By Lindsay Dentlinger
The city of Cape Town claims some clauses of a controversial bylaw, which will regulate the movement of people and restrict marketing and advertising during the 2010 World Cup, are unconstitutional.
City legal advisers say that under its constitutional mandate the council will not be able to enforce certain provisions of the bylaw as proposed by Fifa, and which Cape Town is obliged to promulgate as part of its host city agreement.
The city's legal team have met their counterparts for the 2010 local organising committee (LOC) to discuss the city's concerns.
It has been agreed to approach the minister of trade and industry to invoke sections of the Merchandise Marks Act which would allow the appointment of officers to police aspects related to ambush marketing.
The city said it did not have a mandate to legislate on marketing nor dictate circumstances related to advertising on private property.
The bylaw would outlaw public advertising before, during and after the final draw in December 2009, as well as during the 2010 World Cup, within a 1km radius from the stadium, 100m from a fan park or any place visible from a public road within a 2km perimeter of the stadium or the venue of the draw.
The advertising ban also applies to the area surrounding the airport, main railway stations and the CBD.
Negotiations with the LOC and the minister of trade on these issues would now put the city behind the November deadline for passing the bylaw.
Instead 2010 director of operations Lesley de Reuck said on Tuesday the city was more likely to be in a position to agree to the bylaw by next February.
The city's planning and environment committee (Pepco) on Tuesday considered a number of comments forwarded by sub-councils during the public participation process.
While many sub-councils failed to deliver any comment, others felt that the city could not allow such legislation given the current economic hardships many face.
The V&A Waterfront had feared that it too would be declared an exclusion zone given its proximity to the stadium precinct, but De Reuck gave the assurance yesterday that this would not be the case.
The bylaw declares a 1km radius around the stadium as an exclusion zone, but the city manager will have the right to proclaim other areas as well.
The Grand Parade - the official fan park - will also be declared an exclusion zone, as will a path leading from the Westin Grand Hotel, which will be the official Fifa hotel.
De Reuck said during practice sessions at the Athlone and Philippi stadiums, the areas would also be declared exclusion zones as some teams could draw crowds of up to 50 000 people waiting to see their stars.
ANC councillor Mbuyiselo Matha said he was concerned about the restrictions the bylaw would place on traders.
De Reuck said the city was conducting an audit of the number of traders and their goods but it was inevitable that many would need to be moved to comply with the bylaw.
The city has now drafted a third version of the bylaw to accommodate some of the concerns, but others said it could not be removed given its contractual agreement with Fifa.
Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Tshwane are about to promulgate their 2010 Fifa World Cup bylaws to meet the end-of-month deadline.