Posted Thursday, August 22 2013 at 22:22
In Summary
According to the agency’s acting director, Mr
Joseph Masikitiko, from now onwards, the TBS will be able to test
petrol, diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel to ascertain their quality.
The Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) has
acquired state-of-the-art equipment worth Sh11.12 billion to boost its
capacity in checking fuel adulteration.
The equipment, which provides an accurate analysis
of fuel samples, giving results in a span of just two hours, is much
more advanced than that of Mombasa, Kenya, where we used to send our
fuel samples for tests. This is good news for motorist and Tanzania’s
economy as a whole, because substandard fuel has been a major problem in
the country.
It means, we no longer have to take fuel samples
to Mombasa for analysis and then wait for at least a week for the
results, which is a waste of time and resources. Besides this, our
standards office will also be doing fuel analysis for countries that
import their fuel via the Dar es Salaam Port, which will translate into a
boost for the country’s foreign currency kitty.
According to the agency’s acting director, Mr
Joseph Masikitiko, from now onwards, the TBS will be able to test
petrol, diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel to ascertain their quality.
While we commend the government and TBS in
particular for this step, we call upon the relevant authorities to
ensure the new equipment is well maintained so that it lasts longer and
serves the purpose.
We are confident the TBS authorities will play
their part to ensure the machine operates efficiently so that only fuel
that meets international standards is released into the market.
We appeal to fuel traders to be honest in their
dealings, for it is only through conscientious business practice that
our will can prosper. We urge Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority and the
Energy and Water Utility Regulatory Authority to instal similar machines
to increase efficiency and meet people’s expectations. Tanzania without
adulterated fuel is possible!
