The Standards Board Must Read This

By: Samuel Asampana Atarah

A Chinese made extension cord, widely distributed in Ghana, has a 3-pin plug at one end which then connects to the circuit board by only two unsuitably tiny wires and a dummy plastic tube disguised as a third (earth) wire.

Chinese electronic consumer goods are flooding the Ghanaian market along with many other products. Besides the killing of local industries and attendant unemployment of natives, some products are actually death traps which are not only a bane of consumers but would end up costing the nation enormously in lives and property. They are time bombs waiting to explode and those given the authority to oversee quality control of imports should exercise extra vigilance.

My encounter and analysis of a particular electrical product “Jinkang” extension cord (Jinkang Power JK – 019) which is widely distributed in the country strongly suggests that the product does not appear to have undergone or passed quality control clearance whatsoever in Ghana.

Dodgy extension cord

Early in January I purchased the above-mentioned electrical for personal use from a retailer in Bolgatanga in the Upper East region. At home, I extended power from the wall and connected up a hot plate to boil water. Within 22 seconds after switching on the power the whole extension cord began to melt and before long by the time I managed to switch the power off the entire cable had melted and looked, by then, like a bulk of intestines. I gathered up the extension cord and drove back to the retailer, even though quite aware that, the return of defective products is not a consumer right in Ghana.

Fortunately, the retailer exercised some goodwill and replaced the cord with another but the same Jinkang brand of extension cord. There was no improvement whatsoever, and this time I nearly burnt down my entire house.

The interesting thing is that the extension cord was supposedly protected by a 10A fuse, although in Ghana 13 A fuses are the norm. The fuse should have ensured that if the heater draws more than 10 amperes of current, there should be a break in the power supply and therefore avoid the risk of fire. The burning can only be explained by the fact that the fuse was not functioning or it was not there at all. I did not have tools to verify this.

As I have expert knowledge in electronics I cut open the extension cord and noticed that the wires within the cord of the JK – 019 were terribly unsuitable for the particular purpose. The wires were as tiny as those found inside a radio set. I confirmed this by replacing the extending cable with an appropriate one. The appropriate cable (which is shown below besides the offending JK – 019 in the picture below) was of thicker wires and was also colour coded.

Hoaxes of Jinkang JK – 109

After I had taken a detailed examination of Chinese product, I discovered to my horror two grave violations of electrical principles in the making of the extension.

In the first place the wires within were not colour-coded. As seen in the photographs, all wires were same colour (dark grey). A standard domestic electrical appliance would have three wires with distinct colours: each colour corresponding to the Live, the Earth and the Neutral terminals respectively.

A violation of the basic colour code alone means that the appliance should not have been accepted for domestic use if those responsible for overseeing quality control had done their work.

The replacement cable shown besides the board contrasts sharply with Chinese product both in the thickness of the wires and in the colour code. The circuitry is not earthed – only two wires involved.

Failure to distinguish between the wires connecting the three electrical terminals is extremely dangerous because they could be exchanged any time in the course of the wiring. This “Jinkang” type of wiring is like a preset time bomb!

Is there a Quality Control body in Ghana?

Elsewhere this colour code violation alone is enough to merit a complete ban of the product into the market but obviously for a Ghanaian or African market, the Chinese can get away with such shoddy and dangerous products because quality control officials are either asleep at the wheels or (who knows ?) may have been bribed to look the other way. Obviously the Chinese deliberately mass produce these goods for the African market because they are pretty aware that there are no institutional checks to prevent them. It is a form of insidious racism because Chinese goods elsewhere in the world have better standards.

The picture shows the tiny nature of the wires used in the extension cable as well as the dummy tube disguised as a third wire.

My second discovery was even more outrageous and a grand hoax. Like a normal electrical appliance, the Jinkang extension cord terminated with a 3-pin plug at one end. Indeed as I dissected the cable, the three unicolour “wires” appeared to run along its length. It took a close look to discover that one of the “wires” was an empty tube! Just a tiny hose included to make it seem that each wire connected to each of the three pins. (See photo above). Inside the circuit board (the end where power is distributed), only two wires were used. This is certainly a premeditated trick without regard to the consequence to the Ghanaian consumer. Nothing can be more disheartening. It is a wholesale cheat on the intelligence of a people, a nation.

Upon further examination of the circuit board, I found that there was, of course no grounding, or attempt to provide a common ground terminal. Grounding (the Earth terminal) is a very important part of domestic wiring and electrical appliances. For example, on a thunderous day the atmosphere is charged up (with static electricity). If a house (or an electrical appliance) is wired without the grounding, the electricals in such a house are exposed to damage as there is no path to conduct the static charges from the atmosphere to the earth. This leads to short circuiting and possibly fires.

To my knowledge there is no vigorous consumer rights association in Ghana to fight for vulnerable consumers most of whom are not well informed on some of these appliances which are meant to fleece them. Most houses in Ghana are also not covered by property insurance, so in effect whatever fire damages caused by these appliances is irreparable damage whilst the Chinese are left to go with impunity.

The only alternative left isa well-functioning Standards or Quality Control Board. If there is such a body, one is then left with the question as to how the “huge” consignment of JK- 019 toxic electrical appliances get cleared onto the Ghanaian market? Were they tested? If they were, which body tested them?

The dangers that the Jinkang JK – 019 and similar (unchecked) electrical appliances in our market pose cannot therefore be emphasized enough. They are like fire next to a gallon of petrol. They are an explanation to the many mysterious fires that gut our homes, offices and markets day in day out. Ghanaians deserve better standards, better protection from rogue traders and better governance. Jinkang JK -019 extension cords are land mines in our country. The office for trading and standards in Ghana (if any) is called on to eliminate Jinkang JK -019 electricals and similar ones to save the Ghanaian public from the death and fire traps.

The Chinese are already notorious all over Africa for gross disrespect for labour rights, yet African governments, including the Ghanaian government are prepared to bend over backwards to please them because they are supposedly bringing in foreign investment. Are shoddy and dangerous goods an acceptable part of that investment?

The writer is currently a lecturer at the School of Engineering, University of the West of Scotland, UK.

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