The African Organisation for Standardization (ARSO), is gearing towards harmonization of standards across the continent, to strengthen intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and advance Africa’s industrialization and sustainable development.
Speaking in Mombasa during the 73rd ARSO Council and 16th Champions Meeting hosted by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), ARSO President and Botswana Bureau of Standards Managing Director, Botsile Kebapetse, emphasized the need for deeper cooperation among member states, to tackle Technical Barriers to Trade (TBTs), which continue to hinder the realization of AfCFTA goals.
The five-day meeting is held under the theme “Accelerating Fair and Just Trade in Africa under the African Continental Free Trade Area through an African Coherent Regulatory Framework and Harmonised standards”.
AfCFTA has been signed by 54 African countries and ratified by 48 nations, 38 of which are members of ARSO.
“As you know, AfCFTA is about opening borders for our Africans to be able to trade amongst themselves, right now in Africa, we are not trading amongst ourselves as much as we trade with other continents,” said Kebapetse.
“You’ll find that in Africa, most African countries are exporting goods outside Africa as opposed to exporting goods amongst ourselves and importing,” he added.
The intergovernmental standard body is keen to bring a paradigm shift by facilitating intra-African trade, to make sure that all the goods, all the minerals, the riches and wealth of Africa are enjoyed by Africans as well, not only outside Africa.
“We want them to be also enjoyed within the continent, and that can only take place and be achieved effectively through harmonization of standards, because with harmonization of standards, we will be taking care and reducing TBTs,” stated the President.
Member states were urged to ensure that there is the right quality infrastructure, a common understanding, mutual recognition arrangements, and conformity assessment procedures are harmonized.
To date, 2440 standards have been harmonized within 15 priority sectors, accounting for 25 per cent of AfCFTA trade tariffs.
ARSO President noted that globally relevant harmonized standards make it easier for many companies, particularly small and medium enterprises, to fairly and justly get their products certified and on the shelves in countries around the world, allowing them to take part in global value chains and compete on a more equal footing.
KEBS Managing Director, Esther Ngari, stressed that the forum is crucial as member states deliberate on systems that can support intra-African trade and align AfCFTA implementation with harmonized standards to eliminate trade barriers.
“This gathering is very important in terms of approving the harmonized standards in terms of discussing what else we can do as an organisation to help trade within the AfCFTA,” said the MD.
ARSO Secretary General, Dr Hermogene Nsengimana, noted that harmonization has already been effected in areas like agro-processing, pharmaceutical, automotive, transport and communication, textile and leather.
“We will also be looking at how we implement our quality mark, that is a quality mark for the continent where we’ll see if you conform to the harmonized standard, your product can be sold across Africa without being retested,” he said.
by Sadik Hassan
