Used-fridge import goes underground

The Energy Commission is lying in wait for a number of importers at the Tema Harbour, who are infringing the ban on importation of used refrigerators and bringing in the items in a disguised manner.

The importers either falsely describe their containers as holding TV sets and other household items or they change the shipped-on-board date to make it appear as though the items were shipped before the June 30, 2013 grace period. Others import the used fridges in small quantities and claim they are “personal effects”.

Those who change the shipped-on-board date manage to secure Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and Destination Inspection permits, and then seek out a willing customs officer who helps them to clear their contraband.

In the wake of heightened surveillance by the Energy Commission, however, the importers have held back at the Tema Harbour, awaiting an opportune time to clear containers they have already brought in. Some of them are also believed to be clearing through Takoradi, where the Commission is yet to station inspectors.

Time is however running out for those who are afraid to come forward and own up, as goods not cleared within a certain period are taken over by the state. The state warehouse is already filling up with seized fridges. Officials of the Commission stationed at the Tema harbour believe over 100 containers stuffed with used fridges are waiting to be cleared.

“We know there are used fridges in the system but you cannot tell which container they are in,” said Zan Hubert Nsoh, one of the three Energy Commission officials stationed at the harbour, who rely on port officials to provide them with details of containers that hold refrigerators.

Indeed, with thousands of containers deposited at some six terminals they are in charge of, the task appears overwhelming for the Commission’s inspectors. The ban on the importation of used fridges, per a Legislative Instrument, came into force in January 2013. Due to agitation by the importers, however, an understanding was reached between implementing agencies and the Association of Importers and Sellers of Used Fridges for goods shipped before June 30, 2013 to be eligible for clearance.

“So, if you shipped your consignment by June 30 and it came even in November, you will still be processed because you beat the deadline. That was the agreement. What we found out was that some people shipped after June, and you know clearing agents are interesting people; they found a way of beating the system. They scanned the documents, changed the shipped-on-board date and then went to EPA to acquire permits. They could do that because the EPA does not have the system needed to track the ship. So when they did that and got to the inspection company, fortunately, they were stopped,” said Hubert Nsoh.

“Information we got from the inspection company -- ICS -- was that a lot of containers had come in July. Fortunately, ICS has been able to query some of those who manipulated their entries; and so even though their containers are in and at the terminal, they can’t have access to them because they have not been given their values to pay,” he added.

George Asumadu, Chairman of the Association of Importers and Sellers of Used Fridges, said however that except for a few people “sneaking in” several fridges, his members have stopped the commercial importation of used fridges.

“What happened was that after June 30, there were about 30 containers of fridges that came in -- and even as I am speaking they haven’t been able to clear them from the ports. They [port authorities] have put an embargo on them until they assess the situation,” he told the B&FT.

Indeed, the Energy Commission insists some of the importers are still devising ways of bringing in the banned fridges. “Despite the ban coming into effect, some unscrupulous importers are still finding ways and means of bringing the fridges into the country.

We have accosted a couple of them. The most recent one was at Awoshie where we found a container being offloaded. So we set spies around the container, and it eventually emerged that at the tail-end of the container was stacked a number of refrigerators. So they were seized,” Kofi Agyarko, Head of Energy Efficiency and Climate Change at the Commission, told the B&FT.

“Those importers who think they are wise and are doing everything to make sure we do not succeed with implementation of the ban should be on the lookout, because the long arm of the law is very close to them.

“Even if you are able to get out of the port, that does not end the story; we have set spies all over and you can be arrested at the point where you are offloading the appliances -- and they should not forget that the law prescribes sanctions. It is completely illegal, so the trying judges can decide to jail you for two years or impose a fine of around GH¢6,000 or both,” Mr. Agyarko said.

The ban on the importation of used fridges and other electronic gadgets is part of a grander energy conservation measure the Energy Commission is undertaking. Aside from their high energy consumption levels, some of the fridges, discarded by users in Europe and America, are said to emit dangerous greenhouse gases.

Research conducted by the Industrial Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in 2006 indicated that, on average, second-hand refrigerators in Ghanaian homes (there are an estimated 2 million of them) consume up to 1,200 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per year. This was at a time when the average in America and Europe was 467kWh and 500kWh respectively.

The Energy Commission, in September last year, introduced a scheme to encourage consumers to turn in their used fridges for new ones at a discount. After a pilot in Accra, the Commission announced in May 2013 that the scheme was going nationwide.

Executive Secretary of the Commission, Dr. Alfred K. Ofosu Ahenkorah, said a total of 2,100 refrigerators have been exchanged since the scheme started on September 19, 2012. “This means that we have removed the same number of inefficient refrigerators from various households in Accra and replaced them with new energy-efficient ones, and in effect cut electricity consumption of refrigerators in those households,” he said.

Over the next three years, the Commission hopes to replace some 50,000 out of a total estimated number of 2 million high energy consuming and environmentally destructive refrigerators said to be in use in Ghanaian homes. “If we are able to meet our target of selling 50,000 units of refrigerators, this number alone can save an estimated 35 million units of electricity,” Dr. Ahenkorah said.