"ZCSA behind the scene"
By Francis Maingaila ♥️
Lusaka, Zambia24 — (06-11-2025) --
It is a quiet war, waged not with guns or armies, but with inspectors, regulations, and an unyielding commitment to public safety.
Every bale of used underwear seized from a marketplace, every counterfeit fertilizer removed from a farmer’s supply, every faulty electrical cable destroyed represents a confrontation between safety and negligence, between life and preventable tragedy.
At the heart of this battle is the Zambia Compulsory Standards Agency (ZCSA) — a vigilant guardian standing between Zambians and invisible dangers lurking in the marketplace.
In a country racing toward industrial growth, where imported goods flood shelves faster than regulatory systems can track, ZCSA’s work is more critical than ever.
Its mandate, enshrined in the Compulsory Standards Act No. 3 of 2017, is simple in principle but profound in consequence: protect consumers, safeguard the environment, and ensure fair trade.
Yet the execution of that mandate is far from simple. Every day, ZCSA confronts the human and industrial realities of Zambia’s evolving markets, where one unsafe product can spark fires, sickness, or ruin livelihoods.
Executive Director Gerald Chizinga told Zambia24 that ZCSA’s work is deeply human.
“Every unsafe product we intercept represents a potential tragedy averted,” he says, his voice carrying the weight of responsibility.
“These are lives we are safeguarding — a mother, a child, a farmer whose entire livelihood could be destroyed. This is why our work is not just enforcement — it is protection, it is prevention, and it is the defence of human life.”
ZCSA’s reach spans multiple industries — from food and chemicals to fertilizers, electrical appliances, fuels, used vehicles, construction materials, and textiles.
Its strategy is deliberate and multi-layered: premised on pre-market approval, strengthened by post-market inspections, and reinforced through public education campaigns.
"The agency does not simply react to danger; it seeks to anticipate it," Chizinga explained
In 2025, the agency introduced 41 new compulsory standards, encompassing innovations like solar energy equipment and modern food packaging, alongside traditional sectors such as fertilizers.
According to Brian Hatyoka, the agency’s Manager for Communications and Public Relations, these standards reflect proactive thinking.
“Markets are evolving. Technologies, imports, and consumer behavior change rapidly. Our role is to foresee potential hazards and ensure Zambians are protected before they encounter them,” Hatyoka explains.
The stakes of these interventions are best understood through the agency’s enforcement record, which reads as a chronicle of near-misses and averted disasters.
In January 2025, ZCSA destroyed electrical appliances and fruit-flavored drinks worth over K163,000 after inspections revealed serious safety violations.
Among the confiscated items were adaptor extension cables with improper insulation, incompatible plugs, and incorrect amperage ratings, all capable of causing severe electrical shocks or igniting fires.
Hatyoka recalls the moment vividly: “Standing among those seized products, I could almost imagine the harm they might have caused — a short circuit in a kitchen, a fire in a bedroom. Every item we remove is a life protected.”
This was not an isolated case. In 2024, ZCSA had previously confiscated electrical appliances worth K152,000, reinforcing the agency’s message: dangerous products have no place in Zambia’s markets.
The textile industry has also experienced ZCSA’s protective oversight. Compulsory standard ZS 559 bans the importation and sale of used undergarments and nightwear to protect public health.
In 2023, the agency seized over 40 bales of used underwear valued at K180,000, preventing unhygienic items from circulating among consumers.
“Used clothing may appear harmless,” Hatyoka notes, “but it can carry bacteria and diseases. Removing it protects families, their health, and their dignity.”
Education is a key pillar of enforcement. Through workshops, community radio programs, and media campaigns, ZCSA reaches thousands of traders and consumers, raising awareness about the dangers of substandard goods.
Public participation has become a crucial force multiplier, as alert citizens now report suspicious products and encourage voluntary compliance.
In the agricultural sector, ZCSA confronts threats that have far-reaching economic and human consequences.
Investigations uncovered adulterated fertilizers diluted with foreign substances, jeopardizing crop yields, farmers’ incomes, and environmental health.
Hatyoka explains the stakes: “A farmer who plants a whole season’s crop with tainted fertilizer could lose everything. Families go hungry, communities lose food security, and soil fertility is compromised. This is why enforcement here is so urgent and deeply human.”
The agency has responded with intensified inspections, warnings, and plans for legal action against offenders.
Farmers are encouraged to source certified fertilizers from registered suppliers, ensuring that productivity, environmental protection, and livelihoods are safeguarded.
ZCSA’s impact is visible in energy and transport safety as well.
Working with the Ministry of Energy and the Energy Regulation Board (ERB), the agency certified all fuel tankers in Zambia, achieving 99% compliance.
This dramatic improvement has sharply reduced fires and accidents, demonstrating that regulation and partnership can literally save lives.
Hatyoka reflects, “Each accident prevented is a family spared grief, a life spared harm. Our work has tangible, human outcomes.”
From January to mid-2025, ZCSA intensified its national enforcement, removing nearly 6,000 non-compliant electrical products worth over K610,000, preventing potential fires, shocks, and property damage.
Regional operations across Northwestern, Luapula, Northern, and Muchinga Provinces yielded over 1,000 seized products valued at K30,000, including cooking oil, detergents, margarine, sugar, alcoholic beverages, and bottled water — items expired, damaged, mislabeled, or unregistered, all of which could have harmed unsuspecting consumers.
The agency also tackled unsafe bottled water in Ndola and Kitwe, suspending multiple brands that failed safety and labeling standards.
Over 100 cases of contaminated water were withdrawn from circulation, protecting communities from preventable illnesses.
ZCSA is not merely reactive; it is modernizing for greater efficiency.
Digital inspection systems streamline workflows, improve traceability, and enhance enforcement accuracy.
Simultaneously, training of inspectors ensures that Zambia’s watchdogs can keep pace with sophisticated products and supply chains.
Hatyoka emphasizes, “Our inspectors are frontline defenders. Their expertise and judgment directly translate into lives saved and risks prevented.”
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are also beneficiaries of ZCSA’s proactive support. By guiding them to meet standards from the outset, the agency opens doors to regional and international markets, including AfCFTA, helping businesses compete while keeping consumers safe.
Hatyoka explains, “Compliance is empowerment. It builds trust, creates opportunities, and ensures safety — a win-win for everyone.”
Board Chairperson Ian Besa Mupeta captures the agency’s ethos:
“Compulsory standards are not bureaucratic hurdles; they are lifelines. They protect every Zambian from harm, ensure the environment remains safe, and guarantee that industries operate with integrity and excellence.”
Through education, enforcement, and collaboration, ZCSA has become more than a regulator. It is a guardian of public health, a protector of livelihoods, and a champion of environmental stewardship.
Mupeta concludes, “Our mission is prevention, not punishment. Every unsafe product we remove is a victory for Zambians — a family spared danger, a home spared disaster. The goal is a market where trust is earned, products are safe, and lives are protected.”
From faulty plugs to fake fertilizers and contaminated water, ZCSA’s relentless vigilance reminds the nation that the fight against substandard goods is not just about compliance — it is about defending life, dignity, and security in every Zambian home.
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