Billboard Crazy Lusaka

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Dear Zambia,

If you are a Lsk resident, you must have noticed the proliferation of billboards across the city. I don't have anything against billboards, as they are revenue earners & job providers both indirectly and directly. But surely it must be someone's job to regulate where they are put, how they are put, how many are put and which areas they are put in. The once billboard free Addis Ababa Drive is now plastered with billboards. Everywhere across the city, there are small ones, big ones, rusting ones, broken ones and also those that block our view when driving.

And on a lesser note, just when are these billboard guys gonna get creative? The billboards are irksome and lack imagination. If they're gonna shove ads down our eyes, they might as well put in some effort and make it bearable.

[Rogue Trader]

What I can stand is a billboard blocking my view as I attempt to make a right turn!

In Ndola, I am particularly irritated by the G Rutherford billboards screaming PRIME ADVERTISONG SPACE.

[Martha Berner]

Dear Zambia,
Regarding the subject of billboards, I could not agree more. They are ugly. I think of them as a type of pollution.
I looked at this website for the first time this morning because I have a friend who is coming to visit Zambia. (I am in the USA.) We have a group here who call themselves 'Scenic America'. They attempt to balance the laws that the billboard owners create to secure their business. Certainly there is an economic benefit for the billboard owners, but if your city has any sort of tourist economy, I think the billboards cannot be justified from an economic perspective. It is sad that the beauty of our cities and landscapes can be sold to profit a very few. If you can't stop them, maybe you can ask them to display artwork occasionally.
I love the Zambia website! It is the best national website I have seen. I can't wait to listen to the radio stations.

[Chief]

I had a great comment to post on the subject of billboards but I forgot what I was going to say. Please bear with me. I will try to search my brain.

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Martha,

Unfortunately Lusaka has no touristic appeal, a not so thriving art scene (hence no push for public display of artworks) and certainly no Scenic America type of groups. So in most likelihood, the ugly billboards are here to stay. While the billboards can be seen as a form of pollution, one must not forget that in a third world country like ours, the economic gains from these billboards trump the need for a picturesque landscape. I'm not entirely against billboards, as long as they are put in the right place and look like some of these.

[mdala]

Lol..... Strong teeth! Good one...

[Sangwapo]

Is that a chinese dude on that billboard? The insensitivity of these Chinese to the Zambian culture is quite shocking, in my estimation. They have this 'in your face' attitude.