Established in 1975 by the Heads of State and Government of fifteen Member States, the Community
of West African States (ECOWAS) has as its objectives, among others, the establishment of the
Common market. This organization is committed to a process aimed at guaranteeing the quality of the products
circulating in the area of its Member States, through the establishment of a certification mark.
In an exclusive interview with Agence Savoir News, Doudou Ndiaye, regional expert in charge of
the communication of the West African quality system program ( QAQSP ) , tells us about the WAQSP and
of the ECOWAS brand already adopted and which will soon be visible on the market.
Agence Savoir News: Mr. Ndiaye, what to understand by " West Africa Quality System Program
»?
Doudou Ndiaye: The West African Quality System Program (WAQSP) is a Program
support for the ECOWAS Quality Policy called ECOQUAL. It aims to establish a framework for the
development of a suitable, relevant and effective quality infrastructure to facilitate the
intra-regional and international trade, to protect consumers and the environment, and to
promote sustainable economic development.
This program is funded by the European Union to the tune of 12 million Euros and implemented by
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
What is its use for the sub-region?
The WAQSP has made it possible to set up a system on which we can rely to promote and
control the quality of goods and services offered by the productive sector. This device called
Quality Infrastructure, will allow for example the development of essential elements such as
conformity assessment bodies ( laboratories, inspection bodies, certification bodies)
accredited, in order to achieve public policy objectives , in areas such as
industrial development, competitiveness on international markets, the rational use of
natural and human resources, food safety, health, environment and
climate change. The promotion of sustainable economic development has also been one of the
concerns of the West Africa Quality System Program .
Why a quality mark for West Africa ?
We have foreign brands known to everyone. We also have foreign signatures. when you buy
a ventilator, if you see CE affixed to it, that is to say the mark of the European Union, you say to yourself
that it is the EU that guarantees this product.
But we don't have that in West Africa . And that is why ECOWAS wants to put its mark on the
market, so that the consumer can also say: do you have the ECOWAS mark?
So ECOWAS said: we know our region well, our products and we now have the
means and resources, as well as people capable of verifying whether the product is good or not. We
So we're going to use those people to check, not only the products that come into our house, but
also those which are manufactured there and which are supplied to our populations. Internally, this decision will solve many problems : product quality and protection of the
consumer. Externally, ECOWAS has taken this mark in response and in accordance with the standards
international.
This means that African products stamped "ECOWAS" will be able to align with the standards
international. But when will the ECOWAS brand be launched?
This brand already exists. It has been validated by ECOWAS. Launching is all about promotion . He has
already set up an ECOWAS agency for quality, called ECOWAQ which will soon make its
General Assembly. And it is during the ECOWAQ AGM that the brand will be officially launched.
Everyone involved knows the brand, because everyone has been involved and in every country. Same
Mauritania which is not a member of ECOWAS was involved. All participated in the establishment of
ECOWAQ (ECOWAS'Quality agency /ECOWAS Quality Agency ).
So, what can we say today about the quality infrastructure of ECOWAS?
We can say that the quality infrastructure is today at a very satisfactory level compared to the last
years. Today, ECOWAS, thanks to the West African Quality System Program ( WAQSP ) ,
has a functional quality infrastructure (the device that allows you to say that, if you want to apply the
quality, we have the texts, structures and people we can rely on).
We have laboratories that have been audited and then accredited. We also have national policies
adopted, products that have been certified… and it is this whole system that is called quality infrastructure. The
ECOWAS, with the support of the WAQSP, has set up structures to monitor and support the implementation
place of all these control, support and conformity assessment structures , which allow
now to say that, in our region, one product is of high quality and another is not.
Beyond this system , the main result today is that ECOWAS has created its brand of
certification. And this brand will be launched in all countries, so that the consumer is reassured.
So that's the state of the quality infrastructure.
Mr. Ndiaye, how would you end this interview?
I can tell you that the quality infrastructure structures are already in place. You just have to get to
ensure sustainable implementation, for an integrated West Africa , open to the international market,
with a guarantee of consumer and environmental protection.