GSA Clarifies Recent Media Reportage On Sub-Standards Cables

Prof Alex Dodoo, the Director General, Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), said recent media reportage on sub-standard cables in the country, had given an impression, which might not be necessarily true.

At a Press Conference in Accra, Prof Dodoo said, the GSA had brought all stakeholders together to discuss what had happened and the way forward.

He said the Authority in collaboration with other stakeholders would continue to protect consumers from dealers of substandard cables.

The Director General said published literature showed that between 40 to 80 per cent of cables being sold on the market across most developing countries - Africa and Asia were of substandard; adding that "that is a fact".

Prof Dodoo said it was like a high proportion of cables circulating on the market were not known, adding, "the good thing is that the collaboration between the GSA, the importers association, the local manufacturers in Ghana and the cable dealers association is stronger than we actually thought and we have resolved to do a few things," he said.

"We cannot let it be business as usual, we take Ghanaians serious and we take the business of government seriously. We cannot let our people buy things which do not give value for mone and also damaging our property," he added.

He said GSA had decided in collaboration with the cable importers association, the cable dealers and the local manufacturers associations (Ghana Electrical Dealers Association), to put certain measures in place to protect consumers.

The measures include; registering all sellers and importers of electrical cables; with their names on the website of the GSA.

He said consumers were being advised that a genuine cable at the minimum would have certain marks; stating that "it doesn't mean that all with those marks are necessarily genuine, but those without the marks, please don't even look at them. They cannot be genuine," he stated.

Prof Dodoo noted that by putting the names of those whose products had being registered on their website, the GSA was accepting a liability for the products, they had certified for.

The Executive Director said as a result, the GSA would intensify its market surveillance, and if they find anything on the market which does not meet standards, the public would be informed about it, adding that, "bad products are like bad air, which affects everyone,”.

He appealed to the public to inform the GSA on any suspected bad product seen in the market as their doors were opened to every citizen.

Mr Joseph Obeng, the President of the Electrical Dealers Association told the GNA that stakeholders had acknowledged the problem of fake cables in the system, which was not good for the public or manufacturers. ”Most imported cables have been tested by the GSA and there is no cause for alarm," he added.

He said: “As stakeholders in the cable business, we have also agreed with the GSA to publish the names of all tested cables, so that the public could be aware and choose, whatever they wanted.

Mr Obeng said the dealers were committed to collaborating with the GSA in attaining quality standards in the cable industry.

Mr Clifford Frimpong, the GSA Director of Testing took the stakeholders and the media through a presentation on the finding of the Authority on cables in the market that were tested.