Appiah Kusi Adomako, the West African Regional Director of CUTS International, has expressed concerns about the lack of interest from the business sector in consumer protection in Ghana.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show last week, Adomako Kusi highlighted the challenges his organization has faced in researching the issue, emphasizing the apparent indifference from both local businesses and international agencies.
Adomako revealed that the research, which started in 2014, was funded entirely through CUTS’ internal resources, as they received no financial support from local businesses or external donors.
He pointed out that this lack of financial backing reflects the broader disinterest in consumer protection within the business community.
“We started to do this study back in 2014, and we never got funding from any donor or local business. We had to use our Internally Generated Funds (IGF) to do this study, and it appears that businesses in Ghana are not interested in consumer protection, and neither are international agencies. That is why I would say that consumer protection law has stalled,” he stated.
Adomako also expressed concerns about the representation of consumers in regulatory decisions, noting that the only body with consumer representation is the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC).
“For most regulatory agencies, it is only PURC that has a consumer representative. So, where decisions are made, you only have industry players and politicians there, and the issues of consumers are not necessarily much of a concern,” he explained.
Adomako called for support from well-meaning Ghanaians to help continue CUTS’ research into consumer protection.
