News:
July 8, 2010
The Advertising Association of Ghana and the Advertising Board have petitioned Parliament to help call to order the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, (AMA) which they accuse of unreasonably increasing advertising rates.
In a four-paged petition presented to the Joint Committee on Communications and Local Government, the two bodies prayed the joint committee to ask the AMA to suspend what it called “a purported increment in their annual rates charged for advertising bill boards and signage by about 600 percent over and above that of 2009.”
The Executive Director of the Advertising Association of Ghana, Francis Dadzie in an interview with Citi News said the AMA is over billing them.
He revealed that they have petitioned AMA to reduce the increment but to avail. He added that a 20% increment would be favourable to them.
“We have written to the Mayor and they are not calling us, we have written to the public relations and complaints commission of the AMA and they have not invited us what else should we do, the people are threatening to go and destroy our properties”.
“We are looking to about 20% increase because that is what everybody is doing.We are looking at inflation and general economic trends so that people can survive…Parliament is an independent body, they would listen to us objectively. Unfortunately the chief executive doesn’t understand our business because he does not allow the professionals who have been there to educate him”. Mr Dadzie said.
Meanwhile, the Joint Committee has served notice that it would summon AMA boss, Mr. Alfred Vanderpuye, to appear before it to explain the basis for the recent rate increases.
Hon Felix Twumasi Appiah, Chairman of the Communications Committee of Parliament told Citi News that they intervene if they do not a better explanation from the AMA boss.
“We are hoping to invite the AMA boss here to explain the mathematics of his equations here, probably he may be right. They may need money to develop Accra. If he is able to convince us his explanations may stand, otherwise we