The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Two key laws will be upgraded to enable The Bahamas to meet the standards set by rules-based trading regimes and agreements, it was revealed yesterday.

Dr Renae Ferguson-Bufford, the Bahamas Bureau of Standards and Quality’s (BBSQ) director, said the Standards Act and Weights and Measures Act - both of which became law more than 15 years ago - are being modernised to ensure they comply with current international trade frameworks.

Addressing at a Standards Bureau webinar yesterday, she said the agency has recently completed redrafting both laws to bring them into line with the likes of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU).

Dr Ferguson-Bufford said: “In conjunction with our various regional and international partners, like our affiliates here today, the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality, better known as CROSSQ, we have been able to bring resources like technical and financial assistance to our own development.

“The European Union, through CROSSQ and the Dominican Republic’s Institute for Quality, CARIFORUM and the German Metrology Institute, has facilitated several aspects of this very important journey through the assistance of the 11th European Development Fund (EDF)’s” initiative that is designed to help small nations overcome technical barriers to trade.

Dr Ferguson-Bufford added: “The mandate for the Bureau is to establish and implement a quality infrastructure, which provides many benefits to our industry stakeholders in the facilitation of trade. Metrology, which is the study of weights and measurements, shows us accuracy, reliability and traceability in measurements, which helps to facilitate fair trade within the region and internationally.

“It also provides the ability to determine length, mass, volume, time and temperature, and is especially beneficial in helping the region to achieve these benchmarks regarding our trade component together.”

The Standards Bureau has established several committees that help provide the technical support required to analyse its work for the wider public. “The BBSQ has continued at a rapid pace toward putting standards in place, setting up national technical committees and generally seeing to the infrastructure to make sure the health and safety of our citizens are protected,” Dr Ferguson-Bufford said.

“To-date, the Bureau has declared 34 Bahamas national standards. We have established ten technical committees that are currently in session.” Nineteen more regional and international standards are “under review for adoption”.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bureau is also developing standards for hand sanitizers. She added: “I believe we also have the beauty standard. The beauty industry standard is also in development now. The work of standards can continue successfully when the Bureau has buy-in from all stakeholders.

“All of these systems, along with accreditation and awareness, are the stepping stones to building a strong economy, to increasing business nationally as well as regionally.

“It also speaks to the fact that if the aforementioned systems are strong and assessable, others in the region will look to The Bahamas for services that may not yet be available in their own countries. That’s opening doors for increased opportunities to build our economy, whilst at the same time building our quality infrastructure.”