South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Awan Achiek
The South Sudan National Bureau of Standards in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade and Industry on Monday started inspecting markets and shops in a bid to clamp down on sale of expired goods in Juba.
Dr. Kuorwel Kuai Kuorwel, the chairperson of council of the National Bureau of Standards said the four-day exercise aims to ensure that consumable products are safe for human consumption.
“What we are going to be doing is to be protecting the environment and not only the environment, the legitimate objective related to health, safety, and security of the population,” Dr. Kuorwel told journalists during the launch of market surveillance campaign in Juba.
He said the inspection exercise targets factories, supermarkets, shops, stores, slaughter houses and other businesses.
“During this surveillance inspection, inspectors will check sanitary condition, storage condition and compliance with leveling and other technical requirements in the market, hotel, stores, factories and supermarkets,” said Kuorwel.
He said the team will be working until early next year to ensure that the population is safety of consumers.
William Anyuon Kuol, the National Minister of Trade and Industry called on business owners to comply with health and safety regulations.
“What we are going to do is the inspection of the market because, during this Christmas time, we feel like maybe some people that don’t have ethnic may decide to bring some expired goods that they have into the market,” said Anyuon.
He urged the public to report cases of expired goods to the relevant authorities for immediate action.
“They may think that people are now on leave and it will be an opportunity for them to bring to the markets the goods that is not fit for consumption of our people,” said Anyuon.
The inspectors on the first day found a lot of expired goods in some electronic shops around Konyo-Konyo.
”Here at the market, one of the electronic shops, we found some of the items that are substandard and some are expired,” said Jacob Matiop, head of the market surveillance team
He said the expired goods will be destroyed and the owners penalized.