UGANDA – The Minister of State for Trade, General Wilson Mbadi, has reiterated the government’s dedication to bolstering the decentralization of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) services.
This initiative is aimed at reducing the cost of doing business for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and is part of a broader strategy to grow Uganda’s economy from USD 49.5 billion in FY 2023/2024 to a projected USD 500 billion over the next 15 years.
During his maiden visit to the UNBS Northern region office in Gulu City and the One Stop Border Post (OSBP) in Elegu, General Mbadi emphasized the importance of decentralizing services to support the country’s economic ambitions.
He commended UNBS for its efforts in ensuring product certification, market surveillance, and consumer protection, despite operating under constrained financial and human resources.
Challenges in capacity and service delivery
UNBS Executive Director, Engineer James Kasigwa, outlined the challenges faced by the Bureau, particularly in terms of limited financial and human resources. He noted that these constraints hamper service delivery and restrict the Bureau’s ability to generate the much-needed Non-Tax Revenue (NTR) for the government.
Eng. Kasigwa called for increased funding and staffing to enhance UNBS’s role in supporting the government’s priorities of export promotion, import substitution, and industrial growth.
In response, General Mbadi pledged to advocate for the necessary support to strengthen UNBS’s operations.
He also highlighted the need to establish UNBS regional offices across all ten Agro-Ecological Zones and the planned industrial parks in the country. These regional offices would play a crucial role in ensuring the production of quality products and expediting the certification process for MSMEs.
Decentralization to enhance service delivery
The UNBS Northern region office in Gulu currently provides certification, testing, and market surveillance services to businesses in West Nile, Lango, Acholi, parts of Karamoja, and Masindi district. Similar regional offices are also operational in Mbarara for the Western region and Mbale for the Eastern region.
However, critical services such as Calibration and Legal Metrology remain unavailable at these regional offices, highlighting the need for further decentralization.
The UNBS decentralization agenda is designed to improve efficiency in service delivery by reducing the cost of doing business. With over 90% of enterprises in Uganda classified as MSMEs and 60% of these located outside the central region, decentralizing services is expected to facilitate the certification and growth of these enterprises.
This move is also seen as a way to improve compliance with standards and enhance the competitiveness of locally manufactured products in line with the Parish Development Model and the National Development Plan IV.
In the financial year 2023/2024, UNBS certified over 5,000 products and over 1,600 MSMEs. General Mbadi recognized these achievements and urged continued efforts to support the production of quality goods that can compete on both regional and international markets.
During their visit to the Elegu OSBP, General Mbadi and Eng. Kasigwa inspected UNBS’s import inspection operations. The Bureau’s role in import inspection is crucial in protecting the public from substandard products, thereby ensuring consumer safety and fair trade practices.
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