‘National quality policy a must,’ says minister |30 March 2015

At this important stage of our development, Seychelles needs a new national quality policy which will guide standards and quality of products and services,
The Minister for Investment, Entrepreneurship Development and Business Innovation, Michael Benstrong, said this while officially opening a capacity building workshop to strengthen the Seychelles Bureau of Standards’ (SBS) conformity assessment services with Seychelles’ membership to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Officials of the SBS, the Ministry of Investment, Entrepreneurship Development and Business Innovation and other national stakeholders met at the Seychelles Trading Company (STC) conference hall on Friday to debate on and evaluate the draft National Quality Policy and the draft Technical Regulations Policy documents presented by the international experts with the aim of strengthening industrialisation and economic growth now that President James Michel has signed the ratification of the WTO Accession Protocol ahead of Seychelles becoming a fully fledge member of the world trade body in a few weeks’ time.

The official opening of the workshop was held in the presence of the Minister for Land Use and Habitat Christian Lionnet, chairman of SBS board Charles Morin, Michael Ermel from the Federal Institute of Material Testing and Research in Berlin, Reimond Willemse an expert in chemistry laboratory from Netherlands and Joel Kioko from the Kenya Bureau of Standards and other high officials from both SBS and the Ministry of Investment, Entrepreneurship Development and Business Innovation.

Explaining the purpose of the workshop, Mr Morin said as Seychelles has signed several agreements as commitment to entering WTO – the SBS agreement, the Conformity and Assessment, to name some – for the country to meet these objectives there is one important organisation in Seychelles, which is the SBS, that needs to implement some of these agreements.

Minister Benstrong said the theme of the workshop carries a strong message to all. Not only by what we are eating or using daily but how we treat our environment, how we deal with our new technical goods but also by what we are buying or selling, exporting or even importing.

“The consumer of a good expects a certain or minimum standard are met at all times,” said the minister, adding that this is a great challenge for SBS to ensure these minimum standards are met.

He said that today Seychelles is in a position together with the rest of the word to exchange news and to share experiences. As Seychelles has taken this great challenge of being a member of the WTO, it is necessary that we are focused on the requirement to ease trade to the world and to ensure that our products leaving the country and the goods that we receive or import in Seychelles are in line with the standards required.

“This is the time where the SBS needs to rise to expectations,” said Minister Benstrong.

He also mentioned the requirements for trained and qualified personnel as a priority to carry out such a task.
The three consultants then explained the findings of the national quality policies.