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{
    "id": 868718,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/868718/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 149,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Saku, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Ali Rasso",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13473,
        "legal_name": "Dido Ali Raso",
        "slug": "dido-ali-raso"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, when I look through this Bill, all over the world, there is the problem of adulteration, substandard and counterfeit goods and services. However, having this institution, I think we will be able to tie down the monster and ensure the safety, health and conformity of our goods to international standards. According to the explanatory notes in this Bill, I can see the intent is to have a body that is competent to carry out specific conformity assessment tests. That is the intention of this particular Bill. Hon. Members who have spoken before me have said as much, but there are things that we want the Committee to really delve deeper into, particularly in the area of the board. If we allow this to go as it is, there will be a serious ambiguity. Section 7(d) says six members shall be appointed by the Cabinet Secretary. When you see how they have been picked or the areas they represent, I think we are going to be ambiguous if we allow this to slip through our fingers. Also, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is an ex-officio member who should be the secretary to the board whether he or she attends board meetings or not. That is likely to create a lacuna that we should look at during the Third Reading. The good thing about this board is that it will create committees of specialised groups such as health, trade, manufacturing - both technical and otherwise. Those committees will look at the different areas of specialisation as the accreditation is given. It is an important input into the Bill. There is also the area of appeals. Through a personal or competitive process of accreditation, one company can edge out another. It is important that the appeal process has been built into the Bill. Lastly is the area of penalties. The Bill talks about the suspension of a company that violates the established accreditation law. Rather than just talk about suspension, the Bill must go further to state the punitive penalties that the particular company should incur. We have examples of fertiliser, goods, consumer goods and recently, we had the experience of sugar. If there are no penalties subscribed in this Bill, it is likely to fall short of the intent. With those remarks, I beg to support the Bill."
}