By Nico van Staalduinen, a Dutch-Ghanaian businessman and columnist with African Entertainment
So many instances I see Ghana and Ghanaian state establishments taking improper or unhealthy selections primarily based on restricted or solely native data. One of those establishments is the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), the second is the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) on which I’ll write subsequent time.
On the matter regarding permitting or not permitting second-hand digital gear, or as we are saying in Ghana, residence used gear to enter Ghana as suggested by the Ghana Standards Authority, I need to inform them on the next.
Let’s begin to deal with the primary argument utilized by the GSA: second hand fridges, washing machines and microwaves are substandard and use an excessive amount of electrical energy. The new variations are saving electrical energy and are higher.
As a great citizen, I at all times take a look at the variety of stars on newly imported fridges, washing machines and so forth to save lots of power (initially due to my very own pocket).
I don’t know the place our flesh pressers and the folks working at GSA store, but when I purchase any such gear and test at Palace, China, Mall, Melcom, Game and so forth and the overwhelming majority of the merchandise on sale are solely labeled 1 or 2 power saving stars.
All the merchandise on provide on the higher retailers; Philips, Whirlpool, Samsung and so forth are additionally solely 2.5 and three stars and it’s tough to discover a 4 or 5 star rated fridge or deep-freezer.
It appears to be like like the sooner talked about folks additionally neglect that not many Ghanaians are utilizing fridges however many individuals use a deep-freezer as a fridge by merely freezing and unplugging it to save lots of power when their drinks are chilly.
So to conclude this half: Many Ghanaians can solely afford the house used fridges and different gear or the unhealthy power rated low customary new gear that are at the least usually are not huge environmental enchancment.
Environmental penalties:
The used gear coming from Europe are largely the standard manufacturers with an older however affordable power use score, most at the least pretty much as good as the brand new low high quality ones GSA needs us to purchase.
The motive they’re bought shouldn’t be as a result of they’re actually spoiled however as a result of they’ve come to the top of their financial lifespan in Europe, that means the costs to restore them at an hourly charge of typically larger than 25-35 euro (250-350 Ghc) an hour usually are not value it for the house owners. However, repairing them in Ghana by a mechanic or technician with a day by day charge of 60-100 Ghc could be very a lot possible and can lengthen the lifespan of those merchandise by 4-6 years or extra.
Now, let’s take a look at the full environmental impact throughout the entire lifespan of a fridge or washer:
Buying new fridge, utilizing by first proprietor in Europe for 6-8 years ending as much as be destroyed and shopping for a brand new one signifies that each 3-4 folks (common family) are utilizing 8-10 fridges of their life.
In Africa, the common family of 4-5 shopping for a brand new fridge however with the ability to restore it’s utilizing their (low high quality) fridge 8-10 years utilizing 6-8 fridges of their life.
Total variety of fridges produced and destroyed by these 2 common households is about 12.
Now examine this to permitting second fridges into Ghana once more.
The Europeans will nonetheless use the identical 7 fridges common, however they’re reused for one more 4-6 years or longer so the African quantity is decreased by 4 fridges making the full solely 8 fridges.
Just calculate how a lot power and air pollution we secure worldwide if we examine these 4 fridges to the entire Ghanaian and even African inhabitants.
Secondly, the air pollution and waste facets.
Do that folks in Europe pay a set quantity after they purchase a fridge for the destruction on the finish of its use?
Destruction in Europe is simply as costly per hour as repairing in Europe as a result of the wage for an worker is roughly the identical.
A a lot better answer, for my part could be:
enable this second-hand gear into Ghana, restore all the pieces that may be repaired and promote to Ghanaians at an reasonably priced value, do the organized destruction in Ghana as effectively and promote of the aluminum, gold, different metals and plastic scraps.
Advantages are jobs for: importers, restore technicians and destruction staff.
Other benefits: reasonably priced gear for Ghanaian shoppers, earnings to scrap in Ghana, promoting of scraps.
I do know the EU might be able to pay for destruction in Ghana as quickly as Ghana ensures that the destruction might be dealt with in an environmental pleasant means.
That could be a greater alternative for GSA to be helpful than the stopping of secondhand digital gear within the identify of the atmosphere.
I’m additionally virtually certain that a number of EU nations might be ready to subsidize and put money into European data and gear and so forth to start out environmental destruction of electronics.
But who am I? Just a involved Ghanaian