Soon a considerable improvement at BBN

Trademark East Africa has offered equipment for physical/ chemical analysis laboratory to Burundian Bureau of Standards and Quality Control (BBN) as it always does for other EAC countries. Thanks to that, 34 parameters will be analyzed instead of 6.–By Lorraine Josiane Manishatse

Céléstin Ntahomvukiye, BBN Technical Director, “We will soon analyze 34 parameters instead of 6. We have also got an expert who is training our laboratory technicians about the use of new equipment. … He will also help us identify other specific needs in that physico-chemical laboratory so that Trademark funds them”.©Iwacu

On 5th November 2013, Trade Mark East Africa has offered material equipment to support the physical/chemical analysis laboratory of BBN. The existing laboratory was not functional because available equipment missed various accessories. Céléstin Ntahomvukiye, BBN Technical Director indicates that their institution analyses only food and agricultural products like salt, flour, milk, oil, juice, and they only analyze 6 parameters. They are compelled to turn to other institutions for analyzing other parameters. Thanks to Trademark donation, they will no longer pay money for products analysis in those institutions. “We will soon analyze 34 parameters instead of 6. We have also got an expert who is training our laboratory technicians about the use of new equipment. We hope that during the whole year he will spend here, we will learn much from him. He will also help us identify other specific needs in that physico-chemical laboratory so that Trademark funds them,” he highlights. He adds that the newly equipped laboratory will be quite functional after the first term of next year. Now, they are building new infrastructure and training technicians. In addition, the micro-biological laboratory is being constructed even though he can’t say exactly when it will start working.” But we still need to analyze building materials like cables, cement, iron because we have realized that many articles are sold while they don’t fulfill the required norms,” states Ntahomvukiye.

Burundians should praise that advantage

For Ntahumvukiye, Burundians will benefit much from the trademark donation to analyze products; the price will decrease because all analyses will be made in BBN offices. What is more, they will no longer need to pay money to other institutions. Burundian business will improve because if they export well- analyzed products, their customers will trust them and the business climate will develop. “We will fix obligatory norms to importers and exporters so that there will be any products on the market that do not fulfill required norms. Consumers must be protected to have good quality products which don’t cause any disease to them,” indicates Ntahomvukiye. He calls upon Burundian local producers and manufacturers to develop attitude of proceeding to their products analysis before bringing them to the market. “When we analyze products of any company, we give a one-year guarantee certificate. It facilitates traders to improve their business because wherever they bring their goods, they will not be required to spend money for other analyses,” he concludes.