Ghana government to introduce consumer protection law in the ICT space
Government is planning to introduce laws and a policy to protect consumers, especially those in the Information, Communication and Technological space, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful Minister for Communication and Digitalisation, has said.
She said plans were underway to enact consumer protection law in the country to ensure that consumers of technology were adequately protected.
Speaking at a consumer forum on telecommunications services organised by the National Communications Authority in Kumasi, she said Government was committed to ensure that there was sanity in the telecommunication environment.
This, she said would help promote subscriber data protection and integrity.
The forum, which was on the theme “Ensuring a Safe and Secured Communications Environment for Consumers”, was to enable consumers and subscribers to air their concerns and have them addressed by operators in the telecommunication sector.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said currently, over 12 million Ghanaians have registered their Ghana Cards with their SIM cards.
This, according to her, was a clear indication that a lot more Ghanaians now understood the essence of the exercise.
She advised consumers, that they had the right to seek redress if they were unhappy with the services they had subscribed to.
The Minister said as part of efforts by the government to provide improved consumer experience, the national roaming service which allowed phones to automatically connect to mobile networks with the best quality of service in any area had been established.
Mrs. Owusu – Ekuful encouraged the public to use technology because the interest of the consumers would be adequately protected in that regard.
Mr. Joe Anokye, Director-General of National Communications Authority (NCA), urged the public to register their SIM cards to assist in building a robust system and help in the investigation of cybercrimes.
He said the NCA would work to ensure that service providers delivered on their promises and provide efficient services.
Mr Kofi Darko Asiedu, Assistant Coordinating Director of the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council, urged NCA to redirect attention towards consumer protection and combat undesirable and unfair trading practices.
They must also dialogue and build consensus on critical issues in the communication industry.
Consumers at the forum solicited for improved customer services to meet the individual needs of consumers.
Source: GNA