Advertising bill to be laid before Parliament
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) is expected to lay before Parliament a new bill to regulate activities in the advertising industry in Ghana before the legislature rises.
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Dubbed “Advertising Standards Authority Bill” seeks to establish an advertising standard authority which will bring together relevant industry players to ensure the sector is properly regulated.
Addressing the 25 annual general meeting of the Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG), the President of the association, Mr Joel Nettey, said the bill, when passed into law, would help the industry to deal with charlatans who paraded as marketing communication professionals, and ultimately protect consumers.
“I’m happy to report that we have made steady progress and have now entered what can be described as the last lap of this race,” he said.
Cabinet approved the Memorandum on the Advertising Bill in 2015 at its 37th Meeting. It was subsequently published in the Ghana Gazette no. 74 on June 14, 2016.
According to him, the process takes 14 days after which the Minister of Trade and Industry will be expected to lay it before Parliament before it rose.
Advertising taskforce
The National Outdoor Advertising Standards Taskforce was set up under the auspices of the Ministry of Roads and Highways and the National Road Safety Commission to enforce standards of the placement of billboards.
As a sequel to that, the association collaborated with the Ghana Highways and National Road Safety Commission to demolish all dilapidated signs on the Tema-Accra Motorway.
“We are currently working with the La Dade Kotopon Assembly. We hope to re-open discussions with other assemblies in the coming year to forge closer collaborations,” he said.
Tax issues
He said last year ended on a rather dire note of what was proposed to be an increase in withholding taxes of 15 per cent.
“This move, which would have crippled the industry, thankfully was abated due to the quick and determined protestations by the association and other industry bodies and civil society,” he said.
“We engaged the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) at the highest level with a presentation that detailed what our challenges are and that not only would the new tax have totally killed the industry, but indeed even the current withholding tax regime is flawed in the way it is applied to our industry,” he added.
Challenges
He noted that the challenges in the country’s economy were having a major impact on the fortunes of the advertising industry. Saying “our costs are sky-rocketing as our revenues plummet. Not a good position to be in – but that’s our reality”.
He added that “although the industry was facing some challenges, the association remains committed to continue making steady progress as we all look forward to the improvement of our lot as far as the economy is concerned”.
“I appeal to all players in the industry to contribute to the activities of the association by actively participating and serving on the various committees as we collectively strive to pursue excellence in our profession as advertising practitioners,” he said.
