Joseph Mwamunyange
16 August 2008
Nairobi — Tanzania is to introduce pre-shipment inspections in order to curb the influx of substandard goods into the country.
Charles Ekerege, director general of the Tanzania Bureau of Standards told The EastAfrican last week that the Pre-Shipment Verification of Conformity to Standards (PVoC) system will replace the Destination Inspection (DI) system.
Mr Ekelege said there had been numerous difficulties in implementing the DI system.
"Since 1999, Tanzania has been verifying goods through the DI system, but it has proved difficult to detect substandard imports due to various reasons, such as having many entry points -- including unofficial ones."
According to Mr Ekelege, there are inadequate storage facilities at the Tanzania Ports Authority premises for rejected consignments. Thorough verification on some products has therefore not been feasible, resulting in delays.
Pre-shipment inspection will enable greater efficiency, Mr Ekerege said, adding that the move was in harmony with the Tanzania Revenue Authority's Customs reforms and will reduce congestion of goods at the Dar es Salaam port.
The Tanzania Bureau of Standards is mandated by law to inspect all goods entering the country.
The bureau is charged with checking the quality of imported products before they are allowed to enter the Tanzanian market. It began work in June 1999 by checking consignments on arrival under the Destination Inspection system.
The bureau grants batch certificates to consignments meeting the required standards. To date, it has issued 9,655 such batch certificates for different product consignments.
According to Mr Ekelege, the DI scheme was not effective enough in protecting Tanzania against substandard good.
He said the new PVoC system will ensure that goods comply with standards before shipment; that public health, consumer safety and environment are protected; and that there is efficiency in the clearance of goods, hence facilitating trade. Local industries will also be protected from unfair competition from substandard imports.
The system will prevent Tanzania from becoming a dumping ground for substandard goods, said Mr Ekelege.
The PVoC system will start as soon as arrangements are completed and pre-operational activities are undertaken.
Other countries where PVoC is said to have been used successfully are Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana and Burkina Faso.
Others are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Jordan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
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