…media firms forced to retrench staff
…pushed to breach contracts with high-end clients
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 Annan–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.
“I have repeatedly asked the Roads Directorate why billboards belonging to South African companies such as Primedia have not been pulled down, but no convincing explanation has been offered,” Mr Moletsane said.
“I have seen seven of my billboards pulled down so far, in the same vicinity where South African billboards have been left untouched. The exercise is random and selective because in one area they remove Naleli Outdoors billboards while leaving those of other companies intact.”
A visibly distressed Mr Moletsane said he was now being forced to lay off staff.
“It is unfortunate that a tax-compliant company remitting Income Tax, VAT and Pay As You Earn to the Revenue Services Lesotho, as well as other taxes to the Maseru City Council, is being forced to make financial decisions that result in job losses — especially in this troubled economy.
“By doing this, the Roads Directorate is destroying livelihoods. This also affects companies we work with directly. Our corporate partners have asked where their adverts are, and I told them plainly that the government is removing them.
“The contracts we have with the First National Bank Lesotho, Vodacom Lesotho, and Standard Lesotho Bank will now have to be scrapped, leaving us indebted because we cannot fulfil our end of the bargain. We are facing retrenchments because we cannot pay bills or salaries.”
Obsolete legislation
He added that both individually and through the newly formed Outdoor Advertising Association of Lesotho, they pleaded with the Directorate to apply discretion and adopt modern regulatory approaches arguing that the Roads Act of 1969 was obsolete.
“In cases of ongoing road works, we were willing to evacuate temporarily to allow construction. But we were shocked to learn that the Directorate wants us permanently removed.
“They told us they were simply following the 1969 law. I suggested that they apply discretion to address issues arising in 2025. Lesotho is struggling with high unemployment and poverty, yet they are demolishing businesses. We are not in 1969. Modern challenges require modern solutions.”
Echoing these sentiments, Leseli Hub Chief Executive Officer, Ntsukunyane Matete, accused the Directorate of failing to adopt an inclusive approach, arguing that a prior impact assessment exercise would have led to a more humane process.
“Had the Ministry conducted an impact assessment exercise to prepare all stakeholders, this situation could have been avoided.
“Graphic designers, photographers and translators — these are all people affected by the ripple effects. A lot happens behind the scenes before a billboard goes up.
“We also asked whether the government would compensate us for payments already made to MCC, sometimes years in advance. The response was negative,” Matete said.
He said the severity of the situation had forced his company to resort to alternative advertising strategies to generate revenue.
“To remain afloat, we diversified into wall-scape advertising. Our billboards now hang on the sides of buildings and at taxi ranks to comply with the brutality we faced from government — despite the private sector being a stakeholder in national development.”
He said their portfolio includes lucrative clients whose businesses inject significant revenue into the economy.
“Last year alone, a Rwandan contract generated around M1.4 million, money that went into Lesotho’s economy. Our high-profile clients such as Aranda also contribute enormously. Government should appreciate partnerships that cross borders.
“We were never engaged at the onset. It was only through our association that a meeting was convened — and even then, it (the meeting) was not diplomatic.”
Roads Directorate responds
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. 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.
“The campaign to remove encroachers started in 2014 and was revived in 2023,” Ms Mpopo said.
“To address the growing rate of road reserve encroachment on gazetted roads, we launched a nationwide Road Reserve Awareness Campaign in 2014 and a second one in 2023.
“After the first campaign, we developed a Road Reserve Management Strategy to standardise reserve management. The 2023 campaign included the rollout of this strategy.”
Ms Mpopo said the ongoing demarcation and removals are part of road construction, reconstruction, and rehabilitation projects, including the Mpiti–Sehlaba-Thebe Project, the Masianokeng–St Michael’s Rehabilitation Project, and the Kofi Annan–Moshoeshoe Road Rehabilitation Project.
Ample grace period
She maintained that outdoor advertising companies were given ample time to prepare for removals, citing a timeline of stakeholder meetings held between 2023 and 2025.
According to records she produced, meetings to facilitate a smooth transition were held on 24 May 2023, 28 October 2024, 02 April 2025 and 21 April 2025:
These engagements included stakeholders such as Maseru City Council, vendors, MCC clients and associated industry bodies.
Last year, Leseli Hub took the Roads Directorate to court after receiving a five-day ultimatum from UNIK Construction, the company currently tasked with the removals.
Leseli Hub, however, lost that bid when Justice Moneuoa Kopo ruled that Leseli Hub, together with all other companies that had structures within the road reserve must have them removed by 31 October, 2024.
Ms Mpopo said besides the court ruling, the Roads Directorate had given ample time to the parties to remove their property.
A year has passed since that ruling, she added.
In a letter addressed to Maseru City Council in April this year, Roads Directorate had issued a directive to Maseru City Council requesting the Council to communicate to the clients that they had until 1 November 2025 to remove their billboards.