The ARSO Capacity Building and Training includes training and promotional activities carried out by ARSO in its member States through the technical Support from its Technical Partners. Currently, PTB of Germany and KATS of South Korea are cooperating with ARSO to implement various training activities for the ARSO member States.
The ARSO-KATS Cooperation is based on the ARSO-KATS MoU signed in Nairobi, Kenya in 2010 during the 17th ARSO General Assembly and the subsequent signed Action Plan for 2011-2015.
Capacity Building and Training in Standardisation and Conformity Assessment
- ARSO PTB Capacity Development Programmes.
The need for awareness of standards, regulations and technical regulations interplay in economies and the need for standards-regulations convergence, through harmonisation, for improved market access in Africa led PTB, Germany and ARSO to organise PTB sponsored Training and Awareness Creation workshops on the “Interplay of Technical Regulations and Standards”.
Technical regulation: document which lays down product characteristics (shape, labelling, design, performance etc.) or their related processes and production methods with which compliance is mandatory.
- Status: The application of technical regulations is mandatory /Compulsory
- Responsibility: Ministries, regulatory authorities
- Motivation and purpose: Protect citizens and the environment; market failure
Standard: document approved by a recognized body that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for products or related processes and production methods with which compliance is voluntary.
- Status: Voluntary application
- Responsibility: Recognized standards organizations
- Motivation and purpose: demand by economic operators and other interested parties
Conformity assessment procedure: any procedure used, directly or indirectly, to determine that relevant requirements in technical regulations or standards are fulfilled (e.g. testing, inspection, verification, registration, accreditation
Elimination of Technical Barriers to Trade thus requires a Coherent system of harmonised technical regulations, recognised standards for reference and conformity assessment procedures
Started in 2008, the workshops so far have been hosted in up to six (7) selected ARSO Member States, namely:
- Namibia, hosted by Namibia Bureau of Standards, 28th – 29th November 2011
- Nigeria, hosted by Standards Organisation of Nigeria 28th – 29th March 2011
- Kenya, Hosted by Kenya Bureau of Standards 25th – 26th January 2011,
- Tanzania, hosted by Tanzania Bureau of Standards 20th – 21st January 2011
- Gabon, hosted by Agence De Normalisation Et De Transfert De Technologies (ANTT), 29th – 30th September 2008
- Ghana, hosted by Ghana Standards Board 6th – 7th October 2008
- Egypt, hosted by Egyptian Organisation for Standardisation and Quality 15th – 19th December 2008
ARS ARSO-KATS Capacity Building
The ARSO-KATS Capacity Building is based on the ARSO-KATS MoU of 2010 and the signed Action Plan 2011-2012 on the International Standard Infrastructure Cooperative Program 9ISCP). Further to the signing of the ARSO-KATS Action Plan for 2011-2012 on 1st June 2011
at KATS, Seoul, Korea, for the implementation of the ARSO-KATS MoU 2010, the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATs) successfully carried out a fully sponsored Training dubbed the 2011 (ISCP) – ARSO training program (“Development of Standardization, Conformity Assessment and Metrology”) on 5th -15th October 2011 in Seoul Korea
It was a good opportunity to strengthen relations between KATS and several African nations, where the following 17 participants from the following African countries participated in the training programme. It was a good opportunity to strengthen relations between KATS and several African nations, where the following participants from the following African countries participated in the training programme.
1) Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mr. Antony Kathiri (Kenya) Conformity Assessment
2) Mr. David Tonui (Kenya) – Legal Metrology
3) Mr Mbollo Jean Marie (Cameroon) – Standardisation Regime
4) Mr.Wiseman Bekelesi (Malawi) – Chemicals and Materials
5) Mr. Adedotun Richard Adewumi (Nigeria) – Testing Capability/Electrical and Electronics
6) Mr. Apim Ninma (Nigeria) – Testing Capability/Electrical and Electronics
7) Mr. Isa Siaka – Testing Capability/Electrical and Electronics
8) Mr. Ismaila Lawal (Nigeria) – Conformity Assessment)
9) Mr Melchiol Ndeshtila Ambunda (Namibia) – Standardisation Regime
10) Mr. Raymond Murenzi (Rwanda) – Energy and Environmental Field
11) Mr. Philibert Zimulinda (Rwanda) – Testing Capability/Electrical and Electronics
12) Mrs. Mary Makony Meela (Tanzania) – Standardisation Regime
13) Mr.Chokri Ben Ameur (Tunisia) – Conformity Assessment
14) Mrs. Lilia Makni (Tunisia) – Standardization.
All the participants attended 100% of the program’s sessions, submitted individual reports, and completed their group presentations after the group discussion