A Senior standards officer at the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Mr Charles Kuranchie, has said that consultations were ongoing with stakeholders in the trade industry to reach a consensus on the implementation of the Ghana Conformity Assessment Programme (G-CAP).
According to him, the G-CAP is a policy that would help consumers to get access to standard and quality goods that would not be harmful to their system.
The G-CAP is a new programme that has been introduced by the GSA to check and inspect all imports and exports in the country.
The GSA has appointed a London-based global testing organisation, Interjek, to subject all imports into the country to extensive checks and scrutiny to meet national and international environment and health and safety standards.
Under the programme, chemicals, mechanical materials, furniture and textiles, among other products, would be made to compulsorily undergo the conformity tests, as well as obtain other certification to obtain customs clearance into the country.
Speaking on the sidelines of the World Consumer Rights Day forum in Accra, Mr Kuranchie said the G-CAP would prevent the proliferation of sub-standard goods into the country.
“The G-CAP would prevent the proliferation of sub-standard goods onto the market as well as save Ghana from being used as a dumping ground,” he said.
He said some trade union groups had opposed the idea because they had not completely understood the concept of the G-CAP and its importance, with regard to the health and safety of Ghanaians.
Mr Kuranchie noted that the G-CAP was not a policy that was meant to add additional charges to the cost of operation of traders neither was it a policy for selfish interest.
“Some people have alleged that the G-CAP is a selfish agenda being propagated by the GSA but would benefit both traders and consumers,” he stated.
For her part, the consultant of the Consumer Protection Rights law at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ms Aborchie-Nyahe, said the law had been approved by cabinet and was ready to be implemented.
