ILAC News 38

Sadc Countries Commemorate 2010World Accreditation DayWorld Accreditation Day is a globalinitiative jointly established by theInternational Accreditation Forum (IAF) andthe International Laboratory AccreditationCooperation (ILAC) to raise awareness of theimportance of accreditation. It is celebratedon 9 June each year with the inauguralWorld Accreditation Day having beencelebrated in 2008.To commemorate World AccreditationDay 2010 various activities were heldin SADC countries ranging from pressreleases to conferences. A press release onWorld Accreditation Day adapted by SADCAccreditation Services (SADCAS) and basedon the IAF/ILAC 2010 World AccreditationDay joint statement was circulated to thenetwork of National Accreditation FocalPoints (NAFPs) who in turn circulatedthe press release to stakeholders intheir respective countries and the localnewspapers. The press release was widelypublicized in the newspapers in Botswana,Malawi, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.In Botswana, a World Accreditation Dayconference was held at the BotswanaBureau of Standards (BOBS) Headquartersin Gaborone to commemorate the day.The conference was jointly organized bySADCAS, the BOBS ISO/IEC 17025 Forumand the NAFP for Botswana which ishoused within the Department of IndustrialAffairs Ministry of Trade and Industry. Over120 stakeholders mainly from conformityassessment bodies ie calibration, testingand medical laboratories as well ascertification and inspection bodies attendedthe conference. The theme was “GlobalAcceptance” in line with the IAF/ILAC themefor 2010.The conference which was the first ofits kind held not only in Botswana, butin the whole of the SADC region. It wasofficially opened by Mrs Banny Molosiwa,Permanent Secretary Botswana Ministryof Trade and Industry. Mr Graham Talbot,Chairman of the ILAC/IAF Joint Marketingand Communications Committee and alsoChairman of the European Cooperation inAccreditation (EA) gave the key note address.In her opening address, Mrs Molosiwaapplauded the creation of an internationalnetwork for accreditation bodies whichremoves the need for repetitive testing,certification and inspection which is not onlytime consuming but costly, as certificatesissued by accredited organizations can beaccepted throughout the world. She said thataccreditation is paramount as it providesassurance and confidence that tradedproducts and services not only conformto specifications, but also meet legal andregulatory requirements thus serving toprotect public interests in general. MrsMolosiwa also commended SADC on theestablishment of SADCAS, a multi economyaccreditation body which provides SADCMember states without their own nationalaccreditation bodies, ready access tocost effective accreditation services. Sheencouraged the Botswana calibration andtesting laboratories and certification andinspection bodies to take up the SADCASservices to improve the competitivenessof Botswana products and services as thecountry diversifies its economy and addsvalue to its products.In his key note address Mr Talbot notedthat the use of accreditation is wideningand expanding into new sectors. “We areseeing a continual growth of accreditationinto areas that up to now have not reliedon accreditation to provide users withconfidence such as healthcare, forensicscience, climate change, sustainability, foodsafety and so on”, he said.The opening ceremony was followed by asession during which delegates were updatedon regional and international developmentsin accreditation by various experts includingDr Oswald Chinyamakobvu the SADC SQAMExpert, Mrs Masego Marobela, the Chairmanof SADC Cooperation in Accreditation(SADCA), Mr Ron Josias the Chief ExecutiveOfficer of the South African NationalAccreditation System (SANAS) and Mr Talbotin his capacity as the Chairman of EA. Thesession which was Chaired by Mrs MaureenMutasa, the SADCAS Chief Executive Officerended with lively interactive discussions withparticipants wanting to know more aboutthe linkages between the regional (SADCA)and African Cooperation in Accreditation(AFRAC) which is due to be launched inSeptember 2010. Participants also discussedthe implications of the new Europeanregulation 765/2008 on accreditation andmarket surveillance in trade with SADCcountries.The second session of the conference whichwas Chaired by Mr Josias and was onsharing experiences in the journey towardsglobal acceptance of technical competence.The session started with a paper by MrsMutasa who gave an overview of SADCAS,briefly outlined the prerequisites andrequirements for the ILAC/IAF Arrangements,as well as the process followed to achieveinternational recognition. She theninformed participants about the progressof SADCAS so far, in its journey towardsglobal acceptance of certificates issuedby accredited laboroatories and bodies.Very informative and lively presentationsby Mr Tebogo Kajane, BOBS ManagerLaboratory Services, Dr Kitenge Kalenga alocal hospital superintendant, Dr KekgonneBaipoledi, Deputy Director BotswanaNational Veterinary Laboratory and MrsOliviah Zimba, Director Quality AssuranceStandards Association of Zimbabwe outlinedthe respective conformity assessment bodies’triumphs and tribulations in their journeytowards accreditation.In her vote of thanks, Ms Verily Molatedi,SADCAS Board member thanked all thespeakers for their excellent and informativepresentations and more importantly forsharing their experiences in accreditationwith other stakeholders at the conference.Judged by the level of attendance andinteractions and feedback from participants,the workshop was indeed a success!In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ahalf day workshop was held in Lubumbashito commemorate World Accreditation Dayon 9 June 2010 thus raising awareness of theimportance of accreditation in the mineralsrich Southern region of DRC. The workshopwhich was attended by 200 participants, wasorganized by the Congolese Control officewhere the NAFP is housed. The workshopwas graced by Honourable Tsiakwiza, DRCMinister of Trade, Finance and Economy andHonourable C Mwando Ministers of Industry.ILAC News | Accreditation31