92% of electrical cables in the Ghanaian market are substandard - GSA reveals

Out of the over 204 different samples of electrical cables checked by the Ghana Standard Authority (GSA), a whopping 92% have been declared unsafe for use.

According to GSA more than half of these products, which have been seized, did not meet the standards in terms of safety, elasticity, and durability after a market surveillance.

Director General of the GSA, Professor Alex Dodoo, said at a press conference in Accra today that the findings were “very bad” after different teams were dispatched to the market areas to study the conditions as well as materials used to manufacture the products.

The GSA, in July, conducted swoops across the nation to rid the Ghanaian market of substandard electrical cables and appliances.

The Director stated that the situation where people spend their hard earned money to buy products that did not meet the minimum standards, should not be tolerated, hence the need for the operation.

Prof Alex Dodoo said the action, with help from the police, would be followed by punitive measures such as prosecution, naming and shaming of culprits.



“We went to the market and bought all sorts of products (electrical cables and footwear). The simple story is that the situation is not good. And we wouldn’t say it is not good. It is very bad to the point that it is fair to use the word that it is a crisis situation when most of the products that you pick, things which have impact on safety, on life and death,” he said.

The GSA further disclosed that out of over 125 shoe samples tested, only five passed the required specifications which included the country of origin and labelling but not safety measures.



He cautioned that, aside posing danger and health risk for consumers, the influx of such unwholesome goods and services could deter investors from seeing Ghana as a lucrative business hub.

To consumers he advised, “You can have your cables tested before buying at some testing laboratories in Accra (Opera Square) and Kumasi because at the end of the day no Ghanaian life is worth any amount of profit for any business man or woman.”



With the aim of securing Ghana as an investment destination, the GSA Director General said there will be “zero tolerance” for shoddy goods while appealing to industry players to collaborate with the GSA to ensure that the country maintains a hallmark of standard and quality goods.

Prof Dodoo, however, maintained that the GSA would tighten its operations at the nation’s borders and ports to prevent the entry of substandard goods.