Kampala: The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has kicked off week-long operations against substandard tyres in the country.
On Tuesday alone over 500 substandard pneumatic tyres worth 150 UGX million shillings were seized from traders in downtown Kampala, in line with the Bureau’s mandate of enforcing standards in protection of public health and safety, and that of the environment, from dangerous substandard products.
According to the UNBS Surveillance Officer who led the operation, Mr. Denis Odur, the operation follows recent public outcry and complaints about substandard tyres on the market as well as the increased accidents attributed to tyre failure in the recent past.
“We have discovered that a number of tyres are defective and some are poorly stored which compromises the quality of the tyres. When such tyres are used on motor vehicles, they can result into accidents for motorists.”
Other poor practices in handling tyres include poor packaging, transportation and storage during importation and distribution, which lead to degeneration in quality of tyres posing a risk to the health and safety of the public and the environment.
UNBS thus developed standards to regulate the quality of tyres on the market and urges all manufacturers, importers, distributors, transporters, wholesalers and retailers of pneumatic tyres to ensure that their products meet the standards. These include; US EAS 357:2004, Pneumatic tyres for trucks and buses – Specification, US EAS 358:2004 Pneumatic tyres for passenger cars – Specification, US EAS 359:2004, Pneumatic tyres for light trucks – Specification and US EAS 360:2004, Pneumatic tyres for agricultural implements – Specification.
UNBS further cautioned the traders against retreading pneumatic tyres for passenger trucks, stacking them inside one another during importation and transportation, re-grooving old and expired tyres and reselling them to unsuspecting customers, storing tyres directly on the floor and under direct light from skylights, windows, doors and other openings among others.
UNBS advised traders of pneumatic tyres to; Store them in a covered place to prevent exposure to direct light from skylights. Any openings should be kept closed so that light entering the warehouse is reduced to the minimum as possible according to UNBS.
All manufacturers and importers of pneumatic tyres or any other person retreading pneumatic tyres have been added to; Apply to UNBS for registration and approval and demonstrate capacity to provide quality tyres that meet requirements of relevant Uganda standards and In the case of importers/exporters, undergo Pre-Export Verification of Conformity to Standards (PVoC) process during importation.
UNBS also encourageD the public to report any dealer of substandard tyres adding that the operation is to continue to different parts of the country to rid the market of substandard tyres.
Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is a Government Agency responsible for the Developing, Promotion and Enforcement of National Standards in order to protect the Health and Safety of the Public and that of the Environment against Harmful and Sub-Standard Products, as well as promoting Fair Trade and Competition.