Ghana Standards Authority elects new board members

GHANA – The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has elected six new members to its governing body with the board being led by Professor Felix Charles Mills Robertson.

The Minister for Trade and Industry (MOTI), John Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, inaugurated and swore-in the newly-constituted governing body of the GSA at a brief ceremony held at the head office of the authority.

Other board members are Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah, Mr. Iddrisu Abdulai, Mr. Mark A. Taylor, Dr. Alexander Ampofo Donkor and Prof. Alexander Nii Otoo Dodoo, the Director General.

The Minister charged the board to drive the government’s aggressive industrialization transformation agenda saying the GSA played a critical role in Ghana’s quest to becoming the new manufacturing hub of Africa.

“The success of government’s 10-point industrialization plan hinges on GSA’s strategic direction,” he said.

He urged them not to consider themselves as public servants but as entrepreneurs working for a commercial organization. The government, he said, had also embarked on the development of a number of strategic anchor industries designed to diversify the economy beyond cocoa and gold.

He further stated that the government of Ghana, through the Trade Ministry, will continue to support the operations of the GSA to continue to play its part in the implementation of flagship programmes particularly the One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), among other market integration frameworks.

The new Board Chairman, Prof. Felix Charles Mills Robertson, on his part, expressed his excitement at heading the Authority at this critical moment and pledged to bring on board positive developments to the GSA.

“We shall ensure that the strategies and policies agreed by the board are effectively implemented by the Director-General (DG) and the management team and staff of the GSA,” he said.

Prof Robertson assured the Minister that the board would play a full and constructive role in the development of strategies and ensure that board decisions taken were in the GSA’s best interest. He called for support for the Ministry of Trade and Industry to enable the GSA to play its role effectively as the standards body.

In a brief remark, the Director General of the GSA, Prof. Alex Dodoo, touted the achievements of the past Board and promised to serve diligently under the new board to achieve greater successes.

Kyerematen enlightened that Ghana had signed a number of international trade agreements, including African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and started implementing the new Ghana-EU economic partnership agreement, which has opened the European (EU) market to Ghanaian products duty-free and quota-free.

He said these were new entry points for the country and GSA must be at the centre of the implementation agenda for the country to be able to produce and take advantage of these new markets opportunities.