THE Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) is set to construct a state of the art Laboratory in Mwanza that will cater for the growing testing and certification demand among food processing firms over the Lake Zone.
TBS Director General Dr Y ussuf Ngenya told the ‘Daily News’ here at the weekend that the construction of the Laboratories was part of the strategic plans of the Bureau to make sure Laboratories are built in its five Zones and all border points countrywide.
“We have now embarked on plans to construct a Laboratory in Mwanza as reports indicate massive growth in small scale food processing activities particularly among the women entrepreneur groups,” he said.
Already a plot has been secured in Kiseke area Ilemela Municipality ready for the project which will ultimately reduce cost of doing business and uplift an industrialization agenda of the government.
The DG made an elaboration following a question from a participant of the just ended Lake Zone Business and Investors Forum held here over the weekend. She asked why it takes so long for TBS to test food samples from Mwanza based processors.
Responding to the concern, Dr Ngenya basically admitted there were some reported delays in releasing results of the tested samples due to some technical reasons but said the problem will be solved in the near future as the Bureau embarks on short, medium and long term plans in finding a solution to the problem.
However, he cited the construction of a Lab as a long term plan with the Bureau setting currently an arrangement to hire a Laboratory owned by the Mwanza based Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute (TAFIRI) as a short term strategy.
Dr Ngenyi said his office was in final stages signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TAFIRI ready for the implementation of an ambitious plan.
Apart from the lab project in Mwanza set to take off in the next financial year, the DG said the Bureau was also in crucial preparations of shifting from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma joining other government institutions moving to the Capital City.
“Actually shifting from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma is one of the top priority programs we are currently working on and others may subsequently follow,” stressed Dr Ngenya.
