By Doreen Allotey
MANY of us are so familiar with the popular notice posted in some shops which boldly states : Goods sold are not returnable, to the extent that we seem to take it as one of the principles in commerce.
The notice is courageously displayed in all manner of shops — big, small, local or foreign owned. And it comes with no qualification. The vendor would not take back a product purchased even if the flaw is detected immediately after the purchase.
We live in a society where the majority of us do not know our rights as consumers. As a result, we are always short-changed or cheated. Otherwise how can this notice — goods sold are not returnable— which presupposes that the vendor knows that there is a high probability that the goods on sale may not meet the customers’ satisfaction and may be returned, be allowed to stay!
The cheating of consumers does not only have to do with the purchase of goods; it extends to the provision of unsatisfactory services— services provided by individuals, institutions and public corporations including our hospitals.
This phenomenon has invariably affected our quality of life as a people since we do not get value for our money. The most worrisome part of it is the effect of such attitude on our health, especially because of fake drugs, wrong labelling, no labelling at all and ambiguous expiry dates. It is easy to know when unfair pricing, in fact obscene overpricing, has taken place. One only needs to walk one block away from a shop to find the same item manufactured by the same supplier commanding markedly different prices.
In some instances the vendor will sell at more than 100 per cent mark-up with the mentality that the seller may be lucky to meet a consumer who may be deceived.
In our local markets, this display of unfair treatment by traders who refuse to replace defective products can be carried to the extreme. They may, according to how they feel, grudgingly give you a replacement after they have tossed you back and forth. If you try to exchange an item in the morning, the excuse is that if the item is exchanged all customers will “misbehave” towards them that day.
Consumers suffer from many other unjust practices. A typical example is when traders dishonestly pass inferior products off as originals. The quality of consumer items with international brand names such as Rolex and Pierre Cardin and some designer goods such as Fendi, Dolce and Gabbana (D&G) which are imported from the Far East cannot be assured. Yet the vendor would not explain to the ignorant consumer issues about durability, reliability and even functionality. Vendors are also fond of making unsubstantiated claims about their wares. They are not alone in this. Even some reputable manufacturers and distributors of medicinal preparations and food products exaggerate the benefits one can derive from the use of their products. These benefits have never been proven but by repeatedly stating the “goodness” through advertisements and promotions the consumer is swayed into buying such items.
The safety of items, especially of products that are consumed and electrical gadgets such as kitchen equipment is important to all households. That is why they must be adequately labelled. For food items and drugs, the ingredients and date by which they should have been consumed should be stated clearly in a language that the consumer understands.
In the case of gadgets, an instructional manual directing/explaining their operations must be provided. But how many times are these conditions adhered to? Gadgets are sold without a competent technician demonstrating their use to the customer. There are many other examples where the customer is blatantly cheated. Pricing of utilities such as electricity, water and telephone services are the most common. Customers have the perception that the formula for calculating the electricity bill which households receive is a fraud. It contains an element termed “street lighting” which is charged irrespective of the fact that many streets are in perpetual darkness. Worst of all is the frequent power fluctuations causing damage to equipment and spoiling food items being kept in freezers. The story about water is a vexatious one. Customers who continuously have dry taps are given bills. Mobile networks charge and provide poor connectivity yet this is becoming acceptable. The question is : What consequences do the providers suffer?
To protect the consumer, most governments the world over have set up regulatory bodies to protect the interests of consumers and to ensure that the standards and the ethics of a particular sector are maintained. Thus, there used to be the Prices and Incomes Board to regulate prices. What has caused the demise of this body? There are some regulatory authorities in the country. These include the Public Regulatory Commission (PURC), the Energy Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana Tourist Board, Food and Drugs Board, National Petroleum Authority and Forestry Commission.
The Ghana Standards Board ensures standards for products which have its certification mark, but what about others?
The hard fact remains that there is no real consumer protection in the country. As a result, unsatisfied consumers resort to the letters columns of newspapers to make complaints hoping that they would get some redress. Consumer protection societies which operate on the same principles as civil societies are very strong in some advanced countries. They form the front-line vanguard for protecting consumer rights. Attempts were made about a decade ago with the collaboration of the Ghana Standards Board, to form a Ghana Consumer Society . Once a while mention is made in the media of this civil organisation. It is, however, difficult to see what impact it has made so far in pursuing cases.
In an interview, the Executive Director of the Ghana Standards Board, Mr Adu G. Darkwa, said that the board had been carrying out programmes aimed at creating consumer awareness on things to look out for in detecting goods of questionable character.
He said the board was currently arranging with tertiary institutions, a programme to teach students “ standards” in various disciplines before they graduate.
He explained that standards often provided the basis for national legislation and certification schemes and could, therefore, be effective tools in consumer protection but he made it clear that the board had no mandate to prosecute.
An American civil lawyer called Ralph Nader is usually given credit for raising consumer awareness in America and held as an icon. His efforts have culminated in Consumer Law which is run as a course in higher institutions to the degree level. Some Ghanaian lawyers may have pursued this course but how has that contributed to consumer awareness in this country?
Enquiries about the Ghana Consumer Protection Society from a man who used to be a very active member in the mid-1990s resulted in the answer : " I have lost touch". If it still exists, Ghanaians need it more than ever before since a free market has made the country the dumping site for all kinds of goods, including those of very doubtful character, even from a sheer glimpse of its features.
The government, through its institutions is supposed to play a lead role in protecting consumers through laws, education and advocacy.
The need to encourage strong consumer awareness is now; because our markets are inundated with all sorts of goods .There are real challenges in the marketplace.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry planned a Trade Sector Support programme which was to last from 2006 to 2010. In the executive summary of the programme document, it is spelt out, among other things, the need for consumer protection.
The document states that the purpose of such a consumer protection project is “to create an environment that affords protection to consumers and enhances consumer welfare”.
It further states that to ensure this requires certain outputs which have been outlined as the development of a consumer protection policy, the enactment of a framework law on consumer protection, the establishment of a consumer protection authority and mechanisms and instruments for delivering speedy redress.
Therefore under this project was to be a consumer protection policy and framework law which will lead to the establishment of a Consumer Protection Authority including small claims courts to facilitate consumer redress.
This project has not been undertaken, leaving the consumer in a current state of helplessness.
As we celebrate World Tourism Week, it is obvious that the ministry needs to rededicate itself to this project. Ghanaian consumers and tourists need to be protected.
People are simply taking the rights of consumers for granted. But for now, how about a successfully prosecuted and publicised case of consumer rights abuse in court? That would definitely serve as some form of awareness. It looks like consumers are going to be seeing the notice— Goods once sold are not returnable — for a long time more and the consumer will continue to be given a raw deal. This situation definitely needs to change.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Agbogbloshie market— The good, the bad and the ugly
By Doreen Allotey
IT is a Friday morning, a market day and as usual, I have arrived like most women residents in Accra to purchase the family’s food supplies for the week. An all familiar scene, yet difficult to get used to greets me as I meander through the market.
Discarded pure water sachets and other used polythene material as well as, empty tins, pieces of foodstuffs in various stages of decomposition vie for space with vegetables strewn on the ground. Fetid water weep out of sacks of cassava dough and flies busily feast on smoked fish and other meat products while truck pushers fight for space with human traffic. The end result- a mixture of filth, stench and cacophony of noise. This is Agbogbloshie, one of Accra’s biggest foodstuff markets.
Agbogbloshie is all that expanse of land in Central Accra stretching from Domod Aluminium Company to Sikkens Paint. History has it that, following the demolition of Makola No.1 in the early 1980s, a water-logged portion of Agbogbloshie which was settled on mainly by squatters was converted to a market to resettle the displaced Makola traders.
It is quite a big market and its proximity to the railway station makes it possible for customers to get fresh foodstuffs from up-country . Again, its location ensures that it is accessible to people in various parts of Accra.
Notwithstanding the heavy vehicular and human traffic customers prefer to shop at Agbogbloshie because of the comparatively cheaper prices of foodstuff and other items.
Despite its popularity and good patronage, the Agbogbloshie market is beset with some problems which mainly has to do with its structures, facilities and attitude of traders, visitors and customers.
It is quite tough for customers to find space to park because the available parking lot is almost always full.
Moving through the stalls is quite difficult; there are “sub-stalls” infront , beside and at the sides of regular stalls creating obstruction. The market stalls are also used for domestic accommodation, a case of what sociologists term creative homelessness.
Sitting behind their wares , some of these market women will just throw their cover cloth over their shoulders , reach for a container and urinate in it and without washing hands, they will gladly serve you. They are full of energy as they continue to enthusiastically call out to customers to buy their wares. “ Sweetheart, won’t you get some tomatoes? How about onions? Is my name not on the list?—They cry out to those customers who read from a shop list as they buy from the market. So polite sound these traders, but if you dare pull down any of their wares mistakenly, you will see the very different part of them. Fights easily break out in this market as traders fight over customers for more sales. Such attitudes have sometimes resulted in avoidable conflicts. The recent clashes at Agbogbloshie in which some people lost their lives is a typical example.
Appropriate storage facilities are not in place as frozen chicken is displayed on trays placed on tables. Frozen meat could be left in the hot sun almost the whole day until evening when they may be sent back into cold storage. As dusk approaches, prices of perishable food become cheaper and some customers specialise in waiting to buy at that time.
It is very difficult to tell whether the food item one is buying is expired or not . How can we tell whether sugar being sold from a basin has expired or not? In any case, if we do not buy it in this manner, it will be used to make dough nuts for us!
Palm oil and other oils are sold from unlabelled containers making it impossible for the customer to know the brand name of what is being bought.
Weights and measures do not seem to apply here. Where scales are used to weigh meat and other items, the suspicion is that they are doctored to weigh heavy. Similarly, the olonka or the American tin used to measure your gari or kontonte measure may have been pushed in at the bottom to reduce the volume. The women stuff baskets used to pack tomatoes for sale with grass and paper all in the bid to deceive customers about quantity. And because there are no price tags, the vendors expect you to bargain for everything. Sometimes bargaining can produce a thrill but invariably the vendor is cheated. Added to this, bargaining can be time wasting.
Negative effects of practices
The insanitary conditions could cause a general epidemic that could spread to households that shop for food from this market. It is for fear of a situation such as this that the market was closed down not too long ago for renovations but this has not changed the conditions.
The contamination of food with bacteria that multiplies quickly in the humid environment makes food poisoning a possibility and some of the vegetables lose their state of freshness and nutritive values as a result of the way they are handled. Dry powdered food such as konkonte and gari are left at the mercy of the dusty wind during the dry season is certainly not healthy.
Dr David Nortey , Head of the Korle Bu Polyclinic, who sees to patients from Agbogbloshie . The common ailments they present are water- borne diseases like cholera , diarrhoea and typhoid. Added to these are other diseases like worm infestations, tuberculosis and injuries as a result of fights.
He is not surprised about such cases which he attributes to the insanitary conditions in the area. So for those of us who relish buying from that market, we stand the risk of buying typhoid and cholera to our homes.
Dr Nortey explains that the overcrowded nature of the area which does not allow good ventilation accounts for the high prevalence of tuberculosis while the choked gutters and drains are a very conducive place for the breeding of malaria.
The cluttered stalls and lanes blocked within the market means that in the event of fire-out break there is no access for fire engines.
Challenges
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) is facing huge challenges of administering the market. It is overwhelmed with ensuring sanitation in the area.
As Mrs Rosemond Okpoti -Israel, Head of the Market Unit of the AMA puts it , the AMA has sweepers but the heavy influx of people to and fro the market make their job insignificant.
They sweep everyday but people sell in the night even when the market has officially closed so by day break the whole place is littered with discarded food stuff, sachet water and polythene bags.
The Ministry of Health has a unit at the market that sees to maintaining hygiene in the market. But the staff of this unit work from 8a.m to 5p.m.This means that the number of people who sleep in the market cannot be checked on .
Acts that offend the AMA’s (Public Markets) Bye Laws range from littering to selling or purchasing goods or stock near established markets other than approved places or erecting stalls at places other than the established markets . Offenders are liable on conviction.
The laws also require “all AMA tenants at the market to insure their properties against fire , theft, burglary or other foreseeable contingencies” and No occupier of any store in the market shall sublet or share such store, except with the written consent of the Assembly.
These bye -laws that regulate the market can be found in the Local Government Bulletin of September 1, 1995. Section 79 which is the Public markets bye- laws states that “ a district assembly shall make bye laws for the purpose of any function conferred upon it. The bye- laws specify as penalty, a fine not exceeding GH¢20 or a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months or both. It further specifies a penalty not exceeding 20Gp for each day on which the offence is continued after written notice of the conviction has been served on the offender in the case of a continuing offence.
Fine laws but are they being respected?
The city guards of the AMA work from 6a.m. to 6p.m. During this period , they are able to check users of the market. According to Mrs Okpoti-Israel, they have been taking people to court for breaking sanitation laws for instance but after 6p.m. When they close, the laws are flouted.
In spite of these negative practices and the potential health implications, Agbogbloshie remains relevant in the life of most households in Accra. It is from here that the smaller markets get their supplies for retailing and prices are considered moderate . Also worrisome is the fact that the insanitary conditions in this market is similar to what pertains in almost all markets I have visited in the country.
Suggestions for improving the market
It is for these reasons that efforts must be made to improve conditions in the market. The AMA needs to intensify its educational campaign on the need for maintaining hygiene at the markets and there is also the need to introduce modernity into the operations of the market women. The market queens could be used as change agents to ensure a change in attitude .
There should be regular visits by food inspectors; displaying of items such as oranges, plantains etc. on the bare floor should be prohibited and customers s are advised to wash such items before they even peel them. There should be no compromise; unauthorised structures that have been added to the stalls should be demolished to make way for easy movement within the market. The Ghana Standards Board has a role to play by introducing to the women advantages of weights and measures.
If Agbogbloshie market should remain where we get our food supplies, then sanitary conditions there should be ensured. That will be no luxury because it is our health that is at stake.
IT is a Friday morning, a market day and as usual, I have arrived like most women residents in Accra to purchase the family’s food supplies for the week. An all familiar scene, yet difficult to get used to greets me as I meander through the market.
Discarded pure water sachets and other used polythene material as well as, empty tins, pieces of foodstuffs in various stages of decomposition vie for space with vegetables strewn on the ground. Fetid water weep out of sacks of cassava dough and flies busily feast on smoked fish and other meat products while truck pushers fight for space with human traffic. The end result- a mixture of filth, stench and cacophony of noise. This is Agbogbloshie, one of Accra’s biggest foodstuff markets.
Agbogbloshie is all that expanse of land in Central Accra stretching from Domod Aluminium Company to Sikkens Paint. History has it that, following the demolition of Makola No.1 in the early 1980s, a water-logged portion of Agbogbloshie which was settled on mainly by squatters was converted to a market to resettle the displaced Makola traders.
It is quite a big market and its proximity to the railway station makes it possible for customers to get fresh foodstuffs from up-country . Again, its location ensures that it is accessible to people in various parts of Accra.
Notwithstanding the heavy vehicular and human traffic customers prefer to shop at Agbogbloshie because of the comparatively cheaper prices of foodstuff and other items.
Despite its popularity and good patronage, the Agbogbloshie market is beset with some problems which mainly has to do with its structures, facilities and attitude of traders, visitors and customers.
It is quite tough for customers to find space to park because the available parking lot is almost always full.
Moving through the stalls is quite difficult; there are “sub-stalls” infront , beside and at the sides of regular stalls creating obstruction. The market stalls are also used for domestic accommodation, a case of what sociologists term creative homelessness.
Sitting behind their wares , some of these market women will just throw their cover cloth over their shoulders , reach for a container and urinate in it and without washing hands, they will gladly serve you. They are full of energy as they continue to enthusiastically call out to customers to buy their wares. “ Sweetheart, won’t you get some tomatoes? How about onions? Is my name not on the list?—They cry out to those customers who read from a shop list as they buy from the market. So polite sound these traders, but if you dare pull down any of their wares mistakenly, you will see the very different part of them. Fights easily break out in this market as traders fight over customers for more sales. Such attitudes have sometimes resulted in avoidable conflicts. The recent clashes at Agbogbloshie in which some people lost their lives is a typical example.
Appropriate storage facilities are not in place as frozen chicken is displayed on trays placed on tables. Frozen meat could be left in the hot sun almost the whole day until evening when they may be sent back into cold storage. As dusk approaches, prices of perishable food become cheaper and some customers specialise in waiting to buy at that time.
It is very difficult to tell whether the food item one is buying is expired or not . How can we tell whether sugar being sold from a basin has expired or not? In any case, if we do not buy it in this manner, it will be used to make dough nuts for us!
Palm oil and other oils are sold from unlabelled containers making it impossible for the customer to know the brand name of what is being bought.
Weights and measures do not seem to apply here. Where scales are used to weigh meat and other items, the suspicion is that they are doctored to weigh heavy. Similarly, the olonka or the American tin used to measure your gari or kontonte measure may have been pushed in at the bottom to reduce the volume. The women stuff baskets used to pack tomatoes for sale with grass and paper all in the bid to deceive customers about quantity. And because there are no price tags, the vendors expect you to bargain for everything. Sometimes bargaining can produce a thrill but invariably the vendor is cheated. Added to this, bargaining can be time wasting.
Negative effects of practices
The insanitary conditions could cause a general epidemic that could spread to households that shop for food from this market. It is for fear of a situation such as this that the market was closed down not too long ago for renovations but this has not changed the conditions.
The contamination of food with bacteria that multiplies quickly in the humid environment makes food poisoning a possibility and some of the vegetables lose their state of freshness and nutritive values as a result of the way they are handled. Dry powdered food such as konkonte and gari are left at the mercy of the dusty wind during the dry season is certainly not healthy.
Dr David Nortey , Head of the Korle Bu Polyclinic, who sees to patients from Agbogbloshie . The common ailments they present are water- borne diseases like cholera , diarrhoea and typhoid. Added to these are other diseases like worm infestations, tuberculosis and injuries as a result of fights.
He is not surprised about such cases which he attributes to the insanitary conditions in the area. So for those of us who relish buying from that market, we stand the risk of buying typhoid and cholera to our homes.
Dr Nortey explains that the overcrowded nature of the area which does not allow good ventilation accounts for the high prevalence of tuberculosis while the choked gutters and drains are a very conducive place for the breeding of malaria.
The cluttered stalls and lanes blocked within the market means that in the event of fire-out break there is no access for fire engines.
Challenges
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) is facing huge challenges of administering the market. It is overwhelmed with ensuring sanitation in the area.
As Mrs Rosemond Okpoti -Israel, Head of the Market Unit of the AMA puts it , the AMA has sweepers but the heavy influx of people to and fro the market make their job insignificant.
They sweep everyday but people sell in the night even when the market has officially closed so by day break the whole place is littered with discarded food stuff, sachet water and polythene bags.
The Ministry of Health has a unit at the market that sees to maintaining hygiene in the market. But the staff of this unit work from 8a.m to 5p.m.This means that the number of people who sleep in the market cannot be checked on .
Acts that offend the AMA’s (Public Markets) Bye Laws range from littering to selling or purchasing goods or stock near established markets other than approved places or erecting stalls at places other than the established markets . Offenders are liable on conviction.
The laws also require “all AMA tenants at the market to insure their properties against fire , theft, burglary or other foreseeable contingencies” and No occupier of any store in the market shall sublet or share such store, except with the written consent of the Assembly.
These bye -laws that regulate the market can be found in the Local Government Bulletin of September 1, 1995. Section 79 which is the Public markets bye- laws states that “ a district assembly shall make bye laws for the purpose of any function conferred upon it. The bye- laws specify as penalty, a fine not exceeding GH¢20 or a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months or both. It further specifies a penalty not exceeding 20Gp for each day on which the offence is continued after written notice of the conviction has been served on the offender in the case of a continuing offence.
Fine laws but are they being respected?
The city guards of the AMA work from 6a.m. to 6p.m. During this period , they are able to check users of the market. According to Mrs Okpoti-Israel, they have been taking people to court for breaking sanitation laws for instance but after 6p.m. When they close, the laws are flouted.
In spite of these negative practices and the potential health implications, Agbogbloshie remains relevant in the life of most households in Accra. It is from here that the smaller markets get their supplies for retailing and prices are considered moderate . Also worrisome is the fact that the insanitary conditions in this market is similar to what pertains in almost all markets I have visited in the country.
Suggestions for improving the market
It is for these reasons that efforts must be made to improve conditions in the market. The AMA needs to intensify its educational campaign on the need for maintaining hygiene at the markets and there is also the need to introduce modernity into the operations of the market women. The market queens could be used as change agents to ensure a change in attitude .
There should be regular visits by food inspectors; displaying of items such as oranges, plantains etc. on the bare floor should be prohibited and customers s are advised to wash such items before they even peel them. There should be no compromise; unauthorised structures that have been added to the stalls should be demolished to make way for easy movement within the market. The Ghana Standards Board has a role to play by introducing to the women advantages of weights and measures.
If Agbogbloshie market should remain where we get our food supplies, then sanitary conditions there should be ensured. That will be no luxury because it is our health that is at stake.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
NCCE assesses performance of Parliament
Story: Doreen Allotey
THE National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) is conducting a research to assess the performance of the Fourth Parliament of the Fourth Republic.
The study is aimed at finding out the extent to which Members of Parliament (MPs) are performing their constitutional roles and to what extent they have been meeting the expectations of the people they represent in Parliament.
The results of the study, which will cost the commission GH¢19,000, is expected to be ready by the end of September, this year.
In an interview in Accra yesterday, the Director of Research of the NCCE, Mrs Gertrude Zakaria Ali, said that 24 people from 60 out of the 230 constituencies will answer questionnaires for the survey and 100 parliamentarians of that Parliament will be interviewed.
She said the main objective was to improve upon democratic governance in the country by “getting feedback from the people in whom the sovereignty of the state resides but which they have ceded to the MPs as their representatives”.
Mrs Zakaria Ali said it was the second time that the study was being conducted. The first was conducted in 2000, when the performance of the Second Parliament of the Fourth Republic was assessed.
That study found, among other things, that the majority of the people were not interacting with their MPs and that some of them did not even know who their MPs were.
It also found out that the relationship between MPs and District Chief Executives was not very good and that the participation of MPs in district assemblies was not encouraging.
The study noted that the reason for those lapses was partly attributed to the fact that unit committees were not in place in many constituencies.
Those interviewed also stressed the need for MPs to have research assistants to improve interaction between them and the people they represented in Parliament.
The Deputy Chairman in charge of Programmes of the NCCE, Mr Baron Amoafo, stated that 60 civic education staff members of the commission were trained to administer the questionnaires.
He said it was necessary to train the staff to ensure that the quality of the primary data collected from the field was reliable.
Mr Amoafo said the study would also provide the platform for constituents and Members of Parliament to improve upon governance in the constituencies and the nation as a whole.
THE National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) is conducting a research to assess the performance of the Fourth Parliament of the Fourth Republic.
The study is aimed at finding out the extent to which Members of Parliament (MPs) are performing their constitutional roles and to what extent they have been meeting the expectations of the people they represent in Parliament.
The results of the study, which will cost the commission GH¢19,000, is expected to be ready by the end of September, this year.
In an interview in Accra yesterday, the Director of Research of the NCCE, Mrs Gertrude Zakaria Ali, said that 24 people from 60 out of the 230 constituencies will answer questionnaires for the survey and 100 parliamentarians of that Parliament will be interviewed.
She said the main objective was to improve upon democratic governance in the country by “getting feedback from the people in whom the sovereignty of the state resides but which they have ceded to the MPs as their representatives”.
Mrs Zakaria Ali said it was the second time that the study was being conducted. The first was conducted in 2000, when the performance of the Second Parliament of the Fourth Republic was assessed.
That study found, among other things, that the majority of the people were not interacting with their MPs and that some of them did not even know who their MPs were.
It also found out that the relationship between MPs and District Chief Executives was not very good and that the participation of MPs in district assemblies was not encouraging.
The study noted that the reason for those lapses was partly attributed to the fact that unit committees were not in place in many constituencies.
Those interviewed also stressed the need for MPs to have research assistants to improve interaction between them and the people they represented in Parliament.
The Deputy Chairman in charge of Programmes of the NCCE, Mr Baron Amoafo, stated that 60 civic education staff members of the commission were trained to administer the questionnaires.
He said it was necessary to train the staff to ensure that the quality of the primary data collected from the field was reliable.
Mr Amoafo said the study would also provide the platform for constituents and Members of Parliament to improve upon governance in the constituencies and the nation as a whole.
The Internet- to use or not to use?
By Doreen Allotey
In recent times, concerns have been raised about the negative impact of the Internet on our youth. This has been occasioned by the upsurge of cyber fraud and its associated links with occultism, known in local parlance as Sakawa. Clearly, the issue of Internet fraud is neither peculiar to Ghana nor is it a new phenomenon. Internet fraud is perhaps as old as the Internet itself and obviously more pronounced in societies where Internet penetration is higher than what pertains in our part of the world.
What is disturbing and therefore requires some reflection is the fact that the problem is quite new in our country, the realisation that it is the youth who seem involved and most importantly, its alleged links to occultism.
Stories are told of how some boys and girls go through gruesome rituals, ranging from passing the night in cemeteries, sleeping in coffins, drinking human blood, not taking their bath and skipping sleep at night, as part of the rituals associated with the practice. Their motivation? To get rich quick!
Some newspaper reports claim that school attendance in certain areas have suffered as boys and girls troop to cybercafés, ostensibly to try their luck to become rich overnight. Needless to emphasise, the effect of such activity on education is obvious. Any society which sits unconcerned while its future leaders dabble in such dangerous activities must be courting trouble for itself. It is for these reasons that attempts by political leadership, as well as responsible individuals and institutions, to nip this embarrassing and dangerous practice in the bud must be encouraged.
Yet, in doing this, it is important that we draw a clear line between the irresponsible and negative use of the Internet and its potential to facilitate our individual and collective development as Ghanaians.
The Internet is like a double-edged sword. It has been proven in almost all ICT-driven societies that when well used, the Internet can accelerate national development. It is also a fact that it could derail our development aspirations. A typical case in point is the Sakawa menace we are presently grappling with.
For instance, the impact of the Internet on young minds, especially children, can be counter-productive if not well monitored. Some of its potentially negative effects could involve the amount of time child users devote to it at the expense of their academic work. Again, browsing the net entails some cost and in our part of the world, where cost of accessing the net is high and most family incomes are low, this could put undue stress on already financially-challenged families.
Also, the Internet provides a lot of information which may not be suitable for the consumption of young people. In this regard what readily comes to mind include pornographic sites, as well as others where some religious or ideological doctrines could be accessed. Indeed, evidence abounds to suggest that the Internet has been used and continues to be used to facilitate terrorist activities— as a medium for recruiting potential terrorists as well as for the propagation of terrorist/negative messages, for instance.
It should also be borne in mind that children could become addicted to browsing the net after protracted use, at the expense of their normal educational and recreational activities. Once they get hooked, they will rather sit behind the net than read their books or play hop-scotch or fly a kite! Related to this, medical research findings have identified excessive use of the Internet as one of the leading causes of child obesity and its attendant health problems.
Not withstanding the above, the Internet offers several positives for our society.
For instance, the Internet holds the largest amount of information “under one roof”. For students and other knowledge seekers, it offers an invaluable source of information and knowledge. This should be welcome news, especially in our case where library facilities are inadequate. And most of the material in our libraires is dated. Some of the problems with some information on the Internet has to do with the credibility of sources.
Through the Internet people, who, due to the exigencies of work, could not have pursued further education, are now acquiring knowledge and certificates through distance education. The Open University concept, virtual offices, electronic library and others owe their existence to ICT in general and the Internet in particular. The Internet is also making it possible for professionals to trade ideas with their colleagues in far away places. For instance, lawyers, architects, doctors and bankers can all share and exchange professional knowledge with their peers via the net.
E-commerce, which makes it possible for parties to transact businesses irrespective of geographic distances, is a brainchild of the Internet. Not only has e-commerce cut down on the cost and time of transacting business but has also increased the volume of international trade to an all-time high. Today, thanks to the Internet, it is possible to sit in Ghana and buy a car from Japan and get it delivered to you at a destination of your choice.
Also, the Internet remains a key medium in facilitating globalisation, global harmony and peace, as through it, people from diverse backgrounds and in different geographical locations can interact and get to know and appreciate each other’s culture better. The Internet has the ability to carry us far into some foreign land providing us with pictures and information about that land and its people. Related to this, is its huge potential as an advertising tool.
Its socialisation potential is evidenced by the large number of people who log on to chat rooms on a daily basis. In some cases, individuals have not only found friends but life partners.
It is in the light of the above that any attempt to demonise the Internet and discourage its use would be most disingenuous and unfortunate on our part. In fact, such an attempt will only be akin to throwing away the proverbial baby with the bathtub.
First , it is crucial that we identify Sakawa as essentially a socio-economic problem and a collective failure on our part as parents, rather than a technological one. There is the urgent need to step up parental/adult supervision and possibly also devise some workable regulation to sanitise the use of the Internet.
For without any shred of doubt, the Internet remains one of mankind’s best inventions in recent decades and has definitely come to stay. We, as a people, therefore, have to sensibly tap into it for our individual and collective development. Clearly, we have no other choice.
In recent times, concerns have been raised about the negative impact of the Internet on our youth. This has been occasioned by the upsurge of cyber fraud and its associated links with occultism, known in local parlance as Sakawa. Clearly, the issue of Internet fraud is neither peculiar to Ghana nor is it a new phenomenon. Internet fraud is perhaps as old as the Internet itself and obviously more pronounced in societies where Internet penetration is higher than what pertains in our part of the world.
What is disturbing and therefore requires some reflection is the fact that the problem is quite new in our country, the realisation that it is the youth who seem involved and most importantly, its alleged links to occultism.
Stories are told of how some boys and girls go through gruesome rituals, ranging from passing the night in cemeteries, sleeping in coffins, drinking human blood, not taking their bath and skipping sleep at night, as part of the rituals associated with the practice. Their motivation? To get rich quick!
Some newspaper reports claim that school attendance in certain areas have suffered as boys and girls troop to cybercafés, ostensibly to try their luck to become rich overnight. Needless to emphasise, the effect of such activity on education is obvious. Any society which sits unconcerned while its future leaders dabble in such dangerous activities must be courting trouble for itself. It is for these reasons that attempts by political leadership, as well as responsible individuals and institutions, to nip this embarrassing and dangerous practice in the bud must be encouraged.
Yet, in doing this, it is important that we draw a clear line between the irresponsible and negative use of the Internet and its potential to facilitate our individual and collective development as Ghanaians.
The Internet is like a double-edged sword. It has been proven in almost all ICT-driven societies that when well used, the Internet can accelerate national development. It is also a fact that it could derail our development aspirations. A typical case in point is the Sakawa menace we are presently grappling with.
For instance, the impact of the Internet on young minds, especially children, can be counter-productive if not well monitored. Some of its potentially negative effects could involve the amount of time child users devote to it at the expense of their academic work. Again, browsing the net entails some cost and in our part of the world, where cost of accessing the net is high and most family incomes are low, this could put undue stress on already financially-challenged families.
Also, the Internet provides a lot of information which may not be suitable for the consumption of young people. In this regard what readily comes to mind include pornographic sites, as well as others where some religious or ideological doctrines could be accessed. Indeed, evidence abounds to suggest that the Internet has been used and continues to be used to facilitate terrorist activities— as a medium for recruiting potential terrorists as well as for the propagation of terrorist/negative messages, for instance.
It should also be borne in mind that children could become addicted to browsing the net after protracted use, at the expense of their normal educational and recreational activities. Once they get hooked, they will rather sit behind the net than read their books or play hop-scotch or fly a kite! Related to this, medical research findings have identified excessive use of the Internet as one of the leading causes of child obesity and its attendant health problems.
Not withstanding the above, the Internet offers several positives for our society.
For instance, the Internet holds the largest amount of information “under one roof”. For students and other knowledge seekers, it offers an invaluable source of information and knowledge. This should be welcome news, especially in our case where library facilities are inadequate. And most of the material in our libraires is dated. Some of the problems with some information on the Internet has to do with the credibility of sources.
Through the Internet people, who, due to the exigencies of work, could not have pursued further education, are now acquiring knowledge and certificates through distance education. The Open University concept, virtual offices, electronic library and others owe their existence to ICT in general and the Internet in particular. The Internet is also making it possible for professionals to trade ideas with their colleagues in far away places. For instance, lawyers, architects, doctors and bankers can all share and exchange professional knowledge with their peers via the net.
E-commerce, which makes it possible for parties to transact businesses irrespective of geographic distances, is a brainchild of the Internet. Not only has e-commerce cut down on the cost and time of transacting business but has also increased the volume of international trade to an all-time high. Today, thanks to the Internet, it is possible to sit in Ghana and buy a car from Japan and get it delivered to you at a destination of your choice.
Also, the Internet remains a key medium in facilitating globalisation, global harmony and peace, as through it, people from diverse backgrounds and in different geographical locations can interact and get to know and appreciate each other’s culture better. The Internet has the ability to carry us far into some foreign land providing us with pictures and information about that land and its people. Related to this, is its huge potential as an advertising tool.
Its socialisation potential is evidenced by the large number of people who log on to chat rooms on a daily basis. In some cases, individuals have not only found friends but life partners.
It is in the light of the above that any attempt to demonise the Internet and discourage its use would be most disingenuous and unfortunate on our part. In fact, such an attempt will only be akin to throwing away the proverbial baby with the bathtub.
First , it is crucial that we identify Sakawa as essentially a socio-economic problem and a collective failure on our part as parents, rather than a technological one. There is the urgent need to step up parental/adult supervision and possibly also devise some workable regulation to sanitise the use of the Internet.
For without any shred of doubt, the Internet remains one of mankind’s best inventions in recent decades and has definitely come to stay. We, as a people, therefore, have to sensibly tap into it for our individual and collective development. Clearly, we have no other choice.
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