By Jibril Abdul Mumuni, GNA
Accra, Dec. 8, GNA – A new book titled “Consumer Rights and Justice in Ghana: A Legal Compass” has been launched in Accra to help address the long-standing scholarly and practical gaps in Ghana’s consumer protection regime.
Authored by Dr Francisca Kusi-Appiah, a lecturer at the University of Professional Studies Law School, the book serves as a practical and accessible guide.
It aims at empowering Ghanaians, from corporate executives to traders, to understand and assert their rights in the marketplace.
The launch, chaired by former Supreme Court Judge, Professor Samuel Kofi Date-Bah, was held at a brief ceremony attended by legal luminaries, consumer rights advocates and law students.
Dr Kusi-Appiah said her motivation stemmed from the absence of a comprehensive Ghana-focused textbook on consumer protection for law students, despite the subject being taught at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
“For four years, I have faced the same question: ‘Where is the Ghanaian context?’ We need a guide that speaks to our realities and our needs,” she said.
The author noted that many consumers continued to feel helpless in the face of unfair market practices, including “no return” policies and poorly disclosed sales conditions.
The book, therefore, not only analysed current laws, which remained scattered across multiple statutes and common law principles, but also strongly advocated the urgent passage of the Consumer Protection Bill, she said.
“The bill is necessary to empower our courts, regulators and consumers to enforce rights within Ghana and across the AfCFTA sub-region,” Dr Kusi-Appiah said.
She described the publication as a significant contribution to Ghana’s legal literature, offering a foundational resource for policymakers, regulators, the judiciary and citizens seeking fairness in commercial transactions.
Reviewing the book, Mr Appiah Adomako, Director of the West Africa Regional Centre of CUTS International, underscored the notable gap in academic literature on consumer protection in Ghana.
He said scholars and students had long relied on English legal materials and foreign jurisdictions due to the absence of a comprehensive local resource.
“This gap reflects Ghana’s fragmented legal framework, where consumer rights are spread across multiple, often outdated, pieces of legislation,” he noted.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe