Counterfeit electrical products recipe for fire outbreaks

Participants at a workshop held in Sunyani on counterfeit electrical products have called for an all hands approach in discouraging the sale, patronage and use counterfeit electrical products in the country as a result of the direction consequences of the use of such products.

They were of the view that the continuous use of counterfeit electrical products in the country poses a serious danger to lives and property as it remains a major recipe for fire outbreaks in homes, offices and other public places; thereby worsening the plight of the citizenry.

The workshop was organized by Communication for Development and Advocacy (CDA) Consult in collaboration with the Ghana Standards Authority under the theme “Avoid patronage of counterfeit electrical products in Ghana.

It was the second in a series of public engagement platforms being created by CDA consult and strategic stakeholders across the ten regional capitals and 150 district capitals.

In attendance were the media, the Police, Fire Service, Immigration Service Custom, Excise and Preventive Service and dealers of electrical products, among others stakeholders.

The participants expressed grave concern about the proliferation of fake electrical products on the Ghanaian market and called for the intensification of public education on the dangers associated with the use of such products.

In a speech read on his behalf, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, added his voice to the call for a collaborative effort at dealing with the issue.

“I would like to use this platform to entreat all stakeholders, including CDA consult, owners of electrical shops, the Ghana Standards Authority, NCCE, the security services, Municipal/District Assemblies, among others, to come together to join the campaign on avoiding the patronage of counterfeit electrical products”, he said.

The Regional Minister advised the public to be watchful and report any issue of counterfeit electrical products to the appropriate agencies and also “take the pain to scrutinize labels and packaging, and check authentication of electrical products before purchasing.”

He commended the organizers of the programme for taking the initiative to sensitize the public about the dangers associated with the use of counterfeit electrical products, saying “this will go a long way to promote the campaign against the proliferation of counterfeit electrical products in the country. “

The Executive Director of CDA Consult, Francis Ameyibor, stated that his outfit was leading the process to ensure that an anti-counterfeit message was disseminated to the broadest audience across board.

“That’s the reason behind CDA consult collaborating especially with the Ghana Standards Authority and other state institutions in this anti-counterfeiting crusade.”

“We want everyone to know the hazards that counterfeit products present and be aware of why it is so important to partner with strategic stakeholders to deal with the growing problem”, he added.

Dr. Kofi Amponsah-Bediako, Director of Corporate Communications at the Ghana Standards Authority disclosed in a speech read for him that a lot of electrical products on the Ghanaian market failed a test conducted by his outfit in a survey carried out recently.

“Those that failed are dangerous because they failed the critical safety requirements for conductor resistance. For us at the Ghana Standards Authority, such failed cables can cause fire outbreaks. This is so because, sub-standard electrical cables are the major cause of domestic fires in the country.”

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