The President of Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG), Joel E. Nettey, has revealed that the Advertising Authority Bill has been presented to cabinet for final approval and onward transmission to parliament for consideration and passage.

"It is our sincere believe that this bill will in no small way help bring sanity into our industry as a whole and we look forward to it.

"In the interim, we continue to self-regulate and I call on all members to live and practice the highest standards and ethics in our noble profession.

"It is the surest way to ensure that only true professionals remain within our industry and we effectively weed out the fly-by-night pretenders who give our profession a bad name."

Mr. Nettey who was speaking at the association's annual general meeting in Accra said during the year under review, the association hosted the world of advertising and marketing communications in Accra in a leadership conference under the theme: "Africa Rising - The New Consumer Generation."

According to him, the conference which was officially opened by President John Mahama, was well organised and received rave reviews from the country and beyond.

"As part of his opening address at the conference, President Mahama was committed to see to the passage of the Advertising Authority Bill that has been in the works for some time

International relations

He said the AAG continued with its cooperation with its counterparts in other parts of the world, saying some of its members attended international programmes such as Sign Expo, Dubai Lynx and IAA Conferences.

"More efforts continued in our attempt to link up with our counterparts in South Africa and Nigeria. Indeed even for this year's awards we are hoping to introduce a category that allows foreign entries and we are working with our colleagues in Nigeria to do same for the LAIF Awards to expand the scope of competition," he added.

On the local front, Mr. Nettey said the association continued to share strong relationships with its industry stakeholders such as CIMG, GIBA , media owners, Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), the National Media Commission and the Institute of Public Relations among others.

He added that they are working closely with AGI and the Ministry of Trade and Industry on the promotion of Made-in-Ghana goods.

Outdoor

Mr. Nettey said the National Outdoor Advertising Standards Taskforce has been set up under the auspices of the Ministry of Roads and Highways and the National Road Safety Commission to enforce standards of the placement of billboards.

"As a sequel to that, we have had a series of meetings with the Ghana Highway Authority on removal of dilapidated signs on the Tema-Accra Motorway. The sign has been marked to be relocated voluntary by members after which the national taskforce will move in to do same."