The Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG) is to embark on an exercise to remove unauthorised billboards in the Accra metropolis.

The exercise, which is in support of an initiative, “Let’s make Accra work” by the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), is to ensure sanity along streets in the metropolis.

Already, the association has earmarked about 140 billboards along some major streets in Accra with a “remove” inscription and has given the owners a two-week ultimatum to take the billboards down or risk legal action.

This was disclosed by the Executive Director of the association, Mr Francis Dadzie, at a press conference in Accra yesterday.

He mentioned targeted areas for the exercise to include Kawukudi, Liberation Road, 37 Intersection, Rawlings Park and the Cathedral Square.

Situation in Accra

The Daily Graphic recently reported on erection of illegal billboards and other outdoor advertisements which were creating clutter along the roads, including some ceremonial streets.

The report indicated that most of such billboards had expired, while others had become weak and dangerous to pedestrians and motorists.

The situation, Mr Dadzie said, had, therefore, rendered some streets in Accra unsafe for both drivers and pedestrians, hence the need to ensure discipline and sanity on the streets.

“We are giving them two weeks to remove them from the sites because they are causing nuisance on the streets. We have already warned you and we won’t take any excuses when we get you,” Mr Dadzie added.

GSA standards

According to standards prescribed by the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), a number of signs to be placed literally on the same side of a road shall be three while the minimum vertical space for each shall be 2.5 metres.

However, he said the prescribed standards had been ignored by some advertisers due to high demand for brand and brand-promotion in the city.

“We have identified many of these billboards that do not conform to the standards and we are going to partner the RCC to ensure that they are taken off the streets,” Mr Dadzie said.

“The assemblies may not have adequate resources and equipment to deal with the situation; that is why they watch on while people do the wrong thing. We must ensure that the right thing is done in Accra so that it can be replicated in other major cities in the country,” he added.

According to Mr Dadzie, the association was supporting the RCC by placing some billboards at vantage centres in the city to promote the initiative.

Aside from that, he said it had also come up with television and radio commercials on the initiative which would soon be aired in the metropolis.