Parliament passed a new law on Friday that will make it easy for the state to offer an efficient and effective accreditation system.
The law will also enable the accreditation of conformity assessment organizations to oversee conformity assessment operations and provide for related matters.
According to the government, the need for an accreditation body was first stated in the Trade Policy (2005-2009) and the Industrial Policy (2011-2015).
Following that, the Ministry of Trade and Industry created the Ghana National Accreditation Service (GhaNAS) as a company limited by guarantee under the then Companies Act, 1963 (Act 179), and it began operating in September 2018.
It explained that GhaNAS was founded in response to the country’s demand for an internationally recognised national accreditation system as a critical component of a well-functioning quality infrastructure aligned with international best practices.
The Trade and Industry Minister, Kobina Tahir Hammond, who sponsored the bill, indicated further that GhaNAS was also established to ensure that the certification system satisfies the needs of Ghanaian firms operating in a fast-paced global market, as well as support for public policy objectives such as citizen health and safety and environmental protection.
Prior to the establishment of GhaNAS in 2018, public and private conformity assessment bodies seeking international recognition through accreditation sought accreditation from foreign accreditation bodies, for which the conformity assessment bodies paid exorbitant fees, he noted.
Highlights
The new law has 59 clauses, the first of which deals with the application of the statute.
It applies to conformity assessment bodies such as calibration laboratories, testing laboratories, validation bodies, verification bodies, certification bodies, inspection bodies, rating agencies, and any other body designated by the Minister by Executive Instrument.
The Clauses 2 to 5 provide for the establishment of Ghana Accreditation Service, the object of the law, functions and membership.
 ObservationÂ
MPs observed that concerns were expressed by some stakeholders, including the Ghana Standard Authority (GSA) and Health Facilities Regulatory Authority (HeFRA) in relation to the scope of the mandate of Ghana Accreditation Service when established.
In the view of the concerned stakeholders, extending the scope of the mandate of the Ghana Accreditation Service beyond the third party accreditation, to include monitoring of the activities of the conformity assessment bodies is likely to result in duplication of functions, increase cost of doing business and create potential conflicts with some existing Regulatory Agencies.
The MPs said for instance, under Ghana Standard Authority Act, 2022 (Act 1078), GSA is mandated to carry out conformity assessment activities.
GSA further argues that it is well positioned to carry out this conformity assessment considering the number of reference laboratories GSA has constructed, in addition to the cumulative wealth of experience and competence in conformity assessment (testing, inspection and certification).
Responses
The Minister, on the other hand, noted that best practice required that all of the Quality Infrastructure Pillars (Standardization, Metrology, Conformity, Assessment, and Accreditation) be independent.
As a result, the Ministry has chosen to transfer GSA’s monitoring function for conformity assessment, which is currently contained in Act 1078, and place it under Ghana Accreditation Service, while the Ministry works to build other Quality Infrastructure Bodies, according to Mr. Hammond.
He added that accordingly, the GSA’s duty will be confined to standards. HeFRA, on the other hand, will remain to supervise health facility compliance with standards.
High CostÂ
The average minimum cost of overseas accreditation services, including preparatory work and foreign consultant travel expenditures, is around US$120,000, exclusive of the cost of maintenance assessments and reassessments, MPs were told.
According to the government, the prohibitively high cost of foreign accreditation services and expertise has been a major disincentive for the conformity assessment bodies to seek accreditation services for their services.
Donor SupportÂ
The Ministry also informed the Trade, Industry, and Tourism Committee that the World Bank had committed US$5.1 million to the Ghana Accreditation Service as part of the Ghana Economic Transformation Project.
On the condition that the Accreditation Service Bill is promulgated by June 20, 2023, an amount of US$2.5 million of the overall support (US$S.1 million) is earmarked for supporting the activities of the Ghana Accreditation Service in the fiscal year 2023.
Public Health and SafetyÂ
The establishment of the Ghana Accreditation Service is to help realize the aspirations of Article 36 (9) of the 1992 Constitution, which requires the State to take appropriate measures to protect and safeguard the national and wider international environment for posterity through collaboration with other states and bodies.
According to the lawmakers, the establishment of the Ghana Accreditation Service will ensure that conformity assessment bodies are competent to verify the health and safety of products and services while also preventing unhealthy, unsafe, and environmentally harmful products from entering the market.
Financial Sustainability AnalysisÂ
The financial sustainability evaluation, according to Parliament, demonstrates that the firm is financially viable because it is self-financing in the medium term.
In one fiscal year, the government is scheduled to contribute GH¢1,548,895.28 in compensation and GH¢127,628.00 in goods and services for the establishment and operationalization of the Ghana Accreditation Service.
However, the expected income from Internally Generated Funds (IGF) indicates a rising tendency, increasing from GH¢ 853,000.00 in year one to GH¢1,023,600.00 in year two, GH¢1,228,320.00 in year three, GH¢1,473,984.00 in year four, and GH¢1,768,780.00 in year five.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House