Immediate release: Ban on importation of used electrical appliances – Energy Commission

Immediate release: Ban on importation of used electrical appliances – Energy Commission

AIRPORT, ACCRA – The attention of the Energy Commission has been drawn to pieces of information put out by a group calling itself Concerned Importers of Used Appliances, ostensibly to register their protest to the intended ban on the importation of used electrical appliances.

At the said press conference, the group made certain inaccurate statements and claims about the Energy Commission with specific reference to the intended ban on the importation of used household electrical appliances. By this release, we intend to correct the erroneous impressions created:

1. The group claimed that they had an inconclusive meeting with the Energy

Commission. This claim is incorrect. The Commission had a very productive

and conclusive meeting with the National Executives of GUTA, of which they

are members, on October 6, 2021. At the said meeting, the rationale of the

ban and the effect of the used appliances on the national economy,

consumers, the environment and the appliance market as a whole was

explained to them.

2. The group again said that the Energy Commission’s claim that the trade in

used appliances would turn Ghana into a dumping ground is false. The use

of the terminology DUMPING has been misconstrued or misunderstood by

the group and we would take this opportunity to explain the term. Dumping

is defined as the practice of exporting to another country or territory

products that:

a. contain hazardous substances;

b. have environmental performance lower than is in the interest of

consumers or that is contrary to the interests of the local and global

commons;

c. can undermine the ability of the importing country to fulfil

international environmental treaty commitments; or

d. are often too inefficient to sell in the appliances markets of the

countries of manufacture or their export inflicts economic, social, and

environmental costs on vulnerable populations in the receiving

countries.

These inefficient appliances could be new or old and place a heightened

demand on energy supply, increase power plant emissions and harm public

health, agriculture and local ecosystems. Money spent on misused

electricity impoverishes communities and unbalances trade. From the

above, it is clear that DUMPING is not restricted to used appliances only. To

assist consumers to identify and desist from patronizing inferior, used and

inefficient electrical appliances, Ghana introduced and began enforcement

of Minimum Energy Performance Standards and Labels for electrical

appliances in 2005. In particular, individual households have made huge

savings since the enforcement of these standards.

 

EFFECTS OF USED APPLIANCES

1. Dumping

i. Economy: Used appliances are high energy guzzlers. In 2003, a

study conducted by the Energy Foundation revealed that a

whopping 30% of the total national electricity generation was

wasted on used appliances. This puts pressure on the economy to

increase generation capacity which requires the building of more

power plants and also buying fuel to run these power plants. This

robs the economy of monies needed to develop essential sectors

like health, education and roads. It should also be emphasized that

markets that are inundated with used appliances scare away

investors who want to build assembly plants.

ii. Individuals: Unsuspecting individuals who patronize the used

appliances are robbed of their hard earned money in payment of

high electricity bills and high maintenance costs. The maintenance

cost becomes so high because of lack of spare parts in view of the

obsolescence of the technology. The stock pile of appliances in

repairers’ shops around the country attests to this fact.

iii. Environment: The more power plants we build to meet the ever-

growing demand; the more fossil fuel we burn with its attendant

emissions that pollutes the environment. Secondly, appliances

contain hazardous substances and that is the reason why disposal

is done in an environmentally friendly manner. The indiscriminate

burning of the discarded appliances in search of valuable metals is

a major climate and health concern. Following the Paris Agreement

on Climate Change in 2015, Ghana has recently developed an action

plan to transition to net zero carbon emissions by the year 2070

and the ban on the importation and use of these used and

inefficient appliances will contribute hugely in attaining net zero

emissions within the stipulated period.

Now, going by their understanding of dumping, until the Greater Accra

Regional Minister’s recent bold decision to abolish activities at

Agbogbloshie and its environs, Agbogbloshie had become notorious as the

most toxic spot in the world. The Concerned Importers of Used Appliances

has stated that there is no place in Ghana that can be described as a dumping

site of discarded equipment because there is a recycling plant in Ghana. Let

it be put on record that the Commission is never against Ghana becoming a

circular economy. In fact, that is the global trend and Ghana needs to move

with the tide. Recycling should rather target products that are consumed in

the country and recycled at the end of their useful lives in Ghana, and not

those that are imported for the purposes of recycling. The begging question

is, what happens to the debris after the recycling if Ghana is turned into a

global recycling hub?

3. The claim by the group that used products are more durable than the new

ones is a fallacy and contradicts their earlier assertion that their activities

provide feedstock to the local recycling plant. If the used appliances are so

durable, how do they become feedstock to the local recycling plant? The Page 4 of 5

group’s further claim that their used appliances are energy efficient

because they come with power ratings is untrue. Energy efficiency is not

determined by power ratings alone but also the age of the appliance. The

older the appliance, the more energy inefficient it becomes compared with

new ones.

4. The group sought to discredit the health implications of dumping of used

appliances. The health implications of dumping of used appliances in the

country could be dire. We want to refer Ghanaians to the numerous scary

results of studies conducted in and around Agbogbloshie which abound on

the internet. One study in Agbogbloshie revealed that children living in and

around the area suffer from upper respiratory diseases, have high lead

content in their blood and have low life expectancy rate.

Just recently, a newly published research by the Francis Crick Institute with

Cancer Research UK has revealed how air pollution can cause lung cancer

in individuals who have never smoked in their lives. This is the sad threat

we are exposing our citizens to and we must wakeup to this global call and

safeguard the health of citizens, especially our children, to whom the future

belongs.

Nobody discounts the claim that importation of used appliances provides

jobs for a section of Ghanaians. However, development should be

sustainable and sustainable development is what ensures socioeconomic

development while maintaining environmental integrity. Turning one’s

country into a junk yard cannot lead to sustainable development, regardless

of the jobs that it creates. The number of persons engaged in the used

electrical appliance market is negligible compared to how many persons a

single appliance factory can employ.

5. The Energy Commission would like Ghanaians to be aware that Europe has

passed stringent environmental laws that makes disposal of obsolete

appliances expensive. They are therefore always on the lookout for

countries that do not have environmental laws or have weak enforcement

of their environmental laws and ship all the junks to them. More often than

not, environmental companies in Europe collect money from their

governments for recycling and disposal but ship them to Africa and the Page 5 of 5

developing countries for sale and thereby gaming the system. An

environmental company that shipped 17 containers of used refrigerators

and freezers to Ghana in November 2013 was caught and the appliances

were seized and destroyed. Our unsuspecting kinsmen have become the

conduit through which these unscrupulous foreign companies perpetuate

their diabolical climate injustices contrary to the Vienna Convention.

6. The Energy Commission has a mandate to fulfill the Act that established it;

i.e. ensuring the efficient utilization of indigenous energy resources and that

is exactly what we are doing. Our intention is a far cry from what the group

wants Ghanaians to believe, i.e. destroying their livelihoods.

Let us all work together to build our economy, society and the environment

in a sustainable manner.

Oman bεyε yie, na εfiri yεn ara.

May God bless our homeland Ghana.

For more information please call us on 0302813756/7 or email us at

info@energycom.gov.gh.

ISSUED BY ORDER OF

ENERGY COMMISSION

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