At long last, we are about to see some order in the placement of public advertisements in our major cities.

The measure comes rather belatedly given the fact that several measures have been taken in the past to ensure that there is order in this important sector whose influence stretches beyond the mere exhibition of consumer goods to attract attention.

The difficulty has been about reconciling the efforts of the government statutory agency responsible for the management of public space for advertisement purposes which is called Cameroon Publi-Expansion. This company has been seen to be trying, in many ways, to exercise its function as the sole distributor of publicity space; but its efforts have very often been seen to confront those claiming to exercise their right in a society which is becoming more and more free-for-all. Many councils, especially the big ones such as Douala, Limbe and Yaounde, have been in the front line to question the exclusivity Cameroon Publi-Expansion wants to arrogate to itself.

But beyond that and in view of the necessity to come to a definitive solution to the disorder, any initiative, coming from official quarters and which can cause the effective change of attitudes, can only be warmly received. In spite of oneself, we are bound to accept the rule of any institution which can effectively cause change, even if such an institution is still to fully justify its locus standi in terms of determining who is really in charge of the sector because, as it is said in French, “la nature a horreur du vide.”

From this perspective, there was every reason to accept a salutary measure, irrespective of where it came from but in as much as it was from a competent authority. For good reason.  Mounted advertisements, especially on billboards, are no longer simple systems of carrying advertisements. They have become veritable thermometers of determining the socio-economic performance of a country and are used by many travellers or investors coming into a country to determine the health of the economy. These adverts can also give an idea of the cultural and moral situation of a given country especially through the content of the messages they carry.

Imagine an investor coming into the country to invest in the area of condom production… he will almost obviously be put off if the first huge billboard he comes across is advising citizens against the use of condoms.  Then there is also the decorative aspect of the issue. A jumbled juxtaposition of these adverts may also leave the impression of a disorganized country, where the rush for gain may even sacrifice aesthetics and all that is good-looking on the altar of obtaining gains the fast way.