Business News of Saturday, 27 October 2018

Source: 3news.com

Standards Authority to tag all imported cables from January

Prof. Alex Dodoo, Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority play videoProf. Alex Dodoo, Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority

The Ghana Standards Authority says it would from next year certify all electrical products, especially cables, imported into the country.

The move is among other measures by the Authority to rid the Ghanaian market of fake and dangerous products.

The Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority, Prof. Alex Dodoo conceded the “weakness” on the part of the Authority to ensure that imported cables are certified, assuring that his outfit will “resolve that immediately”.

“Starting from 1st of January 2019, what we are telling Ghanaians is that, we are going to have our mark on every imported cable, everything would be tagged,” Prof. Dodoo told Stephen Anti on TV3’s News@10 Thursday.

Even after companies have been sanctioned and warned from importing substandard cables, he noted, the current “level of impunity was astonishing”.

“They have rather increased their goods and they are selling more,” he said regrettably.

The Director-General maintained that persons who “feel the law can be flouted willingly and there would be no consequences” would be dealt with.

The Ghana Standards Authority has already published names of approved and unapproved products that were found on the market.

Prof. Dodoo asserted that being at the Authority “is not just a job, it is a calling”, stressing that he wants the public to judge them on the output they deliver and not what they just say.



In a related development, the Ghana Standards Authority has impounded a consignment of fake electrical products manufactured by some Chinese nationals.

The products which do not meet the requisite standards were found in a two storey building at Abossey Okai in Accra on Thursday.

The two Chinese nationals 30-year-old Su Lunyou and 48-year-old Chen behind the fake products have been arrested.

Prof. Alex Dodoo told TV3 the products impounded will fill about eight 40-footer containers.

He also said the Authority own investigations have discovered that close to 80 percent of all electrical products are bad, but promised that it would be reduced below 50% within 12 months, and in 24 months it should be 10 percent like in most markets.