He said it was therefore an offence for anyone to use, sell, offer for sale or connect any telecommunication apparatus that was not authorised by the NCA for use in the country.

Mr Anokye said these in an address read for him at a "Type Approval Consultation workshop for electronic equipment dealers, doubling as a media sensitisation in the Volta Region.

The aim of the workshop was to solicit input from stakeholders for the approval of Type Draft Regulations under review to ensure all radio communication and telecommunication equipment complied with international standards.

He warned dealers and manufacturers to ensure that all authorised and manufactured equipment conformed to required standards and type approved by accredited institutions.

Mr Anokye said NCA was mandated to ensure all electronic communication equipment (ECEs) fulfilled procedures established under the National Telecommunication Policy of 2005 and the National Communication Authority ACT of 2008, and the review is targeted at fine-tuning laws.  

Mr Henry Kanor, Deputy Director General in-charge of Technical Operations, NCA, said the entity has three state-of-the-art laboratories that measure specific absorption rate for wireless transmitting devices, radio frequencies and electromagnetic fields from base stations of mobile network operators.

He said plans were afoot to undertake market surveillance to ensure compliance and safeguard the health of the people.

He urged the public to authenticate the veracity or otherwise of electronic equipment such as mobile phones, tablets and laptops from the NCA website before purchasing them, insisting, "Be careful of what you buy. Let's make our choices rightly, to avoid buying sickness."

Mr Roland Kudozia, Deputy Manager, Regulatory Administration, said the regulation when passed into law would ensure guarantees for consumers of ECEs irrespective of form, statutory warranty, after sales service, repair, replace and refund, where items were purchased turns out to be faulty or fails to work as advertised.

He said the Type Approval Regulations 2019 was expected to provide the legal framework to appliance compliance.

Mr Issac Kofi Boateng, Deputy Director said Type Approval was granted to products to meet a minimum and safety requirements.

At an open forum, participants asked how the new regulation would take care of obsolete electronic products already in the system, the effect of electromagnetic waves on humans and the duplication of mandates between NCA and the Ghana Standards Authority.