Professor Alex Dodoo, the Director General of the Ghana Standards Authority, has been appointed the African Union’s umbrella organization for standardization, the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) as the Standards Ambassador to the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat in Accra.

Under the term of the two-year mandate spanning 2020 and 2021, Prof Dodoo would play a key role in the operationalization phase of the AfCFTA as far as the monitoring and elimination of non-tariff barriers are concerned.

He is also to ensure adherence to the World Trade Organisation’s sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures aimed at the protection of human, animal or plant life or health from certain risks.

Prof Dodoo will also facilitate collaborations between ARSO and the AfCFTA Secretariat.

“This letter from the ARSO Central Secretariat is to communicate and inform you of your appointment by the 61st ARSO Council, as the Designated ARSO Ambassador to the AfCFTA Secretariat,” the letter of appointment said.

The implication of this appointment is that Prof Dodoo will serve the dual role of Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority whilst at the same time being an appointed Diplomatic Official to the AfCFTA Secretariat for and on behalf of the African Organisation for Standardisation.

The operational phase of the AfCFTA was launched in Niamey, Niger on 7 July 2019, with a one-year transition period before the real trading begins among state parties on 1 July 2020.

Ghana has been chosen to host the AfCFTA Secretariat.

Professor Dodoo is the Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority and an Associate Professor at the Centre for Tropical Clinical Pharmacology, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Ghana.

He is the country representative to the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and serves on the Council of the African Standards Organisation.

Prof Dodoo has worked extensively on the development of norms and standards especially in healthcare in collaboration with the World Health Organisation and the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS).

This appointment places Ghana at the forefront of improving inter-African trade with a focus on improved quality of goods on the African market.

By adhering to the global SPS measures and by removing technical barriers to trade, African manufacturers can improve their market share, increase their competitiveness thereby create jobs and wealth for the youth on the continent.

The AfCFTA is definitely a game changer and the benefits of the AfCFTA being hosted in Accra are immense to the national economy.