By ALICE NACHILEMBE
Former Zambia Bureau of Standards Executive Director Manuel Mutale has commended Minister of Commerce Trade and Industry for appointing ZABs Board of Directors as it has been without a board for four years.
Mr Mutale said the appointment of a Seven member Board of Directors for the Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) is in line with Section 6 of the Standards Act No. 4 of 2017 by the Minister of Commerce Trade and Industry, Mr Chipoka Mulenga.
He said the Bureau has been without a Board for over 4 years.
“It is without doubt that the appointment of the Board will immediately normalize the Corporate Governance Structure at the Institution of greater importance though is the fact that the presence of the Board will fast track the Standardisation process which in the past was marred with slow approval process as all promulgated National Standards had to be forwarded to the line Ministry for approval,” he said.
Mr Mutale also said the key stakeholders (like manufacturers and Academia) will have greater input in the Standardisation process as some are now represented on the Board in line with the Act.
He said the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement under the Technical barriers to Trade (TBT) Annex 6, article 5, directs the “State Parties to cooperate in the development and implementation of standards, technical regulations, conformity assessment procedures, accreditation, metrology, capacity building and enforcement activities.
Mr Mutale said the presence of the Board at ZABS will therefore go a long way in facilitating quick Harmonisation and implementation of Standards as rolled out by the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) thereby strengthening Zambia’s competitive advantage in the region and at continental level.
