CPA marks 20 years without consumer protection law in Ghana, urges passage of bill by December

The Consumer Protection Agency (CPA) has renewed calls on the President and Parliament to pass Ghana’s long-awaited Consumer Protection Bill before the end of 2026, warning that the absence of a comprehensive law continues to leave consumers vulnerable to unfair business practices, substandard products and poor services. In a statement issued on Friday, October 23, to mark its 20th anniversary, the agency described the failure to enact the legislation, first drafted in 2006, as the country’s biggest setback in protecting consumer rights. The CPA said the bill remained at the Ministry of Trade and Industry despite years of advocacy, petitions, national forums and stakeholder engagements aimed at securing its passage.

It warned that the lack of a dedicated legal framework had become particularly concerning amid the growth of e-commerce and the circulation of fake, unregistered and inferior products on the Ghanaian market. The agency called for the passage of the bill and the establishment of a well-funded Consumer Protection Authority with the mandate and resources to enforce consumer rights and hold businesses accountable. Two decades of consumer advocacy Founded and funded by Kofi Kapito in 2006, the CPA was launched by the late Vice-President Alhaji Aliu Mahama to provide consumers with a platform to seek redress over goods and services. Over the past two decades, the agency has campaigned against poor telecommunications services, called for sanctions against underperforming operators and advocated the use of fines imposed on them to fund consumer education. It also organised what it described as Ghana’s first Off Phone Day protests against telecommunications companies over poor service delivery. In the retail sector, the CPA campaigned against the use of “olonka” and…