Chinese pre-export verification firm exposed, in trouble with parliament

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Parliamentary Committee on Tourism, Trade, and Industry has recommended the termination of the contract of Helmsman Quality & Technology Services Limited, a Chinese firm providing Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) services for Uganda.

This decision comes following concerns raised during due diligence visits conducted by the committee to Dubai and India, where it was discovered that the company did not have offices in the two locations.

The Pre-Export Verification of Conformity to Standards Programme (PVoC) is implemented by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) under the UNBS Act of 1983. Its primary objective is to ensure the quality and safety of imported goods entering Uganda while safeguarding consumers from substandard products. Helmsman Quality & Technology Services Limited is one of the six companies contracted by UNBS for this purpose.

However, the Committee conducted a due diligence visit to the company’s purported offices in Dubai and India and found that the company did not have a physical presence in those locations. Additionally, the Committee discovered that the Chinese firm does not have offices in Uganda.

Catherine Lamwaka, the Deputy Chairperson of the Committee, presented these findings during a plenary sitting chaired by Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa.

“The committee invited UNBS to respond to the issues and recommended case by case on all six companies. Eligibility criteria were violated in pre-qualification by the technical evaluation committee, and therefore UNBS should terminate the contract with the company,” Lamwaka said. The Committee’s report further recommends that the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) should investigate the circumstances under, which the contract was awarded to Helmsman Quality & Technology Services Limited, citing apparent fraudulent processes.

Among the other companies contracted by UNBS to inspect and verify goods in line with the World Trade Organisation’s requirements are Bureau Veritas Uganda, Intertek International Limited, and Quality Inspections, and Services Inc. Japan, TUV Rheinland Middle East, and Societe Generale Desurveilance. Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, however, differed the debate on the report, suggesting that legislators need sufficient time to study the document.

He advised that the House would debate the report after a 14-day period. Furthermore, he called on the trade minister to launch an investigation into decisions made by UNBS, highlighting that the regulatory body had disregarded directives from the ministry. The Leader of the Opposition, Mathias Mpuuga, stressed the importance of closely supervising actions taken based on such reports.

“These are the kinds of happenings that give actors with the intention to defraud the motivation to go on,” Mpuuga said.

Harriet Ntabazi, the Minister of State for Trade, Tourism, and Cooperatives (Trade), acknowledged the leadership challenges facing UNBS, attributing such occurrences to these issues.

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