By William Madouk
South Sudan is implementing measures to combat counterfeit electric appliances as it will soon receive its first-ever portable lighting testing equipment.
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is due to handover of the machines to South Sudan National Bureau of Standards, on September 28, 2023.
The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) funded project is implemented by UNIDO.
South Sudan is flooded with counterfeit products where the machine is expected to detect low-quality, counterfeit, and inefficient goods on the market.
Speaking to the media, the deputy chief executive officer (CEO) for the South Sudan Bureau of Standards (SSNBS), Majak Deng Kuol, said South Sudan wants to make sure that products comply with the standards.
“We are going to make a market survey, and we are also going to put it at the border in order for any product to comply with the regional standards or East African standards in order to protect our South Sudan,” said Kuol.
“We hope that our government will purchase more equipment in order to make sure that everything complies with the standards,” he added.
Mr. Kuol further said that this is the first-ever lighting testing equipment in the country, adding that they only have a food items laboratory, microbiology testing, and a general chemical testing lab.
This was revealed during the consultation workshop for EAC regional energy efficiency policy and regional compliance from September 25–27, 2023, graced by an undersecretary from the Ministry of Energy and Dam, Tom Remis.
The Ministry of Energy and Dam selected SSNBS to be the custodian of the portable lighting testing equipment.
He also hinted that SSNBS is considering purchasing more testing machines, particularly for building materials, to ensure that only standardized products enter South Sudan.
The executive director of the EAC Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy and Efficiency (EACREE), Canon Goddy, said the equipment would help standardize light appliances countrywide.
“We have come to South Sudan to participate in this workshop and basically to also launch or give out the lighting testing equipment to South Sudan,” said Goddy.
“These testing equipment will help in the standardization of the lighting and energy system in South Sudan, especially when they are used to test the lights that enter the markets in South Sudan,” he continued.
For his part, Mr. Denis Ariho, the lead technical expert for the EAC region, said testing could help in market surveillance for counterfeit products.
“The East African market, not only in South Sudan, is flooded with low-quality and inefficient products. So having this equipment in every country in the region will help in reducing inferior or low-quality products in our market,” he hinted.
“So actually, we need more of that equipment to keep our countries from buying fake products. Because if you buy a product, it fades after a short time. That means we are losing a lot of money,” Ariho added.