Government reviewing quality policies for better development of SMEs

The Mozambican government is reviewing its quality and industrial policies and strategy for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in order to adapt them to the country’s current needs and challenges, so as to bring about a national industry that puts quality products both on the domestic and international markets.
This review, provided for in the government’s 2015-2019 five-year program, also aims to perfect the country’s standardisation and product quality certification system, as well as contribute to the development and competitiveness of the domestic industry.
According to the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Carla Soto, the review of these instruments “is part of the government’s efforts to create conditions so that our country has a quality infrastructure that meets international requirements”.
Soto spoke on March 24 in the city of Maputo in a seminar commemorating the 23 years of the National Institute for Standards and Quality (INNOQ). Concerning the INNOQ, the permanent secretary said that the government is investing to give this entity the equipment and personnel it needs so that it can effectively play its role, which is to implement the national quality policy through the implementation of standardization, metrology, certification and quality management activities.
In turn, Alfredo Sitoe, the general director of the INNOQ, said that although it has made significant progress in the recent years, its institution still faces “huge challenges.” One in particular has to do with “training employees so they can respond to the market demand of calibration and verification services of measuring instruments in a number of areas.”
The event was attended by the vice-president of the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA), Agostinho Vuma, who in his speech referred to the role played by the INNOQ in the certification and standardization of products’ quality. “The INNOQ allows our products and services to have certification and standardization from a metrological point of view, thus ensuring higher quality and consumer confidence towards the services and goods sold by companies,” Vuma concluded.
It should be noted that as a result of the work it has done so far, the INNOQ currently assists 97 companies and 5 laboratories to make calibrations for measuring instruments and has already certified 13 companies in management systems and four products, as well as having 932 technical standards applicable to areas such as food, fuel and quality management, among others.
(Source: Fim de semana)