appreciating these realities. That is the point. That, however, is not to say that consumers are protected and that consumers have been ring-fenced. We are all in this country; in respect of telephone services for instance, Madam Speaker, three days ago, my Chief Whip was directed to send text messages to Colleagues for a meeting, we only had the messages this morning.
When some of them were telling me that they had not received it, whiles we were talking, some of them kept receiving their messages - messages sent three days ago. I mean these are matters that should concern all of us. Sometimes they are sent and they have never reached their destinations. These are critical matters that should concern all of us.
So, I agree with the maker of the Statement that, it should be a source of worry and perhaps the time has come to urge the Consumer Protection Association (CPA) to be more proactive than they have done. They have started well anyway, but there is still ample room for improvement.
Madam Speaker, I thank you.
Deputy Majority Leader (Alhaji Abdul- Rashid Pelpuo): Madam Speaker, I also rise to thank the maker of the Statement for bringing out this very important issue about our consumers and the need for us to protect them in the market of commerce.
Madam Speaker, for a market to be the quality market we want it to be, it is important that consumers are satisfied with the products. If not, consumers go to the market, spend hard-earned money and then they do not get the worth of it. So in most countries, very committed people have come together to form these associations so that they keep track of
events of the market. So it is important that members of the public would not just allow businesses to take money from them but also to ensure that the business provides the quality products they propose to provide for the consumer.
Madam Speaker, two issues have come out very strongly. One is the fact that we are paying much more than we benefit from our air travels and l think this matter cannot just be mentioned and left hanging. We would urge the Minister for Tourism, who was here quite a few minutes ago, and the Minister for Transport as well, to sit together to come to terms on how to tackle this issue. Businesses might be frightened if Parliament issues a statement and says that we want to have a sitting with them.
They might think that we are interfering too much in their affairs. But to take it from that angle is important. Again, the Consumer Protection Association itself should be able to be proactive in questioning the airline operators why they would charge much more in Ghana than in other countries. This matter has become a sing-song with most business people.
If you travel in any aircraft leaving Ghana, most people complain, especially the ones going to continental Europe. It is important that they know that we are aware of what is happening and that we seek to correct the wrongs.
Madam Speaker, a few minutes ago, there were also exchanges about this question of interest rates and the need for interest rates to come down. If inflation is coming down, especially food prices, which is very key in driving the visionary trends in our country, Madam Speaker, the truth is that, inflation is a critical component of our economic outlook and anytime we have an inflation that is galloping and out of control. The
