The newly sworn-in President of the Advertising and Association of Ghana (AAG), Andrew Ackah, has pledged to prioritise practical mode of teaching to promote the capacity of members.
He said, the changing scope of advertising required that practitioners develop their skills to be able to produce high quality advertisements.
To this end, he has urged educational institutions to also embrace development in the advertising and marketing industries and move away from the theoretical mode of teaching to a practical one.
Mr Ackah was speaking in Accra yesterday during the eighth investiture and swearing-in ceremony of the President and other members of the Executive Council of the AAG.
Other members are Clarence Amoatey, Vice president; Russel Eni, Treasurer; Akua Owusu-Nartey, Alhaji Mukaila Ahmed Akuamoah, Orlando Baeta, Bright Ladzekpo, Nash Fenuku, Kwaku Tweneboa Danso-Misa, Grace Adjo Andoh, Abdul-Aziz Amankwa Joseph Andoh and Sharon Naa Odarley Mills.
The event also provided the platform to reaffirm the oath of the Executive Director, Francis Dadzie.
Mr Ackah further underscored the need for proper human development in the advertising and marketing industry to ensure members comply with standards and regulatory requirement.
As part of the Association’s effort to ensure that people were provided with the right skills and knowledge for the growth of the industry, the AAG had partnered with the University of Professional Studies, Accra to ensure it was achieved.
“Most of our schools do not teach the things we practice in the real world. We need to be able to teach future practitioners the right skills and acumen to be able to thrive in the industry,” he explained.
Mr Ackah called on Ghanaians to join calls for the passage of the advertising bill to ensure that all advertisement in the country were subjected to proper scrutiny before it was publicised.
The bill, he said, would also ensure that all practitioners in the advertising business were licensed to operate to reduce the indiscriminate mounting of billboards.
“In Ghana, all the laws governing advertisements are in the Food and Drugs Authority Act but we need an Act that would look at the entire marketing communication industry and the new digital explosion,” he stated.
The Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, for his part re-echoed his outfit’s willingness to ensure that the Advertising Council Draft Bill was tabled before Parliament for consideration and subsequently passed into law.
He noted that the Bill, if passed, would bring the necessary regulatory backing, standards and framework for the quick advancement of the advertising industry.
He stated that there was a need for the advertising industry and policymakers to collaborate to explore how the government and advertisers could work together to bring about socioeconomic development in the country.
“The real job of policymakers is to facilitate your work in industry and it’s through regular dialogue that policies that make your work easier could be fashioned,” he added.
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, cautioned advertisers against the illegal and indiscriminate siting of billboards in the country, especially in Accra.
He hinted that his office, together with the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), would demolish all illegal and unapproved billboards along the various streets in Accra.
BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS
