By Edzorna Francis Mensah
Ministry of Trade and Industry in collaboration with the Ghana Standards Authority, the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, the Foods and Drug Authority and the Ghana Revenue Authority has streamlined the implementation of Rules of Origin certification processes to verify compliance with the respective Rules of Origin as well as mandatory standards and regulatory compliance for made-in-Ghana goods to compete in the global market.
The trade minister told Parliament that, in respect of exports especially under the major Preferential Trade Agreements with the EU, UK, USA and the African Continental Free Trade Area, Parliament recently passed the Ghana Accreditation Service Act, 2023 (Act 1103) to provide for the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies, hence conveying formal demonstration of Ghana’s competence to carry out tasks against specified criteria, including international guidelines and international standards.
In the area of national metrology or weights and measures, K.T Hammond made mention of the fact that and in line with the relevant provisions of the Act, “I have appointed the Director General of GSA as the national Custodian of Weights and Measures to ensure that Ghana aligns with international standards of metrology”.
The Minister further recognized that under the National Quality Policy, Ghana is implementing a holistic approach to building the entire standards, conformity assessment, metrology and quality architecture required for global competitiveness.
Mr. Hammond in responding to Dr Kwabena Donkor MP for Pru East what steps the Ministry is taking to improve the quality of made-in-Ghana goods for the international market added that, “this year saw remarkable progress in enhancing the enforcement capacity of the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) as mandated under the Ghana Standard Authority Act, 2022 (Act 1078). The GSA has trained, commissioned and deployed 300 Trading Standards Inspectors for the first time in its recent history to enhance market surveillance as well as quality assurance for traded goods”.
