The African Organization for Standardization (ARSO) has inaugurated the Director General of the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Professor Alex Dodoo as President at a General Council Meeting in Yaoundé, Cameroon. 

Prof Dodoo, the 15th ARSO President, replaces BOOTO à NGON Charles of Cameroon who led the intercontinental body in-charge of standards harmonization for one-term.

“I am delighted and privileged to be given the opportunity to serve as ARSO President. I will give it my all and rely on your support to prosecute our mandate of using standards to transform our countries and our continent,” Prof Dodoo said after the ceremony. 

His tenure in office begins at a time when Africa is pushing to increase intra-trade and deepen economic integration through the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). 

“Our main objective is to leverage the image and position of ARSO and the ARSO Presidency to change the narrative by expanding intra-Africa trade within the purview of the AfCFTA, as well as to improve trading in Made in Africa goods locally, regionally and globally,” the new ARSO President said.

Prof Dodoo emerged as the choice of all the member-states on the back of his vision to rapidly harmonize standards on the continent, while leveraging on the proximity of AfCFTA secretariat being in Accra to further the objectives of ARSO.

Immediate priorities

In his inauguration speech, Prof Dodoo pledged to focus on three key areas that would help accelerate the implementation of the ambitious AfCFTA - which seeks to boost intra-Africa trade by up to 33% by 2035.

He wants Africa to participate in developing international standards, focus on key growth areas, and ensure ARSO plays a vital role in tackling the continent’s growing unemployment challenges.

“We can no longer be standards takers but developers too. We will be part of the development process so that the standards meet our specifications,” Prof Dodoo said.

ARSO at a crossroads

In a brief remark, a Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Michael Okyere Baafi said the AfCFTA has magnified the need for standards to be regionally harmonized to promote intra-trade. 

“ARSO has a huge task of ensuring that the AfCFTA is meaningful. And the only way we can increase intra-African trade is for us to harmonize our standards to facilitate cross-border trade. So therefore, the new leadership must work harder to change the narrative,” the New Juaben South lawmaker said.

Professor Alex Dodoo, who doubles as AfCFTA’s Goodwill Ambassador, was unanimously elected as President last year and will serve between 2022 and 2025.