ZABS records increase in imported used vehicles

In an interview with the Lusaka Star, ZABS marketing and public relations manager Hazel Zulu says her organisation has inspected a total of 4,724 imported used motor vehicles in the third quarter of 2015. THE Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) has recorded an increase in the number of imported used motor vehicles in the third quarter of 2015.

In an interview with the Lusaka Star, ZABS Marketing and Public Relations Manager Hazel Zulu said the organisation inspected a total of 4,724 imported used motor vehicles in the third quarter of 2015.

Ms Zulu said there has been an increase of 402 in the number recorded in the second quarter of 2015.

“We issued 2,664 used motor vehicles with the Road Worthiness Inspection (RWI) certificates. 2,060 vehicles were paid penalties for due to failure by their importers to comply with the pre-shipment requirement,” she said.

Ms Zulu explained that the pre-shipment inspection of goods is a standard international practice which helps countries control the influx of sub-standard products from entering their markets.

“The greatest advantage of this practice of the pre-shipment is that the sub-standard products are detected at the source and prevented from being shipped to importing countries,” she said.

She expressed disappointment in some vehicle importers who have continued to evade road worthiness inspections at the point of origin and warns that such is a violation of the law.

“It is an offence to evade these inspections according to the standards act Cap 416 of the laws of Zambia. In addition, it risks the lives of road users,” she explained.

She added that the code of practice for the inspection and testing of used motor vehicles for road worthiness was declared compulsory by the Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry through Statutory Instrument number 120 of 2006.

ZABS has since advised importers of used motor vehicles to subject their vehicles to road worthiness inspections at the point of origin to avoid importing sub-standard vehicles into the country.