IN a bid to encourage proper use of chemicals among small entrepreneurs, the Government Chemist Laboratory Authority (GCLA) has offered fee discount in registering chemicals that are commonly used as raw materials in small scale industries.
Chief Government Chemist Dr Fidelice Mafumiko stated that the entrepreneurs with capital of not more than 5m/-would from now onward pay 10,000/-for registering a chemical, down from 40,000/-charged previously.
With the national industrialisation agenda, small scale industries run by entrepreneurs were mushrooming and use of chemicals as part of raw materials was increasing too.
Majority of entrepreneurs, especially women, use chemicals to produce domestic items such as soaps and detergents.
“We want them to register chemicals for health and environment safety as well as enable us visit them regularly for monitoring and further advice on use of chemicals,” Dr Mafumiko told the “africa-press” on the sidelines of the stakeholders’ meeting yesterday in Dar es Salaam.
During the meeting, the GCLA handed over 176 certificates to entrepreneurs who went through trainings on better use of chemicals.
Dr Mafumiko also advised the entrepreneurs to organise themselves and form a company, if they wanted to import chemicals they use instead of buying them from local suppliers.
“There are procedures to register for importing chemicals and that is subject to having a company,” Dr Mafumiko said.
Chairperson of the Tanzania soaps small producers association (Uwaswata), Ms Maria Lwilla, said their members got training from the GCLA over safe use and production of chemicals.
The 250-member Uwaswata is parented by the GCLA and the Small Industries Development Organisation (SIDO).
Meanwhile, the association raised concern over high prices of chemicals in the local market for making their products.
“High prices of chemicals a major challenge to us because it makes us produce at high costs and thus retards our growth,” Ms Lwilla noted.
To address this challenge, the association has appealed to the GCLA to facilitate them procedures to start buying chemicals directly from producers outside the country and import them.
