Most billboards erected in Ghana’s municipal and metropolitan areas are unpermitted and put up without the knowledge of local assemblies, according to the President of the Chamber for Local Government, Richard Fiadomor.
Speaking in on Starr News, Fiadomor said unauthorised structures are often installed “at the blind side of the assembly.”
While assemblies have sometimes delayed action because the cost of removal is high, the recent directive from the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs leaves them with no choice but to act.
“The truth of the matter is that many of the billboards which we see within the municipal and metropolitan areas are largely unpermitted. And once a billboard is unpermitted, ideally, what it means is that those billboards are erected at the blind side of the assembly,” he said.
Fiadomor rejected the suggestion that the current enforcement drive is a knee-jerk reaction noting that once a ministerial directive is issued, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) are obliged to comply.
Beyond the immediate inspections and removals ordered by the minister, Fiadomor pointed to long-standing complaints from drivers that poorly sited billboards obscure visibility on the roads.
He said the National Road Safety Authority has previously called for the removal of such structures, but its limited decentralisation has weakened its ability to compel local authorities to act.
“Drivers have been complaining, and the assemblies sometimes have not been proactive enough, I must agree. But now, where we are now, the minister has spoken. I don’t think any MMDA has the luxury of not complying with the minister’s directive,” Fiadomor stated.
He added that the ministerial intervention provides the necessary authority for assemblies to address both illegal billboards and those that, even with permits, fail to meet safety and placement standards.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
