The Chief Executive Officer of the Consumer Protection Agency (CPA), Kofi Kapito, has called for an end to the continued use of the traditional “olonka” measurement system in markets across Ghana, describing it as outdated and a major source of consumer exploitation.
Speaking during a JoyNews National Dialogue on declining adherence to standards, Mr Kapito said Ghana has made notable progress in standardisation in some sectors but continues to lag in others critical to consumer protection.
Mr Kapito pointed to the petroleum sector as another example of progress, where consumers can clearly see what they are paying for at fuel stations. In contrast, he criticised the continued use of “olonka” and other improvised containers in open markets, which he said leaves consumers vulnerable to cheating.
“Countries around us have moved on. Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Togo are ahead of us, yet Ghana is still using olonka,” he said. “I have been fighting for years for proper measurement scales, but it looks like it keeps falling on deaf ears,” he stated.
He described Ghana as one of the few countries where traders use old tins—sometimes punctured at the bottom or stuffed with paper—to measure goods, practices he said amount to deliberate consumer deception.
“We cannot do this to ourselves. Consumers are being cheated every day,” he stressed.
Mr Kapito urged regulatory bodies, including the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and other standards regulators, to show stronger leadership by setting clear timelines for the full transition from informal measurements to certified scales.
“I expect regulators to do better. They should give us timelines—say, by this year or within a defined period—so we can give them some breathing space, push for improvement, and hold them accountable when they fail to act,” he said.
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