Patricia Ejalu Bageine, the Deputy ED for Standards, said maintaining standards especially the international standards made the operations of a company cheaper and more efficient, meaning that it was for the benefit of the businesses.
The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) says it will soon expand compulsory certification to cover all government suppliers of goods and services. Since August 1, the policy has targeted suppliers of grain to government agencies.
These suppliers can only qualify for contracts after proof of the UNBS standards certificate, which was aimed at boosting compliance with standards in the country. Enforcement is due to be extended to schools starting January 2025, according to UNBS Executive Director, Engineer James Kasigwa.
He says there was no reason for manufacturers and service providers to wait until UNBS comes to them for enforcement, adding that standards are not only good for the economy and the consumers, but for the enterprises too.
Going forward, the ED says that their new five-year strategy, which is in line with the Fourth National Development Plan, entails a more proactive approach towards product certification of SMEs including handholding or nurturing them, instead of being a policing body.
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He was speaking at the recognition of Ugandan companies that have attained and maintained international standards under the ISO 9001 and the Integrated Management System (IMS), the global standardization systems, as part of the events to mark World Standards Day.
While the agency recognises the hardship entrepreneurs encounter getting certified, UNBS says standards are no longer an option but the way to go because the world is increasingly becoming a global village. Kasigwa likened UNBS’s Quality and Systems marks on products to a person’s travel visa, if the products are to be allowed into another country, to compete with global suppliers.
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Patricia Ejalu Bageine, the Deputy ED for Standards, said maintaining standards especially the international standards made the operations of a company cheaper and more efficient, meaning that it was for the benefit of the businesses.
She added that the agency had reduced the bottlenecks involved in the certification process, which were being blamed by the entrepreneurs as the reasons they were not going for the certificates.
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The recognised organizations included private sector manufacturing companies and service providers like security and aviation companies as well as government agencies. One such government agency was the Uganda Business and Technical Examinations Board (UBTEB) for being ISO Certified.
Onesmus Oyesigye, the Executive Secretary said they went for the ISO 9001 certification because they wanted to ensure that their products, who are mainly business technicians and craftspeople were trusted.
Oyesigye expressed the need for developing standard marks for the graduates so that, especially those going abroad for labor, will find it easier to get the kind of jobs that they qualified for and compete with their counterparts from other countries.
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Ms Ejalu agreed with the UBTEB boss, saying that this is one of the several standards schemes that they are working on, adding that even the request by security companies to have standards for the sector should also be considered.
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A leading private security firm, SARACEN, which also is ISO certified, hailed the ease in the process of acquiring certification, saying it makes it easier for the companies to market themselves and be able to compete.
However, SARACEN’s Gilbert Arinaitwe implored UNBS to invest more in the development of standards, adding that some international standards are being used by foreign security companies in Uganda, yet Ugandans do not have them.
This, he says puts them on the back foot because the foreign investors are importing their preferred security companies with international standards.
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UNBS is accredited by the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) to provide ISO 9001 Quality Management System and ISO 22000 Food Safety Management Systems certification.
This qualifies the UNBS-issued certificates to be internationally recognised and traceable to the global database of accredited certifications that allow users to verify the validity and authenticity of certificates. The relevance of the ISO 9001 and IMF global standards is that they enhance quality and food safety management for organisations to improve performance and meet customer expectations.
On the other hand, IMS combines multiple management processes, such as quality, environment, and health and safety standards to streamline processes and reduce the cost of duplication, thus enhancing efficiency and organizational performance. In the end, for Uganda, this promotes both the export and local markets for Ugandan products.