Lack of harmonised standards ‘hampering regional trade’

Mark Priestly, Trade Mark East Africa’s Country Director for Rwanda, says lack of uniform standards for goods and services in the region is the biggest technical barrier that limits fre e movement of goods and services.There is a lack of trust and mutual recognition of each other’s standards, certification and testing procedure which is a function of the different capacity levels to enforce standards, certification and testing,” Priestly said Tuesday.He was speaking at the launch of a capacity building project dubbed ‘twinning programme’ facilitated by the British Standards Institute-(BSI) and Rwanda Bureau of Standards (RBS). Priestly is however optimistic that supporting standards regulatory bodies in the region to effectively test and enforce agreed standards and certification will help build mutual trust.Until recently, standards bureaus in the region have been having different benchmarks for each of the products produced in the region, causing delays in trade and increasing costs among traders.Dr. Mark Cyubahiro Bagabe, the Director General of RBS, called for support from all actors, especially those with the necessary expertise, to improve standards.The three-year project that is estimated to cost over US$ 1.1 million, funded by Trade Mark East Africa, is expected to assist RBS in developing a five-year business plan, and staff training.“I believe that through this arrangement the competitiveness of the Rwandan industry will be at a higher level through the expected upgrade of standardisation and conformity services,” Bagabe said.Priestly is also upbeat that working with British Standards Institute would help RBS achieve regionally recognised quality standards and certification.Volodymyr Yakubov, head of international projects for British Standards Institute, said the project will help RBS operate effectively and efficiently to provide quality services to its customers as it positions itself to compete in the region.

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Lack of harmonised standards ‘hampering regional trade’