The Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs has directed all metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) to identify billboard owners, verify permits and ensure that advertising structures are safely installed at approved locations.
The Minister, Hon. Mahama Ayariga (MP), issued the directive on Thursday, 5 November 2026, at a meeting with the Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG), where the Ministry and the Association signed a joint press statement on billboard enforcement. He said the exercise would help establish who is responsible for each installation and keep roads, pavements and lorry parks safe and accessible.
Assemblies nationwide have until 13 November to submit records of authorised billboards, including the names of permit holders and the approved location of each structure. Under the joint statement, billboard owners and advertising companies in Accra must clearly display their names on their installations by the same date. Unidentified structures may be marked for removal.
On 14 November, the Ministry, the AAG, the assemblies, the Ghana Standards Authority and other stakeholders, accompanied by the media, will inspect selected roads and locations in Accra with a high concentration of billboards. Teams will check ownership, permits, siting and compliance with the Ghana Standards Authority’s billboard installation standard, GS 847:2019 (Second Edition). Enforcement will follow the inspections, with periodic checks in Accra before the exercise is extended to other parts of the country.
Hon. Ayariga stressed that even a billboard with an assembly permit could be removed if it stood at an unapproved site or failed to meet the required standards. He said assemblies would be billed for removing illegal billboards and that recovered metal would be handed over to the Scrap Dealers Association for sale. He urged billboard owners, advertisers and property owners to cooperate and called on the public and the media to help raise awareness of the requirements.
AAG President Andrew Ackah said the Association’s assessment indicated that 40 to 60 per cent of about 10,000 advertising structures identified in Accra fell short of existing requirements. He pledged the Association’s full support and said it would work closely with the Ministry and the assemblies to improve compliance and road safety.
Accra Mayor Michael Kpakpo Allotey pledged to implement the Minister’s directives in full and called on fellow MMDCEs to do the same. He said the Accra Metropolitan Assembly had already begun removing unauthorised billboards and would intensify its checks. Some structures, he said, had been erected at night without the Assembly’s approval.
Hon. Ayariga said the Ministry was also discussing with the AAG whether wider use of electronic billboards could reduce the number of structures at roundabouts and major junctions.
He said the Ministry would work with the Association, the assemblies, the National Road Safety Authority, the Ghana Highway Authority, the Department of Urban Roads and the Ghana Standards Authority to sustain enforcement and ensure that outdoor advertising structures are safely installed and do not obstruct traffic.
