On a supervision mission in Cotonou: PM Bernard BAU exchanges with the National Technical Coordination and the stakeholders on the state of implementation of the WAQSP

As part of his mission to oversee UNIDO activities in Benin, the Programme Manager of the WAQSP, Bernard BAU, met this Thursday, July 5, 2018, at the headquarters of the National Agency for Standardization in Cotonou, the National Technical Coordination and stakeholders to find out about the state of implementation of the West Africa Quality System Programme (WAQSP) in Benin. On this occasion, he was accompanied by UNIDO Senior Expert, Mr. Taoufik CHAABANE, who also participated in the meeting.

Opening the session, Mr. Bernard BAU recalled the objective of the meeting, telling the participants that about six (06) months from the end of the programme, he thinks it’s necessary to come and learn about the activities already carried out, those that currently taking place and those to come at country level. Under the supervision of the Director General of the National Agency for Standardization, Metrology and Quality Control (ANM), the National Technical Coordinator of the WAQSP, Mr. Youssouf MAMA SIKA, made the case of major activities carried out or in progress without to conceal those to come. These include the assistance to the DG of the West African Accreditation System (SOAC) for making appointments in State ministries with whom the future activities of his institution in Benin have been discussed; the assessment of two (02) specialized laboratories; the ISO 14001 standard training currently underway; the scheduling of a session to restore the achievements of Lome workshop on the United Nations Guide for Consumer Protection; the holding of the second edition of the National Certification Day. He also informed the participants of the adoption, in the coming days, of the National Quality Policy by the Government. He finally pleaded for the WAQSP to support the initiative of the accreditation of temperature and pressure laboratories of Benin by the SOAC, as soon as possible.

In response, Mr. BAU commended the coordination and stakeholders for the quality of the work and the activities carried out. According to him, the WAQSP will probably contribute to the accreditation audits of the two laboratories by the SOAC. He also spoke about the prospects, informing briefly about the new program, that of the chain of values which will impact, according to him, several countries in the region. An activity on a study trip to connect the national Agency calibrations for ensuring the traceability of measures at company level was mentioned. In this regard, Mr. Taoufik CHAABANE intends to get involved for the effectiveness of this activity.

The supervision mission of the Programme Manager Bernard BAU ends this Friday, July 6th with a series of visits to companies supported by the Programme.