The Consumer Protection Agency has lashed out at the Food and Drugs Authority FDA for failing to effectively protect consumers.
[contextly_sidebar id=”dvLP3CV7fzVgdNFgTLQi2ohGL41Igii6″]The agency believes consumers are left at the mercy of providers of goods and services, especially during the festive season because the Authority has failed to exert its authority effectively.
Large quantities of unwholesome goods are usually stocked by retailers in shops and in the open market during the festive season.
Speaking on Citi FM’s consumer show Business Today the Executive Director of the Consumer Protection Agency, Kofi Kapito said the authority must step up its efforts.
“When I was a younger person, we had food inspectors in Ghana. So what happened? It’s not something new; we’ve always had them so how come they are not working now? …I am tired of excuses…there are challenges in Ghana, but the question is when are we going to get over the challenges? That’s why we do not develop in Ghana in other jurisdiction; people in authority can tell you precisely that I will stop this thing at a particular date,” he retorted.
The spokesperson for the FDA, James Lartey however disagreed with Mr.Kapito insisting that the Authority is working despite the challenges facing it,
“When you use the word fail, I don’t ever believe the FDA has failed… FDA is doing a lot of work. When you look at our system and they way things go, sometimes some things are difficult, if you say an institution is not working, we are doing our job. There are challenges but despite these challenges, we are doing everything to ensure you are talking about we have a lot of porous borders when these things come in; you count the number of shops in the country. It is more than the number of staff of FDA,” Mr. Lartey said.
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By: Vivian Kai Lokko/citifmonline.com/Ghana