By Stanley Senya
Accra, Feb 17, GNA -The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has, as part of its mission of contributing towards the growth of industry and protection of consumers, engaged stakeholders in the iron rod industry to discuss the quality of products on the market.
The Authority also informed the stakeholders about its intention to conduct periodic factory and market surveillance in a bid to ensure adherence to standards.
A statement issued on Thursday by the GSA, said the Authority last year, embarked on a market surveillance in Accra, to check the quality of iron rods on the Ghanaian market, as against the Ghana Standard (GS 788:2), and found that some of the products surveyed during the exercise undertaken in the Greater Accra Region, did not meet the requirements, especially in respect to marking on iron rods, hence the decision to engage the stakeholders.
Mr. Clifford Frimpong, the Acting Director-General of the GSA, noted in the statement that the meeting was timely as there had been calls for countries to step up their enforcement efforts in the building and construction industry in the wake of the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
“Your industry is a very important sector in the development of the country. It’s important we all adhere to standards, especially in the construction sector, to avoid a major impact in the wake of natural disasters,” Mr Frimpong said.
“The National Building Code is a model we can all abide by to help strengthen the industry,” he added.
According to the statement, the stakeholders welcomed the efforts of the GSA in trying to sanitise the market and industry from sub-standard products.
They, however, noted that there was a need to extend the discussions to other stakeholders in the sector.
“We have full confidence in your processes and appreciate the work you are doing but we need to have a broader consultation for everyone to be on the same page so that compliance will become easy,” Mr. Eric Gené, Regional Managing Director of Fabrimetal, stated.
Mr. Seth Ayim, Executive Secretary of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, said his outfit was willing to collaborate with the GSA to sensitise its members on the importance of Standards.
Organisations that were present at the meeting included Tema Steel, Atala Limited, K.K Peprah Co Ltd., and Antis Ghana, Fabrimetal.
GNA