Mr Akpalu, speaking at the GSA’s “Electrovigilance” sensitisation forum in Tamale, said the initiative allowed consumers to independently verify product quality and authenticity using digital tools introduced by the GSA. The forum was attended by certified electricians, electrical contractors, students, representatives of academic institutions and security agencies. 

Mr Akpalu explained that the initiative formed part of the GSA’s mandate to safeguard the nation’s quality infrastructure by conducting product testing and certification, adding it strengthened consumer protection by making it easier to confirm whether a product had passed the GSA’s quality checks. 

He said the initiative had a traceability feature that allowed the GSA to track certified products across regions adding “So, if you buy an electrical cable from Accra and move it to another location outside Accra, we should be able to know that you bought it there and have taken it to another region. In the event where there are issues around it, we can easily trace where the product is in use.” 

He added that products that met the required standards would now carry a digital label that was extremely difficult to copy serving as proof that they had undergone the full certification process. 

Mr Akpalu said “When you don’t see this label, the first impression is that the product is substandard, or fake, or it has not gone through the GSA system of verification.” He urged consumers to prioritise certified products, saying quality electrical cables lasted longer and ultimately saved buyers money that would otherwise be spent repeatedly replacing inferior items. 

Mr Basim Alhassan, Northern Regional Manager, GSA said the forum formed part of nationwide efforts to reduce the circulation of fake and low-grade electrical materials on the market, which had been linked to many domestic and industrial fire incidents. He emphasised that “The importance of this project is to help rid our markets of substandard electrical and electronic products. Most of the fires we experience boil down to the usage of these substandard electrical cables.” 

Mr Alhassan said the GSA, in collaboration with the Energy Commission, would conduct intensified market surveillance using trained standards inspectors to remove unsafe products from circulation. 

Mr Abdul Hanan Mariwan Madi, a certified electrician in Tamale, who was a participant, said the sensitisation had deepened his understanding of how to identify counterfeit products and access genuine and approved cables. He said “Today, I’ve learned more methods of figuring out fake products on the market. With what I’ve learned here, I have to apply it in my work. We have already been advised to replace estimates we have using unapproved cables with the approved cables introduced to us, and I think we will start from there.”