The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) is going to strictly enforce the ban on the sale of second-hand clothing in the wake of the covid-19 outbreak in the country.

According to the Director-General of the authority, Professor Alex Dodoo, second-hand clothes which include brassieres and panties expose people health risks.

In 1994, Ghana passed the Legislative Instrument (LI) 1586, which outlawed the importation, clearance and sale of used undergarments because they were found to be unhygienic and presented a health hazard.

However, the implementation of the law was never carried out and the second-hand clothing continued to flood the markets.

The Authority however believes that, the currently experienced covid-19 pandemic in the country, avails them more reasons to strictly enforce the ban. 

The LI states: “No person shall import for commercial purpose or in commercial quantities any of the following goods which are second-hand or which have been used – handkerchiefs; men, women and children’s underpants; mattresses and sanitary ware.

“A person who imports any goods contrary to the regulation above commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding GH¢500,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both, and the goods in respect of which the offence was committed shall be liable to be seized and forfeited to the State.”

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Prof. Dodoo said the enforcement, would start in due course at the various entry points of the country, in an interview with the Daily Graphic  last Tuesday, March 24.

That would help ensure that used clothing classified as banned were not allowed into the country, especially at this moment when the world was battling the spread of the COVID-19, he said.

He stated that the authority would also begin market surveillance across the country to rid the market of banned second-hand items such as brassieres, panties and handkerchiefs.

“We are triggering all the measures at the entry points to ensure that some of these items do not get to the open market because anything unhygienic is a threat to public health at this moment,” Prof. Dodoo said.