The Minister of Trade and Industry Hon. Sosten Gwengwe, MP made a first Ministerial visit to the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) on Friday, 27th October. This is following his appointment as Minister of Trade and Industry. In his statement, the Minister indicated that his visit was more than just a familiarization tour to appreciate the operations of MBS. The Minister stressed that his coming to MBS is to have high level engagement with Board members and Management on how MBS can play a leading role in face-lifting the economy through robust boarder and internal quality monitoring controls.
The Minister expressed concern on the proliferation of substandard products that are getting into the country through smuggling. The Minister then shared the preparedness of his Ministry to support MBS and other relevant institutions and agencies in the National Quality infrastructure in combating smuggling and counterfeit products on the market as they pose serious setback to economic growth of the country.
In his welcoming remarks, the Director General of Malawi Bureau of Standards Dr Bernard Thole gave the summary of the core functions of the MBS and some programs and projects that are being undertaken in promoting standardization and Quality assurance services and enforcing Metrology Act in the country to ensure consumer protection. The Director General further shared how the MBS is aligning its services to Malawi Agenda 2063.