Govt cracks down on unfair trade - Exercise targets markets, shops

The government has initiated a major crackdown on unfair trade practices, including the use of non-standardised measurements in markets and shops, which has long disadvantaged farmers and traders.  

The non-standardised measurements include bowls for measuring grains and flour known in local parlance as "olonka" or "grawa," and unregulated tomato boxes.

The crackdown follows a directive by President John Mahama for the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry to strengthen trade regulations and ensure fairness in commercial transactions across the country.  

At the opening of a training programme for 350 newly recruited Trading Standards Inspectors (TSIs) in Koforidua last Wednesday, the Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, announced that the President’s directive was part of a broader agenda to industrialise the economy under the 24-Hour Economy policy while protecting consumers and producers.  

President vision

In her keynote address, the minister emphasised that the President had directed the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) to eliminate arbitrary measurements and enforce the use of calibrated weighing scales and certified standardised containers in markets nationwide.  

"Ghana must move away from random and unfair means of trade measurement," the minister said.

Mrs Ofosu-Adjare said the use of ‘olonka,’ ‘grawa,’ and inconsistent tomato boxes eroded the value of farmers’ and traders’ hard work and must stop.

She said the President had also indicated that all aspects of the 24-Hour Economy industrialisation policy must be grounded in strong regulatory and quality assurance systems.

“The training we are launching today is, therefore, not only about skills acquisition; it is about implementing a presidential vision,” the minister said.

She added that “it is about empowering you, our inspectors, to enforce the standards that will safeguard the health of consumers, build trust in local goods, and protect the integrity of our domestic and international trade systems.”

The inspectors, after their training, would be deployed across markets, ports and industrial zones to check fuel pumps, verify weighing scales, inspect hospital equipment and ensure imported goods meet quality standards.

A first batch of inspectors had already been deployed by the GSA, with more recruits expected as the programme expands.

Mrs Ofosu-Adjare explained that the government had targeted to recruit 2,600 inspectors to cover the 16 regions of the country. 

Industrial growth

The minister stressed that standardisation was key to Ghana’s industrial transformation, particularly under the 24-Hour Economy policy, which sought to make the country a competitive export hub.  

"Without strong quality assurance systems, our vision for an industrialised economy will fail," she said.

"These inspectors are not just regulators, they are the vanguards of a new era where Ghanaian products meet global standards,” Mrs Ofosu-Adjare said. 

Enforcement

The two-week training programme, organised by the GSA, is being conducted by the Ghana Police Service at its training school in Koforidua.

It is to equip inspectors with modern techniques for enforcing trade laws, detecting substandard goods and ensuring compliance.

Their law enforcement training is to enable them to effectively ensure that businesses adhere to ethical practices to safeguard the interests of both consumers and enterprises.

Their role is pivotal in upholding fair competition, preventing fraud and maintaining high-quality products and services nationwide.

Backed by law

The Director-General of the GSA, Professor Alex Dodoo, said the inspectors would receive digital tools and enforcement support to carry out their duties effectively.  

He said the inspectors would be trained to ensure that they worked in accordance with the GSA Act, 2022 (Act 1078), which empowered the TSIs to enter premises under Section 44 to carry out their mandate when necessary.

Prof. Dodoo said the TSIs would be the continent's first fully appointed and gazetted inspectors of standards, trained as chartered standards officers and commissioned for the notice of the public.