Billboards’ removal cripples advertising agencies

By: Rethabile Pitso

The Roads Directorate’s enforcement of a long-standing plan to remove billboards encroaching on road reserves has hit advertising agencies hard, with outraged companies branding the move a threat to their investments and livelihoods.

Disgruntled outdoor advertising firms that spoke to the Sunday Express this week said the ongoing demolition of billboards along the Kofi Annan̝ Moshoeshoe Road has wiped out their incomes in one fell swoop, forcing them into immediate restructuring to stay afloat. The affected parties say the move has worsened Lesotho’s already dire unemployment crisis, as Basotho employed by these companies are likely to lose their jobs.

To aggravate their plight, they say this has placed them in breach of contracts with high-end clients, warning that money earmarked for advertising may either have to be refunded or will no longer be paid, further deepening their financial woes.

Among the aggrieved businesses, the heads of Naleli Outdoors and Leseli Hub have described the exercise as “a witch-hunt targeting Basotho-owned companies”. Naleli Outdoors Chief Executive Officer, Tumi Moletsane, claims the manner in which the exercise was carried out convinced him that he was being targeted rather than being subjected to a fair and transparent road reserve clearing operation.

He said he has seen seven of his billboards pulled down so far, in the same vicinity where South African billboards have been left untouched, adding that the exercise is random and selective because in one area they removed Naleli Outdoors billboards while leaving those of other companies intact.

Responding to the allegations, Roads Directorate spokesperson, Nozisolo Mpopo, dismissed claims of selective enforcement, insisting all billboards within the road reserve are being removed without favour. Ms Mpopo said the Roads Act of 1969 and the Roads Directorate Act of 2010 empower the Directorate to declare land for road development and manage the road reserve. She said the law prohibits billboards within 15 metres of either side of the road, a buffer intended to accommodate future road improvements. She also dismissed claims that the Directorate was targeting Basotho-owned companies, noting that efforts to curb encroachment date back more than a decade.