Adapt to market needs, traders urged

Sat, 17 Jun 2017 11:20:46 +0000

By BUUMBA CHIMBULU

THE business community needs to adapt to the changing environment to produce products that are acceptable locally and regionally, says Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS).

ZABS director and chief executive officer, Manuel Mutale, said it was gratifying to see the willingness by the business community in Northern Province to comply to set standards.

He was speaking recently when he was hosted by the Northern Province permanent secretary, Jobbicks Kalumba, at his office.

“I am glad that the companies that we visited showed enthusiasm to use available standards for their products to improve on quality. “There is need for industry to adapt to the changing business environment and produce products that are acceptable locally and regionally,” he said.

Mr Mutale said that after visiting some local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Northern Province, he had no doubt that local products had the potential to favourably compete on the international market.

He had since advised local manufacturers to take advantage of the availability of a ZABS office in the area to access valuable technical information that can make their businesses viable.

And Dr Kalumba commended ZABS for decentralising its services and making them more accessible to SMEs and consumers in the province.

Dr Kalumba said the organization had made the Government’s decentralisation policy a reality by making available the much needed standardization and quality assurance services in the province.

“I commend you for opening an office here in Kasama. I would like to assure you that my office is open for consultation and collaboration.

“I have no doubt that the operationalization of a ZABS office in Kasama will ensure that products that our consumers are using are inspected and confirmed as meeting the set standards,” he said. He said there were a lot of products in Kasama such as chalk, fruit flavoured drinks, electricals and cement that needed regulation.