The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) is deploying 264 additional trading standards inspectors to intensify nationwide market surveillance and prevent substandard goods from reaching consumers during the Christmas shopping season.
The new officers, scheduled to be commissioned on December 3, have undergone training and received the necessary equipment and technology to support market intelligence, product inspections and enforcement activities.
Deputy Director-General of the GSA, Samuel Abdulai, said the expanded inspectorate would strengthen the Authority’s capacity to identify and remove inferior products from markets across the country.
“On 3rd December, we’ll be commissioning a third batch of such officers we have recruited, which is 264 officers,” he said.
He explained that the Authority was seeking to extend its enforcement activities beyond Accra to ensure that products sold across the country meet the required standards.
“It’s GSA’s aim that we weed out substandard goods or inferior goods not only in the capital but throughout the country,” Mr Abdulai added.
The enforcement drive will also cover the country’s borders, where GSA inspectors are collaborating with other security agencies to prevent non-compliant products from entering the domestic market.
“We have our inspectors who work with other security services to ensure that substandard goods are not brought into this country,” he said.
The deployment comes ahead of the festive season, when consumer spending typically increases, raising the need for intensified market surveillance and product safety checks.
The GSA said its regional offices, expanded inspectorate and collaboration with security agencies would strengthen compliance with national standards and protect consumers from unsafe and inferior products.
