THE Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) has started to carry out its threat to cut down unauthorised signs and billboards across the municipality.

“This is not a nine-day wonder; we will be coming to remove your illegal signs and billboards,” Mayor of Kingston Andrew Swaby said on Thursday as teams from the KSAMC started to remove signs and billboards from several sections of the Corporate Area.

“Since January 1 we have been highlighting the issue of compliance for signs and billboards. We have given out letters, we have talked to persons individually, we have talked to umbrella organisations about this and we have even done ads on the radio. And we said that this campaign, in terms of awareness, would have been up on the 31st of March.

“Why we didn’t start on April 1 was because we wanted to make sure that we went through and verified the details and we are in enforcement mode now. What we are doing, we are taking down signs… once they are publicly displayed, whether they are on private property, in plazas, or on the roadside. Once they have not been applied for and approved by the KSAMC, we will be taking them down,” added Swaby.

He pointed out that the crackdown comes after a three-month campaign — which provided a 20 per cent discount on outstanding signage fees — that started in January and ended on March 31, where business owners and government offices were urged to comply by paying signage fees at reduced rates.

Upon the launch of the campaign, Swaby explained that the three-month period was designed to support operators who faced unexpected expenses, operational disruptions, and increased community obligations due to the effects of Hurricane Melissa which made landfall on October 28, 2025 and affected their ability to meet regulatory requirements, including signage fees.

At the time, Swaby made known his disgruntlement at the lack of payment, highlighting that of 3,421 signs audited, only 463 business owners were compliant with the payment stipulations.

On March 12, 2025, at a KSMAC monthly meeting Swaby pointed out that while the response to the campaign showed some level of engagement, several agencies still had outstanding obligations that needed to be addressed before the initiative came to a close.

He warned that with the campaign coming to an end enforcement action would be taken.

“As I have stated previously, this initiative was designed to provide a fair and structured opportunity for businesses and other entities with publicly visible signage to regularise their status, settle outstanding arrears, and bring their signage into compliance before enforcement activities intensify,” said Swaby at the March 12 meeting..

He warned that the KSAMC was in the process of assembling an enforcement team to tackle non-compliance once the regularisation period ends.

“This team will examine and coordinate the enforcement options available to the corporation. We will be engaging the heads of Area 4 and Area 5 police and divisional leadership across Kingston and St Andrew to support a structured enforcement approach where necessary. We are now approaching the end of this campaign, and I want to remind all entities that time is running out,” warned Swaby.

Following Thursday’s commencement of enforcement, the mayor said operations will continue as authorities target unauthorised signage, and urged property owners and businesses to comply with the rules to avoid further removals.