The Ghana Standard Authority (GSA), has embarked on an inspection
exercise to Makola and surrounding markets to clear off substandard
textiles from the market as part of its mandate to provide quality
assurance.
Some shop attendants and owners upon seeing the GSA enforcement team,
locked up their shops and took to their heels before the team could get
to them.
The Authority, also faced some level of resistance from the traders,
who started chanting protest songs after the Authority took samples of
some suspected textiles for laboratory test and closed some three shops.
While some of the traders gave excuses for selling substandard
textiles, others insist their textiles were not inferior although they
had locked their shops to prevent the team from carrying out the
inspections.
For instance, Madam Efia Therezah, popularly known as ‘Mama Thez,’
said government should ensure constant supply of Ghanaian textiles such
as the GTP and others to discourage the influx of the foreign
substandard ones.
She said the closure of the textile shops would not help, saying the
only remedy was to ensure that the local textiles were sold at
affordable prices.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr George Kojo Anti,
Business Development Manager at the GSA, said the Authority, upon
gathering intelligence and verifying the influx of fake textiles on the
Ghanaian market, decided to carry out the activity to clear them off the
market.
He said there were reports from some members of the public that a
number of imported textiles on the market did come through the approved
routes and hence the Authority could not attest to its authenticity.
He said the Authority was committed to ensuring that the public did not consume substandard products.
Mr Anti expressed shock at the rate at which the shops were closed by
the traders, when brisk business was ongoing and noted that the traders
who did not close their shops deal in high quality and certified
products.
He said the Authority was not there to stifle business growth but to
facilitate trade and protect consumers from consuming substandard
products at the peril of their lives.
