greeted patients at the entrance to the hospital depicted the smiling face of President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC’s election message: “Let’s do more together. Vote ANC.”
It stood for two weeks before the Sunday Times reported that it infringed provisions of the Public Service Act, 1994, as well as guidelines on the abuse of state facilities to benefit a political party set out by the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) and the Electoral Commission of South Africa.
The GCIS has an updated communicators handbook, published in 2023, which prescribes how government communicators should conduct themselves during an election period, and which prohibits the use of state resources to promote political parties.
The Gauteng health department stated that the removal of the EFF banner took place “during routine facility maintenance”.
Spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said there were “no particular complaints that led to the removal of the EFF banner from the St John clinic”.
“Recently, the Gauteng department of health has had incidents especially in the Johannesburg and Sedibeng districts where political parties would place posters, banners, or billboards around healthcare facilities,” Modiba said.
He said in each case, the ads were removed by either the healthcare facility or the individuals who had installed them.
“It is vital to emphasise that these efforts were made to maintain the apolitical nature of healthcare institutions while also ensuring equitable access to services for all members of the public,” Modiba said.
Asked if the department had been conducting a crackdown on such adverts, Modiba said: “There is no specific crackdown on political adverts or materials in healthcare institutions. Such materials are handled in accordance with current policies and guidelines.”
The SABC last week banned a controversial DA election advert which depicted a South African flag burning.
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