The challenges of standardization explained to FEC members

Kinshasa, April 13th, 2021 (CPA) – The association for the promotion of metrology and standardization “APROMEN”, during a morning briefing held on Friday April 9th in Kinshasa at the headquarters of the Federation of Enterprises of Congo (FEC), explained the stakes of standardization to members of the employers, CPA learned on Monday from a source of FEC.

According to the source, the president of APROMEM, Bertin Ntumba Bululu, has occasionally indicated that with the globalization of the economy and the establishment of the African continental free trade area (ZLECAF), standardization is has become an essential survival tool for countries and companies.

For him, it is urgent to endow the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with a national standardization body (ONN) worthy of the name, for the effective management of the concerns of actors in the economic life of the country, at the risk of to see the situation turn for the worse with incalculable effects. To do this, he presented the indicators of a good organization of standardization in other countries, compared to an approximate and sparse practice in DRC.

For his part, the expert in international trade and member of APROMEN, Pierre Emangongo, spoke of the challenges of ZLECAF in relation to normative practice, specifying that Africa has officially started the process of implementing the ‘Agreement establishing ZLECAF since January 1st, 2021.

“The continent will therefore have a liberalized single market for goods and services. This market will facilitate the free movement of people and capital. Some countries are already starting to lay the foundations for a continental customs union with a view to implementing this agreement.

It is in this sense that we invite the government to urgently vote on the law on metrology and standardization as well as the relevant texts of its implementation, in order to prepare the mechanisms of supervision and support of the economic actors of DRC faced with the context of competitiveness presented by ZLECAF”, said this expert.

Speaking by videoconference from Australia, Mr. Ross Wraight, President of the international federation of standards users (IFAN), of which APROMEN is a member, considered that the use of international standards in business is crucial, and presents several benefits of guaranty that the products and services are safe, reliable and of good quality.

This is why, he said, standards are strategic tools that reduce costs by minimizing waste and errors. According to him, standards also help companies access new markets, put developing countries on an equal footing and facilitate free and fair global trade.

Ross Wraight insisted that international standards help everyone involved in the life of a society – government, public and private companies. He revealed that the governments of several countries have understood the importance of international standards and are incorporating their requirements into regulatory texts, given their content which comes from high-level world experts without directly consulting them. “By incorporating international standards into national regulations, governments help ensure that import and export requirements are the same all over the world, facilitating the flow of goods, services and technology country to country, he concluded.

This morning of information and awareness enabled FEC members to better understand the essential concepts on standardization, its importance and its advantages, especially in the context of ZLECAF. ACP /

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