The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), says the controversial billboard around the Kantanmanto area, hailing Accra as the “proposed” cleanest city in Africa, has been pulled down.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, the Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Mohammed Adjei Sowah, said the billboard had been pulled down on Wednesday, along with a number of other billboards found to have been mounted illegally.
He explained that, during the 2016 elections and thereafter, unscrupulous people took the chance to mount billboards illegally.
Thus, when he assumed office, he initiated an audit in Accra with the aim of identifying and removing all illegal billboards.
According to Mr. Adjei Sowah, billboards identified as illegal were to be removed from Wednesday.
“…So the billboard in question was pulled down yesterday [Wednesday], and some other billboards too. I am surprised that this billboard that had been mounted for about four weeks and nobody was talking about it, but the very morning we decided to go and remove all illegal and unauthorized billboards, this matter went viral.”
Mr. Adjei Sowah also said the AMA had no idea about who mounted the illegal billboard.
“It is totally illegal. We had no plan about it and I am still looking for the one who mounted it. It is difficult to find the people who mounted it because they are illegal, you don’t know them, they mounted it at midnight with no permit.”
The billboard in question had the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Ishmael Ashitey and Mohammed Adjei Sowah, with the caption “welcome to the proposed cleanest city in Africa.”
Mr. Adjei Sowah said a similar billboard had been removed about three months ago.
Public pressure didn’t force removal
President Nana Akufo-Addo has touted his vision to see Accra become the cleanest city in Africa, but Accra is currently noted as one of the dirtiest cities and this is especially so in the rainy season.
Pictures of the billboard made rounds on social media with Ghanaians criticizing and mocking the AMA, and wondering what thinking had gone into advertising a proposal to make Accra clean.
The billboard also attracted heavy criticism from the media, including the Citi Breakfast Show.
The AMA boss, however insisted that the public pressure did not influence the Assembly’s decision to take down the billboard.
“Once I had established the whereabouts of all illegal billboards to mounted in Accra, I have caused them to be removed and we are going on that exercise… I had seen that bill board and I want to take action against all other billboards that are also illegally mounted in Accra.”
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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana