Billboards Without Permit To Go Down – Effutu MCE Warns

The Effutu Municipal Assembly would not back down on its resolve to remove any billboard or structure erected in the area without the requisite Outdoor Advertising Permit, Alhaji Kassim Zubairu, the Municipal Chief Executive has noted.

“There are procedures and requirements for obtaining permits to do what is known as outdoor advertising; meaning any advert, billboard, signboard, that is placed outside of your home. These requirements and procedures do not care who you are or where you are from. And the Assembly would not bend the rules in ensuring the right things are done the right way in Effutu”, Alhaji Zubairu noted.

The Effutu MCE explained further that the Assembly would be fair to treat all applications with equity and cooperate with the applicants to get the permit but  any individual or group of persons  who decide to do the wrong things by refusing to apply for permit from the Assembly  would most definitely have their billboards brought down.

The Effutu Municipal Assembly, on September 17,  2024, issued as public statement to explain the rational behind the removal of some unauthorized billboards in the area.

On October 4, 2024, the Assembly issued a second statement on the same matter of removal of billboards without permit.

The second statement reads in full:

The Effutu Municipal Assembly is by this notice informing the general public that there are mandatory Laws that individuals and organizations require before mounting billboards in the public space. 

Pursuant to the Local Government Act 2016 (ACT 936) Section 91 of Land Use and Spatial Planning which states; “A person shall not carry out a physical development in the District except with the prior approval in the form of permit issued by the District Planning Authority.

Section 106 Sub-Section (1) further states that; A person shall obtain a building permit from the District Planning Authority before undertaking the construction of a building or structures or undertaking any other work.

The Effutu Municipal Assembly working within the Law has since 2021 undertaken sensitization programmes in the Media to encourage individuals and organizations to obtain permits before any form of construction works including the erection of billboards at various locations within the Municipality. These have been followed up with periodic operations to remove unauthorized billboards in the area.

The Assembly would be firm in ensuring that the laws that make it obligatory for all physical developments including Bill Boards have permits before they are mounted are enforced.

All Persons and organizations who intend to mount billboards are encouraged to apply through the mandated institution (Municipal Assembly) for permit and that request would be granted in all fairness.

The Effutu Municipal Assembly would like to state without equivocation that it will not back down on its operations at enforcing the Laws of Ghana. In view of that all billboards mounted within its jurisdiction without official permits would be pulled down as has been done in previous years.

ISSUED BY THE PUBLIC RELATIONS UNIT

EFFUTU MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY