Ghana Consumer Protection Law- A proposal on the need for a rights-based consumer protection law for Ghana

1. THE CONSUMER
PARTNERSHIP
Working Paper: #10
(GHANA)
consumer education is self‐preservation
TOWARDS A RIGHTS‐BASED
CONSUMER PROTECTION
LAW FOR GHANA
Ghana, while still embarking on the necessary steps towards a new
consumer protection law, cannot presently boast of consumer
protection legislation but rather a number of legislations that deal with
consumer protection issues. The lack of a comprehensive consumer
protection law is often to be blamed on defective national trade policies
that have evolved over the years.
This Working Paper was prepared by Jean Lukaz MIH and was first presented to the US Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) Africa Dialogue in 2010

2. Towards A Rights‐Based Consumer Protection Law for Ghana
THE CONSUMER
PARTNERSHIP
(GHANA)
consumer education is self‐preservation
According to the Ministry of Trade, the Ghana Trade Policy approved by Cabinet in 2004 is set within the context of
Ghana’s long‐term strategic goal of achieving middle‐income status and becoming a leading agro‐industrial country
in Africa. It was designed to provide the Ministry with clear guidelines for implementing Government’s domestic
and international trade agenda as well as ensure a consistent and stable policy environment within which the
private sector can operate with certainty. To ensure that these policy objectives are met through the structured
implementation of policy prescriptions, a detailed implementation blueprint – the Trade Sector Support
Programme (TSSP) ‐ was developed and launched in February 2005. It details out specific activities in 10 thematic
areas (which together contain 27 sub‐projects) to be undertaken annually for the achievement of the policy
prescriptions contained in the Ghana Trade Policy.
The fundamental principle underlying the Trade Policy Is that the private sector is the engine of growth, with
Government providing a trade enabling environment to actively stimulate private sector initiatives. This is to be
achieved through the full spectrum of trade policy instruments across the ten (10) thematic areas that have been
the basis of the Ghana Trade Policy objectives.
The new Ghana consumer protection law is to be based on the Consumer Protection Policy as captured in the
Ghana Trade Policy with the sub‐themes of Consumer Protection, Health and Safety of Consumers, Economic
Interests of Consumers, Access to Adequate Information, Consumption and the Environment, Consumer
Representation, Competition Policy and Government Procurement. Short of a single fundamental objective, the
new consumer law must ensure a fair and transparent market place in which the rights of consumers are
recognized and protected. Protecting consumers’ economic interests is as important as regulation to ensure that
the goods and services are available at a reasonable price and are safe.
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The Right to Basic needs
The Right to Safety
The Right to Information
The Right to Choice
The Right to Representation
The Right to Redress
The Right to Consumer Education
The Right to Healthy Environment
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Ghana being a Third World country, the problems of consumers are more related to the provision of essential
services such as drinking water, sanitation, education and health care, than the market‐related ones. The new
consumer protection law must give special attention to the basic needs of disadvantaged consumers, in both rural
and urban areas, including low‐income consumers, and those with very low levels of literacy. It must clearly spell
out the rights of consumers and the responsibilities of suppliers of goods or services and regulate all aspects of the
purchasing cycle for goods and services, from the advertising or marketing of products, the sale of goods, full
disclosure of product or service information to consumers, the terms and conditions of contracts and after‐sales
services including the respect of guarantees and warranties, refund and return policies. The Ghana Consumer
Protection Law must integrate the universally accepted consumer rights into law by referring, implicitly or
explicitly, to eight specific consumer rights, namely:
http://www.theconsumerpartnership.wordpress.com; http://www.ghanaconsumerwatch.wordpress.com;
http://www.ghanaconsumerwatch.blogspot.com

3. THE CONSUMER
PARTNERSHIP
Towards A Rights‐Based Consumer Protection Law for Ghana
consumer education is self‐preservation
As constitutions of countries have evolved to reflect a citizens’ rights‐based approach, so are consumer protection
laws. The Consumer Protection Law for Ghana must move beyond mere consolidation of scattered sectoral laws
and regulations to crystallizing and reforming consumer rights as enshrined in the various laws of Ghana as well as
fair trading regulations. This will ensure an easily‐accessible, consumer‐friendly, cross‐cutting, rights‐based
approach to the development of a single, comprehensive legal framework for consumer protection. As the review
of existing laws is inevitable considering that there are a number of obsolete consumer protection provisions that
need to reflect modern consumer economics It should not be a mere major review of commercial and fair trade
laws but must make provision for the drafting of new ones. It must cover much ground to the extent of providing
for future innovative business fraud schemes and unfair trade practices.
Many developing countries on the various continents such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Botswana, Uganda, Malawi
and South Africa have moved towards a comprehensive rights‐based approach to their development of legislation
for consumer protection that was guided by the UN Guidelines for consumer protection under the themes of
Physical Safety, Economic Interests, Standards, Essential Goods and Services, Redress, Education and Information,
and Health.
Beyond the establishment of a Consumer Protection Authority and Small Claims Courts, the Ghana Consumer
Protection Law must move for the creation of the necessary institutions to take care of general consumer rights,
product quality and safety and the specialized area of financial services that will all strengthen the Consumer
Protection Regime such as a Consumer Product Safety Commission and a Consumer Financial Protection
Commission.
As consumer groups in Ghana are moving for the new consumer protection law, which they believe will protect
Ghanaian consumers, the Consumer Partnership is of the opinion that given the present environment of lack of
legal enforcement compounded by a lacunae of resources, a new act of law is no guarantee of better consumer
protection although it could be a first step in the process. The Consumer Partnership also believes that some of the
voluntary standards developed by the Ghana Standards Board, such as the Advertising Code must be passed into
law making reference to it as a Legislative Instrument (LI).
Consumer Protection is not a one‐way street and requires consumers to act responsibly as no quantum of
protection can secure irresponsible consumers. Consumer Protection is a process that involves consumers, service
providers, producers and the government in a blend of roles and responsibilities. Thus, a working definition of
Consumer Protection proposed by the Consumer Partnership given this background should include
‘the responsible ethical behaviour of consumers, producers or service providers in the
respective buying and selling of products or services and the effective control of the
marketplace by the government through the enforcement of laws and regulations, the
promotion of standards and the dissemination consumer education.’
Consumers must be aware of their rights and responsibilities
Consumers must be responsible in the exercise of their rights
Consumers must be aware of the ethical consequences of their consumption
Producers and Service Providers must be responsible for the consequences of selling shoddy goods and
services
http://www.theconsumerpartnership.wordpress.com; http://www.ghanaconsumerwatch.wordpress.com;
http://www.ghanaconsumerwatch.blogspot.com
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This presupposes that for consumer protection to exist, prevail, and be effective, the following conditions must be
satisfied:
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(GHANA)

4. Towards A Rights‐Based Consumer Protection Law for Ghana
THE CONSUMER
PARTNERSHIP
(GHANA)
consumer education is self‐preservation
Producers and Service Providers must be ethical in the conduct of their business
Government must regulate the marketplace through policy, laws and regulations
Government must exercise its responsibility of promoting standards, Consumer Education and Consumer
Protection through an Ombudsman and other supporting agencies.
Of critical importance is the essence of Consumer and Business Education as a government responsibility even with
the enactment of a new consumer protection law. Consumers need consumer education to build their capacity to
act as rational and responsible consumers in the market place; Businesspersons need consumer education to build
their capacity to become ethical businesspersons, to serve consumer interest, satisfaction and well‐being for a
profit, rather than to profiteer from them; and Manufacturers need consumer education to build their capacity to
become ethical manufacturers to serve consumer interest, satisfaction and well‐being, also for a profit and not
mislead consumers to profiteer from them.
The actions of educated consumers and responsible businesses are often highly effective in minimising the harm
caused by shoddy services and unsafe products. More importantly, they do so in a way that poses the least
obstacles to business activity and to the ability of consumers to choose the goods and services that they prefer.
Responsible businesses go to considerable lengths to ensure that the products which they market are safe for
consumers and that consumers are provided with sufficient information to use products safely. Many Ghanaian
consumers take for granted that they need to educate themselves about the safety characteristics of the products
which they purchase.
In their own bid to protect themselves, Ghanaian consumers need a set of tools to equip themselves with
knowledge for their own safety. These tools of self‐protection include protecting and optimizing their limited
resources, avoiding product misuse, seeking information on products before buying them, using their buying
power intelligently by patronizing quality goods and services while boycotting fake ones.
http://www.theconsumerpartnership.wordpress.com; http://www.ghanaconsumerwatch.wordpress.com;
http://www.ghanaconsumerwatch.blogspot.com
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Even in those countries where there is an enacted Consumer Protection Law, consumers cannot profess to know
its content in totality. However, just like knowing there is a Police Force that looks out for the violation of criminal
laws that we may not even be aware of, citizens still have the responsibility of protecting themselves from crime
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Consumer advocates in Ghana have often made the mistake of thinking that knowledge of consumer rights and the
enactment of consumer protection laws will provide a safe haven for Ghanaian consumers. In every country in the
world, even in the absence of a consolidated Consumer Protection Law, various statutes in the various sectors of
the economy already contain provisions that are meant to protect the interests of consumers and it is the lack of
legal enforcement that has been the bane of the system. Some of these laws and regulations are the mandates of
various regulatory agencies in the country that are responsible for their enforcement and there are consumer
protection provisions in all of them. Prioritizing consumer protection within their mandate has been the growing
concern of Ghanaian consumers as they find very little being done in this area. Most Ghanaian consumers question
in whose interest some of these government regulatory agencies are working as they believe that these
government agencies are more protective of businesses within their jurisdiction than protecting consumers. This is
buttressed by the fact that government regulatory agencies have not got sub‐offices in the central business
districts and other major markets where most consumer problems persist and are more prominent than their
present head offices that are unreachable to most Ghanaian consumers.

5. Towards A Rights‐Based Consumer Protection Law for Ghana
THE CONSUMER
PARTNERSHIP
(GHANA)
consumer education is self‐preservation
by learning to lock up their property, keeping their homes insured, staying away from infringing on other people’s
freedoms and learning which of their own actions constitute civil wrongs and criminal violations, etc.
Even with the presence of consumer protection organizations, consumers, thus, have a responsibility of learning to
read labels of products to check the ingredients, date of expiry, etc since no organization or law will do so for them
at the point of purchase. Similarly, consumers are to read and understand contracts there are given to sign before
appending their signatures.
© 2011 The Consumer Partnership, Ghana. All rights reserved
The Consumer Partnership‐Ghana [The‐COP]
PMB KD28
Kanda‐Accra
Ghana
Tel: +233 207 198 999; +233 275 315 135; +233 244 736 924; +233 277 736 924
Email: jytlukaz@gmail.com; theconsumerpartnership@gmail.com; etreku@gmail.com
The Consumer Partnership (THE‐COP) is a non‐profit Consumer Protection Promotional Organization with the
aim of promoting Consumer Education, Consumer Participation in the Standardization Process in Ghana and
encouraging Consumer Comparative Shopping.
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http://www.theconsumerpartnership.wordpress.com; http://www.ghanaconsumerwatch.wordpress.com;
http://www.ghanaconsumerwatch.blogspot.com