Arusha — HEADS of bureaus of standards from Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania are meeting in Arusha for their regular committee meeting in which a total of 18 new standards are expected to be harmonised across the East African region.

The Managing Director of the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) and Chairman of East African Standards Committee, Mr Charles Ongwae, stated here that the EAC member states will be harmonising 18 new standards as well as adopting 15 international ones to make the region more competitive when it comes to intra-region and international trading activities.

The Director of Standards at the Trademark East Africa, Mr Jose Maciel, said the TMA has assisted the East African Community in the harmonization of 16 new standards.

Speaking during the ongoing two-day 18th EA Standards Committee Meeting, Mr Ongwae explained that, so far; the five East African countries have managed to blend a total of 1,200 standards being accepted across their borders.

The move has been described as helpful in facilitating trade, reducing costs of operation and speeding movement of goods within the bloc.

Ms Edna Ndumbaro from the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) said among the issues to be addressed during the meeting was that of differing axle loads requirements for each country, which has remained a major stumbling block for transporters in the region.

On transporters, the Director General of the Rwanda Standards Board (RSB), Dr Mark Cyubahiro Bagabe, admitted that there have been complaints regarding road regulations applying in different member states whereas Rwanda and Burundi drive on the right while the rest of East African states use the left side of the road.

“But we don’t find that to be a really big issue compared to other demanding challenges currently being faced by member states,” he stated.

He did not, though, address the fact that many of the vehicles being imported in East Africa have their steering wheels on the right, something which has been costly for Rwanda and Burundi residents who get forced to spend millions to switch to the Left Hand Drive (LHD) system.

The 18th East African Standards Committee Meeting was officially opened by the Director for Infrastructure at the EAC Secretariat, Mr Phillip Wambugu, who lauded the support of development partners in assisting the region on the standardisation process.

Source:: All Africa

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