The recent tilapia incident at Asutuare is such an alarming situation that got me thinking about the adverse effects it will have on the tilapia sellers and the uncountable banku and tilapia joints in town.
Interestingly, I had no idea of the operations of the Chinese into tilapia businesses until this incident. So, the Chinese are everywhere, venturing into every lucrative business that the average Ghanaian survives on. From Galamsey, to textiles, electrical appliances, even beads and now tilapia.
Have we noticed something about these Chinese people? They have the resources to embark on any business they deem fit as compared to the average Ghanaian. They actually have the machines to produce more products at low quality with nice packaging and thus reducing their prices to compete with the local producers who on the contrary, are striving to raise funds to even procure equipment for business operations.
In the long term, when we continue purchasing "Made in China" products at the expense of "Made in Ghana" products, there is an adverse effect on the economy of our beloved country Ghana whilst on the contrary, boosting the economy of China.
I know you might be asking “aren't there laws governing importation and regulation of products in Ghana? Well there are abled institutions responsible for that but the question is “are they doing their work? Are they proactive enough?
So to us consumers; we have the mandate to carefully choose what we buy, ask pertinent questions and be discerning consumers. The next time you step out for shopping, think of the long term effect and choose quality over cost.
By
Linda Afia Akporhor 