The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) seized goods worth Shs6 billion in the last financial year ending June 30th, 2017.
Mr. John Paul Musimami, Deputy Executive Director in charge of Compliance said the category of goods seized included electrical appliances, cosmetics, Agricultural inputs, second hand undergarments, food and steel products and that they did not meet the Uganda Standard.
‘’We inspected over 1,000 business centers countrywide and made 183 seizures. 10 culprits were convicted and over 60 cases are being investigated,” Musimani commented. “With the launch of the Utilities and Standards court, delays in case-hearing will no longer be heard off.’’
UNBS also denied entry of over 6,000 potentially harmful products into the country. A total worth of 595,384,000/= were rejected and destroyed by the Imports Inspection team during the same financial year.
UNBS is a statutory body established by an Act of Parliament, under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives and it is responsible for matters of Standardization, Quality Assurance, Metrology and Testing.
The UNBS noted that priorities for the next financial year include preferential and quick clearance of industrial inputs, industrial machinery, spare parts and raw materials from the current 5days to 1 day and improving consumption of locally produced goods by increasing UNBS certified goods on the market. Some of the priority areas for 2017/18 include:
Verification of at least 70,000 electricity meters.
Focus on the inspections of electrical appliances, cosmetics, agricultural inputs and pneumatic· tyres through market surveillance.
Increased tagging of goods under mandatory standards from the current 340 to 800. The· current ultimate target would be 2,500.
Reduction in the turnaround time for the verification fuel road tankers.· Increased enforcement of the mandatory standards.·
Acquisition of a digital rig to intervene in the verification of milk tankers, railway wagons and· underground tanks.
Implementation of Buy Uganda Build Uganda (BUBU): Testing and Calibration services.·
Support to MSMEs especially in the area of Standards Development·
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