Rwanda has spent years trying to make it easier to do business. It is therefore deeply troubling that a process designed to protect consumers and improve product quality is instead becoming a serious obstacle for businesses trying to bring products to market. Parliament’s latest review of the Auditor General’s report exposes a quality-certification system that is too slow, too costly and, in some cases, too weak to deliver the assurance it is supposed to provide. This needs fixing, and urgently. Consider the delays. Of 992 certification requests reviewed, 507 were delayed at the assessment stage, with some taking up to 1,032 days. That is nearly three years. No serious business environment can defend such a timeline. ALSO READ: Parliament flags major gaps in quality certification For a company investing in the development and manufacture of a new product, certification is not an optional administrative exercise. It is a gateway to the market. When that gateway remains closed for months or years, businesses lose sales, contracts and investment opportunities. Small businesses, which have the least capacity to absorb such losses, are likely to suffer the most. The problem becomes even more difficult to defend when businesses are charged fees above those prescribed by law. Of 163 SMEs reviewed, 161 were charged a combined Rwf46.28 million in excess fees. The explanation that there was no clear system for determining enterprise size may explain how the problem arose. It does not make the problem acceptable. Even more concerning are the inspection gaps. Of 360 certified products reviewed, 162 had not received the required factory inspections, while 220 had not been inspected during the validity of their certificates. This raises an obvious question: what exactly is the value of certification if compliance is not subsequently verified? Standards are meaningful only when they are consistently enforced. Otherwise, compliant businesses are at a disadvantage, while consumers are left with less confidence in products bearing the country's quality mark. The government's planned reforms are welcome, but results must measure them. The government should introduce and enforce clear service-delivery timelines, publish regular data on certification performance, eliminate unexplained fees and strengthen mechanisms for businesses to appeal delays and decisions. Rwanda cannot demand that its private sector become more productive, innovative and competitive while government systems unnecessarily slow it down. This is not a reform that can wait. The private sector needs a certification system that works now.
