Advertising Association push for expedited action on Advertising Bill
By Daniel NONOR, Accra
The Advertising Association of Ghana has renewed its call on the government to expedite action in passing the Advertising Council Draft Bill, designed to regulate and sanitize the advertising industry in the country.
When passed into law, it would establish the Advertising Council of Ghana as the official government body charged with regulating advertising, registering practitioners in the industry, and licensing advertising companies.
The Bill further defines what activities constitute advertising and sets out a Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics which all practitioners are required to observe in the conduct of their business.
However, the Bill has been before parliament since 2010 and is yet to receive the necessary attention, leaving the industry largely unregulated.
Executive Director of the Advertising Association of Ghana, Mr. Isaac Kudjoe, told The New Finder that over the period, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Information had been “graciously” pushing for the Bill to be passed but said there needs to be more urgency in passing the Bill in order to fully harness the potential of the sector for socio-economic development.
“We are hoping that this parliament will pass it. It is something we want passed because the bill would help us regulate the sector and cut out unscrupulous people who have entered without being regulated.
“The bill is more practitioner-focused as to who is an advertiser and who qualifies to be in the industry so that we don’t have charlatans overriding and dominating the industry.”
He explained, for instance, that countries such as Nigeria and Kenya where the regulations are in place are making great strides, helping to shape and advance the marketing communications Industry in these countries.
“If you check the marketing communications industry in these countries, there is professionalism, there is sanity and you would see how well they are doing; so we need that in Ghana.”
President of the Association, Mr. Andrew Ackah, who spoke to a section of the media at the end of a three-day training program for advertising agencies and agencies in Accra, also underscored the importance of the Bill in enforcing proper standards of advertising practice and improving the quality of practice in the sector.
“We are calling on parliamentarians and all other bodies involved that when the Bill comes to the floor of parliament they should please make sure that they put in all the support for us to get this out. It is something that the country needs.”
The three-day Training program by the Association brought together 70 participants from different advertising agencies and institutions who were taken through sessions that equip them with practical resources to advance their profession.
He thanked the participants for their thoughtful engagement and challenged the Association to design other modules to enhance the set skills of industry players.
He urged the participants to endeavor to put their learning to use and be resourceful in enhancing the quality of the industry.
