Ghana News Agency, Ghana, May 01, 2010
The Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research on Thursday organised a workshop for the media on issues relating to competition among corporate organizations.
The workshop served as a platform to train the media on the competition policy and laws to create awareness on issues bothering on competition to ensure that consumers get a greater choice of products at reasonable prices.
Dr. Charles Ackah, Research Fellow at ISSER, said Ghana lacked consumer protection laws and therefore there was the need for the media to make consumers aware of the bad practices by some corporate organizations.
“Some sectors like the water, power and the cement industry as well as the communication companies have created monopoly in the country and therefore do not give the ordinary Ghanaian the best of services and prices” he said.
Dr. Ackah said the consumer protection law which is yet to be passed would help raise a standard for effective competition among organizations in the country adding that consumer rights would also be protected.
The workshop dubbed “Strengthening constituencies for effective competition regimes in selected West African countries” brought together journalists from different media houses.
Dr. Ackah said urged consumers to pursue civil action if their rights were infringed upon.
Mr. Rijit Sengupta, an official from CUTS International, an Indian NGO, noted that a competition policy has a huge role to play in the development of the economy and called for increased advocacy to help tackle some market abuses and protect consumers in Ghana.
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