Dr Jospeh Obeng
Electrical dealers have denied a recent newspaper report which created the impression that all imported electrical cables are fake and substandard and that locally manufactured cables are durable.
The dealers, who registered their displeasure in a press release dated 8th November and signed by Dr Jospeh Obeng, President of the Ghana Electrical Dealers Association, said such reports could be damaging to all businesses which import quality cables into the country.
The association also said that the publication could also raise suspicion about the tendency to use state agencies to destroy other competitors in the cable industry which is unfair and unacceptable.
“We therefore question the truth or validity of the claim by the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) and debunk the assertion that only two electrical cable brands sold on the Ghanaian market met standards and were safe to use. This is because all imported cables are tested by GSA before permits are granted for clearance from the country’s ports.
“It is therefore the duty of GSA to unravel how the substandard cables enter the Ghanaian market.”
The association revealed that most of its members sell quality electrical cables in the country.
“GSA, as a state agency, is empowered by law to conduct post-clearance test and take action as prescribed in the law. Members of GEDA supply about 80 percent of all electrical gadgets used in the country.
“While we acknowledge the fact that some electrical dealers, who may or may not be members of our association, could be contributing to importation of inferior cables, key imports in the power sector such as cables and transformers with their corresponding parts, are sourced internationally.
“We wish to add that test conducted by GSA on electrical equipment imported by our members showed that our products meet both local and international standards and in most cases beat the locally produced cables in all parameters set for testing.”
It said that its members drew the attention of GSA to the existence of substandard cables on the market and that when GSA conducted tests on cables, they were found to be indeed substandard.
“Therefore, we can say with confidence and certainty that the claim by GSA that only two cables are of good quality cannot be true since GEDA distributing members are more than the two importers quality brands.”
By Samuel Boadi