Editorial by Ghanaian Times: Violators of Public Health Act, 2012 must face stiffer punishment!

The country’s Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) keeps reminding manufacturers, importers, exporters, and the public that it is an offence under the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851) to manufacture, prepare, import, export, distribute, sell, supply, or exhibit for sale any of the FDA's regulated products, such as food, drugs, cosmetics, and medical products, without registering them first with the Authority.

In addition to this legislation, which is common knowledge in the business industry in the country, the FDA organises unannounced swoops to check compliance with the law.

It is, therefore, intriguing that some individuals and organizations keep flouting it.

In fact, Sections 99 and 118 of the Public Health Act, 2012, prohibit the importation of unregulated products, yet such products are common in the country.

Just yesterday, the FDA confis­cated large quantities of unregistered products at four Chinese supermarkets at Osu in Accra, namely Jia Hua Agricultur­al Trade Company, Panda Mart, Downwind Sail, and Hauang Jia YI Limited, during a swoop.

Besides contravening the Public Health Act, the operators of the supermarkets flouted the labelling guide (LI 1541), which requires all products imported into the country to be labelled in the English Language, but all the products seized had only Chinese labels.

The Ghanaian Times wonders what actually gives the impetus for the flouting of the law and the rubbishing of the swoops.

The FDA explains that such unregistered products are brought into the country through smuggling.

This awareness itself is enough to prompt the authority to deepen its surveillance duties and intensify the swoops.

From all indications, the FDA is very concerned about the country’s public health safety and therefore must check the sale of expired products too.

But it needs public support to discharge that duty.

Analyzing some statements made by its officials in public, such as “public health safety is a shared responsibility," one clearly sees that the authority needs serious public support.

Therefore, members of the public must give tip-offs to help trace people who, for the sake of their selfish economic gains, would do everything to achieve that desire without paying heed to public health safety.

In fact, such tip-offs are in the interest of the whole nation.

But while we appeal to the public to support the FDA, we would like its officials, in particular, to do introspection and also look around themselves to see whether any of them are doing something untoward to undermine their collective efforts.

It’s not about only corruption but also about showing leniency and allowing laxity in the law.

It is reported that during the swoop yesterday, some managers of the supermarkets were seen pleading for leniency.

The Ghanaian Times believes that asking for leniency is a natural thing for anyone caught in an offense or crime, but it appears the managers were doing so because the FDA has certain officials who would easily give in.

In any case, we expect that the FDA would be careful but resolute in discharging its duties in order to avoid suits such as the one by Tobinco Pharmaceuticals.

But we know that those found to have violated Act 851 must be surcharged to pay administrative fines or even prosecuted.

We think it is time for culprits to face both punishments.