Most Zim products not SAZ certified

The majority of companies in Zimbabwe produce substandard goods as a result of cutting corners to reduce production costs which are driven by the liquidity squeeze that the country is experiencing, an expert said yesterday.

Standards Association of Zimbabwe executive director Eve Gadzikwa said most local companies set their own measurements for quality without necessarily comparing with any prescribed standards.

Mrs Gadzikwa said SAZ could not force companies to comply with its standards since it was not compulsory.

“We can only standardise those companies that come to us for that exercise and after that we carry out inspections to see if they are still complying with those specific standards,” she said.

“Many of the local companies which are mostly informal small and medium enterprises have not been forthcoming. This means that the majority of Zimbabwean companies have operations that are not standardised,” she added.

The lack of standardisation has seen Zimbabwe becoming a net importer due to the low prices of imported goods most of which are of poor quality as they are produced on a mass scale in their countries of origin. Although she could not readily h provide the number of companies that were not standardised, Mrs Gadzikwa said only a few were certified while the majority shunned the process.

Economic challenges which the country has been facing over the past fourteen years have made it difficult for local companies to upgrade equipment and reduce production costs. The obsolete equipment that the local companies use, prevent them from producing quality goods that compete with imports from developed countries. – New Ziana..