Ghanaian stand-up comedian, Derick Kobina Bonney, also known as DKB, has expressed disappointment over the constant adjournment of the FDA vs. OSAE suit, which is before the Supreme Court.
A hearing was initially scheduled for November 15. However, the case, which was expected to be presided over by a seven-member panel of judges, was adjourned to January 17.
In a video post making the rounds on social media, DKB, who was reacting after the adjournment, bemoaned the impact of the ban on the livelihoods of celebrities and called for an intervention by the president on the matter.
“The case has been adjourned again to January 17. This is too frustrating. I mean, every time, adjournment. This is too frustrating, to be honest. I want to appeal to the president to get involved. Our livelihoods are being denied,” he said.
He also questioned the motive behind the ban by the FDA and argued that parents have to play a role in the censorship of media consumed by children.
“I mean, we were here. Celebrities were banned for whatever reason. The FDA says that they're trying to protect children from celebrities promoting alcohol. Protect children?
“FDA, do you realise that it's actually the parents that you must admonish to keep their eye on their children? Because if a child decides to drink alcohol, he doesn't need a celebrity to tell him,” he said.
DKB suggested that cautionary videos should be fixed at the end of such ads instead of an outright ban.
“FDA, if you think celebrities are so powerful, how about every advertisement we do, at the last minute of the advert, you demand us to do a video giving a cautionary statement to children to stay away from alcohol because it's for adults,” he suggested.
Background
Mark Darlington Osae, the artist manager of Reggie 'N' Bollie and Skrewfaze, filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame, citing the ban on celebrities endorsing alcohol-related products.
It can be recalled that the FDA prohibited celebrities from endorsing alcoholic products, an act which they deemed inappropriate influence to the youth.
Mark Darlington Osae submitted a writ of summons on November 11, 2022, claiming that the 2015 FDA recommendations are unfair to the creative arts sector.
"No well-known individual or professional may be utilised in advertising for alcoholic beverages; this is against the 1992 Constitution's provisions 17(1) and 17 (2).
“Articles 17(1) and 17 (2) of the 1992 Constitution guarantee quality before the law and prohibit discrimination against persons on grounds of social or economic status, occupation, among others, and consequently null, void, and unenforceable," the FDA guidelines read.
Prior to this lawsuit, a number of celebrities including Camidoh, Brother Sammy, Wendy Shay, Shatta Wale, and Kuami Eugene, spoke against the law and asked that regulations be repealed.
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