The Planning Authority is cracking down on billboards set up by both major political parties during the electoral campaign, which have been illegally used for commercial advertising since the election.
Under the Billboards and Advertisements Regulations issued last year, political billboards are exempt from a PA permit during an electoral campaign, but must be removed within one week of the final result.
The Times of Malta reported last month that billboards set up by the Labour and Nationalist parties were not only still in place, without a development permit, weeks after the end of the campaign, but were being illegally used to display commercial advertising.
The parties have now been given until tomorrow to remove the offending structures, failing which the PA will take direct action to ensure compliance, an authority spokesman told this newspaper.
This follows an exercise to identify the illegal billboards and issue the relevant enforcement notices, the spokesman said. A large number of such notices were attached to the billboards last week.
The parties’ flouting of the law had raised the ire of legitimate billboard owners who pay an annual fee to use them legally and in specific designated areas.
Advertising agents expressed fears of a repeat of the situation after the 2013 election, when most of the billboards used by the Labour Party remained in place despite enforcement notices issued by the PA.
The government used the same structures and paid thousands of euros of taxpayer money to promote public relations campaigns, including in connection with the European Council presidency.
No action is known to have been taken against Labour over the illegality.
The law introduced last year lays down specific time frames when political billboards are allowed.
“Political advertisement means any advertisement, including a billboard, which is used for the display of material which relates exclusively to a general election or to a referendum or to an election for local councils and which is displayed not earlier than three months before the date on which such election or referendum is held and not later than one week from the official announcement of the result of such election or referendum.”