The Ministry of Roads and Highways has called on the Advertising Association of Ghana to ensure strict regulation of all outdoor advertisements to protect road infrastructure. It also urged all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to consult the Road Agencies at the regional level before issuing permits for adverts and notices along road corridors. The call follows what the Ministry said was the continuous defacing of road infrastructure with adverts and notices. A statement issued by the Public Relations Unit of the Ministry, on Wednesday, copied to the Ghana News Agency, noted that installation of outdoor advertisement structures such as billboards and signposts was done in the median and intersections of the road network, as well as posting of notices on road signs, traffic signs and traffic controllers. The practice, the Ministry described as unacceptable, stating that, the situation distracted drivers, devalued the road infrastructure and furniture, caused poor aesthetics of the public realm and also misinformed drivers. 'This practice is unacceptable and contravenes provisions of the Ghana Standards Authority's Advertisement-Specification for Outdoor Signs (GS 847:2019) in section 5, sections 11 and 15 of Act 540 and section 188 of LI 2180,' the statement said. It, therefore, urged the Advertising Association of Ghana to 'enforce its code of conduct with respect to the installation of outdoor advertisement structures.' The Ministry also called on the Ghana Police Service to take steps to protect and preserve road infrastructure by enforcing the Legislative Instrument (LI 2180).
Source: Ghana News Agency