KAMPALA – Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), together with stakeholders from different sectors of Uganda’s economy carried out a validation exercise of the three-year draft National Standardization Strategy. The draft was developed through stakeholder consultations, supported by the Commonwealth Standards Network (CSN).
During the validation exercise, UNBS Executive Director, Dr. Ben Manyindo called for the need to fast track standards in service areas, noting that the standards body has focused largely on product standards.
Working in different groups, the stakeholders made amendments in the Science, Technology, Innovation, ICT, Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, Trade & Industry, Tourism, Health, Energy, Works and Transport, Water and Environment Public Sector Management, Education, Social Development and Finance sectors.
The amendments will be captured in the final National Standardization Strategy.
Once approved, the National Standardization Strategy 2019 – 2022, will reshape Uganda’s standardization agenda for the next 3 years.
The strategy will also form the basis for prioritization of regional and international standardization work, given that Uganda through UNBS participates in the regional, continental and international standardization work of the East African Community (EAC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), among others.
To date, Uganda has over 3600 standards and more are to be developed for use in regulation of industries and trade facilitation.
