Professor Alex Dodoo, Director General of the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) and Chairman of the Cement Manufacturing Development Committee, issued a strong caution to cement manufacturers involved in hazardous practices.

He emphasized the serious dangers and possible legal ramifications of incorporating unacceptable materials into cement production.

During an interview on the Joy FM Super Morning Show, Prof Dodoo estimated that around 70 percent of cement manufacturers comply with standard protocols.

He therefore described the actions of the remaining 30 percent of manufacturers as "deliberately criminal" due to the dangers they pose by compromising the integrity and safety of the cement

“I stay awake at night panicking about some of the practices of some cement manufacturers. And we are duty-bound to stop it. People are putting unacceptable things in the making of cement,” he said on Wednesday.

To preemptively tackle these issues, the GSA has procured state-of-the-art equipment capable of swiftly analyzing cement products.

“Thankfully, we have acquired equipment that can at quick notice do an ‘x-ray’ of the products and tell you the unacceptable products both for cement and subsequently, the iron rods so that consumers get the quality they need,” he added.

However, the GSA leader emphasized that manufacturers bear the responsibility to uphold stringent standards and refrain from taking shortcuts that jeopardize public safety.

“Once you manufacture a product, especially cement, you must be an expert in the field. Being an expert in the field presumes that you know the risk of adding things that will give you a strong product today but will fall like a pack of cards tomorrow,” he said.

He emphasized once more that the GSA remains dedicated to ensuring strict adherence to standards among all cement manufacturers to prevent potential disasters.

“We don’t want to see any more buildings collapsing,” he stated.