Grenada has received an opportunity to develop a national Quality Policy through the programme ‘Strengthening of Regional Quality Policy’.
The Caricom Regional Organisation for Standards & Quality (CROSQ) has received funding from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to administer this programme, with one of its components being the development of national quality policies in Grenada, Antigua & Barbuda and Suriname.
A Quality Policy is the legal instrument used by governments in promoting and sustaining economic development, as well as environmental and social well-being. It is used to sustain an effective quality infrastructure, which relies on metrology, standardisation, accreditation, conformity assessment and market surveillance.
The launch of the development process of Grenada’s Quality Policy was held on 19 March 2019 at the conference room of the Grenada Bureau of Standards (GDBS). Hon. Oliver Joseph, Minister of Trade, Industry, Co-operatives & Caricom Affairs was there to share his excitement with this new development.
The firm chosen to spearhead the development of the quality policies is MESOPARTNER, a firm whose key experts are from the Caricom region. Following the launch of the quality policy, the consultants met with the project steering committee, whose Chairman is the Permanent Secretary for Trade, Industry, Co-operatives & Caricom Affairs, Mr. Aaron Francois. The Project Steering Committee has as its main goal, the task of overseeing the direction and guiding the process of the development of the Quality Policy.
Several stakeholder engagements will be held throughout the year to obtain data that will be used to develop the Quality Policy, which is anticipated to be complete by December 2019.
Grenada joins Antigua and Barbuda and Suriname under this project to develop national quality policies. St Lucia and St Kitts & Nevis are currently developing their own and the other countries throughout the region who are already the bearers of national quality policies are Jamaica, Bahamas, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago.
Grenada Bureau of Standards
