ISO Secretary General calls upon Deputy Minister

Accra, March 31, GNA - Mr Rob Steele, International Standard Organisations (ISO) Secretary General, on Monday paid a courtesy call on Mr Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry. The visit was to formally inform the Deputy Minister of the International Conference on Standardisation to be held in Accra from April 1-3. Mr Vanderpuye said Africas trade had been very slow due to the lack of standardisation, adding, however, that Ghanas standard system was one of the best in Africa. He assured the ISO Secretary General of the Ministrys support and participation in the conference, saying the outcome of deliberations would go a long way to help in the formulation of common standardisation policy for Africa. The Deputy Minister noted that the Government would continue to empower the Ghana Standard Authority (GSA) in the discharge of its mandate and to make it more competitive. He said the recent collapse of a storey building in Accra could be attributed to the failure of the owner and the contractor to follow laid-down standard procedures. He said it was high time the various district, municipal and metropolitan assemblies were made to ensure that aside issuing building permits to property owners, standardisation permits should be required before a building could be put up. Mr Steele said it was important that the Organisation interacted with state officials of member countries to find out how best they could assist them. He said 24 countries would be participating in the three-day conference, during which stakeholders would share ideas and brainstorm on the way forward. The Secretary General was accompanied by Dr George Crentsil, Executive Director, GSA and Mr Nicolas Fleury, ISO Director of Marketing and Communications.GNA Read Full Story