Johannesburg - The Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa - which dates its history back to 1968 - has been placed in business rescue.
This is according to a statement issued by the authority on Tuesday, in which it says its board took the decision to go into voluntary Business Rescue on October 18. It did not indicate the extent of its financial woes.
The Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa is a self-regulatory independent body, established by the marketing, communications and media industries, and is mandated by those members to regulate against unfair and misleading advertising which could compromise consumers and impact unfairly on competitors.
In the statement, the authority says it is going into business rescue in accordance with provision in the Companies Act to allow time for it to be restructured, while reviewing and rebuilding its funding model.
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“The ASA performs a fundamental public service by self-regulating advertising in South Africa. The implementation of a business rescue plan ensures that the public will continue enjoying protection from untrustworthy advertising material while we work on implementing a new funding model,” says chairman Nkwenkwe Nkomo.
Nkomo explains ASA is supported by government and the marketing, advertising and media industries as a relevant organisation.
“The ASA has applied for recognition as an Ombudsman under the National Consumer Protection Act. The business rescue process is, therefore, an ideal opportunity to overhaul the operations of the ASA toward its imminent Ombud status. Once accredited, the ASA will be recognised in both law and jurisdiction.
“This will allow it make findings/rulings on all deceptive and misleading advertising claims thereby protecting consumers and raising standards of good conduct within the industry.”
The Business Rescue practitioner will be engaging with all relevant affected parties and will also inform the process of restructuring the organisation.
IOL