Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
THE Ministry of Industry and Commerce has embarked on countrywide public consultations to gather citizens’ views on the drafting of a Bill meant to harmonise quality standards across ministries and departments.
This exercise would result in a national quality standards framework where all standards will be regulated at national level.
In cases where the standards are compulsory, these are applicable to specific departments or ministries.
Cabinet in 2020 approved the first ever National Quality Policy, which unearthed serious gaps in quality standards as departments, ministries and agencies were developing their own technical regulations, standards and regulatory checks independent of each other.
The Ministry of Industry is, therefore, seeking to address the challenges that have existed from the isolated development of quality programmes, which at the end of the day has affected quality of service and products.
In order to implement the policy, some legal and institutional frameworks need to be developed such as the Technical Regulatory Bill on Quality, Standards and Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (Measures) and a Quality and Standards Communication Strategy and Implementation plan.
The consultative workshops being done countrywide, therefore, seek to discuss and analyse the Draft Zimbabwe Technical Regulatory Bill (TRB) for Zimbabwe and Quality and Standards Communication Strategy and Implementation Plan.
Provincial meetings were held across the country, with Beitbridge and Victoria Falls hosting the final stages last Friday for Matabeleland South and Matabeleland North respectively.
Speaking to stakeholders in Victoria Falls, deputy director for quality assurance in the Ministry of Industry, Ms Riyana Chibanda, said the silo mentality has negatively affected the development of relevant quality institutions in Zimbabwe.
“As a result, the quality of goods manufactured in Zimbabwe has been behind our regional counterparts with adverse implications on trade especially access to export markets, consumer protection from substandard and often harmful products and innovation,” she said.
“The consultations we are having today on the TRB/Quality Communications Strategy are designed to not only raise awareness on quality issues but for us to receive your invaluable views on the TRB and the Quality Communication Strategy.”
The ministry is working with the assistance of the Sadc and the Bill is expected to fill the gap in policing standards implementation. Director for legal services in the same ministry, Mr Never Katiyo, said the drafting of the Bill was in line with the Second Republic’s new mantra for quality standard life.
“We don’t have what we call national standards against which we measure our standards as we mostly have voluntary standards. So, with the coming in of the Consumer Protection Act, citizens will enjoy more rights in terms of what they access as this is a Constitutional issue with regards to rights,” he said.
“So, every sector should offer quality standards, which is why as the Ministry of Industry we are consulting on this.”
— @ncubeleon
Online Reporter