Give urgent attention to Consumer Protection Bill – CSOs to Government

The Consumer Protection Agency (CPA) and CUTS International, an advocacy group, have expressed disappointment with the government's failure to enact the Consumer Protection Bill.Mr. Koffi Capito, Chief Executive Officer of the CPA, told the media at a press conference that the absence of the legislation had left consumers vulnerable to unfair commercial practices.He said that the situation was 'unacceptable, and it must be addressed immediately.''Without the legal framework that a Consumer Protection Law would provide, countless individuals have suffered from substandard goods, deceptive marketing, exploitative pricing, and other forms of unethical business conduct.'Imagine a mother who spends her hard-earned money on what she believes to be safe food for her children, only to find it contaminated, or a retired teacher from Pokukrom who has used part of his pension lump sum to go and buy a 55-inch television (TV), and after some time, the TV stops working and the seller refuses to accept any liabilit y,' Mr. Capito stressed.The process to establish a consumer protection law began in 2005, during the administration of former President John Agyekum Kufuor.Several political parties have included it in their manifestos over the years, but successive administrations have failed to pass it.Mr. Capito said the delay in the passage of the bill had created a substantial gap in the legal system of consumer protection, allowing unscrupulous businesses to exploit consumers.He asked the Ministry of Trade and Industry to meet with stakeholders and expedite the bill's introduction in parliament.Mr. Capito also urged the Members of Parliament to approach the legislation with seriousness, noting that Ghana needed a law that was robust, comprehensive, and enforceable, to protect consumers.He called on the government to provide the needed logistics for the Parliamentary Select Committee to meet and consider the bill in record time.Source: Ghana News Agency