Quality Assurance Management Function of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) and the Perceived Consumer Safety in Uganda

Abstract

The study investigated the relationship between the quality assurance function played by UNBS and consumer safety in Kampala, Uganda. The population comprised traders and business owners in the capital city and the sample consisted of business people who had licenses issued by the bureau in the Kikuubo area, where most of the trade for imported and manufactured goods in the city takes place. The specific objectives were; (i) to determine the relationship between standardization requirement by UNBS and consumer safety; (ii) to ascertain the relationship between the traders’ compliance requirement by UNBS and consumer safety; and (iii) to establish the relationship between the enforcement function performed by UNBS and consumer safety. Results revealed that there is a significant and positive relationship between consumer safety and; (1) standardization requirement [r =. 569**, p < 0.0001]; (2) traders’ compliance requirement [r =. 340**, p < 0.004]; and (3) enforcement function [r =. 688**, p < 0.0001]. Regression results however indicated that it is only the enforcement function by UNBS that has a significant and positive effect on consumer safety in the city [β = .776, t = 4.438, p < 0.0001]. It is therefore recommended that UNBS strengthens its strategies to ensure that quality products are on market and that it is not only confiscation of products but that manufacturers take full responsibility for offering substandard products to the customers including a total burn and prosecuting them in the courts of law.