10 Mar 2016

The principal standards engineer at Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS), Mr Jona Ernest has encouraged councils to familiarise themselves with Botswana standards.

Mr Ernest said this during a workshop aimed at sensitising the Southern District Council (SDC) officers on Botswana standards.

Mr Ernest said knowing the standards that were applicable to councils would help them buy quality products by specifying standards during the procurement process.

Before they buy products, he urged council officials to first ask whether or not they were certified.He said purchasing products from a certified company gives the buyer an assurance that the latter has systems in place and was being monitored.

However, he explained that the majority of standards were voluntary while a few related to safety, health and the environment were compulsory. He said BOBS used technical committees to develop standards and to play a facilitation role in the process. He said stakeholder involvement in the development of standards helped them to come up with practical standards.

Another facilitator at the workshop, Mr Mompati Majola also stressed that government officers should familiarise themselves with standards for referencing purposes on tender documents.

He said wrong referencing for standards was common in government tenders. “SABS  has been replaced with SANS, but we still have people using SABS for referencing in tender documents,” he explained.

 Mr Olefile Kealotswe, a senior standards engineer, explained that they do regular inspections to ensure products maintained specified standards, adding that standards promote fair competition.

He also reiterated that certification gives a consumer assurance that a product or service complies with relevant specifications.

Mr Kealotswe further explained that certification of products promotes global trade in that a consumer could import goods from another country with the confidence that they have been checked for quality.

The engineer stressed that BOBS developed Botswana standards based on international standards which makes it easy for certified products to have a market anywhere in the world.

Meanwhile, the deputy council secretary, Mr Thabiso Galebotse urged BOBS to develop standards pertaining to locally produced goods such as jam and peanut butter.

He said developing standards for local products would guide councils through the Economic Diversification Drive (EDD). He said the policy encourages government departments to purchase local products.

However, Mr Kealotswe explained that they have standards for local products such as jam and butter. He further revealed that BOBS was in the process of developing a strategy for Small Micro Medium Enterprises (SMMEs). 

He said BOBS encourages Batswana to adhere to standards even for locally produced goods and advised councils to request for standardisation.

He said the standardisation process starts with the manufacturer or consumer expressing a need to have their products standardised. Ends