The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) with the support of the German government is to build a modern fit-for-purpose National Metrology Institute in Ghana (NMI) to respond to the needs of the Ghanaian people and industry.

The German government through the German Metrology Institute (PTB) is assisting GSA through the “Fit- for - Future National Metrology Institute in Ghana project, to improve its metrology services to meet the demands of industry, the scientific community, consumers and the international community.

The project foresees an upgrade in the country’s legal framework to bring it in line with modern trends as well as the development of services that the industry wants and that will also satisfy the needs of consumers.

In this direction, a project kick-off meeting was held in Accra to sensitise stakeholders and the general public on the objective and goals of the project.

The event is to create awareness on the importance of Metrology in the health sector and industry and trade, create awareness of the Metrology services offered by GSA and Obtain information and feedback from key stakeholders on the calibration needs of the industry.

Mr Alan Kyerematen, Minister for Trade and Industry, in an address at the launch of the establishment of the NMI, said Ghana recognized that accurate measurements improve the productivity and competitiveness of local industries.

The country is, therefore, seeking to establish an efficient and effective institutional framework for metrology to support industrialisation.

It will provide a basis for attracting investments into manufacturing, strengthening productivity and enhancing consumer protection.

The Minister pledged the government’s support for the establishment of the National Metrology Institution to protect the health and safety of individuals, protect the environment, promote industrialisation and facilitate trade.

He said the Metrology Institute in Ghana would provide world-class metrological services to meet the present and future needs of industry and society.

It will also afford companies and research institutions in Ghana and the ECOWAS subregion access to a broader range of metrological services than hitherto available.

This will enhance Ghana’s capacity to export metrological services to the ECOWAS sub-region.

He lauded the German Government’s support for Ghana’s industrialisation agenda and particularly the objectives of job creation and skills development in the manufacturing sector.

He said the uniformity of measurements including weights and other units of measurements were critical to the successful implementation of the Trade in Goods and Trade in Services Protocols of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement.

Mr Christoph Retzlaf, the German Ambassador to Ghana, said the establishment of the Metrology Institute was another example of the close relationship between Germany and Ghana.

He said Germany had decided to enhance its cooperation with Ghana through investment and the creation of jobs because these were important for the development.

Professor Alex Dodoo, Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority, said metrology was at the heart of Ghana’s quest to industrialise and create jobs for the young people who enter the market each year.

“To create jobs, we must industrialise. To industrialize we must modernise. A key part of modernisation and industrialisation is metrology and its sub-disciplines including mensuration or the mathematics of measurement,” he said.

Prof Dodoo said Ghana had all it needed to build a stronger NMI to build upon progress and achieve more for Ghana.

Currently, GSA has 11 internationally accredited laboratories in several areas including metrology, Testing Laboratories; Calibration Laboratories; Inspection Body, Certification Bodies and a Training Body.

Nearly all our entities are accredited by the German Accredited Service, Dakks.

However, Prof Dodo said these capabilities good as they were would not suffice for what a fit-for-future national metrology institute should be.

It is therefore in that regard that PTB, who has been pre-eminent in supporting GSA in all its quality infrastructure work is partnering with us with the support of the German Government to build a modern fit-for-purpose NMI.