Zambia: 'PVOC to Benefit Consumers'

THE Zambia Consumer Association (ZACA) has said the Pre-export Verification of Conformity to Standards (PVoC) will benefit consumers because imported goods will be prescreened before flooding the local market.

ZACA executive director Samuel Simutunda said the development would promote trade in high standard products which would be beneficial to both the trader and the consumer.

He said it would work well especially that the Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) has engaged experienced people who have the capacity to handle volumes of goods in detecting the quality of such.

Mr Simutunda, however, called for more sensitisation among stakeholders so that they were familiar with the system.

He said most of the traders in Zambia did not know what it entailed, hence the need to educate them.

ZABS has introduced PVoC scheme to curb imports of counterfeit and substandard goods. The scheme is intended to root out any unfair business practices.

ZABS director Mataa Mukelebai said goods being imported would have to be verified first through physical inspections and laboratory testings by its inspectors and two international companies, Societies General Surveillance (SGS) and veritas.

He said ZABS had a team of 30 inspectors with the presence in Nakonde, Chirundu, Livingstone, Kazungula and Katimamulilo borders.

Mr Mukelebai said the organisation had inspectors in the border points because it felt they were the main routes for imports.

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