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The Zambia Compulsory Standards Agency (ZCSA) has commenced its 2024 national Open Market Surveillance (OMS) inspections, covering nine provinces to assess compliance with compulsory standards on 61 locally manufactured and imported products.
ZCSA Acting Manager for Communications and Public Relations, Brian Hatyoka, stated in a statement issued in Lusaka on Sunday that the inspection exercise included a wide range of products, such as food, beverages, animal feed, chemicals, engineering products, household electrical appliances, fertilizers, and used textiles.
The surveillance would cover Eastern, Central, Lusaka, Southern, Western, Copperbelt, North-Western, Muchinga, and Northern provinces.
“During this activity, which runs from November 11 to November 25, 2024, non-compliant products will be seized, withdrawn from the market, and destroyed, in line with Section 16 4(b) of the Compulsory Standards Act No. 3 of 2017, to safeguard consumers and the environment,” Hatyoka said.
He explained that the exercise also aimed to identify new and unregistered suppliers offering products under compulsory standards.
In 2023, ZCSA conducted OMS inspections across six provinces, covering 22 districts and 64 localities.
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Hatyoka noted that 2,540 trading outlets were inspected, examining 35 products, with 150 instances of non-compliance identified.
The overall compliance rate reportedly increased to 89 percent, up from 85 percent in 2022.
The total value of withdrawn products from the six provinces in 2023 reached K271,266.19.
“ZCSA, as a statutory body under the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, is mandated by the Compulsory Standards Act to enforce standards for public safety, health, consumer protection, and environmental care,” Hatyoka said.
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