AU Commissioner of Trade and Industrialisation Albert Muchanga, with Niger Minister of Trade and Youth Entrepreneurship , Mme. Gourouza Magagi Salamatou
Niamey: During the opening ceremony on the role of African Quality Infrastructure (QI)”, The AU Commissioner of Trade and Industrialisation, Albert Muchanga, focused on contribution on African Quality Infrastructure (QI) to poverty reduction and economic prosperity. Read his intervention below:
I greet and welcome you all to this event on behalf of the African Union Commission.
I also thank you for taking time to join us.
I would like to appreciate the technology that is making it possible for some of you to join us virtually.
The Extraordinary Session of the Assembly focused on industrialization and economic diversification could not take place earlier due to the COVID 19 pandemic.
There is a saying that every crisis presents a great learning opportunity.
We are now having this Extraordinary Session with stronger awareness of how important it is to be self-reliant when it comes to critical provisions, and also why it is critical to be prepared for the unexpected.
You might ask: why has it been considered necessary to organise this event at this time?
The answer is we need to urgently galvanize Africa to produce so that we can supply the African Continental Free Trade Area and world markets with high quality and safe manufactured and agro-processed goods.
Industrial expansion will create opportunities for enhanced value addition to our natural resources as well as unlock investment opportunities and job creation across the continent, thereby contributing to inclusive sustainable
development.
In light of the key and strategic interdependences between Industrialisation and trade therefore, this Extra-Ordinary Session of the Assembly aims to rally the necessary political momentum, resources, partnerships and alliances towards dynamic Africa-Industrialisation drive.
To succeed in our industrialization drive, goods and services produced in Africa must meet requisite standards, regulations and conformity requirements.
Quality does not happen by accident but must be deliberately built into production processes and service delivery.
Quality Infrastructure (QI) is therefore an integral part of a successful industrialisation and economic diversification agenda.
Africa must in this connection invest in quality through developing and supporting quality skills and institutions at national, regional and continental levels.
As part of our efforts to ensure that we have a firm foundation in the development of a continental Quality Infrastructure, the AUC working closely with the Pan African Quality Infrastructure institutions (AFRAC, AFRIMETS,
AFSEC and ARSO), recently facilitated the drafting of the Africa Quality Policy (AQP) which was adopted by African Union Ministers responsible for Industry in September 2021 and endorsed by the AU Assembly in February
this year.
The main objective of the AQP is “To contribute to poverty reduction and economic prosperity by realizing an effective African Quality Infrastructure (QI) capable of raising the quality of goods and services, thus increasing
Africa’s export-led growth, leading to industrial expansion and diversification
in line with the African Agenda 2063 and, the Action Plan on Boosting Intra-African Trade (BIAT).
Among its specific objectives is the need to “To support the use of standards for sustainable development in all spheres of socio-economic activity, especially the MSMEs, aimed at achieving an efficient economy within Member States, better social, environmental and consumer protection, and an enhanced quality of life for citizens”.
Our expectations are that national and regional quality policies will now be aligned to this continental policy and Africa will have a coherent and harmonised approach to dealing with all standardisation and quality infrastructure related matters.
Closely related to this, is the development of the Made in Africa (MiA) certification scheme for which a standard implementation guideline has already been drafted.
The MiA will be a multi-purpose vehicle designed to encourage firms in Africa to optimise use of local inputs in their production processes, meet African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) rules of origin requirements,
minimize negative environmental impacts and comply with standards and quality requirements.
At the market level, the scheme will contribute to removing unjustified technical barriers to trade (TBTs) in the AfCFTA. In addition, the standard will assure consumers of the safety and quality of products originating in Africa.
We will work very closely with the Pan African Quality Infrastructure (PAQI) institutions and the AfCFTA secretariat in implementing the MiA and use the scheme to make qualifying firms, especially SMEs, more competitive by
developing reliable brands.
We are aware of the proliferation of the use of the MiA as a label and are consulting with Legal and Intellectual Property experts to ensure that we can protect the scheme from unauthorized use and becoming discredited. If necessary we may alter the name slightly.
I take this opportunity to thank the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany through PTB our development partners, for providing us with financial and technical support to implement our Quality Infrastructure programme activities including the development of the AQP, MiA and
development of a continental technical regulation framework (TRF).
PTB Germany have also kindly sponsored this side event. I again salute PTB I would now like to address our private sector colleagues who have joined us in this meeting.
The private sector needs to be constantly reminded that standards and quality are good for business, not the opposite.
When we encourage you to invest in standards and quality assurance, we are trying to secure your future in business.
“Saving costs” by downgrading quality requirements in your operations is a sure way of shortening your romance with the market. Consumers will always ultimately gravitate towards products that give them real value for their money.
It is not an accident that where national economic success is seen, those countries have deliberately invested in standards and quality by strengthening their Quality Infrastructure institutions and encouraged their firms to utilise standards and quality tools in their operations.
Certainly, Africa’s industrialisation drive, driven by you the private sector, will be like a chair missing one leg if we do not ensure that issues of standards and quality are taken on board.
As I conclude Mr. Chairperson, let me point out that it would be a sad day if we boost our production capacities but our goods are denied market access because they fail to comply with regulations or to meet quality and safety standards. I therefore challenge the quality infrastructure bodies in Niger and all over Africa to play their role in supporting our development endeavours as guided by the Agenda 2063, UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and AfDB High 5s.
We believe that through harmonised implementation of the Africa Quality Policy and your dedicated participation in the activities of the Pan African Quality Infrastructure institutions, we can together lay the foundation for an
effective and sustainable industrialisation drive.
And I conclude by calling on the private sector to invest boldly in design, standards and quality. Success in the marketplace is anchored on these three and they are what will make the difference between the visible and invisible in the competitive environment of supply of industrial products
I end here and thank you all for your kind attention. (End)