The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has called on residents of the Karamoja sub-region to venture into the weights and measures repair business to improve trade accuracy and expand local technical capacity.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with tndNews, Uganda, John Kizito, a legal metrologist and head of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards Mbale Office, said the bureau currently faces significant logistical challenges maintaining weighing equipment across the vast Karamoja sub-region.
Kizito explained that UNBS staff often have to travel long distances from Mbale to different districts in Karamoja to inspect, repair, and maintain weighing scales used in markets and businesses.
“It is quite hectic for our staff to move from Mbale and cover the entire Karamoja region to repair and maintain weighing equipment used in trade,” Kizito said.
He noted that encouraging local residents to acquire technical skills in weights and measures repair would reduce the burden on UNBS teams while also cutting costs for traders who currently travel to nearby cities for such services.
Kizito urged interested residents, especially students on Senior Four and Senior Six holidays, to enroll in vocational training programs that equip them with the skills required to become certified weights and measures technicians.
According to him, Uganda currently does not have a dedicated metrology school. However, Uganda National Bureau of Standards works with certified workshops where trainees can receive practical training.
To enroll, candidates must pay a training license fee of shs50,000 and a standards fee of shs20,000 and after completing the training, participants sit a UNBS test, after which successful candidates receive a certificate and an operational license to offer repair services.
Meanwhile, Victoria Namutebi Wamala, Senior Public Relations Officer at Uganda National Bureau of Standards highlighted the broader challenge of understaffing at the agency.
She said limited human resources have made it difficult for UNBS to effectively deliver services across the entire country, often slowing down inspection and verification processes.
“Understaffing remains a major challenge for us. Our teams are stretched across the country, which sometimes delays service delivery and the situation can only improve with increased government funding,” Namutebi said.
Also read: “Sack iron sheets thieves”: Karamoja, Lango and Acholi tell Museveni, criticize DPP
Currently, Uganda National Bureau of Standards, with support from UK Aid through TradeMark Africa, is partnering with journalists across the country to bridge information gaps on product quality, consumer safety, and fair trade.
The initiative aims to promote accurate reporting on standards, quality assurance, and metrology issues, while highlighting UNBS’s role in supporting Uganda’s ambition of achieving ten-fold economic growth by 2040.
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