JUBA — The 22nd Standard Management Committee (SMC), a sub-committee for the East Africa Standard Committee, kicked off in Juba.
The five-day meeting is attended by Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Somalia, and the DRC.
It is anticipated that the conference would cover topics such as standardizing criteria to promote trade and agriculture in the area.
Gloria Nyoka, executive director of the South Sudan National Bureau of Standards (SSNBS), said at the opening remarks of the meeting in Juba that it is the first time that South Sudan is hosting the meetings of the Standards Management Committee (SMC).
“It had been done in the other partner states, but this is the first time that Juba is hosting the EAC SMC meeting,” Nyoka said.
Nyoka explained that the Standards Management Committee oversees all of the East Africa region’s subcommittees, including those for metrology, testing, conformance assessment, and quality assurance.
“They have done all their meetings, and now they have submitted all the reports to the SMC, so the SMC also has to come and have a deliberation and discussions on these subcommittees’ issues,” she said.
According to Ms. Nyoka, all issues and conclusions from the conference will be presented to the 27th meeting of the region’s Chief Executive Officers and Manager Directors of the Bureau of Standards, which is set for Arusha next month.
“It is giving us also a chance that, when we have our national standard for South Sudan, we also forward it ahead to the technical committees, different technical committees, and this standard will be harmonized and it will be used for all of East Africa,” she said.
“That means it gives our products from South Sudan to go outside South Sudan. And we are looking at enhancing our economy in South Sudan. We cannot enhance our economy if we are not exporting products; these are some of the benefits.”
Eng. Yona Afrika, Chairperson of the EAC Standards Management Committee, said the committee’s duties include promoting commerce and guaranteeing the free movement of goods produced in the EAC across regional boundaries.
“So, we are obliged to make sure that the standard we are developing is needed by the EAC business community and the need for the EAC business community, I mean the EAC community in general, so as to safeguard the community and the entire population of the EAC,” said Afrika.
According to Afrika, standards safeguard people’s safety, health, and the environment.
“I mean the environment of the EAC people and safety of the EAC people; they are safe. So, this is the most and foremost task of the subcommittee in the region.”
