Our People Don’t Care

THE idea behind billboards in Namibia is a bit obscure.

We have roughly 1,6 million people and the percentage of those who need to be persuaded as consumers must be largely negligible. Ludicrous is the word that occurs to me.Admittedly the media companies see decent profits in billboards, despite the fact that their impact on the economy is close to zero.But a few folks in boardrooms obviously do not mind cluttering our wonderful skyline for profit.It’s a real shame, but that’s the way greed impacts on our human condition.In certain parts of Buenos Aires, billboards have been banned outright and those already up have been taken down.One can now once again see what this South American city looks like! The Namibian situation is generational.Forty years from now the grandchildren of the present crop of so-called entrepreneurs will agitate against this visual pollution and we might see some activism.There is not enough sensitivity going around in Namibia at the moment to make a difference.We just do not have a caring population,.My advice is to move to Bali, or someplace else where Buddhism provides a sense of balance.Namibia has embraced democracy (we’ve been led to believe!), the free-market system, and a western lifestyle, and nothing will change soon.So my advice is to invest in a Plan ‘B’.Bali is delightful and you are not even allowed to construct buildings higher than a coconut tree.And the people are great too.Think about it.John Sampson WindhoekLudicrous is the word that occurs to me.Admittedly the media companies see decent profits in billboards, despite the fact that their impact on the economy is close to zero.But a few folks in boardrooms obviously do not mind cluttering our wonderful skyline for profit.It’s a real shame, but that’s the way greed impacts on our human condition.In certain parts of Buenos Aires, billboards have been banned outright and those already up have been taken down.One can now once again see what this South American city looks like! The Namibian situation is generational.Forty years from now the grandchildren of the present crop of so-called entrepreneurs will agitate against this visual pollution and we might see some activism.There is not enough sensitivity going around in Namibia at the moment to make a difference.We just do not have a caring population,.My advice is to move to Bali, or someplace else where Buddhism provides a sense of balance.Namibia has embraced democracy (we’ve been led to believe!), the free-market system, and a western lifestyle, and nothing will change soon.So my advice is to invest in a Plan ‘B’.Bali is delightful and you are not even allowed to construct buildings higher than a coconut tree.And the people are great too.Think about it.John Sampson Windhoek