By Emmanuel Bamfo 
Chale, if you drive through Accra every day, you know the visual chaos happening on our streets. From the busy stretches of the N1 Highway to the heavy traffic around Kwame Nkrumah Circle, our city skyline is choked with giant frames. Every small space on the road median or footbridge has become prime real estate for random advertising signs mounted overnight.
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) faces heavy pressure from road safety advocates, urban planners, and the Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG) to clear these structures immediately. Stakeholders demand a sustained crackdown on all unauthorized billboards cluttering our capital city. This is not just about making the city look nice for tourists. It is an urgent matter of public safety, driver visibility, and municipal enforcement.
Driving through Accra often feels like navigating a messy commercial catalog. Unregulated advertising frames create serious visual distractions for motorists on high-speed roads. When a driver tries to navigate complex intersections, conflicting signboards easily block traffic signals and clear street directions.
Avoid thin rewrites of wire content padded with generic AI commentary when reading about city safety issues. Real data from the National Road Safety Authority shows that obstructed sightlines significantly increase collision risks at major junctions. Pedestrians also suffer because large iron bases routinely block footpaths and walkways.
During severe coastal storms in the rainy season, these non-compliant structures turn into deadly hazards. Wildcat installers use cheap materials, rusty bolts, and shallow concrete bases to save money. One strong gust of wind can send a top-heavy iron board crashing down on moving cars.
Beyond physical danger, these illegal installations rob the local assembly of municipal revenue. Legitimate advertising agencies pay required fees and operational taxes under the Local Governance Act of 2016 (Act 936). Informal operators pay nothing while exploiting public space, creating unfair competition for law-abiding Ghanaian businesses.
Under local municipal bye-laws, mounting any outdoor structure without formal technical approval from the assembly remains illegal. Proper engineering reviews must check structural weight, wind resistance, and setback distances before installation.
The assembly possesses full legal backing to dismantle unapproved frames, impound structural materials, and fine offending owners. However, sporadic enforcement remains our biggest problem. A two-week cleanup drive is not enough to stop wildcat installers.
The AMA needs continuous corridor patrols, digital mapping, and strict prosecution of repeat offenders in court. Moving toward managed digital LED screens will also minimize clutter while boosting assembly revenue. Keeping Accra safe requires firm, uncompromising enforcement every single day.
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Source: Ghana News Page