The Minister of State for Trade, Wilson Mbadi, has reaffirmed his support for the decentralisation of Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) services, aimed at reducing the cost of doing business for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
During his visit to the UNBS Northern region office in Gulu city and the One Stop Border Post (OSBP) in Elegu, Minister Mbadi acknowledged the challenges faced by UNBS, including limited financial and human resources. He assured UNBS Executive Director, Eng. James Kasigwa, of his commitment to increasing funding and staffing to enhance service delivery and revenue generation.
“I applaud UNBS for the work done using the meagre resources, and I commit to support the increase of UNBS funding and staffing to strengthen the decentralisation of UNBS services,” Minister Mbadi said.
Minister Mbadi emphasized the need for UNBS regional offices and presence in all ten Agro ecological zones and industrial parks to support quality production and fast-track certification of MSMEs.
“We need to have UNBS regional offices and presence in all the ten Agro ecological zones and all planned industrial parks in the country to support production of quality products and fast track certification of MSMEs,” he added.
UNBS has made significant strides, certifying over 5,000 products and 1,600 MSMEs in the financial year 2023/2024.
Eng. Kasigwa noted that UNBS is operating at limited capacity, affecting service delivery and revenue generation. “We request for the Minister’s support in terms of increased funding and staffing for UNBS to support the government’s priority of export promotion, import substitution and industrial growth,” he said.
