By Jean Lukaz MIH
Ghana, while still embarking on the necessary steps towards a new consumer protection law, cannot presently boast of consumer protection legislation but rather a number of legislations that deal with consumer protection issues. The lack of a comprehensive consumer protection law is often to be blamed on defective national trade policies that have evolved over the years.
According to the Ministry of Trade, the Ghana Trade Policy approved by Cabinet in 2004 is set within the context of Ghana’s long-term strategic goal of achieving middle-income status and becoming a leading agro-industrial country in Africa. It was designed to provide the Ministry with clear guidelines for implementing Government’s domestic and international trade agenda as well as ensure a consistent and stable policy environment within which the private sector can operate with certainty. To ensure that these policy objectives are met through the structured implementation of policy prescriptions, a detailed implementation blueprint – the Trade Sector Support Programme (TSSP) - was developed and launched in February 2005. It details out specific activities in 10 thematic areas (which together contain 27 sub-projects) to be undertaken annually for the achievement of the policy prescriptions contained in the Ghana Trade Policy.
The fundamental principle underlying the Trade Policy Is that the private sector is the engine of growth, with Government providing a trade enabling environment to actively stimulate private sector initiatives. This is to be achieved through the full spectrum of trade policy instruments across the ten (10) thematic areas that have been the basis of the Ghana Trade Policy objectives.
The new Ghana consumer protection law is to be based on the Consumer Protection Policy as captured in the Ghana Trade Policy with the sub-themes of Consumer Protection, Health and Safety of Consumers, Economic Interests of Consumers, Access to Adequate Information, Consumption and the Environment, Consumer Representation, Competition Policy and Government Procurement. Short of a single fundamental objective, the new consumer law must ensure a fair and transparent market place in which the rights of consumers are recognized and protected. Protecting consumers’ economic interests is as important as regulation to ensure that the goods and services are available at a reasonable price and are safe.
Ghana being a Third World country, the problems of consumers are more related to the provision of essential services such as drinking water, sanitation, education and health care, than the market-related ones. The new consumer protection law must give special attention to the basic needs of disadvantaged consumers, in both rural and urban areas, including low-income consumers, and those with very low levels of literacy. It must clearly spell out the rights of consumers and the responsibilities of suppliers of goods or services and regulate all aspects of the purchasing cycle for goods and services, from the advertising or marketing of products, the sale of goods, full disclosure of product or service information to consumers, the terms and conditions of contracts and after-sales services including the respect of guarantees and warranties, refund and return policies. The Ghana Consumer Protection Law must integrate the universally accepted consumer rights into law by referring, implicitly or explicitly, to eight specific consumer rights, namely:
1. The Right to Basic needs
2. The Right to Safety
3. The Right to Information
4. The Right to Choice
5. The Right to Representation
6. The Right to Redress
7. The Right to Consumer Education
8. The Right to Healthy Environment
As constitutions of countries have evolved to reflect a citizens’ rights-based approach, so are consumer protection laws. The Consumer Protection Law for Ghana must move beyond mere consolidation of scattered sectoral laws and regulations to crystallizing and reforming consumer rights as enshrined in the various laws of Ghana as well as fair trading regulations.
This will ensure an easily-accessible, consumer-friendly, cross-cutting, rights-based approach to the development of a single, comprehensive legal framework for consumer protection. As the review of existing laws is inevitable considering that there are a number of obsolete consumer protection provisions that need to reflect modern consumer economics It should not be a mere major review of commercial and fair trade laws but must make provision for the drafting of new ones. It must cover much ground to the extent of providing for future innovative business fraud schemes and unfair trade practices.
Many developing countries on the various continents such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Botswana, Uganda, Malawi and South Africa have moved towards a comprehensive rights-based approach to their development of legislation for consumer protection that was guided by the UN Guidelines for consumer protection under the themes of Physical Safety, Economic Interests, Standards, Essential Goods and Services, Redress, Education and Information, and Health.
Beyond the establishment of a Consumer Protection Authority and Small Claims Courts, the Ghana Consumer Protection Law must move for the creation of the necessary institutions to take care of general consumer rights, product quality and safety and the specialized area of financial services that will all strengthen the Consumer Protection Regime such as a Consumer Product Safety Commission and a Consumer Financial Protection Commission.
As consumer groups in Ghana are moving for the new consumer protection law, which they believe will protect Ghanaian consumers, the Consumer Partnership is of the opinion that given the present environment of lack of legal enforcement compounded by a lacunae of resources, a new act of law is no guarantee of better consumer protection although it could be a first step in the process. The Consumer Partnership also believes that some of the voluntary standards developed by the Ghana Standards Board, such as the Advertising Code must be passed into law making reference to it as a Legislative Instrument (LI).
Consumer Protection is not a one-way street and requires consumers to act responsibly as no quantum of protection can secure irresponsible consumers. Consumer Protection is a process that involves consumers, service providers, producers and the government in a blend of roles and responsibilities. Thus, a working definition of Consumer Protection proposed by the Consumer Partnership given this background should include
‘the responsible ethical behaviour of consumers, producers or service providers in the respective buying and selling of products or services and the effective control of the marketplace by the government through the enforcement of laws and regulations, the promotion of standards and the dissemination consumer education.’
This presupposes that for consumer protection to exist, prevail, and be effective, the following conditions must be satisfied:
1. Consumers must be aware of their rights and responsibilities
2. Consumers must be responsible in the exercise of their rights
3. Consumers must be aware of the ethical consequences of their consumption
4. Producers and Service Providers must be responsible for the consequences of selling shoddy goods and services
5. Producers and Service Providers must be ethical in the conduct of their business
6. Government must regulate the marketplace through policy, laws and regulations
7. Government must exercise its responsibility of promoting standards, Consumer Education and Consumer Protection through an Ombudsman and other supporting agencies.
Of critical importance is the essence of Consumer and Business Education as a government responsibility even with the enactment of a new consumer protection law. Consumers need consumer education to build their capacity to act as rational and responsible consumers in the market place; Businesspersons need consumer education to build their capacity to become ethical businesspersons, to serve consumer interest, satisfaction and well‐being for a profit, rather than to profiteer from them; and Manufacturers need consumer education to build their capacity to become ethical manufacturers to serve consumer interest, satisfaction and well‐being, also for a profit and not mislead consumers to profiteer from them.
The actions of educated consumers and responsible businesses are often highly effective in minimising the harm caused by shoddy services and unsafe products. More importantly, they do so in a way that poses the least obstacles to business activity and to the ability of consumers to choose the goods and services that they prefer.
Responsible businesses go to considerable lengths to ensure that the products which they market are safe for consumers and that consumers are provided with sufficient information to use products safely. Many Ghanaian consumers take for granted that they need to educate themselves about the safety characteristics of the products which they purchase.
In their own bid to protect themselves, Ghanaian consumers need a set of tools to equip themselves with knowledge for their own safety. These tools of self-protection include protecting and optimizing their limited resources, avoiding product misuse, seeking information on products before buying them, using their buying power intelligently by patronizing quality goods and services while boycotting fake ones.
Consumer advocates in Ghana have often made the mistake of thinking that knowledge of consumer rights and the enactment of consumer protection laws will provide a safe haven for Ghanaian consumers. In every country in the world, even in the absence of a consolidated Consumer Protection Law, various statutes in the various sectors of the economy already contain provisions that are meant to protect the interests of consumers and it is the lack of legal enforcement that has been the bane of the system. Some of these laws and regulations are the mandates of various regulatory agencies in the country that are responsible for their enforcement and there are consumer protection provisions in all of them. Prioritizing consumer protection within their mandate has been the growing concern of Ghanaian consumers as they find very little being done in this area. Most Ghanaian consumers question in whose interest some of these government regulatory agencies are working as they believe that these government agencies are more protective of businesses within their jurisdiction than protecting consumers. This is buttressed by the fact that government regulatory agencies have not got sub-offices in the central business districts and other major markets where most consumer problems persist and are more prominent than their present head offices that are unreachable to most Ghanaian consumers.
Even in those countries where there is an enacted Consumer Protection Law, consumers cannot profess to know its content in totality. However, just like knowing there is a Police Force that looks out for the violation of criminal laws that we may not even be aware of, citizens still have the responsibility of protecting themselves from crime by learning to lock up their property, keeping their homes insured, staying away from infringing on other people’s freedoms and learning which of their own actions constitute civil wrongs and criminal violations, etc.
Even with the presence of consumer protection organizations, consumers, thus, have a responsibility of learning to read labels of products to check the ingredients, date of expiry, etc since no organization or law will do so for them at the point of purchase. Similarly, consumers are to read and understand contracts there are given to sign before appending their signatures.
For more information, contact:
The Consumer Partnership-Ghana [The COP]
KDPM 28
Kanda-Accra
Email: jytlukaz-AT-gmail.com, theconsumerpartnership-AT-gmail.com
http://www.ghanaconsumerwatch.wordpress.com
http://www.ghanaconsumerwatch.blogspot.com
http://www.theconsumerpartnership.wordpress.com
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Friday, October 22, 2010
Is Consumer Protection Obama’s New Public Diplomacy Tool?
by Jean Lukaz MIH
Soft as silence, Obama’s Consumer Protection Advocacy has ridden on the waves of the global economic recession and landed on the African Continent, for the past two years, through the Office of International Affairs of the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The African Consumer Protection Dialogue is gaining ground and bringing in its trail big players such as Consumers International (CI) and the World Bank.
This has been part of the FTC’s second year of consumer education outreach to the African continent in its commitment to working towards consumer protection in a global competitive marketplace that knows few boundaries. In a bid to sensitizing consumer protection enforcement agencies in African countries on the need for closer co-operation and a common framework to tackle cross-border fraudulent and deceptive commercial practices, the FTC seems to be laying the groundwork for enhanced international co-operation on a larger number of consumer protection issues in Africa.
As most of existing national laws and enforcement systems designed to address fraudulent and deceptive commercial practices against consumers were developed at a time when such practices were predominantly domestic, and such laws and systems are therefore not always adequate to address the emerging problem of cross-border fraudulent and deceptive commercial practices, the Office of International Affairs of the FTC is working with competition and consumer protection agencies in Africa to promote cooperation and convergence toward best practices and is also actively assisting developing countries in their transition to market-based economies and their development of competition and consumer protection agencies. The FTC also aims at helping current regulatory environment for consumer protection to be consolidated from the fractured array of national agencies and regulatory authorities from the example of the recent move of the US in the establishment of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CPFA).
After haggling with African governments with the attendance of Consumers International (CI), the global consumer lobby, the FTC is now globe-trotting from one African country to another gathering consumer protection groups and government regulatory agencies alike in a consultative technical assistance that seeks to persuade African governments adapt the successes of the FTC institutional and legal framework to the African setting.
It appears that the promotion of consumer protection has finally become one of the tools of Obama’s public diplomacy efforts. With the increasing penetration and influence of the Chinese in Africa, it seems that the only way the root out the Asian menace is to cripple the shoddy products that used to be the hallmark of the rogue trade of the awakening giant through co-operation.
In the light of present developments some Africans are quite strongly behind China with her easily accessible credit and technology transfer with softer ties. Quoting Makwaia wa Kuhenga, [The Citizen, Tanzania]: ‘The propaganda against China most often than not is as if China is poised to grab vast swathes of land in Africa to meet this Asian country’s “hunger” for raw materials and energy! But the real worry of those projecting China in this manner with the intent to scare African countries is that the owners of these multinational media agencies are wary that Africa may diversify its trade relations in favour of China, thus ditching Africa’s former colonial powers.’
Third World consumers as well as poor consumers in advanced countries have always been at the vulnerable end of rogue trade as a pitiful result of trade liberalization. Poverty has turned out to be the very nemesis of poor consumers faced with a libidinal bargain hunt for the cheapest offers and multiple choices between various degrees of both locally produced and imported shoddy and hazardous products. In the absence of affordable options and the right to affordable choice, poor consumers only exercise their will and purchasing power in an act of faith with the ‘audacity of hope’ that by chance they shall get value for their money. ‘But compared to the former colonial powers in Africa who seem to sustain an exploitative relationship in Africa via subtle means, it would appear the Chinese want to hand Africa - not free fish already cooked on the table - but hand us fishing nets to go and fish ourselves in the sea; true to their ancient adage and tradition. What are we ready to accept: fishing nets or mosquito nets?’, says Makwaia wa Kuhenga.
On a balance, the stance of the US in relation to China is highlighted be Nye as he says ‘If America treats China as an enemy today, it will ensure future enmity. While we cannot be sure how China will evolve, it makes no sense to foreclose the prospect of a better future. America’s current policy combines economic integration with a hedge against future uncertainty… But, while such hedging is natural in world politics, modesty is important for both sides. If the overall climate is one of distrust, what looks like a hedge to one side can look like a threat to the other’. International relations in the 21st century is no longer exclusive, and there is neither a cold war expectation that countries align to a dominant power as it used to be. Or maybe Africa is presently riding the Non-Alignment Trade Bandwagon and cannot be bothered by hidden agendas as long as the continent gets the support she needs, irrespective of the source?
Soft as silence, Obama’s Consumer Protection Advocacy has ridden on the waves of the global economic recession and landed on the African Continent, for the past two years, through the Office of International Affairs of the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The African Consumer Protection Dialogue is gaining ground and bringing in its trail big players such as Consumers International (CI) and the World Bank.
This has been part of the FTC’s second year of consumer education outreach to the African continent in its commitment to working towards consumer protection in a global competitive marketplace that knows few boundaries. In a bid to sensitizing consumer protection enforcement agencies in African countries on the need for closer co-operation and a common framework to tackle cross-border fraudulent and deceptive commercial practices, the FTC seems to be laying the groundwork for enhanced international co-operation on a larger number of consumer protection issues in Africa.
As most of existing national laws and enforcement systems designed to address fraudulent and deceptive commercial practices against consumers were developed at a time when such practices were predominantly domestic, and such laws and systems are therefore not always adequate to address the emerging problem of cross-border fraudulent and deceptive commercial practices, the Office of International Affairs of the FTC is working with competition and consumer protection agencies in Africa to promote cooperation and convergence toward best practices and is also actively assisting developing countries in their transition to market-based economies and their development of competition and consumer protection agencies. The FTC also aims at helping current regulatory environment for consumer protection to be consolidated from the fractured array of national agencies and regulatory authorities from the example of the recent move of the US in the establishment of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CPFA).
After haggling with African governments with the attendance of Consumers International (CI), the global consumer lobby, the FTC is now globe-trotting from one African country to another gathering consumer protection groups and government regulatory agencies alike in a consultative technical assistance that seeks to persuade African governments adapt the successes of the FTC institutional and legal framework to the African setting.
It appears that the promotion of consumer protection has finally become one of the tools of Obama’s public diplomacy efforts. With the increasing penetration and influence of the Chinese in Africa, it seems that the only way the root out the Asian menace is to cripple the shoddy products that used to be the hallmark of the rogue trade of the awakening giant through co-operation.
In the light of present developments some Africans are quite strongly behind China with her easily accessible credit and technology transfer with softer ties. Quoting Makwaia wa Kuhenga, [The Citizen, Tanzania]: ‘The propaganda against China most often than not is as if China is poised to grab vast swathes of land in Africa to meet this Asian country’s “hunger” for raw materials and energy! But the real worry of those projecting China in this manner with the intent to scare African countries is that the owners of these multinational media agencies are wary that Africa may diversify its trade relations in favour of China, thus ditching Africa’s former colonial powers.’
Third World consumers as well as poor consumers in advanced countries have always been at the vulnerable end of rogue trade as a pitiful result of trade liberalization. Poverty has turned out to be the very nemesis of poor consumers faced with a libidinal bargain hunt for the cheapest offers and multiple choices between various degrees of both locally produced and imported shoddy and hazardous products. In the absence of affordable options and the right to affordable choice, poor consumers only exercise their will and purchasing power in an act of faith with the ‘audacity of hope’ that by chance they shall get value for their money. ‘But compared to the former colonial powers in Africa who seem to sustain an exploitative relationship in Africa via subtle means, it would appear the Chinese want to hand Africa - not free fish already cooked on the table - but hand us fishing nets to go and fish ourselves in the sea; true to their ancient adage and tradition. What are we ready to accept: fishing nets or mosquito nets?’, says Makwaia wa Kuhenga.
On a balance, the stance of the US in relation to China is highlighted be Nye as he says ‘If America treats China as an enemy today, it will ensure future enmity. While we cannot be sure how China will evolve, it makes no sense to foreclose the prospect of a better future. America’s current policy combines economic integration with a hedge against future uncertainty… But, while such hedging is natural in world politics, modesty is important for both sides. If the overall climate is one of distrust, what looks like a hedge to one side can look like a threat to the other’. International relations in the 21st century is no longer exclusive, and there is neither a cold war expectation that countries align to a dominant power as it used to be. Or maybe Africa is presently riding the Non-Alignment Trade Bandwagon and cannot be bothered by hidden agendas as long as the continent gets the support she needs, irrespective of the source?
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Obama’s Long Arm of Consumer Protection Reaches out to Ghana
By Jean Lukaz MIH
A delegation from the Council for International Consumer Protection of the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) met with the Consumer lobby in Accra-Ghana under the auspices of the Ministry of Trade and Industry on Wednesday to deliberate on ways of leveraging the institutional strength of the FTC in establishing enforcement mechanisms to protect Ghanaian consumers.
This was part of the FTC’s second year of consumer education outreach to the African continent in their commitment to working towards consumer protection in a global competitive marketplace that knows few boundaries.
In a workshop themed ‘Empowering Consumers through Education’, the FTC delegates Deon Woods Bell and Shaundra L. Watson delivered presentations with Ghanaian counterparts on key topics that included common consumer protection challenges in the legal frameworks of both Ghana and the US, financial practices, internet fraud, consumer education tools, and dispute resolution and redress mechanisms.
According to Ms Bell, the principal, but not the only, consumer protection agency at the federal level is the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC works alone, but in concert with other federal agencies, to administer a wide variety of consumer protection laws. The overall goal is to afford consumers a deception-free marketplace and provide the highest-quality products at competitive prices.
Representatives of consumer protection organizations such as the Consumer Partnership (The COP) was in attendance and offered useful suggestions on how to adopt and implement the lessons learned from the FTC cases and consolidate the Consumer Protection Bill in terms of content and the institutional setup of the proposed Consumer Protection Authority (CPA) that will function as a parallel of the FTC. Other consumer NGOs present were Consumers Association of Ghana, Consumer Protection Agency and Consumer Services Association.
Discussing the legal authority of the FTC, Ms Watson indicated that the organisation has enforcement and administrative abilities and has two main goals of protecting consumers by preventing fraud, deception, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and of maintaining competition by preventing anticompetitive business practices. She added that under the FTC Act, the FTC can make victimized consumers whole through restitution and punish wrongdoers through disgorgement of ill-gotten gains. The FTC seeks these remedies when it can objectively determine a clear violation of a law and reasonably calculate the damages payment. The FTC does not have the power to bring criminal charges. Any such federal cases in the consumer protection area would be brought in federal courts by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Office of International Affairs of the FTC works with competition and consumer protection agencies around the world to promote cooperation and convergence toward best practices and also actively assists developing countries in their transition to market-based economies and their development of competition and consumer protection agencies.
Updating the audience on the status of the Consumer Protection Policy and the long-awaited Consumer Protection Bill, Mr. Ben Peasah, a Director at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, intimated that the Policy is before Cabinet pending approval after which the next steps towards a consultative development of the Bill can commence.
Participants were drawn from various Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) such as Bank of Ghana, Ghana Police Service, Customs Excise and Preventive Services (CEPS), Ghana Law Reform Commission, Judicial Service, Ghana Standards Board (GSB) and Food and Drugs Board (FDB) among others.
A delegation from the Council for International Consumer Protection of the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) met with the Consumer lobby in Accra-Ghana under the auspices of the Ministry of Trade and Industry on Wednesday to deliberate on ways of leveraging the institutional strength of the FTC in establishing enforcement mechanisms to protect Ghanaian consumers.
This was part of the FTC’s second year of consumer education outreach to the African continent in their commitment to working towards consumer protection in a global competitive marketplace that knows few boundaries.
In a workshop themed ‘Empowering Consumers through Education’, the FTC delegates Deon Woods Bell and Shaundra L. Watson delivered presentations with Ghanaian counterparts on key topics that included common consumer protection challenges in the legal frameworks of both Ghana and the US, financial practices, internet fraud, consumer education tools, and dispute resolution and redress mechanisms.
According to Ms Bell, the principal, but not the only, consumer protection agency at the federal level is the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC works alone, but in concert with other federal agencies, to administer a wide variety of consumer protection laws. The overall goal is to afford consumers a deception-free marketplace and provide the highest-quality products at competitive prices.
Representatives of consumer protection organizations such as the Consumer Partnership (The COP) was in attendance and offered useful suggestions on how to adopt and implement the lessons learned from the FTC cases and consolidate the Consumer Protection Bill in terms of content and the institutional setup of the proposed Consumer Protection Authority (CPA) that will function as a parallel of the FTC. Other consumer NGOs present were Consumers Association of Ghana, Consumer Protection Agency and Consumer Services Association.
Discussing the legal authority of the FTC, Ms Watson indicated that the organisation has enforcement and administrative abilities and has two main goals of protecting consumers by preventing fraud, deception, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and of maintaining competition by preventing anticompetitive business practices. She added that under the FTC Act, the FTC can make victimized consumers whole through restitution and punish wrongdoers through disgorgement of ill-gotten gains. The FTC seeks these remedies when it can objectively determine a clear violation of a law and reasonably calculate the damages payment. The FTC does not have the power to bring criminal charges. Any such federal cases in the consumer protection area would be brought in federal courts by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Office of International Affairs of the FTC works with competition and consumer protection agencies around the world to promote cooperation and convergence toward best practices and also actively assists developing countries in their transition to market-based economies and their development of competition and consumer protection agencies.
Updating the audience on the status of the Consumer Protection Policy and the long-awaited Consumer Protection Bill, Mr. Ben Peasah, a Director at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, intimated that the Policy is before Cabinet pending approval after which the next steps towards a consultative development of the Bill can commence.
Participants were drawn from various Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) such as Bank of Ghana, Ghana Police Service, Customs Excise and Preventive Services (CEPS), Ghana Law Reform Commission, Judicial Service, Ghana Standards Board (GSB) and Food and Drugs Board (FDB) among others.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
PURCing the Ghanaian Consumer- A Comedy of Public Utilities
Jean Lukaz MIH, The Consumer Partnership-Ghana
Pronouncing verdicts may be an easy task for the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), but PURCing the Ghanaian Consumer with oversize tariffs and with very little expectations other than promises from the monopolies of an electricity cartel and an Aqua-something-Vitens is not amusing.
Concocted Households?
By way of what is believed to be a ‘social tariff’ or government subsidy we are being made to believe that poorer consumers are protected. As if by design the average Ghanaian household since creation consumes within the 0-50 bracket, popularly referred to as the "lifeline" as well as rural consumers who hardly have electricity and worst of all have their meters physically removed by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for their inability to pay for their ‘lifelines’, the PURC may be the first to relieve itself of erratic and unsatisfactory utility supplies. Let’s see if the PURC on its new premises can afford and survive on pre-paid meters with their queuing subventions from a Government that constantly has over-outstanding and overdue utility bills that encourage utility service providers to underperform.
Monopolies versus Rights to Basic Needs and to Choice
The consumer right to satisfaction of basic needs includes the right to water and electricity. The first priority of all governments should be to make safe, affordable drinking and wastewater services as well as electricity available to all consumers and subsidies should be concentrated on poor consumers. The Consumer Partnership (The COP) believes that being monopolies for the sake of social good have created comfort zones for utility providers, thereby enabling them to muffle Ghanaian consumers from their right to choice. Unconscionable in their nature and existence by not warranting Ghanaian consumers an alternative other than the devil and the deep blue sea, we can only have to look over the fence to see one of the biggest oil suppliers with one of the highest per capita generator use in the world, a signature of unguaranteed promises and false expectations. Who owns what may not be the pre-eminent issue, but consumer protection is. This should be the guiding principle behind the regulation of utilities.
Price
Price controls should continue as long as public utility providers remain monopolistic. Price controls should take into account profit levels and rate of return on capital. The rate of return should be little more than is necessary for an industry to attract the necessary capital for investment. Increases in prices should be mitigated by reductions in non-payment and waste. Raising the proportion of consumers, both industrial and domestic, who pay their bills, would result in significant increases in revenue and reduce the pressure to raise tariffs. It would also be fairer than raising tariffs while significant numbers of consumers continue to avoid payment.
Coverage
The dilemma of who bears the investment cost of infrastructure extension is rendered less acute by efficiency gains. It is important to understand what costs are included in determining tariffs, and whether cost alone is the sole determinant of price. It is also important to understand the relationship between the price consumers pay and the true cost of running the utility as loading the cost onto present or new consumers can create unfair burdens. An important issue arises here as Ghanaian consumers believe they are bearing the cost of the inefficiency of utility service providers. The utility may also find it difficult to keep prices down if some large consumers, for instance government offices, do not pay their bills as is the case in Ghana.
False Expectations
Hoping to milk Ghanaian consumers in the short run to acquire some equipment of a kind may sound persuasive to gullible consumers whilst offering clear timelines for delivery of a purported improved service may be verboten and belated. For those that are asking Ghanaian consumers to consult President Obama for a dose of ‘Audacity of Hope’ from some West African Gas pipelines that have been overflowing with hot air, and a justification from a Jubilee anniversary platform that is yet to see the light of day, should rather consult their horoscope to see better times next year.
Big Ears, Small Voice
Safarying the country and PURCing the Ghanaian consumer in the guise of public hearings for what seemed to work in the interest of utility service providers, the mockumentary of ‘A Comedy of Public Utilities’ has finally been rolled out and PURC is definitely having a laugh as they can only hear themselves. Consumer Education (CE) roundtables have been elevated to high tables in star-rated hotel conference rooms where all classes of consumers, including rural utility consumers, play Ghostbusters. In fact, Ghanaian consumers hate rating the credibility of PURC, so please do not ask.
www.ghanaconsumerwatch.blogspot.com
www.ghanaconsumerwatch.wordpress.com
www.theconsumerpartnership.wordpress.com
Pronouncing verdicts may be an easy task for the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), but PURCing the Ghanaian Consumer with oversize tariffs and with very little expectations other than promises from the monopolies of an electricity cartel and an Aqua-something-Vitens is not amusing.
Concocted Households?
By way of what is believed to be a ‘social tariff’ or government subsidy we are being made to believe that poorer consumers are protected. As if by design the average Ghanaian household since creation consumes within the 0-50 bracket, popularly referred to as the "lifeline" as well as rural consumers who hardly have electricity and worst of all have their meters physically removed by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for their inability to pay for their ‘lifelines’, the PURC may be the first to relieve itself of erratic and unsatisfactory utility supplies. Let’s see if the PURC on its new premises can afford and survive on pre-paid meters with their queuing subventions from a Government that constantly has over-outstanding and overdue utility bills that encourage utility service providers to underperform.
Monopolies versus Rights to Basic Needs and to Choice
The consumer right to satisfaction of basic needs includes the right to water and electricity. The first priority of all governments should be to make safe, affordable drinking and wastewater services as well as electricity available to all consumers and subsidies should be concentrated on poor consumers. The Consumer Partnership (The COP) believes that being monopolies for the sake of social good have created comfort zones for utility providers, thereby enabling them to muffle Ghanaian consumers from their right to choice. Unconscionable in their nature and existence by not warranting Ghanaian consumers an alternative other than the devil and the deep blue sea, we can only have to look over the fence to see one of the biggest oil suppliers with one of the highest per capita generator use in the world, a signature of unguaranteed promises and false expectations. Who owns what may not be the pre-eminent issue, but consumer protection is. This should be the guiding principle behind the regulation of utilities.
Price
Price controls should continue as long as public utility providers remain monopolistic. Price controls should take into account profit levels and rate of return on capital. The rate of return should be little more than is necessary for an industry to attract the necessary capital for investment. Increases in prices should be mitigated by reductions in non-payment and waste. Raising the proportion of consumers, both industrial and domestic, who pay their bills, would result in significant increases in revenue and reduce the pressure to raise tariffs. It would also be fairer than raising tariffs while significant numbers of consumers continue to avoid payment.
Coverage
The dilemma of who bears the investment cost of infrastructure extension is rendered less acute by efficiency gains. It is important to understand what costs are included in determining tariffs, and whether cost alone is the sole determinant of price. It is also important to understand the relationship between the price consumers pay and the true cost of running the utility as loading the cost onto present or new consumers can create unfair burdens. An important issue arises here as Ghanaian consumers believe they are bearing the cost of the inefficiency of utility service providers. The utility may also find it difficult to keep prices down if some large consumers, for instance government offices, do not pay their bills as is the case in Ghana.
False Expectations
Hoping to milk Ghanaian consumers in the short run to acquire some equipment of a kind may sound persuasive to gullible consumers whilst offering clear timelines for delivery of a purported improved service may be verboten and belated. For those that are asking Ghanaian consumers to consult President Obama for a dose of ‘Audacity of Hope’ from some West African Gas pipelines that have been overflowing with hot air, and a justification from a Jubilee anniversary platform that is yet to see the light of day, should rather consult their horoscope to see better times next year.
Big Ears, Small Voice
Safarying the country and PURCing the Ghanaian consumer in the guise of public hearings for what seemed to work in the interest of utility service providers, the mockumentary of ‘A Comedy of Public Utilities’ has finally been rolled out and PURC is definitely having a laugh as they can only hear themselves. Consumer Education (CE) roundtables have been elevated to high tables in star-rated hotel conference rooms where all classes of consumers, including rural utility consumers, play Ghostbusters. In fact, Ghanaian consumers hate rating the credibility of PURC, so please do not ask.
www.ghanaconsumerwatch.blogspot.com
www.ghanaconsumerwatch.wordpress.com
www.theconsumerpartnership.wordpress.com
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Consumers represent Ghana at Global Social Responsibility Confab
Copenhagen, May 18, 2010. The Consumer Partnership-Ghana- Proceedings of the 8th Plenary of the evolving International Guidance Standard on Social Responsibility (SR), ISO 26000, opened on Monday 15th May in Copenhagen with Ghana represented by Jean Lukaz, a consumer representative from The Consumer Partnership-Ghana. Ghana’s participation was facilitated by the Ghana Standards Board (GSB), which is the official representative of Ghana at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and ISO.
In January 2005, a Working Group was established within ISO, to develop an International Standard providing guidelines for Social Responsibility (SR). The objective was to produce a guidance document, written in plain language that is understandable and usable by non-specialists, and not a specification document intended for third party certification.
Relating the ISO 26000 guidance standard to the Ghana Business code Mr Lukaz commented that ISO 26000 covers more ground including consumer issues than the Ghana Business code, which is based in its entirety on the UN Global Compact.
Social responsibility has been dealt with extensively in the document to cover the seven core subjects of organizational governance, human rights, labour practices, the environment, fair operating practices, consumer issues, and community involvement and development.
Speaking on the relevance of the development of the guidance standard on SR, Jean Lukaz said, ‘the final document is intended to add value to, and not replace, existing inter-governmental agreements with relevance to social responsibility, such as the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and those adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and that the standard should be usable for organizations of all sizes, in countries at every stage of development.’
He added that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has grown beyond traditional corporate philanthropy and sponsorships, and that it is about time industry in Ghana developed a strategic and integrated approach to CSR. Mr Lukaz emphasized that it would be more relevant for Ghana Club 100 to be using reporting on [C]SR in company annual reports as a criteria for selection.
At GSB a National Mirror Committee was formed comprising 6 key stakeholders from industry, government, labour, consumers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and service, support, research and others (SSRO) as required by ISO.
According to Jean Lukaz, Ghana’s participation in the final stage of the development of the guidance standard on Social Responsibility demonstrates the country’s commitment to creating an enabling business environment where not only the businesses are required to act responsibly but also consumers, communities, labour, civil society and government.
ISO 26000 will provide harmonized, globally relevant guidance based on international consensus among expert representatives of the main stakeholder groups and so encourage the implementation of social responsibility worldwide. The guidance in ISO 26000 draws on best practice developed by existing public and private sector SR initiatives and is intended to be useful to organizations large and small in both these sectors.
www.ghanaconsumerwatch.blogspot.com
www.ghanaconsumerwatch.wordpress.com
www.theconsumerpartnership.wordpress.com
In January 2005, a Working Group was established within ISO, to develop an International Standard providing guidelines for Social Responsibility (SR). The objective was to produce a guidance document, written in plain language that is understandable and usable by non-specialists, and not a specification document intended for third party certification.
Relating the ISO 26000 guidance standard to the Ghana Business code Mr Lukaz commented that ISO 26000 covers more ground including consumer issues than the Ghana Business code, which is based in its entirety on the UN Global Compact.
Social responsibility has been dealt with extensively in the document to cover the seven core subjects of organizational governance, human rights, labour practices, the environment, fair operating practices, consumer issues, and community involvement and development.
Speaking on the relevance of the development of the guidance standard on SR, Jean Lukaz said, ‘the final document is intended to add value to, and not replace, existing inter-governmental agreements with relevance to social responsibility, such as the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and those adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and that the standard should be usable for organizations of all sizes, in countries at every stage of development.’
He added that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has grown beyond traditional corporate philanthropy and sponsorships, and that it is about time industry in Ghana developed a strategic and integrated approach to CSR. Mr Lukaz emphasized that it would be more relevant for Ghana Club 100 to be using reporting on [C]SR in company annual reports as a criteria for selection.
At GSB a National Mirror Committee was formed comprising 6 key stakeholders from industry, government, labour, consumers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and service, support, research and others (SSRO) as required by ISO.
According to Jean Lukaz, Ghana’s participation in the final stage of the development of the guidance standard on Social Responsibility demonstrates the country’s commitment to creating an enabling business environment where not only the businesses are required to act responsibly but also consumers, communities, labour, civil society and government.
ISO 26000 will provide harmonized, globally relevant guidance based on international consensus among expert representatives of the main stakeholder groups and so encourage the implementation of social responsibility worldwide. The guidance in ISO 26000 draws on best practice developed by existing public and private sector SR initiatives and is intended to be useful to organizations large and small in both these sectors.
www.ghanaconsumerwatch.blogspot.com
www.ghanaconsumerwatch.wordpress.com
www.theconsumerpartnership.wordpress.com
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Alata Samina: Soap or Drug?
By Jean Lukaz MIH
Reviews of certain local products by the Consumer Partnership (The COP) on the Ghanaian markets reveal a certain level of uncertainty regarding their classifications. This is particularly the case of plant-based products that are sometimes erroneously referred to as herbal products but actually have no herbal basis for that description after they lose their herbal properties after being processed. It is even more complicated when the labelling of such products contain claims as to their potency in treating certain medical conditions.
Alata samina has been the worst offender so far with many that have been exported to the US rejected and returned on the basis that Alata Samina is a drug and not soap based on the claims on the labels, and therefore the need to certify them in Ghana as drugs.
Even some of the ‘improved’ versions of Alata Samina have the pharmaceutical plus sign on the labels and many are questionning to what extent some of these claims can be considered deceptive, given the local acceptance of Alata Samina as having medicinal properties.
Expert opinion from the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) indicate that Alata Samina can neither be referred to as ‘Herbal Soap’ as the initial herbal ingredients lose their herbal properties after the processing and the final product is just ordinary local soap that can neither be considered medicinal by technical standards, otherwise it has to be proven so and certified as a drug by the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) too.
www.ghanaconsumerwatch.blogspot.com
www.ghanaconsumerwatch.wordpress.com
www.theconsumerpartnership.wordpress.com
Reviews of certain local products by the Consumer Partnership (The COP) on the Ghanaian markets reveal a certain level of uncertainty regarding their classifications. This is particularly the case of plant-based products that are sometimes erroneously referred to as herbal products but actually have no herbal basis for that description after they lose their herbal properties after being processed. It is even more complicated when the labelling of such products contain claims as to their potency in treating certain medical conditions.
Alata samina has been the worst offender so far with many that have been exported to the US rejected and returned on the basis that Alata Samina is a drug and not soap based on the claims on the labels, and therefore the need to certify them in Ghana as drugs.
Even some of the ‘improved’ versions of Alata Samina have the pharmaceutical plus sign on the labels and many are questionning to what extent some of these claims can be considered deceptive, given the local acceptance of Alata Samina as having medicinal properties.
Expert opinion from the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) indicate that Alata Samina can neither be referred to as ‘Herbal Soap’ as the initial herbal ingredients lose their herbal properties after the processing and the final product is just ordinary local soap that can neither be considered medicinal by technical standards, otherwise it has to be proven so and certified as a drug by the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) too.
www.ghanaconsumerwatch.blogspot.com
www.ghanaconsumerwatch.wordpress.com
www.theconsumerpartnership.wordpress.com
Black Plastic, the Devil and Consumer Issues
By Jean Lukaz MIH
At a recent consumer meeting of The Consumer Partnership (The COP), issues were raised concerning the colour black being used in the production of plastic bags, bowls, buckets, etc and their implications as to the quality of the materials used and also issues not necessarilly technical but regarding the spiritual connotations of the colour black. It must be noted that black plastics are usually the product of recycled waste and by implication all black plasticware must not be used for food storage, food production, food transfer or food consumption.
Black plastic bags in Ghana are usually referred to as “Ewiase ye sum” meaning ‘It’s a dark world’ and connoting all that is concealed by the colour black and by implication inside the bag.
Technically, test reports from the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) indicate that the testing laboratory automatically does not check for the quality of black platic bags, black plastic bowls, black plastic buckets and black plastic waste bins [now being used by Ghanaian consumers to store water] in relation to their use for food for human consumption unless the description of the product categorically indicates that they are going to be used for food storage, food preparation, food transfer or food consumption purposes. This is because they are by default not meant to be used for food purposes.
What then happens to consumer misuse as is the prevalent situation in Ghana? You guess!
Black plastic cutlery and plates have been discovered in some of the so called high class stores such as Koala at Osu and even National Security has picked up on the emerging issue of the Black Plastic Menace in Ghana made in China and Ghana being sold in these shops. It is even worse in the open marketplaces where the majority of illiterate and ignorant Ghanaian consumers patronise these products to the risk of their health and safety.
Some factories in the Accra industrial area are being reported to be recycling plastic from e-waste, car batteries and other toxic components in the manufacture of these black plastic cutlery, plates, bowls, buckets and bins/water containers and concealing the pigmentation with black dyes.
Expert opinion from the GSB also refers to the use of other colours apart from black in dyeing toxic recycled plastics. The dangers are worse when hot food is kept in these placticware as it catalyses the migration of toxins from the plasticware into the food that has the likelihood of causing cancer.
…And what has black plasticware got to do with the devil? You decide!
Are we safe?
www.ghanaconsumerwatch.blogspot.com
www.ghanaconsumerwatch.wordpress.com
www.theconsumerpartnership.wordpress.com
At a recent consumer meeting of The Consumer Partnership (The COP), issues were raised concerning the colour black being used in the production of plastic bags, bowls, buckets, etc and their implications as to the quality of the materials used and also issues not necessarilly technical but regarding the spiritual connotations of the colour black. It must be noted that black plastics are usually the product of recycled waste and by implication all black plasticware must not be used for food storage, food production, food transfer or food consumption.
Black plastic bags in Ghana are usually referred to as “Ewiase ye sum” meaning ‘It’s a dark world’ and connoting all that is concealed by the colour black and by implication inside the bag.
Technically, test reports from the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) indicate that the testing laboratory automatically does not check for the quality of black platic bags, black plastic bowls, black plastic buckets and black plastic waste bins [now being used by Ghanaian consumers to store water] in relation to their use for food for human consumption unless the description of the product categorically indicates that they are going to be used for food storage, food preparation, food transfer or food consumption purposes. This is because they are by default not meant to be used for food purposes.
What then happens to consumer misuse as is the prevalent situation in Ghana? You guess!
Black plastic cutlery and plates have been discovered in some of the so called high class stores such as Koala at Osu and even National Security has picked up on the emerging issue of the Black Plastic Menace in Ghana made in China and Ghana being sold in these shops. It is even worse in the open marketplaces where the majority of illiterate and ignorant Ghanaian consumers patronise these products to the risk of their health and safety.
Some factories in the Accra industrial area are being reported to be recycling plastic from e-waste, car batteries and other toxic components in the manufacture of these black plastic cutlery, plates, bowls, buckets and bins/water containers and concealing the pigmentation with black dyes.
Expert opinion from the GSB also refers to the use of other colours apart from black in dyeing toxic recycled plastics. The dangers are worse when hot food is kept in these placticware as it catalyses the migration of toxins from the plasticware into the food that has the likelihood of causing cancer.
…And what has black plasticware got to do with the devil? You decide!
Are we safe?
www.ghanaconsumerwatch.blogspot.com
www.ghanaconsumerwatch.wordpress.com
www.theconsumerpartnership.wordpress.com
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