Ghana Publishing Company introduces digital platforms to tackle fake gazettes

The Ghana Publishing Company Limited has introduced a gazette verification platform and an e-bookshop to curb the circulation of fake gazettes and the unauthorised printing and sale of copies of the Acts of Ghana.

The initiative is aimed at improving access to authentic official publications while providing a digital means of checking the legitimacy of gazette documents.

Speaking at a press conference, the Managing Director of the Ghana Publishing Company Limited, Nana Kwasi Boatey called for an end to the practice of unauthorised reproduction and sale of Ghana's laws, as well as the circulation of fake gazettes.

"It is a criminal offence to publish and print copies of the Acts of Ghana and sell them. The only institution that has the legal mandate to do that is the Ghana Publishing Company. And yet, we've seen places where people have printed copies of the Acts of Ghana and are selling them. This is a very serious offence, and if we get you, we'll hand you over to the police. There was a similar situation with gazettes. People used to fake gazettes a lot. Now we have curbed it significantly because we have introduced a number of security features. There have been a number of arrests. Some prosecutions are ongoing," he said.

According to him, the newly introduced digital platforms are intended to help users establish whether gazette documents are authentic before relying on them for official purposes, while the e-bookshop platform is expected to provide digital access to publications produced by the company.

"What it does is, if you want a copy of the Acts of Ghana — and we are not talking about soft copies, we are talking about hard copies — you should be able to go to our website, buy one, and pay for it. That sale will reach us here. We will then package your Acts or Constitution or any of those inventories that we sell and courier it to you wherever you are. All of this is to ensure that the services we provide are readily available to Ghanaians and that the experience is better."

The Ghana Publishing Company is therefore urging the public to obtain official publications through authorised channels and to verify gazettes where authenticity is in doubt.

By Samuel Yeboah Adams