The National Anti-Counterfeit Electrical Products and Electronic Appliances campaign initiated by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) in collaboration with the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) embarked on the campaign in December 2017.

The campaign emanated from the fact that the proliferation of counterfeit electrical goods and products in the country was assuming an alarming proportion and “we are all at risk”.

The Campaign started last year at Ho in the Volta Region between December 14 to 16, 2017, moved to Sunyani, Brong Ahafo Region, April 12 to 14, 2018. Tamale in the Northern Region has been tabled for the next workshop and exhibition.

Mr Kofi Morrison, Managing Director of Safexty International Ghana Limited, said as a service provider to the telecommunications industry, the issues of fake products was of paramount concern and commended CDA Consult for the initiative to lead stakeholders to confront the problem.

“We are joining CDA Consult and other stakeholders to spearhead a public awareness campaign focused on the dangers of counterfeit electrical products that can cause life-threatening disasters and result in lost productivity for customers and legitimate manufacturers,” he said.

Mr Morrison explained that “when good men do nothing, bad men will succeed. Therefore we all as stakeholders dealing in genuine electrical products and electronic appliances must join forces to deal with the emerging threat of counterfeiters.

Mr Francis Ameyibor, Executive Director of CDA Consult, explained that the anti-counterfeit campaign sought to focus on the danger of counterfeit electrical products and electronic appliances, as part of a broader outreach effort across the ten regional capitals and 150 districts in the next three years.

He said CDA Consult’s goal was to educate key audiences about counterfeit electrical products and the dangers they posed as well as their adverse economic impact.Mr Ameyibor said consumers’ played key role in the campaign as they enlightened society about the harmful effect of counterfeit electrical products and electronic appliances. They would also continue to create a culture of general protection against dangerous and defective products.

 He advised consumers to patronise products from established vendors and authorized retailers; exercise caution in online transactions and check for certification marks by scrutinizing labels and packaging.

“You must avoid products that lack any identifying branding label or affiliation; avoid bargains that seem too good to be true; and seek information online about product,” he said.

Mr Ameyibor therefore commended Safexty International Ghana Limited for joining the campaign and called on other partners to contact and join forces with CDA Consult through email: communicate2develop@gmail.com so that collectively they could deal with the canker of fake electrical products and electronic appliances.

Mr Ameyibor said the Board and Management of CDA Consult believed that the platform being created would help reduce the market share of the counterfeiters and inject the highest standards of professionalism, efficiency and respect for people and the environment into the industry.

He acknowledged the contributions of key public institutions, including; the Ghana National Fire Service, Ghana Standards Authority, Ghana Police Service among others, for providing resources persons for the campaign.

The CDA Consult campaign focuses on equipping public officials with basic information to recognise electrical counterfeit items at first sight, ensure that officials take stiffer actions against dealers in counterfeit electrical products, and also to equip electricians and retailers to be able to distinguish between fake electrical products from genuine ones.

The national campaign against the proliferation and use of counterfeit electrical products also aim at discouraging the patronage of counterfeit electrical products and to direct taste towards genuine electrical products.