BUUMBA CHIMBULU writes
@SunZambian
ABOUT 320 imported loose incandescent bulbs valued at K896 have been seized from a trader in Lusaka by the Zambia Compulsory Standards Agency (ZCSA).
ZCSA public relations officer Caroline Kalombe said the banned ordinary bulbs were seized by the agency last month.
Ms Kalombe explained in a statement that the seizure followed a ban in 2016 on the local manufacturing and importation of those products and other inefficient lighting devices.
“When the ban was made there was no institution which was mandated to enforce it, but since ZCSA started its operations, it has been conducting market surveillances and seizing these products from non- compliant traders,” she said.
She said that the agency was determined to play its role regarding energy-saving lighting devices which were currently not subjected to compulsory standards.
She also said ZCSA would benchmark current standards on electrical appliances and devices with current technological practices by conducting nation-wide market surveillance on electrical products to establish gaps between the two.
The Agency would further hold a meeting with stakeholders in the industry to discuss standards for wiring of plugs, sockets and adapters to establish what it needed to do to make them safe for use.
Ms Kalombe said during the surveillance, ZCSA would collect samples of electrical products from the market which would assist the agency to be aware of what was obtaining on the technological front.
“The results from the surveillance will also help the Agency know exactly what it needs to do to ensure that electrical products are safe for use,
“It is important to note that technology is always advancing, therefore, to keep up, the Agency has to benchmark the current standards with what is happening in the technological world,” she said.
