Fire Service Warns Against Patronage Of Fake Electrical Products

Ho, Dec. 16, CDA Consult – Alhaji Gibril Nuhu, Second in Command of the Volta Regional Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) at the weekend called on the general public to patronise quality electrical products towards reducing the frequency of electrical fires.

Speaking at a three-day Regional Anti-Counterfeit Electrical Products Exposure Crusade organised by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) in Ho, he noted that inferior electrical cables generated heat and broke insulations, circuit breakers fail to automatically prevent fires, and power regulators also fail to sustain currents.

Alhaji Nuhu said electricity in itself was a hazard that required special attention to operate efficiently yet in a bid to cut costs, consumers often resorted to substandard products and risked electrocutions, damage to products, fires and explosion.

He said an increasing number of fires were being attributed to counterfeited electrical products, adding that products needed to conform to specific standards, such as the threshold of 01-1 Ohms resistance for cables used in electrical distribution systems.

Alhaji Nuhu said the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity could be compromised through the use of inferior products, and advised contractors to educate and ensure the highest standards of quality.

He appealed to consumers to engage the services of accredited professionals towards ensuring standard installations,shun cheap deals, identify and buy authentic materials, and avoid overloading electrical gadgets.

Alhaji Nuhu said research indicated that counterfeit electrical products ranked second after pharmaceuticals, and dealers could evolve into an international crime organization to protect their businesses.

He said fake products had penetrated online retail outlets and stressed on the need for effective collaboration with law enforcement agencies to get them off the markets.

Alhaji Nuhu said GNFS had been mandated to prevent fires through public education and was working on a Legislative Instrument to ensure homes had fire certificates.

He appealed to the public to look out for seals of certification and ensure that the cross sections of cables and insulations were of the required size.

Alhaji Nuhu called for the establishment of product testing facilities for use by the various regulatory bodies in all Regions in the country towards maintaining industry standards, and also recommended the empowerment of standard committees to augment the efforts of regulators.

He further called on the regulatory agencies to intensify the crackdown on illegitimate operatives and asked safety campaigners to cooporate with engineers in that regard.

“Best safety practices must be strictly observed to save people, industry and vegetation from health and accident hazards and for the well-being of society”, he stated.

Mr Francis Ameyibor, Executive Director, CDA Consult said his outfit was collaborating with the Ghana Standards Authority on the sensitization and public education crusade raise the public awareness about the dangers of patronizing fake electrical products.

He said stakeholders in the electrical industry including manufacturers, distributors and consumers had a role to play in eliminating counterfeit electrical products from the market.

Mr Ameyibor explained that the Volta Regional Workshop which is the first of the nationwide campaign against counterfeit electrical products. “We will intensify engagement of major stakeholder on the initiative; the Anti-counterfeiting educational crusade which seeks to help professionals understand the dangers associated with patronizing counterfeit electrical products”.

CDA Consult workshop would cover the ten regional capitals and 150 out of the 216 District capitals.

Mr Ameyibor noted that the crusade and sensitization workshop seeks to increase the level of public information about the dangers of counterfeit electrical products; reduce the ever increasing sale of the products on the Ghanaian markets; save lives and limit the nefarious effects of electrical counterfeiting.

He said CDA Consult is collaborating with public institutions, including the Ghana National Fire Service, Ghana Standards Authority, Electrical Contractors, Electrical Manufacturers, Electrical Shop Owners, Electronic Appliances Dealers, end users, security agencies, and the media in the crusade against the proliferation of counterfeit electric products.

The crusade and workshop is also focusing on equipping public officials with basic information to recognise electrical counterfeit items at first sight.

It also seeks to ensure that officials take stiffer actions against dealers in counterfeit electrical products; and also equip electricians and retailers to be able to distinguish between fake electrical products from genuine ones.

CDA Consult is therefore creating the platform to build the necessary forces against the proliferation of counterfeit electrical products. We are focusing on raising awareness among the public regarding counterfeiting.

“We are creating a platform to expose the public to the main consequence of using cheap counterfeit electrical products – fire outbreaks and/or corporal harms like electrocution, loss of properties, accidents and death.

“The national crusade against the proliferation and use of counterfeit electrical products also aim at discouraging the patronage of counterfeit electrical products and to direct taste towards genuine electrical products,” he said.

Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) provides tailor made development communication tools necessary for operational transformation and translating dreams into achievable goals and equips clients with mechanism for public education on specific issues.

It also provides effective back-up or frontline monitoring and evaluation tools to ensure value for money delivery of projects, whilst providing clients with skills to deliver timely and accurate information on their activities, work, programmes and projects.

CDA Consult also aims at building a responsive working culture for corporate growth through a social process at institutional levels based on dialogue using a broad range of tools and methods.

It also assists client to use continuous and adaptive process of gathering, organising and formulating information and data into argument and to communicate to policy-makers through various interpersonal and mass media communication channels.