Imperatives of harmonising African standards via ARSO

Globally, economic blocs and free trade areas are fast narrowing the market space. The examples of European Union (EU) and Latin American Free Trade Areas (LAFTA) provide the template. Osa Victor Obayagbona examines the issues and challenges confronting the setting up of a common market to boosting intra-African trade, as breaking inhibiting economic and trade barriers to enhance industrial growth and global competitiveness is still an uphill task for the continent.

The emergence of Joseph Odumodu, director-general, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), as president, African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO), may signpost movement towards integration of African standards in products aand services. This is predicated on the various measures taken towards maintenance of standards in made-in-Nigeria goods.

Experts believe that one main step towards striking the right chord for African regional and continental market is the issue of harmonisation of standards across the 54-member-countries of the African Union (AU).

However, the ARSO provides the vehicle and platform to achieve the African dream. Formed in 1977, ARSO, under Odumodu, has been upbeat concerning the way forward for Africa’s quest to join the global market.

Recently, at a pre-forum world press conference in Lagos, Odumodu said harmonising African standards remained the way to go for Africa’s inclusiveness and trade facilitation.

“The event of the ARSO President’s Forum for Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of National Standards Bodies (NSBs) holding from June 22 – 24, 2015, which is being launched today through this media coverage is meant to sensitise the world on the readiness of African standardisers to strengthen the continental integration by breaking inhibiting economic barriers through standardisation to enhance industrial and economic empowerment,” he said.

He believes hosting the CEOs of NSBs in Africa through the ARSO President’s Forum calls for celebration, as a milestone in the history of ARSO in particular and Africa in general, as its outcome will fulfill the dreams of the founding fathers of the AU and by extension, the ARSO. This will also fulfills a long desire by Africa to take its future and development in its hands.

The Abuja Forum, which has been tagged: “Africa Rises for Standards in Abuja,” will among other expectations bring about the strengthening of the standardisation capacities of Africa through dialogues, information and experience sharing, which will form the key elements required to promote and sustain Africa’s productivity and trade.

As had been highlighted earlier, ARSO, according to Odumodu, seeks to integrate the whole of Africa through standardisation to empower the continent to look within itself for sustenance, as standardisation is capable of breaking borders and barriers inhibiting trade and development. The giant strides being recorded by some regional economic blocs in exports to other continents are encouraging, but could be better without the current intra-continental barriers that have continued to remain stumbling blocks even with neighbours.

Be that as it may, the current global activities in trade indicate that no country or continent can advance industrially, economically and socially, without the culture of quality and standards.

Interestingly, ARSO, the umbrella body of all the standards bodies of African nations traces its root to the unfolding events of the African socio-political and economic pan-Africanism of the 60s and 70s, with the mission to facilitate intra-African and global trade through providing and facilitating the implementation of harmonised standards.

An inter-governmental body created by AU leaders to regulate standardisation of products and services, the organisation has lived up to expectation in recent times through its activities and efforts in actualising its mandate of developing tools for standards development, standards harmonisation and implementation of these systems to enhance Africa’s internal trading capacity, increase Africa’s product and service competitiveness globally.

Therefore, the President’s Forum for CEOs of NSBs in Africa holding in Abuja, June 22-24, will provide the required framework as well as opportunity for the African CEOs to strategise on actualising the recommendations made by the ministers to ensure the smooth take off of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA), which means that Africa will become one common market, just like the EU markets by 2017. This mandate was given to ARSO by AU leaders in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

At the AU Conference of Ministers of Trade in Addis Ababa, in 2014, it was recommended that “all AU member states that are currently not members of ARSO should endeavour to attain membership by the year 2017.” This has become imperative so as to mobilise all NSBs into the membership of ARSO in order to drive the standardisation programmes necessary for the strengthening of the competitiveness of “Made-in-Africa” products as well as engender regional and/or continental fusion into an economic book.

Standards ensure safety and reliability of products, save cost, and improve life generally, and conformity to standards increases productivity and helps in reassuring consumers of the safety and efficiency of a product. The current global activities in trade indicate that no country or continent can advance industrially, economically and socially, without the culture of quality and standards.

According to Odumodu, ARSO president/director-general, SON, “ARSO seeks to integrate the whole of Africa through standaardisation to empower the continent to look within itself for sustenance.”

ARSO has its hands full with the proliferation of the sub-standard goods in many African nations. Regional and continental trade will suffer terribly if the issues of standards were not properly addressed and given prominence.

The influence of the CEOs of NSBs in trade within and outside Africa cannot be overemphasised because in Africa, NSBs are mainly responsible for initiating and developing product standards. Nothing can be achieved without the meaningful input of the CEOs, so the time has come for all hands to be on deck to move the continent forward because inter-country trade facilitation is an engine of economic growth. No economy survives where sub-standard products hold sway. Until quality is emphasised in production of goods and services, the continent will always take a back seat in global industrialisation, Paul Angya, a top official of SON said.

Experts also agree that the CEO forum will provide an opportunity to chart a course for the standardisation of African products and the integration of a common market, as all barriers inhibiting trading within Africa would be removed for free flow of goods and services.

The theme of the ARSO Forum, “Africa Rises for Standards in Abuja” is apt at this time as it will also contribute to Africa’s integration through the use of standardisation in the removal of all technical barriers to trade to enable Africans trade as a common continent for her integration, competitiveness and economic emancipation.

The organisation should ensure that the dream of having proudly made-in-Africa goods competing globally with their counterparts across the world is actualised through improved standards without which there would be no improved quality of products. Quality should be made a criterion for market entry to underscore the benefits of standardisation as a powerful tool for promoting and protecting the economic interests of consumers.

The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) equally believes that countries that have mainstreamed international standards in their policies and regulations are able to better protect their populations and give them a bigger choice of quality products.

Something good can come out of Africa should ARSO do the needful to see that the continent is given a pride of place globally, if standards and quality are given utmost priority. Companies should be helped with enabling policies and standards development. No man is an island so, the ones that are willing to abide by the tenets of the organisation should be helped to unlock their potentials of trade through quality products and services so as to drive inclusive and sustainable growth and development, experts say.

Sources close to the Africa’s standards body argue that it has become imperative for ARSO to endeavour to bring into its fold other African countries that are yet to embrace its policies and ideology. Member countries and aspiring ones who do not have national standards bodies should be assisted to establish them to enable their standardisation activities be carried out by qualified personnel in a well-equipped, functional and befitting structure.

The responsibility lies on ARSO to enforce standards since they are crucial for the orderly and efficient flow of goods and services in domestic and international trade.