21 COMMONWEALTH STANDARDS NETWORK


‘TRADE IS UNDERSTAND


A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE EVERYONE CAN


AND RELATE TO’


Case study: Technical assistance work streams in Zambia and Uganda


T


he DFID Commonwealth Standards Network (CSN) Programme is providing technical assistance in


Africa (Zambia and Uganda), Oceania (Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu) and the Caribbean (Saint Lucia, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines). Three quarters of CSN’s budget is devoted to the technical assistance ‘Streams’. The decision to focus efforts on Zambia


and Uganda was prompted by a range of factors. As Darya Ruban, the Africa Stream Project Manager explained, “We prioritised those nations and their NSBs where there was potential to build capacity and where tangible and sustainable results could


be achieved with small scale activities. BSI also has strong links with Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA), so we had a good knowledge of the business environment and challenges in the region.” The main benefi ciaries in each country


are the NSBs; Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) and Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS). At the same time, the project team engages with other Quality Infrastructure (QI) stakeholders and is in regular contract with the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry in Zambia and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives in Uganda, along with local chambers of commerce, farmers


associations and SMEs. CSN interventions have been met with a great deal of enthusiasm by government offi cials and industry. “Trade is a universal language that everybody can understand and relate to” said Darya. “Government see clear benefi ts to both businesses and consumers in reducing non-tariff trade barriers and opening up trade.


“Our task is to show that an effective QI is needed to address the value chain bottlenecks. While it’s relatively straightforward to set up, NSBs and governments need the right tools to do it effi ciently.”


Overall, the CSN Africa Stream activities


A technical working group in Uganda analysing sectors of the national economy as part of the process


of developing a National Standardization Strategy


TESTIMONIALS CLICK TO READ


are designed address NSB’s strategic objectives and capacity and to create a demand for certifi cation, training and assessment services among agriculture and fi sheries businesses. For example, the team has assisted with drafting the national standards strategy, professional training (Lead Auditor ISO 9001 and 45001; ISO 17025 and ISO 22000) and the simplifi cation of product guidelines, to name just a few.


Darya Ruban


With each country having different regimes and structures it isn’t a case of a ‘one size fi ts all’ approach. During the inception phase, the team conducted extensive consultations with all parties to


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