…ARSO approves 250 newharmonised standards across the continent
By Gloria Ikibah
The Minister of Industry Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite has reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to ensure that the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) achieve its mandate.
The Minister gave the assurance at the opening ceremony of the 30th ARSO General Assembly held in on Wednesday in Abuja, with the theme, “Educate an African fit for the 21st Century – Building a Quality Culture – “One Market, One Standard”.
The Minister who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Ambassador Nuhu Abba Rimi, said this year’s theme articulates the essential role of standardisation in promoting sustainable development, innovation, export-oriented manufacturing and production.
She stated that the goal of the Ministry therefore is to reposition and revitalize the Nigerian economy for sustainable growth by exploring innovative strategies to bolster our nation’s economic sustainability as outlined in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for Nigerians.
She said: “To realize this vision, we must embrace standardisation as: “Standards set Good International Best Practices in every sector of Life”, which, if strictly adhered to, could promotes productivity, trade and ensures predictability, transparency, openness, and as well as a basis for Technical Regulations”.
Going back memory lane, Dr. Uzoka-Anite asserted that Nigeria takes pride among African nations for its role in the foundation of ARSO in 1976; most especially the strategic role played by late Dr. Adedeji Adebayo, who (while serving as the Secretary General of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) between 1976–1977), championed the process of the establishment of ARSO.
“Similarly, we will not forget in a hurry the excellent role the Nigerian ex-President, His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo played in 1977 as one of the nine Heads of States that signed and endorsed the instruments of the ARSO membership for their respective governments.
“Furthermore, the theme draws my attention (I believe yours too) to the 21st Century symbiotic relationship between education, sustainable development, industrialisation and trade; with standardisation being a strategic pillar for us as a government, stakeholders and as well as the standardization community in general.
“Candidly speaking, this points out the need to equip the African youth with relevant skills and SMEs with innovative tendencies needed for the 21st Africa’s Industrial Development and Integration Agenda as provided under the AfCFTA so as to create awareness on the role of standardization in sustainable development to catch up with the rest of the world”, she stated.
According to her, standards shape our everyday lives, drives economic efficiency, facilitates trade and is the fulcrum for tackling the challenges of moving towards a more sustainable and resilient model of development.
He therefore called for collaborative efforts among African nations and ARSO member states to re-lubricate the implementation of the AfCFTA; even as he stated that only 35 of the 43 African nations ratified the agreement.
“There are many areas of policy-making decisions guided by standards of different kinds in areas such as facilitating international trade as well as to help establish trust through guaranteed specifications and quality requirements.
“With the world moving towards Artificial Intelligence for faster development, I dare to say that future policy-makers will need a better understanding of standards and standards-related issues through exchange of ideas and knowledge, relevant trainings and robust research findings to support and maintain artificial intelligence.
“Furthermore, I like to believe that the current standardisation activities – at the national, regional and continental levels – will require robust synergy and collaboration among African nations and ARSO member states to re-lubricate the implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement, especially with respect to enhancing a Common Regulatory Framework in the Context of TBT annex 6, article 5”.
“You may recall that these instruments recommended development and implementation of standards, technical regulations, conformity assessment procedures, accreditation, metrology, capacity building and enforcement activities to boost intra-Africa trade, particularly trade in value-added production and commerce across all sectors in the continent.
“Although, only 35 of the 43 African nations that ratified AfCFTA agreement (piloted in six African nations of Kenya, Rwanda, Cameroon, Ghana, Tanzania, Mauritius, Tunisia, and Egypt) all being ARSO members, they will largely benefit from AfCFTA, strategies of reducing tariffs and non-tariff barriers among member nations.
“It may also interest you to know that AfCFTA could stimulate intra-African trade by up to USD35 billion per year, boost agriculture and industrial exports by up to USD 4 billion (7%) and USD 21 billion (5%) respectively and stimulate a GDP rise from USD 1.7 trillion (2010) to USD 2.6 trillion (2020) thereby pushing up consumer spending from USD 860 billion (2010) to USD 1.4 trillion (2020) and thus potentially lifting millions out of poverty (McKinsey).
“Furthermore, AfCFTA has been structured to boost intra-African trade which over the years has suffered three major categories of obstacles; namely weak productive capacities and limited economic diversification, tariff-related trade costs, and high non-tariff-related trade costs that hamper the competitiveness of firms and economies in Africa”, the minister noted.
In his remarks the director General of the standards organisation of Nigeria, Dr. Ifeanyi Okeke, said the theme is not only apt and significant but will further cement the hope of a standardized single market.
According to the director General the ARSO 30th General Assembly is an avenue to foster collaborations and further boost the already established relationship between the delegations of the African Countries and the International Community who are decision-makers of the ARSO activities within the ccontinent and beyond.
He said : “In February 2023, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government at the 36th Ordinary Session of the African Union underscored the urgency of accelerating progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG-4), which emphasizes quality education. This year 2024 has been declared the “Year of Education” by the African Union, calling upon all governments to re-double their efforts to ensure inclusive, equitable and quality education for all.
“In alignment with this vision, the current Nigerian administration, under the banner of “Renewed Hope”, has laid out a comprehensive educational roadmap aimed at transforming our educational sector. This roadmap focuses on increasing access to quality education, improving infrastructure and investing in the givers of education – the teachers.
“The government’s commitment to educational reform reflects our understanding that education is the foundation of national development. At the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, we are committed to integrating this roadmap with our collective goal of fostering a quality culture and transfer of knowledge through standardization – a significant progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals that will ultimately capture “no-African-child-is-left-behind effort.
“Dear colleagues, as we delve into our theme for the year 2024, we are reminded of the essential role that standardization plays along the way. The challenges we face are enormous, sometimes complex: understanding the various theories of climate change and addressing them, harnessing the 4th Industrial Revolution, uplifting the young people, controlling burgeoning population, amongst other.These challenges demand that we equip our youth with cognitive skills and knowledge necessary to navigate and succeed in an increasingly complex global landscape”.
Dr. Okeke charged all ARSO member states to work collaboratively to address the educational deficits that hinder our progress, especially with millions out-of-school children and a huge learning poverty rate.
“Standardization, as we all may agree, is not merely about setting guidelines, it is about fostering a quality culture that permeates every aspect of our lives. It ensures that our products and services meet international benchmarks, enhance competitiveness and facilitate trade. It is about creating a unified market where quality is the norm, not the exception. This vision of “One Market, One Standard” is integral to achieving the aspirations of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“As we deliberate for the next couple of days, let us seize this unique opportunity to re-commit ourselves to the Continental Strategy for Education in Africa (CESA) 2016 – 2025”, he added.
ARSO Secretary General, Dr. Hermogene Nsengimana, disclosed that 250 new harmonised standards has been approved, bringing the total to over 2000.
He however expressed concerns about the implementation of these standards across the continent.