The Namibian Standards Institution (NSI) has reaffirmed its commitment to protect consumers and the environment by strengthening and developing the country's national quality infrastructure in accordance with international best practices.
The Head of Metrology at NSI, Simasiku Matali, said this at the NSI 15-year celebration and launch of their five-year integrated strategic business plan, which coincided with the commemoration of World Metrology Day in Windhoek.
Matali noted that it is the role of the NSI to provide standardisation and conformity assessment services that ensure the health and safety of consumers, the protection of the environment, and the promotion of trade.
“We are crafted to ensure that not only are we protecting consumers and products we consume on a daily basis but also that the protection is extended to the environment, especially now that we are going to have the exploration of economic potential in the sea, the oil exploration, and green hydrogen, and by so doing we are protecting the market from low-quality products and unsafe products and the protection of the environment.”
“One key project we are working on with the Ministry of Mines and Energy is the establishment of a petrol chemical testing lab. Here, we want to ensure that the fuel we put in our cars meets the standards that won't cause harm to the engines of our cars and also help them tackle the issue of ngungula fuel. We are also developing the capacity for national quality for green hydrogen, which means the capacity to develop standards for green hydrogen and to certify these products that they are really hydrogen and green as defined and provide accurate measurements that are required in that industry,” says CEO NSI, Dr. Eino Mvula.
On this occasion, the NSI 2024–2028 integrated strategic business plan was also launched.
In its plan, the NSI targets increasing its revenue from N$54 million to N$114 million in the next five years.
“The ISBP, as presented by the NSI's CEO, contains an ambitious set of targets aimed at realising the NSI's vision as the custodian of key components of the National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) that perform important roles in developing quality solutions to support industry in accessing local, regional, and international markets while pursuing public policy objectives,” says Minister of Industrialization and Trade, Lucia Iipumbu.
The event also coincided with the institution's 15th anniversary celebration, allowing it to reflect on its achievements since its inception in 2009.
A member of SADCAS, Uahoroka Kauta, says, “To date, six of our NSI facilities have been accredited by SADC. This is a commendable achievement; let's uplift them. This makes it easier for products to be traded across the world as they are internationally recognised.”