What is UNBS Standards In Uganda
UNBS operates a Product Quality Certification Scheme, as one of the services to the manufacturing sector. Under this scheme, UNBS certifies the quality of a product and grants the manufacturer a permit to affix the UNBS Quality Mark either on the product itself or on the packaging. This mark gives an assurance to the customer that the product conforms to Uganda Standards and is of good quality.
The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is a para-governmental body established by an Act of Parliament under the Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Industry. This body has been operational since February 1989.
The role of the UNBS is to formulate standards, promote the use of standards, enforce standards to protect public health and safety and ensure the protection of the environment from unsafe, unauthorized and non-conforming products; ensure fairness in trade, accuracy in industry through the establishment of reliable measurement systems; strengthen the country’s economy by increasing the competitiveness of local industries and promote quality exports through standardization, quality assurance, testing and metrology.
The activities of the UNBS are: to develop standards; assist industrialists, manufacturers and producers to improve the quality of their products and services; provide information services on standards, quality assurance, metrology and testing; monitor the market to eliminate dangerous, unauthorized and non-conforming products; verify the accuracy of weighing and measuring instruments used by traders and consumers in commercial transactions, and verify the accuracy of calibration, measuring and testing devices used in industry; conduct pre-shipment inspections and conformity assessment operations of exports, imports and delivered goods; assist the private sector, procurement specialists, government and the general public in assessing the conformity of goods through testing, measurement and inspection against standards or specifications; provide factory inspection services to assess conformity to standards; and establish liaison with national, regional and international standards bodies and other related activities.
About UNBS
The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is a Government Agency responsible for developing, promoting and enforcing of national standards in the protection of Public Health and Safety, and the Environment against harmful and sub-standard products as well as ensure fair trade.
About ARSO
The African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) is Africa’s inter-governmental standards body formed by OAU (currently AU) and UNECA in 1977, to develop tools for standards development, standards harmonization, and implementation of these systems to enhance Africa’s internal trading capacity, increase Africa’s product and service competitiveness globally, uplift the welfare of African consumers, and serve as a standardization forum for future prospects in international trade referencing.
About ISO
ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, is a global network of 173 national standards bodies, each representing one country. ISO was established in 1946 and is headquartered in Geneva Switzerland. Through its diverse network of members and experts constituted in the over 800 technical committees and subcommittees, ISO has developed over 25,000 international standards in virtually every field. These standards help organizations improve performance, meet regulatory requirements for export markets and build trust with customers and partners, creating an enabling environment for global trade. Under its Vision 2030, ISO aims to make lives easier, safer and better.
