UNBS installs new board
Ms Masitula Munyaami, the new UNBS board chairperson, takes oath as Trade minister Amelia Kyambadde looks on. Photo by Paul Tajuba
KAMPALA. Trade minister Amelia Kyambadde has inaugurated a 10-member board to serve on the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) council, with the main task of fighting counterfeits currently flooding the market.
At the Tuesday event held in Kampala, the minister reminded the new board that “the role of UNBS is to protect consumers against dangerous, fake and substandard goods”, a duty she said the council should execute diligently.
“I emphasise the need for more vigilance to tackle the enormous challenge of counterfeits and substandard goods on the Ugandan market,” she said.
Counterfeits affect the economy as they subject locally manufactured goods to unfair competition because they are cheaper.
This is in addition to posing health hazards especially when the fakes are food items or drugs.
The minister singled out the agriculture sector as one that needs urgent interventions as majority of inputs being sold are of substandard quality.
Ms Masitula Munyaami, the new chairperson, whose team will lead for three years, noted that there are gaps in monitoring and enforcement that needs to be closed.
