SADC countries adopt the IEC 60335 series of standards on household safety

Logo of the Southern
African Development
Community Cooperation
in Standardization

SADCSTAN, the standardization branch of SADC (the Southern African Development Community) held its 12th Annual General Meeting on 22 April 2009 in Gaborone, Botswana.

One outcome of the meeting was the adoption by all SADC member countries of the IEC 60335 series of standards. Within the scope of IEC TC (Technical Committee) 61: Safety of household and similar electrical appliances, the series concerns not only the safety of electrical appliances for household and similar purposes, but also the common hazards presented by appliances that are encountered by all persons in and around the home. The series also covers appliances used by laymen in shops, in light industry and on farms (such as catering equipment and industrial and commercial cleaning appliances). The rated voltage of the appliances is not more than 250 V for single-phase appliances and 480 V for other appliances. The scope is extremely wide and touches a broad section of the population. The adoption of such a major series of standards by an entire geographical region can only serve to reinforce the importance and relevance of the IEC's work in the world.

The meeting was attended by 70 representatives, including participants from Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Seychelles, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe with Ethiopia, Egypt and Kenya sending observers. International and external stakeholders included the Power Institute for East and Southern Africa (PIESA), the IEC, the African Standardization Organization (ARSO) and ASTM International (the American Society for Testing and Materials).

Evah Oduor, IEC Affiliate
Coordinator for Africa
within the IEC Affiliate
Country Programme,
attended the meeting

The IEC representative at the meeting was Evah Oduor, IEC Affiliate Coordinator for Africa within the IEC Affiliate Country Programme and one of the newly-elected Vice Presidents of AFSEC (the African Electrotechnical Standardization Commission), where she is in charge of Conformity Assessment. This was her first mission on behalf of the Affiliate Country Programme since taking office as Coordinator in 2008. Oduor gave a presentation about the participation of SADC countries in the Affiliate Country Programme as well as a comprehensive report on the Affiliate Programme’s overall activities and the benefits it offers to participants. She also had the opportunity to meet some Affiliate participants individually, such as delegates from Swaziland, Mozambique and Namibia.

The first time an IEC representative took part in a SADCSTAN Annual General Meeting was in 2007 in Antananarivo, Madagascar. Françoise Rauser, IEC Affiliate Country Programme Secretary, attended. Last year, in Cape Town, South Africa, the IEC representative was Jo-Anne Byng, Secretary of the South African IEC National Committee. Of the SADC countries, South Africa is the only Full Member of the IEC. The others are participants in the IEC Affiliate Country Programme.

Oduor is particularly qualified to coordinate the participation of African affiliated countries within the IEC framework. She has worked for the Kenyan Bureau of Standards for 28 years, including four years as Head of the Testing Division. In 2004, she moved to the Standards Development Division as Head. Today, she is Director, Standards Development and International Trade. She was named Affiliate Coordinator for Africa within the IEC Affiliate Country Programme in 2008.