East African Business Week
DAR ES SALAAM -TANZANIA-Traders in the country have faulted the recently introduced Pre-shipment Verification of Conformity to Standard system of goods inspection (PVoC) saying such a system was killing employment in the country and leading to high expenses to local traders.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam during a workshop organized by Tanzania Bureau of Standards with its stakeholders on the "Awareness session on PVoC" the President of Tanzania Freight Forwarders Association (TAFA) Mr Steven Matunga said the country needs to come up with its own ways on controlling counterfeit and substandard products entering the local market.
He said it was high time the country stopped borrowing systems in other countries because that did not mean that such systems can work best in the country.
(Goods on transit, traders has faulted the new system on PVoC claiming it is a burden to them due to the increased expenses involved Photo By Kenan Kalagho)
"There are projects Tanzania as a country needed to launch so that other nations can learn from us instead of borrowing these systems from other countries all the time. When is the country going to be innovative so that others can learn from us?" Mr Matunga wondered
Matunga said the three companies of Intertek, SGS and Bureau Veritas which won the tenders of conducting PVoC in the respective countries of importation like China, India, Dubai Japan and the UK had expired licences in the country.
He said there was Tanzania Bureau of Standards and Fair competition Commission government entities who could do the job well if the government wanted to get serious on the quality and standards of goods entering the country as that could mean creating jobs instead of exporting them.
"Why should we give these jobs to foreign companies and export these jobs oversees' while our citizens lack opportunities for jobs," Mr Matunga queried.
He advised TBS to look on the best ways of ensuring that the standard of goods entering the Tanzania market is reached and those being locally manufactured by ensuring that they go to places of manufacturing instead of waiting for such goods to reach the market.
Different stakeholders on the workshop claimed that they were facing very high costs on goods inspection because most of them were small traders buying from different manufacturers.
"We buy these goods from different manufacturers and we are charged $250 on every receipt we present to inspection companies which in turn leads to inflation of prices of goods to consumers", one of the traders lamented.
The TBS Director of Quality Management Ms Kwezia Mbwambo said the PVoC system was introduced after the former Destination Inspection (DS) which is still in use had failed to control the problem of both counterfeit and sub-standards of goods and protect the local market from n counterfeit goods which were cheap but killing the local market.
Mbwambo said Tanzania was lacking equipment to detect the standard of goods that enters the country through the use of Destination Inspection and or PVoC system which in turn leads to high costs in destroying these sub-standard products but also leads to pollution.
"We realized that some of the used vehicles being shipped to the country could not last for long and therefore instituted this system in order to stop Tanzania from becoming a dumping place". Mbwambo said.
She said that there were companies in Dubai, Japan and the United Kingdom licensed with assessing the quality of motor vehicles entering Tanzania market a thing which she said was important to protect both the buyers' health and their safety as well.
She however noted that they were discussion with the government to see on how vehicles entering through Zanzibar can also be included in the PVoC system before entering Tanzania mainland.
Early this year during an interview with the East African Business Week, the Confederation of Tanzania Industries Director of Policy and Advocacy Mr. Hussein Kamote noted that there was need for the government to assess and control the influx of used vehicles entering Tanzania market in order to halt the country from becoming a dumping place.
Kamote cautioned that such used cars could be unwanted types in the countries of manufacturer in other words cars that could sooner or later become scrap due to the new brands that flood their local markets making it unnecessary for owners of older models to keep aged vehicles.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam during a workshop organized by Tanzania Bureau of Standards with its stakeholders on the "Awareness session on PVoC" the President of Tanzania Freight Forwarders Association (TAFA) Mr Steven Matunga said the country needs to come up with its own ways on controlling counterfeit and substandard products entering the local market.
He said it was high time the country stopped borrowing systems in other countries because that did not mean that such systems can work best in the country.
"There are projects Tanzania as a country needed to launch so that other nations can learn from us instead of borrowing these systems from other countries all the time. When is the country going to be innovative so that others can learn from us?" Mr Matunga wondered
Matunga said the three companies of Intertek, SGS and Bureau Veritas which won the tenders of conducting PVoC in the respective countries of importation like China, India, Dubai Japan and the UK had expired licences in the country.
He said there was Tanzania Bureau of Standards and Fair competition Commission government entities who could do the job well if the government wanted to get serious on the quality and standards of goods entering the country as that could mean creating jobs instead of exporting them.
"Why should we give these jobs to foreign companies and export these jobs oversees' while our citizens lack opportunities for jobs," Mr Matunga queried.
He advised TBS to look on the best ways of ensuring that the standard of goods entering the Tanzania market is reached and those being locally manufactured by ensuring that they go to places of manufacturing instead of waiting for such goods to reach the market.
Different stakeholders on the workshop claimed that they were facing very high costs on goods inspection because most of them were small traders buying from different manufacturers.
"We buy these goods from different manufacturers and we are charged $250 on every receipt we present to inspection companies which in turn leads to inflation of prices of goods to consumers", one of the traders lamented.
The TBS Director of Quality Management Ms Kwezia Mbwambo said the PVoC system was introduced after the former Destination Inspection (DS) which is still in use had failed to control the problem of both counterfeit and sub-standards of goods and protect the local market from n counterfeit goods which were cheap but killing the local market.
Mbwambo said Tanzania was lacking equipment to detect the standard of goods that enters the country through the use of Destination Inspection and or PVoC system which in turn leads to high costs in destroying these sub-standard products but also leads to pollution.
"We realized that some of the used vehicles being shipped to the country could not last for long and therefore instituted this system in order to stop Tanzania from becoming a dumping place". Mbwambo said.
She said that there were companies in Dubai, Japan and the United Kingdom licensed with assessing the quality of motor vehicles entering Tanzania market a thing which she said was important to protect both the buyers' health and their safety as well.
She however noted that they were discussion with the government to see on how vehicles entering through Zanzibar can also be included in the PVoC system before entering Tanzania mainland.
Early this year during an interview with the East African Business Week, the Confederation of Tanzania Industries Director of Policy and Advocacy Mr. Hussein Kamote noted that there was need for the government to assess and control the influx of used vehicles entering Tanzania market in order to halt the country from becoming a dumping place.
Kamote cautioned that such used cars could be unwanted types in the countries of manufacturer in other words cars that could sooner or later become scrap due to the new brands that flood their local markets making it unnecessary for owners of older models to keep aged vehicles.
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