EAC producers call for review and uniformity of standards

Regional producers in the East African Community are calling for cement and limestone standards to be reviewed and harmonised in accordance with international best practices.

According to reports by AllAfrica news, the move follows complaints from producers over lack of uniformity on standards that govern the industry, which they said affects competitiveness of the sector and ultimately intra-regional trade, especially cement exports.

Fidelis Sakwa, a representative of the EAC cement producers' association, said there is need to review cement standards in the region in accordance with international best practices. "While it's a norm all over the world to have cement standards in a market reviewed every after five years, this has not been the case with the East Africa region since 2001. Therefore, it's imperative to not only have them reviewed but also harmonised," Sakwa said.

Sakwa was speaking during the first East Africa Community technical committee on harmonisation of standards workshop in Kigali, yesterday.

The five-day workshop, organised by Rwanda Standards Board (RSB), attracted more than 100 standards experts, engineers and policymakers.