Mohammed Adjei Sowah, Mayor of Accra.
The attempt by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to rid the city of unauthorized billboards has incurred the wrath of advertisers.
According to them, although they have the required documents and permits from the AMA to put up the billboards, the city authorities are unlawfully targeting them.
The aggrieved advertisers suspect foul play in the removal of advertisements, accusing the AMA of using rival companies to carry out the exercise on a very odd day (Sunday) when most people were resting or in the church worshipping God.
In a Rambo style, an AMA advert removal taskforce uprooted billboards along some major streets of the metropolis.
The advertisers also raised issues regarding the manner in which the exercise was being undertaken by the AMA, in collaboration with the Advertisers’ Association of Ghana (AAG).
According to them, there was no formal notice, which they claim was unusual as the AMA, on previous occasions, gave ample time to stakeholders like traders to vacate the streets.
“Even if they have defaulted, there was no prior notice to the advertisers whose details you have. Secondly, competitors are being used to destroy our billboards to free up prime locations,” an aggrieved advertiser said.
He said advertisers’ billboards had been disfigured by the demolition team, claiming it was a huge financial loss to them.
The advertisers have, therefore, called on the assembly to ensure due diligence in the exercise, which they said is ‘laudable’ but expected the city authorities to sit down with them as major stakeholders before the demolition commences.
It would be recalled that the AMA and the AAG last Sunday undertook an exercise to bring what they called ‘sanity’ to the city.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah, had said during the exercise that the assembly was concerned about banners, posters and billboards scattered in the city
When contacted via telephone, the executive director of the AAG, Francis Dadzie, directed DAILY GUIDE to speak to the mayor but attempts to get him (mayor) to respond to the concerns raised proved futile.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri