Daily Heritage November 17

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DAILY HERITAGE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2017
Why Chinese labeling on products meant for us?
SOME IMPORTERS appear to be having
a field day because the Ghana Standards
Authority (GSA) is not doing
enough to ensure that bogus products
are not imported into the country.
Though it is the responsibility of the
GSA to impress upon importers to
strictly adhere to standard label requirements
on goods imported into the
country, many products with Chinese labeling
have flooded the market.
Some products have labeling written
in languages that consumers do not understand.
In some cases biscuits and
even medicines have labeling not written
in English but in ‘strange’ languages
that do not make sense to the consumer.
In the case of Ghana, the labeling requirements
are that the product must
have the labeling written in English detailing
the name of the product, dates
of manufacture and expiration, list of
ingredients if it is food or medicine.
Other requirements that importers
must adhere to are storage condition,
instructions or directions for use, name
and address of manufacturer, country
of origin and characteristics of the
goods.
But, there are many products in
many of our stores that have labeling
which are not comprehensible, hence
exposing the consumers to the danger
of taking in unwholesome products.
At a recent training workshop for
journalists on operations at the Port, Mr
Kofi Amponsah- Bediako, Public Relations
Officer of the GSA explained that
labeling serves as protection for consumers
as it provides information to decide
whether to consume a product or
not because some people might be allergic
to some of the ingredients in the
products.
Citing Legislative Instrument (LI)
1541, Mr Amponsah- Bediako warned
importers to desist from conniving with
manufactures to present fake certificate
of conformance or analysis to deceive
the GSA.
He urged importers to register with
the GSA before importing goods into
the country.
The DAILY HERITAGE shares
the sentiments of the GSA and urges
the Authority to go beyond verbal warning
and begin to enforce the law to sanitise
the system.
Currently, there are too many products
on the market that have labeling
that nobody understands. The GSA
must therefore get to work and turn the
tide.
Prez strikes deal
with Emir of Qatar
THE PRESIDENT
of the Republic,
Nana Addo
Dankwa Akufo-
Addo yesterday, as
part of his threeday
official visit to Qatar, paid a
courtesy call on the Emir of
Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad
Al Thani.
The discussions between the
two leaders centred on energy, infrastructural
development, railways
and roads, and, also on the
need to co-operate strategically
for the mutual benefit of the two
countries and their respective
populations.
With the Emir of Qatar set to
visit Ghana from December 27 to
December 29, 2017, he told President
Akufo-Addo that he was interested
in Ghanaian companies
investing in Qatar, and was also
keen on meeting with the Ghanaian
business community during
his visit to the country.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al
Thani indicated that Qatar was
desirous of forging strong partnerships
and relations with coun-
•President Nana Akufo-Addo (L) with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
tries such as Ghana, countries that
are governed in accordance with
the rule of law, respect for individual
liberties and human rights,
and the principles of democratic
accountability.
The Emir of Qatar stressed
the need to rekindle the ancient
ties between Africa and the Gulf
Region, which has weakened in
the course of the last 60 to 70
years.
On his part, President Akufo-
Addo was grateful for the warm
reception and hospitality accorded
him and his delegation since his
arrival to Qatar.
He noted that Ghana, considering
the significant gas resources
available to her, was willing to
learn from Qatar on how the
country has exploited its gas resources
for the development of
the country and the progress of
its people.
President Akufo-Addo was
hopeful that Ghana would have
an Ambassador to Qatar, and
would have established an embassy
in Qatar prior to the visit of
the Emir.
Sheikh Tamim bin
Hamad Al Thani indicated
that Qatar was desirous
of forging strong
partnerships and relations
with countries such
as Ghana, countries that
are governed in accordance
with the rule of
law, respect for individual
liberties and human
rights, and the principles
of democratic accountability.