Illegal billboards in Gt. Accra to go down - RCC, advertising association get tough
The Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG) is collaborating with the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) to pull down billboards mounted in Accra without authorisation.
The exercise is to make lawfully placed advertising boards more visible and to ensure sanity along the streets.
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The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Henry Quartey, made this known last Wednesday when the association presented to him a 2018 audit report on billboards in Accra.
The report touched on the influx of unauthorised billboards scattered across streets in Accra, and considered to be endangering lives and creating clutter.
Accra situation
The Daily Graphic reported recently that streets in Accra were awash with billboards and other outdoor advertisements, endangering lives and creating clutter along the roads, including some ceremonial streets.
The report stated that most of such billboards had expired, while others had become weak and dangerous to pedestrians and motorists.
According to the AMA bye-laws on billboard advertisement, “Signs which are located in such a manner as to obscure or otherwise physically interfere with the effectiveness of an official traffic sign, signal or obstruct or physically interfere with drivers’ view of approaching, merging or intersecting traffic are prohibited”.
It states further that “billboards that have become dilapidated or expired with time shall either be replaced or removed by the owner thereof”.
However, these aspects of the AMA bye-laws have been ignored by advertisers due to high demand for brand and brand-promotion in the city.
Commendation
The regional minister commended the association for the report, indicating that getting rid of unauthorised billboards was one of the objectives in the “Let’s Make Accra Work” agenda.
He gave support for the implementation of the law by pulling down poorly maintained and unauthorised billboards along streets in the region.
Before that Mr Quartey had tasked the association to present a data of all advertisers in good standing so that the exercise would not seem like a witch-hunt.
Unsafe street
The Executive Director of the AAG, Mr Francis Dadzie, indicated that the situation had rendered the streets unsafe for both drivers and pedestrians.
He said it had, therefore, become imperative that the laws were implemented to ensure discipline and sanity on the streets.
In that regard, Mr Dadzie said, aside the provision of technical know-how, the association would also support the RCC with the necessary logistics to help in the operation to get rid of all authorised billboards in the region.
“We want to support the minister to make sure that billboards which have become a nuisance in Accra become a thing of the past. We are ready to work with you and provide all the logistics and the technical know-how to make sure we clear all unauthorised billboards from the streets,” he stated.