MBS takes companies on board to assure management systems concept
Published on June 4, 2025 at 3:25 PM by Robert Ngwira
By: Andrew Mwanandiye Tembo
The Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) has embarked on a collaborative move for the domestic companies to embrace the management systems and standards to meet competitiveness on the global markets and reposition the country’s economic status.
Director of Standards Development(DSD) for Malawi Bureau of Standards, Fred Sikwese confirmed this on Tuesday in Blantyre during the presentation of the management systems and standards certification awards to four local companies.
Among others, Sikwese noted that the country would increase it’s export base and foreign exchange earnings if the local industries embrace the management systems and standards in their productions.
” Actually, the management systems and standards are very crucial for the local companies to apply in their various productions so as to be recognized worldwide as well as to increase their customer base and sales,” said Sikwese.
According to Sikwese, various revelations have proved that companies that have embraced the management systems and standards worldwide have witnessed improved efficiency, consistence in quality, innovations and dialogues as well as reductions in waste and costs.
“Locally, these companies symbolizes integrity and competence. And, we are anticipating an increase of stakeholders demand’s in the industry due to these role models,” said Sikwese.
Sikwese said that before the bureau embarked on the management systems and standards voluntary scheme in the country, many local companies were struggling to fetch the international markets, hence, contributing to the high levels of imports and dwindling of foreign exchange earnings.
He said many local companies were failing to acquire the skills due to the high costs of training from outside the country due to the unavailability of local institutions to train them.
During the ceremony, three companies namely Project Peanut Butter company, Lujeri Tea estate and Signal global logistics were awarded with management systems certificates for food safety ISO-22000: 2018 while Anchor Industries Limited got an ward of quality management systems ISO-9001:2015.
Speaking on behalf of the companies, the factory manager for Bloom field which is under Lujeri Tea estate Lackstonia Dovu hailed the management systems and standards for transforming the company’s customer base and resource status.
Dovu testified that the company has fetched huge international markets as a result of the management systems and standards training.
“For several times, we had been denied huge international markets for our products because we could not produce proofs that our products were certified with the management systems and standards. But now things are different,” he said.
According to Dovu,this certification will attract more customers at international level as well as locally.
“On 11 million gross produce which the country produces, Lujeri Bloomfield tea factory annually produces 6 million tons and with this certification will enhance more customers who initially were reluctant to buy our teas,”he said.
Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) was established in 1972, with an aim of promoting quality assurance of the local products among others and commonly works in collaborative move with national security sectors
