President Akufo-Addo yesterday swore in members of the governing Boards of the Ghana International Trade Commission (GITC) and the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC).
The five-member GITC Board has Nana Adu Gyamfi, the Adontenhene of the Asantehene as its Chairman with Sophia Korko, Professor Paul Kurkuk, Philip Jude Mensah and Arnold Tetteh Okai as members.
President Akufo-Addo has charged members of the board to regulate Ghana’s international trade in conformity with the rules and regulations of the world trade system and deal with related matters.
As part of its duties under the law, GITC would ensure special import safeguard measures such as anti-dumping duties and tariff adjustment.
As indicated by the President, the body is also required under the law to monitor and advise the Minister of Trade and Industry on Ghana’s compliance with its bilateral and multilateral treaty obligations in the area of international trade, conduct studies and publish reports on the competitiveness of Ghana’s tariff structure and the impact of the tariff structure on domestic industry, market access opportunities and challenges in relation to exports from Ghana.
He also charged them with the responsibility to ensure fairness, efficiency, transparency and objectivity in the application of measures affecting international trade and the use of world trade measures.
On his own and behalf of members of the GITC Board, Nana Adu Gyamfi expressed gratitude to the President for the trust and faith reposed in them and assured that they would be guided by the ideals and policies that led to the establishment of the Commission.
He pledged their commitment to honesty, fairness, independence and timeliness in the performance of their obligations, and called on stakeholders and captains of industries to play their roles effectively to guarantee the success of government’s vision.
PURC
Moments later, President Akufo-Addo again swore-in the President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Dr Adu Gyamfi and Dora Oppong as members of the governing Board of the PURC.
As a newly constituted Board and in accordance with ACT 538 of the country’s Constitution, he said “the Ghanaian people demand that you protect their interest as well.”
In consonance with section 13 of the ACT, he urged them to ensure that “where a utility service provider fails to meet any required standard performance, it is appropriately and dully sanctioned.”
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent