GHANA – The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has embarked on a public sensitization at Kumasi Central Business district to educate traders about its mandate and clamp down on uncertified products.
Samuel Kofi Frimpong, Director of the Ghana Standards Authority-Middle Belt, said persons found culpable will either be fined or imprisoned.
“Due to the challenge posed by Ghana’s illiteracy rate, the Authority embarks on sensitization programmes to create more awareness,” he said.
The workers at the regional branch of GSA visited shops including dealers in consumables at the Kejetia market and other trading centres within the business reserve.
They sensitized vendors and buyers to always ensure items they purchase bear a certification mark from the Authority.
The officials of GSA indicated that quite a number of fake goods have entered the market, thus posing danger to the safety of the citizenry.
Mr. Frimpong raised concern over persons at Ghana’s ports of entry who allow yet-to-be certified products to infiltrate the market, according to Joy Online.
“We have people at the port of entry to check products that enter the country. But there is some porosity at these places.
“By law we are mandated to protect the consumer. We are to make sure goods and services meet the standards of the Authority. But when we recently did a market surveillance, we realized a lot of products didn’t bear our mark of conformity,” he said.
Mr. Frimpong said the Authority will swoop on such products on the market, especially at the Kejetia market and make the liable persons face the full wrath of the law.
“L.I. 662 amended by 664 makes it clear that if you’re producing in Ghana through industrial process then you have to go through product certification scheme. So if you should defy the law, we are allowed by the law to arraign you before court where you will be fined or imprisoned or both,” he said.
Earlier in the year, GSA engaged the services of 200 trainees of the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) to help ensure that imported goods and those manufactured in the country meet acceptable standards.
“By law we are mandated to protect the consumer. We are to make sure goods and services meet the standards of the Authority. But when we recently did a market surveillance, we realized a lot of products didn’t bear our mark of conformity.”
NABCO is a Ghanaian initiative to provide jobs to unemployed post-secondary school graduates.
The trainees known as the Trading Standards Officers (TSOs), were recruited to conduct market surveillance and other activities to weed out fake brands and inject sanity in the trading of goods in the country.
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