29th August , 2024 HITS: 637
The State Minister of Finance for Investment and Privatisation, Hon. Evelyn Anite, has launched the collaboration between Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) and the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) that will see all government entities procure grain and grain products from providers certified by UNBS effective 23rd August 2024 for all government procuring and disposing entities (PDEs), and January 2025 for primary and secondary schools.
The development is in line with the UNBS mandate of developing, promoting and enforcing standards to ensure consumer protection, fair trade and enhance competitiveness of locally manufactured products on the regional and international markets. One of the ways UNBS implements this mandate is through a product certification scheme and currently, over 630 grain and grain products providers across the country are certified by UNBS.
“Government has overtime worked towards controlling and improving the quality of grain and grain products traded on the Ugandan and regional markets. This is in tandem with the National Grain Trade policy of 2015 that requires all public entities to procure grain and grain products from providers certified by UNBS” Said Hon. Evelyn Anite during the launch.
“Where a Procuring and Disposing entity has a lump sum or framework contract for supply of grain and grain products in force at the commencement of this guideline, it shall request the provider to submit evidence that it is certified by UNBS to deal in grain and grain products. Providers without proof of certification by UNBS shall not be issued call off orders.” Said Mr. Benson Turamye, the Executive Director at PPDA.
In line with vision 2040 and priorities under National Development Plan (NDP) III and IV, the government of Uganda is pursuing the tenfold growth of the economy from the current USD 50 billion as of FY 2022/23 to USD 500 billion in the next 15 years, in a transformative, inclusive and sustainable manner. This growth is to be delivered through prioritising export promotion, import substitution and the industrialisation agenda.
Under export promotion, it should be noted that in the EAC region, Uganda is exporting goods and services to a tune of USD 1.1 billion annually and imports goods and services from the region to a tune of USD 676 million, giving Uganda a trade surplus of USD 424 million. With the new intervention therefore, government, which is the biggest buyer on the Ugandan market is requiring to buy grain and grain products from only companies and suppliers certified by UNBS for quality standards, which will improve the quality of our grain and grain products, making them more competitive on the local and export markets, thus improving export promotion.
Relatedly, standardisation has been contributing 23.7% of Uganda’s GDP and economic growth annually, according to the ISO study of July 2023. This intervention therefore, will improve standardisation leading to increased revenue thus improving the trade balance.
“Improved standardisation will not only ensure improved quality of food consumed by the public but also lower the cost of doing business by bringing on board efficiencies, minimising wastage and addressing huge challenges like aflatoxins in our grain, which has affected our health and constrained cross border trade.” Said the UNBS Executive Director, Eng. James Kasigwa.
“In line with our value proposition to grow quality Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSMEs) by using the carrot approach as opposed to the stick, UNBS is ready to support MSMEs across the value chain of grains and grain products, by hand holding them to enable them meet the quality standards requirements as opposed to enforcing or gatekeeping.” Eng. Kasigwa added.
This means that UNBS, through its MSME Unit and training teams, will support the use of quality inputs for quality outputs, sensitisations to create standards and build MSMEs’ capacities, introduction of new and efficient technologies to eliminate hammer mills which contaminate flour with iron fillings, and introduction of solutions that address contamination of grain products, among others.
UNBS has also decentralised its services to Northern, Eastern and Western Uganda to further support certification of MSMEs of grain and grain products providers in different parts of the country.
“We are further leveraging technology in detection of Aflatoxins and ensuring compliance through the Digital Conformity Marking, which not only does trace and track but also gives details on products meeting the standards.” Said Eng. Kasigwa.
UNBS has held initiatives as well as backward and forward linkages, working with Government Ministries, Departments, Agencies and the private sector like the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), Ministry of Trade, Industry and Commerce (MTIC), Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), USAID, The Grain Council Of Uganda (TGCU), PPDA, the Uganda Warehouse Receipt System Authority and commercial officers in different districts, among others, to sensitise MSMEs and build their capacities to promote standardisation and encourage production of good quality grain products. Some of these include; the GROW project where UNBS participated in sensitising women about standardisation in Mubende, Kassanda and Mityana districts, UNBS collaborating with the Ministry of Education and Sports and USAID to train and build capacities of schools regarding standardisation, UNBS working with PSFU to offer sponsored certification to MSMEs, to mention but a few. UNBS is also committed to building its capacity with the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED) in as far as infrastructure, decentralisation and scaling our reach is concerned.
By building the capacity of MSMEs, UNBS is addressing the government agenda of industrialisation and improving the quality of locally manufactured products, which improves competitiveness of domestic products on the regional and international markets, increasing volumes of local products that addresses import substitution, thus contributing to transformation of Uganda’s economy.
About UNBS
The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is a Government Agency responsible for developing, promoting and enforcing national standards in protection of Public Health and Safety, and the Environment against harmful and sub-standard products.