Tom Magumba
9 July 2007
Kampala — THE Cabinet will this week discuss a memorandum from Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) on pre-export conformity of goods to international standards, in a bold move to curb counterfeit and substandard goods that have flooded the country.
Under the Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC), all companies intending to supply their products to Uganda must have them inspected by standards organisations and certified to national standards before entering the country.
"We have been trying to find the best way to ensure that sub-standard products are not imported in the country," Musoke Gyaviira, the UNBS Head of Import Inspection, told journalists at a press briefing on July 5.
He said previously UNBS working jointly with Uganda Revenue Authority, have been inspecting goods at border points but the system had not been very effective in stopping the entry of counterfeit products.
Mr Martin Imalingat, the Head of Market Surveillance Division at UNBS said the move comes after a series of consultations with certifying companies in Kenya and Tanzania on product quality and standards and how they have managed to crack down on counterfeits entering their countries.
"Our counterparts in Kenya use the PVoC system and it has yielded resounding success on checking the importation of counterfeit products," he said. In Kenya, the system started as early as 2005. It is a conformity assessment and verification procedure applied to specific goods/products at the respective exporting countries, to ensure their compliance with the applicable technical regulations and mandatory standards or approved equivalents.
The Kenyans contracted two international firms, Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) and Intertek to operate the PVoC system. All consignments subject to PVoC must obtain a certificate of conformity without which they are denied entry into the country. No details were provided on how Uganda's system would be managed.
However, Mr Imalingat said with the coming of East African Community, all standards bodies have embraced the Standards Quality Assurance Metrology and Testing (SQAMT) a system whereby goods crossing to another country must bear quality marks so that they are given minimum inspection.
"We shall also be exchanging information aiming at having a firm grip on fake products entering the region," he added. For several years, private sector actors have complained about the government's reluctance to put in place an effective system to check counterfeits, and hazardous products imported by unscrupulous businessmen.
A statement from the standards body last week indicated that there are still large quantities of potentially dangerous counterfeit goods on the market in Kampala and the country at large.
In a market surveillance operation in the city last week, UNBS said they impounded counterfeit goods worth Shs2.5 billion, which entered the country from various countries.
These included padlocks, Kiwi shoe polish, Mekako soap, electrical conduits and many other products.
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