Page 55 - 41st Summit Brochure

region has three internationally recognised directorate of Industrial Development and
accreditation bodies. These are the Trade annually convenes the SADC Quality
Mauritius Accreditation Service Awards to recognise those companies,
(MAURITAS); SADC Accreditation Service products, exports and individuals that have
(SADCAS); and South African National excelled in the application of standards and
Accreditation Service (SANAS), which are quality in their daily business.
also bound in a tripartite SADC Following nine years of successful
Memorandum of Understanding wherein implementation, the 2020 Cycle of the
they assure and ensure each other’s regional competition was stalled by the
continued credibility. Covid-19 pandemic as most Member States
These accreditation bodies draw their could not hold their national competitions
recognition from the International due to the new social distancing rules. The
Accreditation Forum. In line with this, revived SADC technical barriers to trade
SADCAS, the multi-economy accreditation stakeholder committee will this year
body formed and financially supported by reformulate the way the competition is held
14 SADC Member States, continued to considering the virtual mode of operation.
widen its scope of services and their The continued enforcement of the
international recognition. Other application of quality principles in the
accreditation bodies are under development region is imperative since technical barriers
in two of the SADC Member States and will to trade and sanitary and phytosanitary
benefit greatly from the experience and measures keep emerging in the course of
goodwill that has been amassed by the trade. This is why the directorate has to
existing accreditation bodies. establish and continue to develop electronic
Products and services that Member platforms and convene dialogue forums
States produce with the guidance of quality where the bottlenecks that Member States
and standards principles have easy access to experience in the course of trade are
markets. It is in this regard that the resolved in real time.

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