BUSINESS | GOVERNMENT | MTIC | UNBS

Minister of State for Industry David Bahati has commended the Uganda National Bureau of Standards for the initiative to decentralize its services to the regional offices saying it will support the Government’s Industrialization Agenda.

He was speaking at the opening of the food safety testing laboratory for the northern region based in Gulu recently.

“Given that the Government has opened up several Industrial Parks across the country and programs such as the Parish Development Model (PDM) which is expected to stimulate production and value addition, UNBS services will be required for quality assurance to enable such products access both the domestic and export markets,” he said.

David Livingstone Ebiru, the Executive Director of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), said the bureau intends to open similar Testing Laboratories for eastern region based in Mbale and for western region based in Mbarara.

He noted that by moving the testing laboratories nearer to the majority of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) based in the countryside, the cost of doing business will reduce since enterprises who used to seek testing services from UNBS Central Laboratories in Kampala will get them at regional offices.

He, however, called for compliance with quality standards to improve the competitiveness of locally manufactured products in both the local and international market.

“The Regional Food Safety Laboratories will provide conformity assessment services to Enterprises and Industries involved in processing and value addition to ensure that their products meet the minimum quality standards before being put on the market,” he said.

The laboratories will be testing both food and non-food products such as edible fats and oils, milk and milk products, water, fruits and vegetables, cereals and cereal products, and grains and animal products, among others.

Ebiru thanked the development partners for the confidence and trust they have put in the Bureau by committing such significant resources towards the enhancement of the Bureau’s laboratory testing capacity which is critical for the quality assurance of Uganda’s products.

The Equipment for the Laboratory was donated by VODP through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) and Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA) funded by the Danish Government.

The Danish Ambassador to Uganda, Nicolaj A. Hejberg Petersen, thanked the Bureau for putting the support given to the best use and hoped that this will significantly contribute to the safety and quality of Ugandan-made products on the market and support the country’s Industrialization Agenda and Economic Development.

 He urged UNBS to prioritize vulnerable enterprises which are owned by Women and Youth so that they can produce safe and quality products which are competitive in the market to provide them livelihood.

He tasked the enterprises with taking advantage of the testing facility to benefit from emerging regional and continental markets such as EAC and AfCFTA by exporting quality products.