Steel companies appeal against UNBS directive

Kampala. Companies accused of producing 9,000 substandard iron bars impounded by Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) have petitioned the government standards agency to reverse its order.
According to Mr Godwin Muhwezi, the spokesperson UNBS, the metals got from two hardware outlets belonging to Give and Take in Nateete, a Kampala suburb were manufactured by Pramukh Steel Ltd and Yogi Steel Ltd.
“There is a provision for an appeal and these firms did appeal. Their request is yet to be heard by UNBS board. Anytime from now, before March, we hope their case would be settled positively if their request has merit,” he told this newspaper on Friday.
Mr Murtuza Vora, the sales executive of Yogi Steel Ltd admits that there were a few undersize iron bars released onto the market but was due to an error.

Factory errors
“We realised that and we collected most of them from the market, apart from a few that we could not trace,” he said adding, “We are a responsible company to our clients and incase of any problem we rectify it immediately and that is what happened. We have made this very clear to UNBS and appealed against their decision”
Mr Vora further explained, “If there are more substandard iron bars on the market then they are not for Yogi Steel Ltd.”

When contacted, Mr Kashyap Patel, executive director Pramukh Steel Limited also denied any bad intention to cheat the public.
“It is true that there were some iron bars that were got from our place with some problems but it was a manufacturing default. We have since corrected the problem and are producing quality iron bars that UNBS has verified and approved,” he said.
Management of both firms in Buikwe District along Kayunga-Jinja Road have promised to organise an open day for the public soon. This is order for the public to visit their manufacturing plants and ascertain quality production.

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