Weights and Measurements System Key for Ghana’s Economic Growth
An efficient Weights and Measurements system is key in a developing economy such as Ghana.
Accurate measurements are fundamental to economic growth as they instil confidence in consumers, ensure that consumers receive what they pay for and that businesses operate on a level playing field.
This system ensures that consumers get what they pay for, and sellers get fair payment for the goods and services they sell by promoting a uniform and technically sound system of weights and measures.
This, in turn, promotes consumer confidence and helps ensure fair competition for Ghanaian commerce that spans from local business operations to a global scale.
Some of the measuring devices that ensure that items being traded are of the right measurement include top loading scales, (weighing scales), fuel dispensing machines, utility metres (energy and water metres), among others.
The office of Weights and Measurements in Ghana is the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) which by Law, has been established to promote uniformity in Ghana’s weights and measures laws, regulations, and standards to achieve equity between buyers and sellers in the marketplace.
The GSA has metrology laboratories that ensure that these measuring devices are calibrated or verified before used for trading.
In line with this, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Kobina T. Hammond in September, last year appointed the Director-General of the GSA, Professor Alex Dodoo as the Custodian of Weights and Measurements of the country.
The Minister said the appointment was to ensure that Ghana aligns with international standards in metrology, adding that, “This is vital for international trade and collaboration, as it establishes Ghana as a reliable and compliant partner on the global stage.”
Empowered by Section 62 of the GSA Act, 2022 (Act 1078), the Custodian has the power to enter premises and require the production and examination of the weight, measure or instrument in that place.
The Director-General, as the Custodian, is expected to appoint and deploy inspectors of weights and measures for the effective administration of weights and measures.
“The inspectors can seize the weight, measure or instrument for the purpose of comparing the seized weight, measure or instrument with a working standard. It is an offence to obstruct an inspector in his line of duty,” according to the act. Since his appointment, the Authority has been involved in various outreach programmes more recently a market sensitisation activity where staff of the Authority engaged market women, butchers, stakeholders and the general public in Kumasi on the importance of Weights and Measurements in trading.
