The Malawi Police Service has accused some of its corrupt officers and Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) employees for the proliferation of substandard goods into the country.
Of late the country has witnessed an influx of illegal immigrants and an increase in number of sub-standard goods such as batteries, beer, biscuits, and energy drinks flooding local markets without passing through proper certification standards.
This was transpired during the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) two-day media workshop iñ Mzuzu that the country’s borders are very porus to control an influx of sub-standard goods flooding local markets.
MBS's Director of Metrology Services, Thomas Senganimalunje said other regulatory bodies and enforcement agencies need to be collaborating if need to curb the malpractice enabling the proliferation of substandard goods into the country is to be achieved.
“Every product needs to be properly measured and certified before taken to the market, but the proliferation of subsandrd good also needs the involvement of other enforcement agencies to provide technical support,” Senganimalunje said.
Commenting on the assertions that the country’s borders are porous National Police Service Public Relations Officer, James Kadadzera said it is the work of a few selfish corrupt police and MRA officers leading to the influx of fake goods flooding the markets.
“Our borders are not that porous, but smugglers connive with MRA officials and even some police officers to smuggle goods, some border areas have no good roads so they manage to use the same check-points,” Kadadzera said.
Efforts to seek views from MRA's head of corporate affairs, Stéve Kapoloma proved futile since his mobile phone could not be reached on several occasions we called him.
Meanwhile speaking on the workshop, course coordinator at Malawi Institite of Journalism Mzuzu Campus, Gabriel Nyirenda said the training has enlighten journalists in the region on how Malawi Bureau of Standards develops and regulate Malawi Standards.
“The participants are leaving with the knowledge of the initiative and operations of MBS and what role consumers and the media can play to ensure that substandard goods and services do not find their way into the market in Malawi,” Nyirenda said.
The Malawi Bureau of Standards was established by enlightened Parliament Chapter 51:02 ín 1972 with the mandate to promote metrology, standardization, and quality assurance of commodities and their manufacturing, production, processing, or treatment of the foregoing and further to provide for matters incidental to or connected with standardization.
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