Businesses call for G-CAP to be scrapped

The business commu­nity has asked the Ghana Standards Authority to completely cancel the proposed Ghana Conformity As­sessment Programme (G- CAP).

They argue that the G- CAP will increase the cost of imports, which will be passed on to consumers, and cannot achieve its tar­geted aim of clamping down on fake and substan­dard goods imports.

They argue that what G- CAP seeks to achieve are already being done, and only strict enforcement of the current law can clamp down on fake goods, not in­troducing G-CAP.

The businesses making the call are the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG), the Asso­ciation of Ghana Industries (AGI), Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Ghana Automo­bile Dealers Association(GADA), Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), Ghana Shippers Authority, Ghana Pharmaceutical Chamber of Commerce, Private Enterprise Federa­tion (PEF), and Ghana Im­ports and Exporters Association.

"In any case, Ghana ranks higher than all the African countries practicing the G-CAP in terms of re­stricting counterfeit and sub-substandard goods, and what do we stand to gain by going there?" Mr John Awuni, a member of FABAG, said.

According to them, the introduction of G-CAP would only make Ghana less competitive in the ease of doing business, which will further plummet the economy.

To buttress his point, he said Ghana is currently ranked 67th in the world in terms the ease of doing business, far better than countries such as Nigeria, Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda that are implement­ing G-CAP. For example, he said Nigeria, Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda ranked be­tween 125th and 150th in the world, and wondered if that would rather not mar Ghana's ease of doing busi­ness.

Mr Awuni said "G-CAP is time-consuming, problem­atic, expensive and will wipe out the small and medium-scale traders who buy mixed goods from the open market as additional cost will be shifted to them."

He explained that imple­mentation of G-CAP would also be duplicated as they were already using the des­tination inspection regime.

Mr Awuni, who is also the Corporate Affairs Direc­tor of the FINATRADE Group of Companies, rec­ommended to governmant under the Ghana Standards Authority to enforce laws by arresting and prosecuting people engaged in the trade of substandard goods.

He appealed to them to develop "and harmonise standard in the sub-region  conduct research on the levels and kinds of substan­dard goods in the country and improve and strengthen border controls.

Mr Awuni explained that based on export figures for 2013, SGS and BIVAC, which have been appointed by GSA to do the inspec­tion, would make about $90 million a year and give GSA about 20% of the amount.

Mr Kofi Amponsah-Bediako, Head, Public Rela­tions at the Ghana Standards Authority argued that G-CAP would reduce, if not eliminate, fake and substandard goods imports.

He explained that in­specting goods in the coun­try of origin would ensure that fake and substandard goods imports do not enter the country.

The G-CAP, which was proposed to become opera­tional on October 1 this year, had to be suspended on account of teething chal­lenges within stakeholders and the implementation bodies.