Postal and courier services operators who have not obtained permits concerning the branding of vehicles by next year, would be arrested and prosecuted, says Head of Development Planning Unit of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Mr Richard Kwame Oduro.
He warned that the Assembly won't compromise on the enforcement of laws and has deployed major security units at vantage points for that.
Mr Oduro said that operators would pay 50 per cent to that of the annual branding fee as a penalty should they fail to obtain their permit.
The Head of the Unit was addressing some stakeholders in Accra yesterday on the theme, "Advancing E-Commerce through an Efficient and Effective Postal and Courier Sector- The Role of The Stakeholder".
He stated that these outdoor advertisement services and car branding served as an internal revenue for the assembly.
Mr Oduro, therefore, advised the stakeholders to apply to the assembly, informing their advertisement intentions together with the specifications and where they would like to advertise at.
"When the location is found to be appropriate, then the assembly will write to you indicating its approval and the fee involved in the process," he added.
In outlining the procedures involved, Mr Oduro noted that the fees varied depending on certain factors the indicators would use.
"Mounting a billboard at Tetteh Quarshie could attract a higher fee than a similar one at Jamestown," he said.
He said that the assembly had slightly reviewed the rates of car branding as compared to that of last year. Currently, the rates of big buses, mini buses and saloon cars are now GH¢ 918, GH¢ 765 and GH¢510 respectively.
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Concerning motorbike operators such as Bolt, Glovo and others, Mr Oduro mentioned that their process was quite different than that of the car branding but simpler.
"They should come to the assembly with their registration details to be captured in the system, then we give them a license to operate within the city of Accra," he ordered.
He further explained that if a company had a fleet of bikes then they would need to register each bike. The fee payment is between GH¢10 and GH¢20.
Mr Oduro also tasked the stakeholders to get a copy of the fee-fixing resolution which did not only include the payment of fees but taxes and tolls as well.
A representative from the Data Protection Commission, Mr Akrobeto, also stated that plans were far advanced to prosecute operators who had not register under the commission.
"People always say that we bark and never bite. Next year will be a different story for those who haven't registered under the commission and do not have a trained Data Protection Supervisor," he added.
The Annual General Meeting was attended by some government agencies who interacted with the stakeholders as well as representatives from GIZ and other courier associations.
