Africa-Press – Uganda. The news that the government is going to establish a National Building Research and Quality Assurance Centre (NBRC) is welcome.
That the Works ministry with the National Building Review Board has earmarked Shs8b for the works raises both hope and skepticism.
The hope in this is that we will now be able to have a materials clinic. However, isn’t this the work of Uganda National Bureau of Standards. To place this in context, let’s look at the government’s rationale for the project.
“As a country, we lack the capacity to test building materials and also to test and carry out research on the building materials on the market. For example, recently some people came to us and said don’t waste time building with bricks, just put metal pillars, but have we researched on that to see how durable that structure will be,” the Works minister, Gen Katumba Wamala, said at the launch of a research centre at the weekend.
While we appreciate the deliberate effort to stem the rapidly falling standards of the construction industry, we still think it is reasonable to put in place measures that are also reasonable.
First, it is difficult – and painful – to imagine that a country that a few years ago announced it was merging agencies and departments as part of its plans to stop duplication and wastage of resources is creating new centres whose roles can be done elsewhere.
For instance, the role of UNBS, as stated in their literature, is:
· Formulation and promotion of the use of standards;
· Enforcing standards in protection of public health and safety and the environment against dangerous and sub-standard products;
· Ensuring fairness in trade and precision in industry through reliable measurement systems; and
· Strengthening the economy of Uganda by assuring the quality of locally manufactured products to enhance the competitiveness of exports in regional and international markets.
Our view is that the facilities that UNBS uses to test products in the market should be enhanced, instead of creating a new centre that will demand more personnel and other resources. That should be able to save resources and also avoid duplication.
We urge the National Standards Council to work closely with the Works ministry and the National Building Review Board to synergize and converge these agencies.
Already, the government has failed to implement the merger exercise five years after announcing it. Let’s nip this in the bud.
For More News And Analysis About Uganda Follow Africa-Press
