Ghana’s Alex Dodoo wins unanimous backing to lead Africa’s Standards body
The Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority, Prof. Alexander Dodoo is the unanimous choice of the African Organization for Standardization (ARSO) to serve as president of the intergovernmental body.
The 57-year-old pharmacologist was elected at the ongoing ARSO’s 26th General Assembly in Kigali, Rwanda, after the Government of Ghana expressed “confidence in his candidature.”
Prof. Dodoo received a massive endorsement from all member-states, ending months of Ghana soliciting support for his candidature.
Come June 2022, Prof. Dodoo will succeed BOOTO à NGON Charles as head of the 44-year old body with the mandate to harmonize standardization and conformity procedures in Africa.
“I am delighted to be given the opportunity to serve, having in mind the enormous task of supporting our respective governments in making the AfCFTA a success which is key to the continent post-covid recovery,” the Director General of the GSA said in his acceptance speech.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) congratulated Ghana and Prof. Dodoo on the election victory, urging the ARSO president-elect to support member-states to strengthen their national quality infrastructure.
“We can only harmonize standards when we have robust national quality infrastructure,” ISO President Eddy Njoroge said in his congratulatory remarks.
The ARSO presidency is the latest leadership role Ghana has secured after Africa’s top gold producer was elected to the United Nations Security Council last Friday.
In a brief remarks to the assembly, the Director-General of Standards Organization of Nigeria, Mallam Farouk Salim said the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has magnified the need for standards to be regionally harmonized to promote intra-trade.
Prof Dodoo emerged as the choice of all the member-states on the back of his vision to rapidly harmonize standards on the continent, while leveraging on the proximity of AfCFTA secretariat being in Accra to further the aims of ARSO.
“It is only appropriate that Ghana takes up the presidency of ARSO at this time to drive the harmonization agenda,” the president-elect said.
The clinical scientist, who doubles as ARSO’s Goodwill Ambassador to the AfCFTA secretariat, will serve between 2022 and 2025.
Source: Ghana Business
