Stricter Watch on Muchinga Products

ZCSA applauds improved product standards in the Province and pledges tougher inspections to safeguard consumers, public health, and the environment.

By Francis Maingaila

Lusaka, Zambia24 - (September 16, 2025) – The Zambia Compulsory Standards Agency (ZCSA) has placed a stricter watch on products in Muchinga Province, commending improved compliance with regulated goods while vowing to intensify inspections to protect consumers, public health, and the environment from unsafe and compromised items.

According to ZCSA Communications and Public Relations Manager, Brian Hatyoka, the Agency noted that compliance has improved significantly due to targeted interventions such as factory inspections, market surveillance, public education campaigns, and quarterly joint food safety inspections conducted with other government institutions.

Hatyoka revealed that in March 2025, ZCSA and other state agencies carried out a joint market surveillance inspection covering 25 trading outlets in Chinsali.

"The operation resulted in the seizure of non-compliant products worth K6,695," he explained.

He added: "The markets inspected included Nambuluma Area-Turn Off into Chinsali, Kabuta Market, Old Market, and the New Market in the Central Business District."

The confiscated products included expired goods, counterfeit items, banned products, poorly labelled and packaged goods, as well as commodities labelled only in foreign languages, all of which pose risks to consumer safety and confidence.

Hatyoka disclosed that ZCSA, working with other government institutions, will conduct fertilizer market surveillance inspections in October 2025 in Chinsali, Nakonde, Isoka, Mpika, Shiwangandu, Lavushimanda, and Kanchibiya.

"Other inspections, including factory checks, will also be undertaken in Mpika, Isoka, Mafinga, Chinsali, and Nakonde," he noted, emphasizing the Agency’s stricter oversight across the province.

He indicated that Muchinga Province has also recorded notable industrial growth, with the number of ZCSA-registered factories rising from one in 2017 to about 15 in 2025.

"These include six number plate companies, four milling plants, one crude edible oil producer, one refined edible oil factory, one laundry soap producer, one bottled water manufacturer, and one potable spirits company," he disclosed.

"ZCSA expects more companies in Muchinga and other provinces to register with the Agency in order for their products to be authorized before reaching the market," Hatyoka said, reinforcing the importance of regulatory compliance under stricter monitoring.

"This is crucial in protecting public health and safety, as required under the Compulsory Standards Act."

He further stressed that ZCSA is ready to support producers in meeting compulsory standards, enabling access not only to the local market but also to regional and international markets.

At the national level, compliance has also improved, with the Agency recording an increase from 93 percent in 2023 to 94 percent in 2024, reflecting a positive trend in product regulation and enforcement.

Mr. Hatyoka also noted that ZCSA is participating in the ongoing Muchinga Province Investment Forum and Exposition (EXPO) in Chinsali, running from September 15 to 19, 2025, under the theme “Promoting Investment for a Green and Healthy Environment through Sustainable Development.”

The EXPO is showcasing the Province’s investment opportunities in agriculture, tourism, energy, manufacturing, and mining — sectors that ZCSA says must align with safe, standard-compliant, and environmentally sustainable practices, all under the Agency’s stricter watch.

The Zambia Compulsory Standards Agency is mandated under the Compulsory Standards Act No. 3 of 2017 to administer, maintain, and enforce compulsory standards aimed at protecting public safety, consumer rights, and the environment.