SON Issues MANCAP Certificates To 54 Companies In Enugu

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has issued Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP) Certification for excellence to 54 companies’ brands in Enugu State.

Presenting the MANCAP certificates in Enugu on Friday, the Director-General of SON, Dr Ifeanyi Okeke, reaffirmed the Agency’s commitment to enable more companies, especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to attain MANCAP Certification to meet global standards.

Okeke, represented by the Head of South-East Regional Operations of SON, Mr Chukwuma Aharanwa, noted that SON had put in place policies and initiatives to ensure quality and value addition for sustenance of consumers’ interest in Nigerian products and services worldwide.

The Director-General said that some of these policies and initiatives were seen in the services SON provided to MSMEs, which included: subsidised sale of standards to MSMEs, subsidised certification charges and subsidised laboratory testing charges.

Others include SONCAP-Import Permit at subsidised service charge to support the importation of raw materials and equipment; inclusion in all technical committees on standards elaboration and recommendation of MSMEs with certified products for financing, SON Product Identification Scheme (SONPIS).

Okeke said that SON would also undertake periodic factory inspections, sampling and laboratory testing to ensure that products certified continued to meet requirements of relevant standards.

“The product are to be revalidated every three years, and it is of utmost importance that you note that the certificates issued today shall be withdrawn or suspended if the products fail to meet the minimum requirements,” he cautioned.

Okeke congratulated recipients, while urging manufacturers, importers and exporters to take advantage of the services SON offered to better their businesses.

He warned that the organisation would not hesitate to sanction any person or group of persons found sabotaging its efforts.

In an address, the Enugu State Coordinator of SON, Mr Peter Ameh, presented key innovations implemented since the previous audit, which included the adoption of the Electronic Demand and Electronic Receipt (EDER) platform.

Others were deployment of the Electronic MANCAP (E-MANCAP), redesign of the MANCAP logo, introduction of the SON Ogbete Market Desk and launch of the SON Product Identification Scheme (SONPIS).

The innovation also includes acquisition of water test kits, installation of block testing machines, and digitalisation of documentation.

In a goodwill message, the Director General of Enugu Chambers of Commerce, Mr Uche Mba, urged the companies to thrive harder in quality so as to compete globally, assuring them that the chamber would always support SON whenever called upon to do so.

Responding, Chief Executive Officer of Occad International Ltd, Chief Cletus Obute, who spoke on behalf of the MANCAP Certificate recipients, appreciated SON for supporting and guiding them towards MANCAP Certification.

Obute assured SON that they would always abide by requirements of standards. (NAN)

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