The Ethiopian Standards Institute (ESI) is set to introduce fees for standards sticker, establish a new governing board, and address collaboration with other regulatory bodies. The Institute plans to strengthen its financial standing by charging fees for standards and product certification services to support its operations and annual budget. A key change involves replacing the current Council of Standards with an 11-member Board of Directors. The Minister of Trade & Regional Integration would chair this board, potentially impacting decision-making processes. The proposed reforms have sparked discussions. The Addis Abeba Chamber of Commerce has recommended including industry representatives on the board to ensure transparency and address potential conflicts of interest. The Food & Drug Authority raised concerns about potential contradictions in the definition of "standard approval" within the draft legislation. The rationale behind charging manufacturers for both product certification by the Ethiopian Conformity Assessment Enterprise (ECAE) and separate fees for compliance stickers was also questioned.
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