13 Oct 2013

The Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) laboratory at Mmamashia Water Treatment Plant is now a Southern African Development Community Accreditation Services (SADCAS) accredited testing laboratory for microbiological and chemical analyses of water.

Speaking at a ceremony to hand over the certificate on October 10, SADCAS chief executive officer, Ms Maureen Mutasa said through this accreditation, the Mmamashia laboratory had been granted the unique accreditation numbers TEST-1 0004 and TEST-5 0009.

She explained accreditation as a process that involved the creation of confidence in the work carried out by conformity assessment bodies such as testing laboratories, calibration laboratories, certification and inspection bodies.

“The Mmamashia laboratory has been accredited in the scope of microbiological and chemical analyses and the operation of a laboratory quality management system in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025, a guarantee for reliable, accurate and comparable results,” said Ms Mutasa.

She also pointed out that accreditation did not just assure competence of conformity assessment providers,  but increased reliability and competitiveness of products.

Ms Mutasa said it was not only about implementing laboratory management systems or working towards set standards, but about policy makers embracing best practice in national development plans and making it part of the business culture.

For his part, the WUC chief executive officer, Mr Godfrey Mudanga said the corporation took a firm decision to join the new culture of quality management systems within its relevant operations to demonstrate the needed compliance.

Mr Mudanga congratulated Mmamashia laboratory for being patient in their journey to a noble achievement and reminded them that SADCAS would undertake periodic surveillance assessments throughout the validity period which runs for five years.

He highlighted that during the period of transition, “the ethos of our laboratories has undergone significant transformation to an institution that has set in place professional practices and now has its competence recognised internationally.”  

Mr Mudanga said since WUC incorporated an overall system for technical and quality management, they have realised a significant increase of customers requesting the use of laboratories for testing services.

He also stressed that  Botswana was privileged to have SADCAS set up its offices in the country to provide ready access to accreditation.

“Through our accredited testing services, we have been able to increase public confidence in our ability to make reliable and valid decisions on water quality vis-a-vis the safety, health and welfare of the public”,  said Mr Mudanga.

The chief executive officer also paid tribute to the WUC staff who worked tirelessly to make the accreditation dream a reality to enable them to provide optimal quality assurance to customers.

Mr Mudanga described the move as a major milestone in the history of the corporation and the turning point in their endeavour to achieve service excellence. Ends