Ato Panford

Ato Panford (born on 28 August 1962) was a Ghanaian politician and member of the Seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana who represented the Shama Constituency in the Western Region on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party.

Education He graduated from the University of Southampton with a B.Sc. in Engineering and an M.B.A.He graduated from the University of Southampton with a B.Sc. in Engineering and an M.B.A.

Career At the National (AfCFTA) Coordinating Office, AfCFT Honorable Dr. Ato Panford served as Senior Advisor (Enterprise Support Specialist-Technical Audit). He began working as a lead consultant on October 1, 2021, and reports to the minister in charge of trade and industry through the chief director of that ministry and the national coordinator for the African Continental Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). He also made recommendations to the minister regarding the readiness of the private sector exporters and industries to be registered under AfCFTA protocols for strategic support through technical interventions to the Ghanaian exporters through technical audits of their operations.

He was an industrialist with more than 25 years of experience in the private and public sectors. His areas of expertise include the development of SMEs, technical industrial production and processing, technical engineering and installations, factory plant installations, and auditing systems and processes in the food processing and manufacturing sectors, particularly in the extrusion of expandable polystyrene (EPS, GPPS, HIPS, etc.) and thermoforming. Setting up global Integrated Quality Systems for certifications, coaching, and staffing key personnel and management.

Committees In addition to serving as the Western Region's Shama Constituency's representative in the 7th Parliament of the Republic of Ghana, Hon. Dr. Ato Panford was named Vice-Chairman of the Select Committee on Trade, Industry, and Tourism, which has oversight authority over the Ministry of Trade & Industry and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture. Under his leadership, the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) faced challenges from some of the Ministries mentioned above. He addressed these challenges with a statement on the floor of Parliament, which led to the introduction of the new GSA Bill 2021 before the House, as well as draft bills from the Ghana Free Zones Board (GFZB), Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), and Ghana International Trade Commission (GITC) Legislative Instrument LI, Ghana Ports & Harbours Authority (GPHA) paperless project, Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) issues on the Kintampo Waterfall Disaster with an LI passed.

He was reported to have died on Sunday morning, February 12, 2023, at the Takoradi, Georgia, GPHA Hospital, where he had been sent for treatment following a brief illness.