The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) significantly expanded its testing, calibration and verification activities in 2025, as part of efforts to strengthen product quality, protect consumers and support Ghanaian businesses to compete in local and international markets.
The Authority verified 242,764 weights, measures and weighing instruments during the year, representing a six per cent increase over the previous year.
It also calibrated 26,091 instruments for industry, exceeding its annual target by 25 per cent, while its laboratories tested 28,375 product samples.
The number of samples tested was 31 per cent above the Authority’s target and 22 per cent higher than the figure recorded in 2024.
Professor George Agyei, Director-General of the GSA, said the increased regulatory and technical activities formed part of efforts to strengthen Ghana’s quality infrastructure and ensure that products sold locally or exported met required standards.
He disclosed this at the Authority’s Annual Stakeholders Meeting in Accra.
Prof Agyei said the Authority’s activities were also critical to consumer protection and the promotion of confidence in Ghanaian products.
The GSA issued 1,259 certificates to local manufacturers during the year, representing a 12 per cent improvement over the previous year.
“Each one is a signal to all of us that Ghanaian products meet the mark,” he said, emphasising the need to continuously strengthen the country’s quality infrastructure.
Alongside the expansion in its regulatory activities, the Authority recorded an 18 per cent increase in revenue in 2025, generating more than GH¢228 million.
Prof Agyei attributed the improved financial performance to disciplined management of the Authority’s resources.
He said the GSA also recorded a five-fold increase in the surplus transferred to its accumulated fund, describing the development as evidence of improved financial discipline while maintaining its regulatory responsibilities.
Despite the gains, the Director-General acknowledged that the Authority had not met one of its key targets.
Of the 426 standards targeted for development, only 40 per cent had been completed.
Prof Agyei described the performance as an “honest number” that highlighted an area requiring greater attention and called on stakeholders to contribute technical expertise and practical experience towards closing the gap.
“We are not here for pleasantries alone. Interrogate our performance. Challenge our plans,” he said.
The Chairman of the GSA Governing Board, Alhaji Hudu Mogtari, also urged stakeholders to provide frank feedback to help improve the Authority’s operations.
He said stakeholder engagement was not merely a statutory requirement under the SIGA Act, 2019 (Act 990), and the Authority’s annual performance obligations, but was essential to the effective discharge of the GSA’s mandate.
“A standard which is written in an office and never tested against the realities of the factory floor, the market stall, or the export terminal is just a paper,” he said.
Alhaji Mogtari said standards should translate into practical benefits for businesses seeking access to new markets, protect consumers and the environment, and support government efforts to expand exports and facilitate trade.
Dr Awal Mohammed, Deputy Director-General in charge of Operations at the GSA, said the Authority’s performance reflected ongoing efforts to strengthen Ghana’s quality infrastructure, support industry, protect consumers and facilitate trade.
He said continued collaboration between the GSA and its stakeholders would be essential to ensuring that standards remained relevant to the needs of industry, consumers and the wider economy.
