Government has announced it is preparing to introduce new and stricter rules for the advertising space in Ghana, the Information Minister has said.
The new bill to be presented to Parliament next year will seek to protect children from obscene materials in adverts as well as alcohol and tobacco.
It will also check how billboards are sited Mustapha Hamid disclosed.
Speaking at the 11th Gong Gong Awards night in Accra Saturday, the Minister said work has already begun on the new Advertising Bill.
“People react to what they consume on radio and TV so therefore if we are putting an advertisement on their mediums and it is negative, antisocial, does not promote the country’s cultural and social models, it makes it dangerous to our development.
“We [government] are determined that in 2018, we will take the Advertising Bill to Parliament to get it passed into law to regulate the Advertising industry to regulate the advertising industry,” he said.
There has been growing concerns about the nature of advertisement on radio and TV for some time now.
Some people have complained about the proliferation of some alcoholic, local herbs and other product’s advertisement on radio and TV, arguing that some of the content is sexually suggestive.
Also, the nature and siting of billboards in town has been an issue with some reported cases of the outdoor advertising billboards falling off, injuring and maiming people and destroying properties.
Mr Hamid believes the new law will consciencitise industry players to be circumspect with what they put out there.
According to Mr Hamid, the time of advertisement will also be checked so that content that is not meant for children, for instance, will be regulated. “Once an advertising law is passed it does not matter one’s membership as it will apply to everyone,” Mr Hamid said.
The AAG Gong Gong Awards is the flagship industry event for the Advertising Industry in Ghana and has established benchmarks for excellence for practitioners.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
