The Ministry of Trade conducted a three-day discussion with stakeholders on quality and standard issues here on Monday.
On the occasion State Minister of Trade Ali Siraj said: “Total quality management transcends the product quality approach, involves everyone in the organization, and encompasses all its functions: Administration, communications, distribution, manufacturing, marketing, planning, and training. We have about 40 water producing factories and yet only two of them use the Ethiopian Standard Mark on their production.”
Quality should be the motto to penetrate any market and it must begin with purchasing the raw materials and selling the production to the wholesalers and retailers. It should be governed by the system and make every one play fairly relying on the same, he added.
“An informed society should be in a position to determine the market and not be influenced by human affiliation. Any institution which seconds quality would be profitable and make sustainable profit. The Ministry would start to publicize these institutions in relation to safety matters.”
Market Surveillance Officer with the Ministry Zeradam Asegahagne on her part said that to protect the safety of the society and the environment the Ministry has implemented its legal mandate giving quality certification to 17 water factories with 17 more on the way but 10 factories have not started yet the quality surveillance procedures.
The Ministry has the will to keep sensitizing the factories to work in line with the set quality standards but if factories failed to abide by the rules and regulations they would be forced to publicize it. The Ethiopian Herald was informed by the Ethiopian Conformity Assessment Enterprise (ECAE) only two factories of bottled water and spa have secured the Ethiopian Standard Mark. The Ministry has given three additional months for those water bottling factories to finalize the process of conforming to the set standards.
Factories Surveillance Officer within the Ministry, Yeshimebet Simon said: “A holistic approach to long-term success that views continuous improvement in all aspects of an organization as a process and not as a short-term goal is what the factories should be engaged in. Factories should aim to radically transform their organization through progressive changes in the attitudes, practices, structures, and systems.”
The stake holders raised complaints on the prolonged time it takes to secure certification and the high cost.
It was learnt that the Ethiopian Conformity Assessment Enterprise and the Ethiopian Standard Agency would work jointly to enforce factories to meet standards of production.
[WaltaInformationCenter]