Tshenolo Molamu
Marketing and Communications Committee Vice-Chair, SADCA
Manager – Communications and Marketing, SANAS

The Southern African Development Community Cooperation in Accreditation (SADCA), together with its arrangement members Mauritius Accreditation Services (Mauritas), Southern African Development Community Accreditation Services (SADCAS) and South African National Accreditation (SANAS), hosted its second virtual session in commemoration of World Accreditation Day (WAD) via Zoom webinar, following the initial one celebrated in 2022.

SADCA joined the global accreditation organisations such as the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and other accreditation bodies (ABs) as we once again came together to recognise and celebrate this very important day in our accreditation calendars.

This 2023 WAD commemoration session took place on 09 June under the theme “Accreditation: Supporting the Future of Global Trade”. It was attended by 314 delegates, representing economies within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, such as South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Mauritius. The audience also included representatives from both the public and private sectors, SADCA members, conformity assessment bodies, regulators and several associations from across the region.

Our SADCA Marketing and Communications Committee (MCC) Vice-Chairperson Ms Tshenolo Molamu, who was also the master of ceremonies, opened the session. Our SADCA Chairperson, Mr Robin Gopee, welcomed the attendees and highlighted the importance of commemorating and hosting this session.

Representatives from the SADCA regional ABs presented on various topics, with the focus on the key role played by these ABs in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets that relate to the future of global trade.  The presenters covered the following:

• Ms Yolanda Vinnicombe, the SADCA Regional Coordinator,  started off the presentations by highlighting the achievement of international recognition by SADCA, and explained the benefits and importance of the SADCA Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA). After many years of preparation and rigorous joint IAF/ILAC evaluations, SADCA was accepted in March 2023 as an IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) signatory for the accreditation of management system certification bodies to ISO/IEC 17021-1 for quality management systems (QMS), and an ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) signatory for the accreditation of calibration and testing laboratories to ISO/IEC 17025. She clarified that the SADCA MRA provides governments with a credible and technically robust framework to further develop and enhance government to government bilateral and multilateral international trade agreements.
• Ms Vinnicombe’s presentation was followed by one by Mr Chankar Bheekhun, Accreditation Manager at Mauritas, who highlighted how accreditation supports industrial development and the emergence of new growth pillars in Mauritius, in relation to SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.
• Ms Pinkie Malebe, Technical Manager at SADCAS, presented on SDG 2: Zero Hunger, which aims to eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere by 2030. She emphasised that producers and manufacturers need to ensure that food products are of consistent high quality, have appropriate nutritional value, comply with regulators and standards, and meet specifications. She explained that accreditation enables consumers, suppliers, purchasers and regulators to have confidence that products placed on the market are safe and meet the manufacturers claims made about them.
• The Accreditation Manager for Inspection Bodies at SANAS, Mr Rudzani Ramabulana, shared how accreditation supports workplace health and safety within South Africa with a focus on SDG 8 regarding Decent Work and Economic Growth. He highlighted that in South Africa, the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) is the primary legislation that regulates health and safety in the workplace and applies to all employers and employees in South Africa. It sets out various obligations and duties that employees must comply with to ensure a safe working environment. 

SADCA will continue to host these sessions in future with the intention of highlighting the importance of accreditation in the region and how its members continue to drive and support the accreditation processes that are aligned with the ILAC and IAF vision of advancing technology, changes in consumer behaviours and the regulatory environment, new trust mechanisms, and changing business models to facilitate global trade.