By Zablon Oyugi, October 4, 2024, Intra-Africa trade holds immense potential as a powerful driver of economic growth and poverty reduction across the continent. However, one of the major barriers to unlocking these markets is the ability of producers and service providers to meet quality and safety standards.
Overcoming this challenge requires improved laboratory and testing solutions, which can build the confidence and trust needed to allow products to move freely across borders with assurance of quality, according to Dr. Juma Mukhwana, Kenya’s Principal Secretary (PS) at the State Department for Industry, Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry.
Speaking during the official opening of a three-day All Things Lab and Testing (ATLT) expo taking at Nairobi’s Sarit Centre, the PS highlighted the importance of the continent becoming increasingly interconnected thus the need to ensure that quality and safety standards are upheld across all sectors for trade to truly thrive.
“Competent lab and testing solutions are key to ensuring that products moving across African borders are competitive, reliable, and compliant with both local and international standards,” he said adding that role of testing is not merely technical; it is fundamental to the success of any business aiming to expand its reach beyond local markets.
Mukhwana further highlighted that testing facilities, whether for food products, manufactured goods, or raw materials, help to level the playing field for African businesses.
In this, they ensure that their products meet the standards required to compete on the global stage.
Creating jobs locally
According to the PS, it is so sad that 55 countries in the continent with bulging population produce only 2.8 per cent of good that can be traded globally while consuming much of imports.
“When we rely heavily on imported goods and services as is it now, we are directly creating jobs in those countries where these products and services come from but if we put more effort in creating our own manufacturing industries but also upping our standards, we will create more jobs in our countries especially for the many jobless youth,” Said Mukhwana.
“As more African nations engage in trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), harmonized and efficient testing solutions will help reduce barriers, enhance trade efficiency, and promote regional integration.”
This, he says, can be done by continually upgrade the countries testing capabilities by investing in new technologies, enhancing local laboratory capacities, and providing the necessary training for the continent’s professionals so that it can keep up with the rest of the world.
On his side, Professor Ratemo Michieka, the Chairperson at the ATLT Secretariat emphasized the need to start a serious dialogue about this important sector and improve the consistency of the continent’s testing products and services.
“We have not taken this sector seriously yet everything in life is about testing and measurements to arrive at standards that can be applicable anywhere in the world for even informed decision making,” Said Michieka adding that the expo is the first of its kind in the continent seeking to bridge the existing gaps in the sector.
Accreditation to testing laboratories and services
According to Dr. Walter Juma Ongeti, Chief Executive Officer, Kenya Accreditation Service (KENAS), Africa’s development is at a point where the ability to move goods and services across borders with minimal technical barriers to trade is paramount to realizing the full potential of initiatives such as AfCFTA.
“Central to this process is the role of conformity assessment services provided by testing laboratories and the attendant accreditation that gives the assurance that testing is done by bodies that are competent,” said Ongeti.
Dr. Andrew Edewa, Director SPS and Standards at Trademark Africa said that there is need to harmonize the standards of different countries to avoid barriers to movement of goods and services in the continent.
“Instead of coming up with many standards, we can work together with stakeholders from various countries to uphold some few but important standards key to trade and harmonize others to relieve traders the burden of having to comply with many standards as they move their good across our borders.”
The expo which is themed Facilitating Intra-Africa Trade through Competent Testing Solutions has brought together diverse players in the sector ranging from testing laboratories, manufacturers and suppliers of laboratory products/supplies, researchers, policy makers to students among many others.
