No turning back over goods’ pre-inspection

Trucks laden with goods from Kenya. As a net importer of manufactured goods, Uganda risks becoming a dumping ground for sub-standard goods if traders do not comply with the Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) programme. FILE PHOTO 

By  Dorothy Nakaweesi
 

 

In Summary

Fake goods have been disastrous to Uganda’s economy, costing the country billions of shillings as the government is denied taxes

No turning back! Traders’ goods must be inspected before they make their way into the country.

Fake goods have been disastrous to Uganda’s economy, costing the country billions of shillings as the government is denied taxes.


Debate over the government’s introduction of the Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) programme has been raging until June 1, when it was effected.

Speaking to the Daily Monitor, Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) executive director Ben Manyindo, said: “Although it is too early to give details on how traders are complying, the exercise already started effective June 1 and there is no turning back.”

PIVoC system is an initiative geared at getting rid of substandard and fake goods from the market right from the country of origin.


The failure to fight this vice will continue costing the country millions of dollars since Uganda will become a dumping ground for the substandard goods.

Mr Manyindo said UNBS will get a clear picture of how the PVoC programme is performing after a month. UNBS has contracted six companies to do the inspection on its behalf.

General goods will be inspected by Societe Generale des Surveillance (SGS)-a Swiss Company, Intertek International Limited (UK) and Bureau Veritas (France) with subsidiary offices in Kampala.

Used motor vehicles are being handled by JEVIC Company Limited, Jabal Kilimanjaro Auto Elect. Mech and East Africa Automobile.


He added that traders will have to present certificates indicating that they have complied with PVoC.

However, traders have allegedly threatened to boycott importing goods for two months, saying they do not understand how this is going to be done.

The chairman Kampala City Traders Association (Kacita), Mr Everest Kayondo, said they want feedback from the Trade minister Amelia Kyambadde on the criteria of who is obliged to pay for the pre-inspection exercise.

Reacting to traders’ actions, UNBS’s Manyindo said: “It is not called for because they (traders) have been part of the negotiations all through.”

In East Africa, Shs1.3 trillion—an equivalent of $500 million— in revenue, is lost annually from product imitation.