Rwanda Bureau of Standard (RBS) has unveiled its plans to increase their aptitude across standards, testing and certification in the next five years.
The body of standards in the country considers intensifying its partnership through cooperation with other high institutions to harmonize its activities as well as putting the consumer in a comfortable situation.
RBS is focusing on establishing more laboratories, recruiting more field staff and train them before being deployed countrywide.
In order to strengthen its activities across the country, the standards body has proceeded to collaborate with other reputable institutions inside Rwanda and outside.
In this regard, the RBS and the Private Sector Federation (PSF) officially launched their partnership to promote trade business development in Rwanda; according to Dr. Marc Cyubahiro Bagabe, Director General of RBS.
The aim of the Partnership is to facilitate standardization activities, create awareness and improve the uptake and implementation of standards that promote local and foreign entrepreneurs.
Some other information claims that RBS has been undergoing lack of trained staff which might have contributed to the consumers’ vulnerability and that this situation has affected several sectors, a problem that RBS promise to work on soon to speed up with the economy that keeps growing.
The office of the RBS asserts that it will increase number of staff at entry points and busy business areas to work on some reports indicating that dishonest traders are selling expired foods and substandard items among the population.
The RBS Director General said that the office will soon be addressing every matter that might be unfavourable to both the Citizen and foreigner consuming Rwandan products, and those imported in the country; especially when more staff will be recruited.
“Next year we are recruiting 45 staff and in three years we shall be 125 employees,” Dr. Bagabe told the press during a recent media breakfast in Kigali.
The RBS has 17 laboratories including 6 biochemical product testing laboratories for testing foods beverages cosmetics and petroleum fuels and more will be put in place whenever there is need.
Other six new laboratories for texting essential oils, mycotoxin in food products, coffee and cereals will become operational early next year. A food testing laboratory to cost $2.1 million partly funded by the Indian and Rwanda Governments is also to be launched in January next year.
Dr. Cyubahiro Bagabe says, a major objective of the facility is to ensure that local food processing industries produce safe and high quality food that meet international standards”
The official adds that, certification of all products tested is compulsory, saying that it guarantees customer confidence and product or service competitiveness.
In this regard RBS certified 29 products during 2011/2012. The Institution has also published a list of prohibited and restricted goods for imports facilitation and awareness in Rwanda in order to avoid dumping, injury to consumers and financial lose to the traders.
