Plans to harmonize standards of measurement of products manufactured and consumed within the West African region have seen some progress.
This comes after the drafting of a document for the calibration and verification of measuring instruments.
Countries within the ECOWAS region that agree to sign the document will be expected to use the same instruments recognized internationally in measuring products manufactured and consumed within the region.The move is to encourage international best practice in the manufacturing sector.
Member states are expected to sign the draft document after a three-day workshop organized by the West African Quality System Programme, (WAQSP) in Accra.
The Ghana Standards Authority has reiterated government’s commitment to ensuring quality for consumers.
“Ghana and the rest of West Africa are prepared to move with the rest of the world by ensuring that quality becomes the hallmark of all manufacturing and trading activities with the international community,” Prof. Alex Dodoo, Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority said in a speech read on his behalf.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization UNIDO which is financing the projects is confident the move will remove trade barriers within the region and beyond.
According to Fakhruddin Aziz, a representative of UNIDO, “The ECOWAS Commission has set the course of our action, which is the development and operation of suitable, relevant, efficient and effective quality infrastructure recognized at the international level to improve the competitiveness of products and services.”
