Harmonisation of standards across Africa critical to AfCFTA success – SON DG

Mallam Farouk Salim, Director-General, Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has charged standards bodies in Africa to harmonise standards and broker mutual agreements to ensure the success of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Salim gave the advice in a statement on Thursday from the opening ceremony of the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) 65th Council meeting in Accra. He also urged them to promote faster adoption of the continental standards to facilitate movement of goods across African borders and with the rest of the world without inhibition. 

This, Salim said, would ensure that standards were not used as technical barriers to free intra and inter-African trade. ”The Continent’s political leaders have done their bit by signing the agreement, thus passing the challenge of successful implementation to the technocrats. The task for the agreement to work rests on the standard bodies and we commend the role being played by African Organisation of Standardisation (ARSO) particularly in the development and harmonisation of continental standards by member states of the organisation,” he said.

The SON DG disclosed that Nigeria in collaboration with the ARSO recently organised a virtual Stakeholders’ awareness forum on 43 automobile African standards. He said the standards were in the process of adoption as Nigerian Industrial Standards. Salim commended the impressive participation of stakeholders in Nigeria in the forum and enjoined them to voluntarily uptake the standards after adoption.