The Minister of Trade has urged Manufacturers to acquire relevant standards in their production chain to boost trade.
“As we celebrate the World Standards Day, I urge all stakeholders across various sectors of the economy to acquire and implement the relevant standards and this will promote and boost their businesses for a better and more sustainable economy,” Francis Mwebesa said.
” I also encourage the public to be vigilant, demand for quality and UNBS-certified products. If you encounter any issues or suspect unscrupulous dealers, please report them to UNBS using the toll-free line at 0800 133 133 or via WhatsApp at 0713 227 580,” he added.
Mwebesa made the remarks while addressing the media as Uganda joined the world to celebrate World Standards Day 2024 under the theme: “SHARED VISION FOR A BETTER WORLD,” which aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 9.
The SDG9 goal emphasizes building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fostering innovation.
Each year on October 14th, UNBS commemorates the Day by recognizing the dedicated experts who volunteer their time and resources to develop standards that contribute to a better world.
In the same media briefing UNBS officials pledged to double their efforts to ensure safety of goods and services in the market.
“As part of its mandate, UNBS, which falls under my Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, remains committed to developing, promoting, enforcing, and providing information on national standards, as well as coordinating regional and international standardization,”Silvia Kirabo UNBS Head of Marketing and Communications said.
She noted that Standards play an important role in building strong infrastructure, industrialization, and innovation by providing clear guidelines, benchmarks and specifications that ensure quality, safety, and efficiency.
” They facilitate the development of reliable and resilient infrastructure, enabling industries to operate effectively and sustainably. In this way, standards not only support economic growth but also contribute to the overarching aim of achieving Sustainable Development Goal 9,”KIrabo stressed.
Sge further said the economic importance of standards is well manifested through their facilitation of our manufactured and value-added products to access markets at local, regional and international level. Indeed once conformity of a Ugandan product to national, regional and international standards is demonstrated by conformity assessment procedures such as testing, inspection and certification, the product will access global markets with ease.
It is therefore important to support our industrial sector in line with SDG 9, especially the micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) to enable them conform to standards and access these important markets.
To date, UNBS has developed 4,862 standards, which include:
• 1,133 standards in the Food, Agriculture, and Forestry sector
• 1,465 standards in the Chemicals and Consumer Products sector
• 1,488 standards in the Engineering and Construction sector
• 776 standards in the Services and Business Management sector.
UNBS has over the years actively supported Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and the broader private sector by facilitating locally manufactured products to access regional, continental, and international markets through harmonization of common user standards.
Also simplified standards into user-friendly guidelines, translated into local languages for easier comprehension and implementation and maintained international accreditation for testing laboratories to provide test results that are recognized globally thus facilitating global market access
