The Concerned Second Hand Dealers Association of Ghana (CSHDAG) has called on the Energy Commission to reconsider its intention to ban the importation of second hand electrical appliances into the country.
According to the group, its activities were not posing any form of threat to the country, but rather created jobs for thousands of Ghanaians.
The Energy Commission recently hinted that it would soon embark on an exercise to tackle the importation of second hand electrical appliances, also known as home used products, as Ghana was gradually becoming a dumping site for electronic waste.
However, addressing a press conference in Accra yesterday to raise concerns about the implications the ban could have on dealers when effected, President of CSHDAG, Mr Daniel Asante, said leaders of the Ghana Union of Traders (GUTA) were recently invited by the Commission to deliberate on issues bothering on their businesses but it ended inconclusively.
He explained that despite the assurance from the Energy Commission that members would be invited again to conclude on the matters discussed, “we did not hear from them again but rather heard news going round that they were planning to stop our activities.”
He stated that the Energy Commission’s claims that Ghana had become a dumping site for electronic waste were not true, adding that if second hand vehicles were still being sold and used in the country, dealers in second hand electrical appliances should not be stopped from operating.
Mr Asante further debunked claims that most imported second hand domestic appliances consumed too much energy, adding that his group members were very cautious in their dealings because “All our home used appliances including television, irons, microwaves, blenders, computers, gas and electric cookers are energy efficient.”
“Most of our products are merchandise cleared from shops abroad which we buy at lesser costs and import into this country to sell. They have low energy consumption rate as compared to brand new products from China which are being recommended to the public by the Energy Commission,” Mr Asante said.
He noted that the second hand appliances in question contributed a lot to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), since importers paid huge sums of monies to clear their goods.
He complained that if the Energy Commission carried out its threats to halt the operations of the CSHDAG, the already high unemployment rate in the country would be worsened.
Members of CSHDAG include the Washing Machine Dealers Association Accra, Blenders and Microwave Dealers Association, Kumasi Home Used Dealers Association, Computer Dealers Association, Gas Cooker Dealers Association of Ghana and the Ghana Television DealersAssociation.
BY RAISSA SAMBOU
