Professor Alex Dodoo, Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), has announced plans to prosecute smugglers of substandard products into the country.
He said the Authority was collaborating with the Ghana Police Service to start swoop on various markets across the country. He further said his outfit was working hand –in- hand with other security agencies like the Immigration Service and Customs to tighten security at the various borders and ports to stop people from smuggling substandard products into the country.
Prof. Dodoo admitted that the Standards Authority was worried about how markets have become damping places for fake products.
Professor Alex Doodo further said the Authority will soon name, shame and prosecute those who smuggle fake products into the country and that it was about time sanity was brought into the system.
He was speaking to the press Monday on strategies the Authority is putting in place to clear substandard products off the market.
“We have about 80% cables on the markets that are substandard. This is a very serious problem that needs to be resolved as early as possible,” he bemoaned.
“In fact, the industry is bleeding and looking at the percentage of GDP, it will be fair to say that our economy will boom if these things are cleared out. If we are able to reduce sub-standards imports, the economy will boom,” Prof Dodoo said.
He said his outfit had introduced a machine that can detect substandard electrical cables on the market. He added that the machine will be cited at Opera Square, Okaishie and some selected areas in Kumasi and Tamale.
Meanwhile, Nana Poku, who is the Greater Accra Regional Secretary of GUTA, said the union was in support of the swift measures the Ghana Standards Authority was putting in place to make sure the Ghanaian market is cleared off substandard products.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com
