Validated ECOSTAND standards and recommendation for their adoption during the next Council of Ministers

On April 15 th 2016, the ministers in charge of Quality in the ECOWAS countries met in Lomé (Togo), to examine and adopt nine ECOSTAND standards on food, two ECOSTAND standards on electrotechnical products and thirty (30) electrotechnical standards of IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission). As a prelude to the ministerial session, the Technical Committee of Management (TMC) of standards harmonization model of ECOWAS (ECOSHAM) met from April 10th to 13th 2016 to study the proposals for a harmonized logo to be affixed on fortified foods traded in the region. The comments of the States were collected and proposals were made with a view to issue very quickly a final version of the logo. The Committee of Management also examined 11 projects of harmonized standards.

This committee, composed of Directors from the National Standardization Bodies of the member countries of ECOWAS, registers his action in the overall framework of the establishment of the West African common market and Community Quality Policy (ECOQUAL).

This meeting was the opportunity not only to consider and adopt the programs of the different technical committees for Standards’ harmonization, but also to exchange on the implementation status of the main programs in progress, including the WAQSP, the revised strategy for industrial development, the ECOWAS - PTB Program of Metrology, the ECOWAS-GIZ Program for Quality management and the ECOWAS - ARSO - SIS Program on capacity building for the development of international standards.

The purpose as noted by the Commissioner Traoré, «is to create within the ECOWAS region an homogeneous technical environment, transparent and credible to inspire confidence to economic agents and ensure consumers’ protection». He added «we cannot build this market if countries do not agree on the terminology used to appreciate the market value of goods exchanged. The ECOWAS Commission has put in place a system of standards’ harmonization between the countries so that there are no specific standards for Togo, Nigeria, Mali, etc. but a single and common standard for each good exchanged».

Thus, at the end of the ministerial session, more than forty standards presented and submitted by the Technical Committee were recommended for adoption by the ECOWAS Council of Ministers.