Industry players commend CBCA programme

THE ongoing Consignment Based Conformity Assessment (CBCA) programme has been commended by industry players who said the initiative has created market confidence as all imported products either as inputs or for reselling are of high standards.

The CBCA programme was first implemented under Statutory Instrument (SI) No 132 of 2015 gazetted on December 18, 2015, by the then Ministry of Industry and Enterprise Development to verify and assess the conformity of goods from exporting countries to prevent hazardous and substandard products from entering the country.

It entered into the full implementation stage in March 2016.

Solar panels

Goods under the list of regulated products are required to undergo pre-shipment inspection and assessment for conformity to national and global standards to protect Zimbabwean consumers against dangerous or suboptimal products as well as improving the quality of products through applicable standards and regulations.

The goods that fall under the regulated list for conformity inspections and assessments include a wide range of electrical and electronic products (among them solar products, lighting appliances), construction materials and appliances, footwear, clothing accessories, automotive products and spare parts, petrol, diesel, gas containers, and food products.

Bureau Veritas (BV) was given the mandate to do shipment inspection, verification of documentation, sample testing and risk assessment of goods in the country of origin.

Bureau Veritas is a French-based and global standards firm that was contracted by the Government in 2015 to conduct pre-shipment inspections and assessments on regulated imports.

In 2022, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce appointed BV to provide CBCA service in the importation of used vehicles, which is now mandatory.

Freight forwarding agent Mr Ilos Nyoni

Under the CBCA programme, all products regulated by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce imported into Zimbabwe are expected to be accompanied by a CBCA certificate.

In an interview, on the sidelines of the CBCA programme awareness workshop held in Bulawayo last week, Kango Products purchasing manager Mr Charles Ndlovu applauded the programme as it reduced the chances of the country being reduced to a dump zone.

“This is a very necessary programme because most countries believe that in Africa particularly in Zimbabwe, they can dump any products which are of poor quality,” said Mr Ndlovu.

Since its inception in 2015, the CBCA programme has seen over 154 million assortments of products that do not meet set importation standards being rejected from entering Zimbabwe.

The process safeguards the local industry from unfair competition presented by non-compliant imported products as well as protecting consumers from harmful and substandard goods.

In his presentation read on his behalf by Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) Matabeleland manager Mr Comfort Muchekeza, CCZ executive director Mr John Mapani said the consumer watchdog recognises that the CBCA programme is a critical initiative in the protection of consumers in Zimbabwe.

Consumer Council of Zimbabwe

He said Zimbabwe’s determination to upscale trade with other countries presents both opportunities which gives consumers a wide range of quality products to choose from.

“CBCA is welcome and necessary to ensure that safety and standards are adhered to.”

Freight forwarding agent Mr Ilos Nyoni said the pre-shipment inspection is important as in some cases consumers are short-changed by buying substandard goods.

Before the CBCA programme was launched, the suitability of imported products that entered Zimbabwe was not verified, but this initiative is seen as a giant move towards substantially reducing hazardous and substandard imported goods as well as improving customs duty collection.

Meanwhile, our Harare Bureau reports that the Government will from next month reduce the penalty levied on goods that enter the country without going through pre-shipment inspection in the country of origin from 15 percent to 12 percent.

Speaking during a CBCA awareness workshop organised by Bureau Veritas Zimbabwe in Harare last week, the firm’s contracts manager Mr Tendai Malunga said:

“With effect from March 1, 2024, the penalty charged on goods that arrive at the country’s ports of entry without pre-shipment will be reduced from 15 percent to 12 percent.”

Mr Malunga said the reduction in penalty charges on goods that arrive without certificates of conformity in the country follows an engagement between the Government and the business community. — -chronicle