Take greater personal responsibility to verify products before purchase — Ghanaians told
The Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) has urged consumers to take greater personal responsibility for verifying the quality and safety of products before making purchases, warning that reliance solely on regulators and manufacturers is contributing to the circulation of counterfeit, substandard and expired goods on the Ghanaian market.
Executive Director of CDA Consult, Mr Francis Ameyibor, made the call during a media engagement in Tema on Monday as the organisation launched a nationwide consumer empowerment and protection campaign dubbed “The Trust Economy: Verify Before You Buy.”
According to Mr Ameyibor, shoppers can broadly be categorised into responsible and irresponsible consumers, with the distinction lying not in their income or level of education but in their approach to product safety and quality.
“The responsible consumers take personal responsibility for their actions in the shop. They verify the information on the products to be sure of the quality and are not persuaded by price tags only,” he said.
He explained that irresponsible consumers, on the other hand, tend to assume that products displayed on shelves are automatically safe because they have passed through manufacturers, retailers or regulators.
“While the irresponsible customers transfer their responsibility for safety and quality to a third party—regulators and manufacturers. They assume if it is on the shelf, it must be safe,” Mr Ameyibor said.
He warned that such assumptions were helping to sustain the circulation of unsafe products and imposing significant costs on the economy through health complications, equipment damage and lost productivity.
Campaign Targets Consumers Nationwide
The “Trust Economy: Verify Before You Buy” campaign seeks to promote a culture of verification and strengthen trust among consumers, traders and regulators.
CDA Consult said the initiative would encourage consumers to verify information about product quality, standards, expiry dates and certification before making purchasing decisions.
Particular attention would be given to checking Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) standard marks and Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) registration and certification.
The first phase of the campaign will cover all 16 regional capitals and 60 district capitals through public education, market engagements and media advocacy.
The organisation said it would work with consumer educators, market queens, shop owners and other stakeholders while using local radio and television platforms to communicate the campaign’s message in local languages.
Consumers Urged to Verify Products
Mr Ameyibor said responsible consumption could have significant economic benefits by protecting consumers while encouraging manufacturers, importers and retailers to comply with quality standards.
“When consumers buy cheap, substandard electrical cables and they cause fires, it is the state that pays. When expired medicines or fake food products cause ill health, productivity drops, and the National Health Insurance Scheme is burdened,” he said.
He added that responsible purchasing decisions could protect consumers’ finances, health, homes and businesses while creating a more level playing field for legitimate businesses.
Mr Ameyibor urged consumers to develop five key habits: checking manufacturing and expiry dates, looking for GSA standard marks and FDA registration, examining labels for country of origin and importer information, inspecting packaging for signs of tampering or poor printing, and demanding receipts and warranties.
“Verification Is No Longer Optional”
The CDA Consult Executive Director said consumer verification should become a routine part of purchasing rather than an optional practice.
“Let us work together and shift from passive consumption to active verification—Verify Before You Buy—and help build a safer marketplace for everyone; don’t just pay for goods, check and check again before you hand over the cash or press that send button,” he said.
He described verification as a core consumer competency comparable to literacy and financial management, requiring consumers to authenticate, validate, secure and report suspicious products or transactions.
Mr Ameyibor further argued that the Trust Economy concept was not merely a moral appeal but an economic strategy capable of strengthening industries, empowering consumers, supporting regulators and law enforcement, and making it more difficult for fraudsters to operate.
“For consumers, verification reduces financial loss, health hazards from fake pharmaceuticals and electronics, and time wasted on disputes; for legitimate businesses, it creates a competitive advantage based on quality and reputation, not on who can imitate the fastest,” he said.
“For governments and platforms, it lowers enforcement costs and increases tax compliance and market data integrity,” he added.
Call for Stakeholder Support
Mr Ameyibor called on traders’ associations, manufacturers, retailers, investors, regulators, development partners and the general public to support the campaign.
He said consumer protection could not be achieved by regulators alone because authorities could not monitor every market stall, shop or transaction.
“Verification cannot succeed as a solo act; it requires coordinated action,” he stressed.
He said a strong culture of verification would help demonstrate to international investors that Ghana has a mature, transparent and low-risk market while encouraging young entrepreneurs to build businesses around integrity and quality.
Mr Ameyibor also appealed for financial and logistical support to enable CDA Consult to expand the campaign across regions, districts, markets, shops and other commercial sectors.
CDA Consult has been conducting public education on counterfeit goods since 2017 through workshops, exhibitions and media engagements.
The organisation said the latest campaign seeks to build on those efforts by making consumer verification a central part of Ghana’s marketplace culture.