Cape Town - The City of Cape Town is cleaning up its statute books and plans to repeal more than 300 outdated by-laws inherited from former municipalities.
Many of them date back to the 1950s.
Among the laws to be repealed is a 1977 taxi by-law of the Durbanville Municipality, which requires taxi drivers wear a clean, white coat approved by the municipality’s chief traffic officer before being allowed to operate the vehicle.
Mayor Patricia de Lille said on Wednesday even though the municipalities no longer existed, the by-laws were technically still in effect.
The mayoral committee has agreed to recommend to the council the by-laws be repealed when they next meet.
A report to mayco noted that if not repealed, the old by-laws could conflict with by-laws promulgated by the City of Cape Town.
The antiquated by-laws became part of city law when the unicity was formed in 2000.
The 306 by-laws were adopted by the city’s 30 former smaller municipal councils, including Goodwood, Kraaifontein and Simon’s Town.
From the Bellville, Gordon’s Bay, Kuils River, Strand and Fish Hoek municipalities, the city inherited a host of regulations on camping and caravan parks dating back to the 1960s.
Also still in effect are by-laws from various municipalities on aerials for television reception, enacted in 1975.
The former City of Cape Town’s traffic by-laws from the 1970s are also still on the books and more than 40 years of municipal policies on leave regulations for staff, from 1950 to 1996.
Somerset West’s by-laws on keeping dogs in the 1980s are also still in effect, as well as the laws on parking meters.
“As we intensify our efforts to become a well-run government, the repeal of these by-laws will assist us to work more efficiently by cutting down on unnecessary bureaucracy and red tape,” said De Lille.
Cape Argus