Mr Samuel Obodai, Deputy Central Regional Minister on Tuesday tasked Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the region to be abreast with provisions of international quality management systems in order to improve service delivery in their areas of operation. He noted that over the years, there had been a number of complaints about the service delivery of government agencies as a result of which the Ministry of Public Sector Reforms was set up to look at the institutional and operational bottlenecks to address the issue. Mr Obodai made the call when he opened a day’s workshop in Cape coast on the International Organisation for Standardization 9000 Quality Management Systems’, otherwise known as ‘ISO 9000’. It was organized by the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) for Chief Executives, Coordinating Directors and other key officials of the MMDAs in the region. The ‘ISO 9000’ quality management systems, have been evolved to ensure the continuous improvement of quality service delivery in all spheres of the economy. In the case of local government agencies, it has the responsibility to among others, ensure institutional development for good governance to enhance the well being of the people. Mr Obodai said one of the critical conditions necessary for the achievement of government’s objectives was a high level of awareness among economic operators, and that sensitization, training and the eventual certification to the ISO 9000, were strategic to the realization of global competitiveness, people empowerment and poverty reduction. He said efforts made by the government over the years to promote non-traditional export commodities to boost the nation’s foreign exchange earnings had been met with difficulty in penetrating foreign markets. This was because suppliers had to provide documented quality management system to ensure that their goods and services consistently met the required standards. Mr Obodai noted that the application of standards and for that matter ‘ISO 9000’ by local government agencies and all business concerns would greatly enhance service delivery output of these agencies. Mr Mustapha Kuma, Principal Standards Officer and Head of Technical Coordination Services Department of the GSB took the participants through “Principles and Road Map to ISO 9000”. He explained that the ISO 9000, made it imperative for the assemblies to put in place appropriate training programmes for their staff, effective procurement procedures and to analyze the needs and expectations of the people in their areas of operation. Mr Kuma said this would help ensure the evolvement of strategic plans that would enable the country attain all her developmental objectives such as the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Mr Francis Court-Tawiah, GSB Officer in charge of the Central/Western Regions said standardization was an important parameter for all, including exporters, manufacturers and local government agencies to measure the quality of their goods and services. He pledged the GSB’s commitment in facilitating the promotion and development of standards for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and agencies to realize their full potentials to support national economic growth. Source: GNA