Lubezine Volume 8 * NOVEMBER 2013 - JANUARY 2014 | Page 8

THEMARKETREPORT
N EW S • BR I EFIN G • N E W PRO DUCTS • T E CH NOLO GY

QUALITY CONTROL

TBS embarks
on testing of
lubricants

T

anzania last December
launched its testing
machine that will be
used to test lubricants and oil
products , previously tested by
the Kenya Bureau of Standards
in Kenya.
Deputy Minister for Trade
and Industries, Mr. Gregory
Teu, told the Daily News,
ahead of the launch, that the
machines will not only relieve
Tanzania from the cost of
sending samples to Kenya, but
will also ensure the products’
quality authenticity.
Mr. Teu said the machine
had already arrived at the
Tanzania Bureau of Standards
(TBS) and was awaiting installation to be ready for operation
early in 2014.
“We have good news for
manufacturing, automotive
and transport industries - we
have procured our own plant
for testing lubricants and oil

products instead of sending the
samples to Kenya as was the
case before. The move will be
of great economic advantage to
our country,” he said.
The new development
came hot on the heels of the
country’s recording of another
achievement by installing a
state-of-the-art machine at TBS
for fuel testing, which was also
previously done in Mombasa,
Kenya.
TBS Principal Standards
Officer, Mr Nickonia Mwabuka,
told the Daily News during the
Tanzania Automotive Exhibition that machines and engines
in the country might have
short life spans due to the kind
of oils and lubricants applied.
He said local manufacturers and transporters should
always consult the Bureau
when in doubt of the quality of oil products they are
using, otherwise they risked

damaging their machines.
Although of late the problem
of substandard lubricating
materials has largely been
curtailed, Mr Mwabuka was of
the view that extra care should
be taken as there were reports
of substandard products still
being smuggled in through
unofficial routes.
He said when using quality
lubricants and oil a motor vehi-

cle engine has the capacity of
running for between 8000 km
to 10,000km instead of 5000km
as was currently the case.
“Many machines will last for
only half of their expected life
span if they keep on consuming substandard lubricants. It is
high time the trend changed so
the industry could realise value
for money spent to maintain
the machines,” he said.

.

Alarm over substandard oils in Tanzania market
MOTORISTS should now think
twice before buying engine oils,
or any other forms of lubricants
following discovery of presence
of substandard engine oils, brake
fluids and other forms of lubricant
products scattered across the
country.
It was just in a span of a day
since the Tanzania Bureau of
Standards (TBS) issued a public
warning on the presence of the
inferior lubricants when one
6

City dealer Ms Zib Enterprises
saw its godown being closed
down yesterday for keeping the
products suspected to have been
imported from the United Arab
Emirates (UAE).
According to the TBS Principal
Standards Officer Mr Nickonia
Mwabuka, of late the Bureau has
come across rampant importation
and supply of inferior lubricants
which is extremely dangerous to
life of motor vehicles engines.

“Our inspectors carried
out market surveillance and
discovered that Zaib Enterprise
was involved in supplying
substandard oils and lubricants,”
he alleged, adding: “We have now
closed it down for more investigations and actions according to
the law.
TBS officials and the police had
to ensure tight security and close
supervision as the godown, situated at Vingunguti area in Ilala

Municipality was being closed
down and sealed with heavy duty
lockers.
As an exercise to nab more
other importers and suppliers of
the substandard products has
been officially launched, TBS has
warned all dealers and motorist to
be careful when purchasing and
changing oils and lubricants for
their vehicle engines or else incur
massive loss.
Source: Daily News TZ

.

LUBEZINE MAGAZINE | November 2013-January 2014