AFRICAN STANDARDS COMMITTEE (EASC). REPORT OF THE MEETING

Transcription

1 EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY SECRETARIAT 2nd TECHNI~AL MANAGEMENT BOARD (TMB) OF EAST AFRICAN STANDARDS COMMITTEE (EASC). HOTEL AFRICANA, KAMPALA UGANDA REPORT OF THE MEETING RefNo. EAC /TF/46/2012 EAC SECRETARIAT Arusha, Tanzania April 2012

2 ~<:!T''''J ::>i?';: ) UM~ IYA VA AFRIKA MASHARIKL EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY SECRETARIAT 2nd MEETING OF TECHNICAL MANAGEMENT BOARD HOTEL AFRICANA, KAMPALA 3'ct to APRIL REPORT OF THE MEETING 1.0. OPENING OF THE MEETING 1.1 Introduction The 2nd Meeting of the Technical Management Board of East African Standards Committee (EASC) was held in accordance with the EAC Calendar of Activities, January to June The meeting was attended by delegates from the Partner States of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and the EAC Secretariat. The list of delegates is hereto attached as Annex I. 1.2 Constitution of the Bureau The meeting was chaired by Mr Joel Kioko, Director, Kenya Bureau of Standards and the Rapporteur was Dr Mark Bagabe, Director General Rwanda Bureau of Standards. 1.3 Adoption of the agenda The Agenda was adopted with amendments and 1s hereto attached as Annex II. 1.4 Remarks by the Representative of East African Community. On behalf of East African Community Secretariat, Mr. Willy Musinguzi, the Principal Standards Officer welcomed the delegates to the meeting. 2

3 He highlighted that TMB was established by the East African Standards Committee to regularly and expeditiously respond to challenges in implementing standardization programmes in the region given the fact that EASC meets at least once a year. The Principal Standards Officer EAC informed the meeting that EAC Dedicated Session of Ministers on Elimination of Non- Tariff Barriers to Trade which took place in Mombasa on 12th to 13th March 2012 and committed itself on complete elimination of NTBs in Trade. He therefore urged the meeting to critically examine on the ways to facilitate trade in the region especially cross border movement of goods. 1.5 Opening Remarks by the Executive Director Uganda National Bureau of Standards Dr Ben Manyindo, the Acting Executive Director, Uganda National Bureau of Standards, welcomed delegates to Uganda. He informed the meeting that the Private Sector had initiated a positive standardization agenda by instituting the EAC Private Sector Standards Platform. He reiterated that the platform presents an opportunity for National Quality Institutions to drive the Standardization agenda that is more responsive to the needs of the private sector and demand driven to ensure a positive impact on the trade development program in the regwn. The Acting Director highlighted the challenges for TMB as follows; to: Develop and implement the strategy for SQMT implementation; Harmonize the product certification schemes; Simplify procedures for SMEs involved in cross-border trade; Accelerate and make more efficient the standards development and harmonization process-training of technical staff, full implementation of the procedures and mobilization of resources; Harmonize import inspection regimes; and Enhance information flow. 2.0 CONSIDERATION OF MATTERS ARISING FROM THE REPORT OF THE 1 8 T TMB MEETING, HELD IN KIGALI, RWANDA, 2010 The meeting considered the matters arising from the 1st meeting of TMB held in September in Kigali and the following is a matrix of the status of implementation and recommendations/ observations. 3

4 Implementation matrix of matters arising from the 1st meeting of the Technical Management Board of East African Standards Committee,-----, , ~ Agen Decision, Status of Remarks /Decisions by 2"<~ da Recommendation and Implementation of the Meeting of TMB Item Observation of the 1st Decisions of the 1St M eeting of TMB A ll Partner States submit comm ents on the draft regul ations to the EAC Secretariat by 30th Meeting of TM B Comments were submitted. Regulations have been considered by Seni or Sept ; The offi cials of 13th Sectoral Regulations considered Counc il of Legal and were: Judicial Affairs on I ih of to 14th March but a) Designation Testing. Laboratori es the Coordinati on Comm ittee was not A lot of work had been done by a meeting of Legal drafting experts from Partner States and SQMT Experts as directed by the 12th Meeting of the Sectoral Council on Legal and Judicial Affairs (SCLJA). The Regulations were considered by the 13th Meeting of SCLJA b) Implementation constituted and it The meeting noted that the 13th of Product expected to be meeting of Sectoral Council for Certificati on concluded on II rh to 13 1 h Legal and Judicial Affairs was Schemes Partner States In April convened from 12th to 16th March 2012 and approved the Legal c) Implementation of Technical Regulati ons 111 Partner States EAC Secretariat Status as above compiles and circul ates the comments to all Partner States by end of October 20 I 0 One day meeting of Undertaken Technical and Legal Expe1ts from Partner States be convened to prepare the draft texts of the regul ations An Extra Ordinary undertaken Meeting of EASC be convened by the end of November 20 I 0 to finali ze the draft regulati ons and have them fo rwarded to the Drafts, awaiting consideration by the Coordination Committee and Session of Ministers. On the issue of complaints, penalties and sanctions, it was pointed out that the EAC SQMT Act does not provide for these adequately though they are desirable. On this basis, the legal drafters 4 D //

5 Counc il for approval advised that the regulations cannot introduce provisions for complaints, penalties and sanctions until the Act is amended to include requisite provisions. All issues requiring review of the SQMT Act should be brought out by Partner States for consideration in the EASC meeting in June NBSS to continue to National Standards The Meeting recommended to exchanging info rmation Bodies to report Partner States that National and on matters re lated to EAC Quality websites should be certified products updated regularly indicating the list of certified and prohibited products, among others. The meeting urged each Partner State to appoint an SQMT team to verify the status of the websites and report to next EASC meeting in June a)easc recommended Matter to be considered The meeting took note of good to the Counc il to urge 111 the next Ordinary progress made on the mutual the Partner States to meeting of the Sectoral recognition of the Quality Marks expedite the completion Council on Trade, in the Region. of Annex to the EAC Industry, Finance and Protocol on Common In vestment Market dealing w ith matters re lated to mutua l recogniti on The meeting urged Partner States to facilitate the SMES in order to improve on Quality of their products. The meeting observed that there was a need to develop standards to promote quality of products produced by the SMEs in support of EAC simplified trade regime. To facilitate SMES, Works of Art should be allowed free flow as long as they are SPS compliant. The meeting noted that there was a dire need to promote Information sharing as a tool for 5

6 trade facilitation by using IT and improve personal communication among Chief Executives and other stakeholders. b) EASC establish the To be considered by The Extra Ordinary Meeting of Technical Committee to Extra Ordinary Meeting EASC held in March 2012 in deal with Technical of EASC on 22nct to 23rd Arusha provided the policy Regulations March in Arusha EASC recommended to Matter to be considered the Counci l to req uest 111 the next Ordinary Pattner States Ministries meeting of the Sectoral responsible for Trade to Council on Trade put tn place a Industry, Finance and collaborative Investment in June mechanism between vanous agenctes involved in in spection of Kenya undertook to prepare and circulate a concept paper on how best to address multiple standards work. The Paper wi II be presented to the Extra - Ordinary meeting for consideration and onward transmission to the counci I guidance on establishment of the Sub Committee on Technical Regulations. goods bureaucratic leading to cost of doing business Status of EASC as Apex Kenya to report on the Kenya presented a Draft Paper organ on standards Matter addressing issues on multiple standards work and is hereto attached as Annex IlL The meeting considered the Paper and made the following recommendations: The meeting recommended that a separate sub-committee on SPS matters should be established under the expanded EASC in preparation for the development of SPS Committee as provided for in the Final Draft of the EAC SPS Protocol in development and approval stages EAC SQMT Strategy PTB to report on the The matter to be considered PTB agreed to provide a matter under Agenda Item No.6. Consultant to facilitate the process and the strategy be presented to It 6

7 the ' Meeting of the EASC in May 20 I I Calendar of TMB Unde11aken and UNB S Kenya offered to host the 3 n l Meetings will be hosting the next meeting oftmb by November It was agreed the TMB meeting of TMB on 3rd 2012 meeting be held on to Apri l rotational bas is In Partner States Recommendations The Meeting requested the Secre tariat to include the 3 r d Meeting of TMB to be held by November 2012 in Nairobi in the EAC Calendar of Activities, July to December CONSIDERATION OF THE REPORTS ON VISITS IN SELECTED BORDER POSTS AND ENTRY POINTS IN THE REGION, 2011 BY THE EAC SECRETARIAT Mr Willy Musinguzi presented the report on visits in selected border posts and entry points in the region. The Executive Summary is hereto attached as Annex IV. The meeting considered the Report and noted that mutual recognition was being implemented within th e region and there was a n eed to put emphasis on Community borders with non-member states n eighbouring the Region. The meeting commended the work undertaken by the Secretariat. The meeting noted tha t the Council of Ministers d eclared that weighing of the axle load should be carried out at two points; at point of entry /loading and exit points in order to reduce tra nsit times. Regarding the compla int by clearing Agents of 100% physical inspection after X ray Scanning the m eeting noted that 100% inspection m ay be carried out when there is a cause for concern, for exa mple, under d eclaration. The TMB recommended for greater transparen cy by availing information to our stakeholders by regular upda ting the partner states websites. The TMB proposed that there should be forma l m echanism to interface and engage with all stakeholders involved m cleara nce and inspections of goods including Revenue Authorities. 7

8 4.0 CONSIDERATION OF COUNTRY REPORTS ON EMERGING STANDARDS RELATED NTBs. The m eeting was not informed of any major em erging standards related NTBs to be reported. The m eeting commended the progress made by the Quality Institutions in elimination of standards related NTBs. 5.0 PROGRESS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISIONS OF THE 15TH EASC MEETING HELD IN 2011 IN ARUSHA The m eeting noted that as provided under the ToRs for the TMB there was a need to report on the progress of the d ecisions of the m eetings of EASC in the TMB meetings. Recommendation The meeting therefore urged the Secretariat to present the progress of the implementation of the decisions of the EASC in future to the TMB meetings. 6.0 PROGRESS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STRATEGY FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SQMT ACT. The meeting noted that the 15th Meeting of EASC held in June 2011 in Arusha had given a policy direction to develop the EAC SQMT Strategy in order to implement the Common Market Protocol a s little h a d been done to develop the Strategy. Recommendations a) The TMB meeting recommended that each Partner State should provide an SQMT expert familiar with Strategic Planning to work with the PTB Consultant in developing an EAC SQMT Strategy for the next five years. b) The meeting requested the Secretariat to contact PTB to provide resources to develop an SQMT Strategic Plan including the recruitment of the Consultant. c) The TMB Meeting proposes t hat SQMT activities be funded by the EAC Secretariat since SQMT bodies are unable to fully support them. 8

9 7.0. CONSIDERATION OF OUTSTANDING ISSUES ON STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT The Kenyan delegation presented two pending issues on standards development for diesel and petrol and; cereals and pulses. Furthermore, the Kenyan delegation stated that previous standards of petrol and diesel which were developed in the year 2000 were now outdated. Review was made and Tanzania gave comments in accordance with set procedures for standards development. The meeting observed that other Partners States had not m ade any response on comments submitted by Tanzania. The meeting also noted th at response on this matter was urgent since these products are highly traded in th e region. The Kenyan Delegation also presented as a matter of concern that the review of standard s specifications for pulses and cereals which had been considered by the recent extraordinary meeting of the Standards Committee in Arush a, March 20 12, be resolved before the 16th meeting of the EASC in June Th e Secretariat took note of this concern by Kenya Delegation and informed the meeting that a meeting was being organised. Recommendations: a) The meeting urged the Partner States that had not submitted their comments on petrol and automotive diesel standards to submit them before the next Technical Sub-committee on Standards. b) The meeting re commended to the EASC that the approved Work Plans by June 2012 be considered by TMB meeting scheduled for November 2012 in order to be incorporated into the national fiscal year 2013/ CONSIDERATIO N OF COMMON WEALTH PARTNERSHIP FOR TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT (CPTM): SMART PARTNERSHIP MOVEMENT'S QUALITY AND STANDARDS INCLUSION INITIATIVE The Uganda Delegation presented a paper on Smart Partnership Movement's Qu ality and Standards Inclusion Initiative. The paper is hereto attached as Annex V. The meeting considered the paper on this initiative and requ ested Uganda Delegation to circulate it to the members of EASC for information and consideration. Recommendation The meeting recom m e nded that the paper be tabled during the 16th meeting of the EASC in June

10 9.0. AOB 9.1. Communication by EAC Secretariat The Kenyan Delegation noted that there was a n eed to streamline communication between the Secreta riat a nd EASC m embers who are not from nation al Quality institutions. The Delegation suggested that copies of official communication from the Secretariat should b e copied directly to the EASC m embers instead of tasking the NSBs to contact th e SQMT bodies represented on EASC. The EAC Secretariat requested that each Partner State updates the lists of names and addresses of the r epresentation on EASC m order to streamline communication Restructuring of SQMT Infrastructure in Rwanda Rwanda Delegation informed the meeting tha t the Quality Infrastructure had been split into two bodies namely Rwanda Sta nda rds Board (RSB) and National Inspectorate and Competition Authority (NICA) and will come into effect from July 1St The Delegation further informed th e m eeting that RSB will b e responsible for standard s development, testing, certification and m etrology while NICA will be responsible for quality inspections and consumer protection issues. Recommendation The meeting recommended to Rwanda Delegation to notify the Secretariat of the above development. The meeting noted the presentation from Rwanda and agreed that NICA be represented in the relevant EAC SQMT Technical Sub-committees. 10

11 Signed on the 4th day of April, 2012 by Partner States Leader of delegations:... ~/t:y./~ e_ Mr. Celestin Ntahomvukiye Deputy Director, Technical Services Burundi Bureau of Standards REPUBLIC OF BURUNDI Director ights and Measures Ministry o Trade REPUBLI... I+\ {).4/Z)./~ Cyubahiro Bagabe eneral Rw ureau of Standards REPUBLIC OF RWANDA r:1r. ;... ill... 21'-1.?.::. P. " ;: Q.!t... Dr Ben Manyindo Acting Executive Director Uganda National Bureau of Standards REPUBLIC OF UGANDA Mr. Lazaro Msasalaga Head of Inspections Tanzania Bureau of Standards UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA II

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