BOBS - Botswana Bureau of Standards

The Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS) joined other National Standards Bodies (NSBs) around the world to commemorate the World Standards Day, which falls on the 14th October each year. The World Standards Day was celebrated under the theme: Standards and the Citizen – Contributing to the Society. BOBS celebrated this day by launching the Uniform Standards on Friday 12 October 2007 at its headquarters in Gaborone. The event was graced by over one hundred and fifteen (115) small and medium scale business entrepreneurs from the textile sector, students and staff from the University of Botswana, Limkokwing University and Gaborone Technical College. Some key government departments such as Women’s Affairs and Supply that deal with textile as well as parastatals also attended.

Welcoming the guests at the occasion, the Managing Director of BOBS, Dr Elsie Meintjies informed the audience that during the past 10 years, BOBS gained substantive reputation in the arena of standards development and associated conformity assessment activities. “We have unofficially given ourselves the status of the fastest growing National Standards Body in Africa,” she said.

Dr Meintjies said in support of this year’s World Standards Day theme, BOBS orchestrated a programme for the Minister of Trade & Industry, Hon. Neo Moroka to address the nation on national radio station, Radio Botswana on Sunday October 14, 2007 at 0645 hours on the theme of Standards and the Citizen – Contributing to the Society.

Delivering a keynote address, Kgosi Seepapitso IV of Bangwaketse said the Clothing & Textile industry is increasingly being recognised as one of the engines of growth in Botswana. “ Within the sector, heavy investment is incurred by government, parastatals and private companies, therefore it is important to ensure that there is deliberate effort made by all stakeholders to improve on the standards of the products manufactured locally he said.

Kgosi Seepapitso further said, while the textile and clothing sector has registered significant growth in the past, there is concern that Botswana continues to import textile products. He emphasized that there is need therefore to work towards an environment that guarantees specific quality of goods and services. He urged all stakeholders in the textile and clothing industry to take advantage of the existence of BOBS and recognise that they are an accessible resource meant to assist in improving performance of the industry.

He further challenged those in the textile and clothing business to take advantage of services provided by BOBS in the area of standardization and quality assurance services as Botswana joins the international community to celebrate the world standards day.

The Chairperson of the Clothing & Textile Technical Committee, Mrs N.S. Ramalebang gave an overview of the textile and clothing standardization framework. Stating that the uniform standards that they have formulated are specifications of clothing, which has ten parts, covering jerseys, blazers, athletic wear, tracksuits, trousers, knee high stock and ankle socks. “These specifies requirements for materials, workmanship, packing, labelling, marking and inspection of school uniforms,” she pointed out.

Consumer Watchdog’s Kate Harriman shared her experiences on the status of service delivery in the country and the implications of poor service delivery. She educated the workshop delegates about their choices, rights and responsibilities as consumers and encouraged them to make service providers in Botswana accountable if their products are not satisfactory.

The workshop provided a platform for the delegates to exchange ideas, ask questions and clarify issues relating to Clothing and textile industry. The participants were encouraged to view and/or purchase for themselves copies the textile and clothing standards that were being launched.