Stella Juan, SSNBS Deputy Director for Certification and Export Promotion (Left), and Emmanuel Kenyi (Right) Senior Standards Officer at SSNBS during Favour Fm’s Building Bridges Show on 12th of November, 2026. Photo Credit: Ezekiel Idri

The South Sudan National Bureau of Standards has pledged transparency and sharing of findings with public at end of its ongoing investigation into H Brothers Company over allegations of repackaging expired goods, and called for collective cooperation from the public to ensure consumer protection.

The assurance was made during the Building Bridges programme on Favour FM, where officials from the Bureau held a discussion to raise awareness on its mandate and operations.

Stella Juan, Deputy Director for Certification and Export Promotion at the SSNBS, said once the committee tasked with the investigations finalises the results from samples collected from H Brothers Company, the findings will be shared with the general public.

“Once the committee finalises the results from the samples we collected from H Brothers Company, we will share the findings with the general public,” Juan said.

Juan explained that under Section 8 of the National Bureau of Standards Act, 2012, the Bureau is mandated to develop standards, assess conformity, enforce standards, test products, calibrate instruments, build capacity and create public awareness.

“Our mandate under Section 8 is clear. We develop standards, assess conformity, enforce standards, test products, calibrate instruments, build capacity and create public awareness,” she said.

She further said the Bureau’s functions include formulating and adopting national standard specifications for commodities and processes, ensuring product safety, consumer protection and fair trade, as well as managing pre-export verification of conformity, product certification and market surveillance.

Meanwhile, Emmanuel Kenyi, Senior Standards Officer at SSNBS, outlined challenges facing the Bureau, including financial constraints that limit activities and the establishment of branches across the country, porous borders that allow the entry of substandard goods, information gaps due to vast geographical distances and limited cooperation from the public in reporting cases, and smuggling of goods without undergoing inspection by the Bureau.

“We face financial constraints that limit our activities and expansion, porous borders that allow substandard goods to enter, and lack of modernized machines and technologies for inspections because everyday there is advancement in technology,” Kenyi said.

To address the challenges, the Bureau said its Inspection and Market Surveillance team has been divided into zones to inspect products and goods at shops, warehouses and storage facilities, with rigorous inspections at the Nimule Border for the Certificate of Conformity.

“We have divided our Inspection and Market Surveillance team into zones to inspect shops, warehouses and storage facilities, and we are conducting rigorous inspections at Nimule Border for the Certificate of Conformity,” Kenyi said.

The officials called for collective efforts from the general public, security organs, traders and stakeholders to work together with the Bureau to ensure consumers are protected and to report any cases of substandard, low quality and expired goods for investigation.

“We cannot do this alone. We need the public, security organs, traders and stakeholders to work with us and report any case of substandard, low quality and expired goods,” Juan said.

The South Sudan National Bureau of Standards is the nation’s regulatory authority for standardisation, quality assurance, metrology and testing, with the main objective of protecting consumers, ensuring fair trade and enhancing the competitiveness of South Sudanese products.