Two-decade-old CIMG bill gets presidential assent

President Akufo-Addo has approved and signed into law, the new Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG) Act.

The presidential assent according to a press release by CIMG, was given on Thursday, August 13, 2020.

This comes after the CIMG Bill was passed in Parliament on June 4, 2020 after nearly two decades of delays.

National President of CIMG, Dr Daniel Kasser Tee in the Institute’s press release expressed gratitude to President Akufo-Addo for the priority given the Bill.

“We welcome this as the best news ever, for the marketing community in Ghana. We have been pursuing this act for about 2 decades, and to think that we got both the Parliamentary approval and Presidential assent, within 8 weeks, is humbling and refreshing. I, on behalf of the Governing Council and entire membership of the Institute, thank H.E. the President of the Republic for making this a reality in his first term of office,”

DR kasser tee

The new law, CIMG Act, 2020 (Act 1021) empowers the Institute to set standards for the practice of marketing and regulate the practice of the marketing profession in the country.

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Dr Kasser Tee, among other promises has assured the president of doubling the Institute’s efforts of localizing examinations to bring relief to the many Ghanaian students who desire to pursue professional marketing courses but are unable to due to the high costs involved.

The localizing of the examinations Dr Kasser Tee also noted, will minimize the demand for hard currencies, especially the Pound Sterling for the payment of examination fees and subscriptions to the United Kingdom, where most professional marketing students currently pursue their studies.

“CIMG has already begun discussions with all Public Universities (both the Traditional and Technical universities) with the aim of forging collaborations and partnerships. In these discussions we intend to make these Universities Tuition Centres for professional marketing examinations and also explore the possibility of fusing the professional marketing courses into the academic programmes of the Universities to enable students acquire dual qualifications (academic degrees and professional certificates) by the time they complete their Bachelors or Masters Degrees, as pertains elsewhere in international markets,”

Dr kasser tee

The Institute per the new CIMG Act, has the following 11 functions:

• Provide training and conduct examinations in accordance with international best practice to improve the skills and competencies of all those working in and aspiring to work in marketing;

• Set the agenda for the practice of marketing;

• Promote the role and value of marketing as a critical tool for business development;

• Support government in the development of policy and regulation of marketing activities;

• Advocate responsible and ethical marketing practice for marketers and businesses in general;

• Conduct innovative marketing research;

• Conduct and provide for the conduct of qualifying examinations for membership;

• Award professional certificates;

• Develop best practice and thought leadership programmes;

• Promote marketing as a leading career path and employment choice for future generations; and

• Perform any other function that is ancillary to the object of the Institute.