INFORMATION WORKSHOP ON PRE-SHIPMENT CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT PROGRAMME (PECAE): CHARLES BOOTO À NGON SENSITIZES MEMBERS OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

The General Manager of Standards and Quality Agency (ANOR) carried out a field visit in the economic capital, Douala, last 23 August 2016. He meets with heads of companies and members of the Cameroun Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and crafts (CCIMA).

In a keynote address, Mr. Christophe EKEN, President of the CCIMA welcomed all the participants noting the effective presence of the General Manager of ANOR. He then underscored that the information workshop in question was of key importance because PECAE will undoubtedly contributes to the promotion of healthy competition between companies and the fight against smuggling and counterfeit in Cameroun.

Mr. Charles BOOTO à NGON, General Manager of ANOR, lauded the cooperative relations between ANOR and CCIMA. Besides, CCIMA is a member of the monitoring committee/assessment of PECAE. The workshop was grace by three presentations respectively on ANOR, the general principles of PECAE and PECAE product certification procedure.

With eloquent explanations by facilitators namely: Mrs. Nathalie NOAH, Director of Standards in ANOR and Mr. VIANG Serge, Head of the branch for Littoral Region, participants ask questions thereafter. One of their major concerns was to know the validity period of certificates of conformity if goods were to remain in stored for more than one year at the port of Douala. To this, they were told the importers have no interest in storing their goods for long in warehouses. They also raised the problem concerning the issuance of the attestation of verification of documents (AVD) which was done only in Yaoundé. The panelists explained that the Certificate of conformity will replace the AVD as of the launching of PECAE on August 31, 2016.

The workshop ended with perspectives of organizing more public awareness campaigns about PECAE in the near future as well.