The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has started a national enforcement campaign to get rid of defective electrical cables that are either imported or made in the nation using questionable methods.
This comes after regular GSA market surveillance operations revealed a concerning rise in the availability of subpar cables.
The GSA and Ghana Police Service will be involved in the operation, which is anticipated to result in the arrest of illicit cable importers and makers and the cessation of their unlawful business practices.
When used to wire buildings, the proliferation of illicit cable increases the risk of household and industrial fires, but its accessibility to the market is decimating the fortunes of legitimate local cable makers.
Additionally, poor cables result in losses for our power suppliers, the Northern Power Distribution Company (NEDCo) and the Electricity Company of Ghana Limited (ECG), as well as having an adverse economic impact on the nation.
market monitoring
The authority conducted market monitoring in 2017 by examining cables for norms and quality.
Only two locally produced brands, out of the 22 that were sampled for laboratory testing, passed the crucial safety requirement test for conductor resistance.
At the time, every cable made locally passed every test.
All three companies, Tropical Cable and Conductors Limited, Reroy Cables, and Nexans Kablemetal Limited, are based in Tema and produce the cables.
At that time, the GSA started publicizing the names of cable brands that had passed important test standards in an effort to inform the public about genuine cables.
The public continues to purchase unauthorized connections since they are frequently less expensive, despite the GSA still publishing the list of permitted cables on its website.
regional producers
Professor Alex Dodoo, the GSA's director general, said in an interview with the Daily Graphic that the organization knew about certain local producers whose goods were not GSA-certified.
Because of this, the GSA is unable to vouch for the safety of these items and has advised the public to steer clear of them.
The GSA has already impounded any imported cables that do not adhere to national requirements and confiscated domestically made cables that lack certification.
The GSA will organize a stakeholder conference next week to emphasize the scope of the issue and bring all producers and importers into compliance in order to safeguard consumers and highlight the risks presented by illicit cables.
Prof. Dodoo continued, "The Ghana Standards Authority will, however, press the harshest available fines on any non-compliant producers and importers in accordance with the Ghana Standards Authority Act, Act 1078 of 2022.
Before making any purchases, the GSA advises all customers to visit the GSA website (www.gsa.gov.gh) and look up the list of authorized electrical cables.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0