The lack of standards in measurement in the business sector across the country is worrying and must be addressed to prevent consumer doubts, Director General of the Ghana Standards Authority, Dr. Alex Dodoo has said.
He said most businesses either do not use numbers in measurement or if they are used, their credibility is always contested.
Dr. Dodoo who was speaking at a stakeholder consultative workshop on the GSA’s intended fit-for-future National Metrology Institute in Ghana, said measurement is about numbers, and such numbers must be genuine and not contested.
He said businesses in oil and gas, agribusiness, food processing among several others usually have conflicts and issues with different players regarding accuracy of measuring tools and equipment used.
“The GSA is determined to ensure that Ghanaian businesses can trade globally by having measurement systems which can compare with any in the world – that is our long term strategy. A kilo is a kilo anywhere and it must be the same,” Dr Dodoo said.
The workshop, which was held in partnership with PTB of Germany, explored areas such as standards in the measuring industry, the human resource capabilities to ensure consumer protection and business plan that provides sustainable services.
GSA explained that the meeting was to also look at trading from the micro level to the highest level to ensure that both consumers and industry players have an understanding measurement.
“From next year 2022, the GSA will begin an annual meeting to discuss measurement and why industries must not measure wrongly. Once we get our measurement right, we’ll succeed. When measurements are wrong particularly in the health sector, people die,” he added.
The Project Coordinator for PTB, one of the partners of the initiative, Carola Heider speaking on the progress of the project since its inception in 2020 said: “by now, the initiative has achieved need analysis of the economy here in Ghana and what is needed are additional services and calibration capabilities.”
Impact The fit-for-future NMI will give local companies and research institutions in Ghana and the ECOWAS region access to a broader range of metrological services. The project aims to strengthen the capacity of the Ghana Standards Authority, the national metrology institute (NMI) in Ghana, to provide relevant metrological services that will meet the ever-increasing demand of industry and facilitate trade.
