Outdoor media owners and operators of Street Pole Ads, ADreach have found themselves at the centre of the furore following a recently published article and image.
"Although the article clarifies to some degree that ADreach is not a guilty party, the image and caption that accompanies the article does little to illuminate our non-involvement," says Street Pole Ads chief executive officer, Brent Herbert.
"The community is outraged - and understandably so. But Street Pole Ads and our service providers did not cut down these trees."
According to Herbert, ADreach has been actively aiding Johannesburg City Parks with their investigation into illegal tree felling: "We supplied them with details for a tree felling company whom we believe to have cut down the trees on behalf of a billboard company.
"ADreach actively assists the Johannesburg City Council on an ongoing basis with the removal of illegal outdoor advertising, removing thousands of illegal posters, banners and billboards each week, at no charge to the city council, and for the benefit of the city, the community, and Street Pole Ads customers."
According to Herbert, Street Pole Ads operates under contract to the Johannesburg City Council and has over the years invested millions into development of the city's infrastructure. He says that any irresponsible behaviour - such as the illegal felling of trees - could result in termination of their contracts.
"We consider ourselves to be partners to the city and the community for the responsible development of outdoor media in South Africa. It is bizarre to imagine that we would implicate ourselves or undermine our credibility to secure the visibility of a handful of ad sites. We categorically condemn such illegal activity and will actively assist the Johannesburg City Parks in finding the perpetrators responsible for the defacing."
