This archive report was first published on 8 December 2019.
Protecting Consumers: A Shared Responsibility ¶
December 8, 2019
The Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) has been at the forefront of ensuring the safety and health of consumers by destroying substandard goods. However, this has sparked a debate among manufacturers who claim that Kebs is being irresponsible and insensitive in its actions.
According to Bernard Njiraini, the Managing Director of Kebs, the agency's primary responsibility is to protect the safety and health of consumers. This is in line with the government's priorities, which aim to increase the GDP contribution of the manufacturing sector from under nine percent to 15 percent by 2022.
Kebs operates a product certification scheme that requires manufacturers to implement quality assurance measures. The agency undertakes factory inspections and tests samples of products before issuing a permit to use the standardisation mark. Manufacturers are then required to adhere to the certification scheme of supervision and control throughout the validity period.
Consumers can play a crucial role in helping Kebs tackle substandard products by reporting any suspected products and verifying the validity of the S-Mark permit. They can do this by sending a text with the product's standardisation mark number to 20023. Kebs also has a programme called Wajibika Na Kebs, which allows the public to report cases of substandard products.
Manufacturers whose permits have been suspended are required to identify and institute corrective actions to ensure that the non-compliance never recurs. They are also required to test all the products recalled from the market and isolate the non-complying products. Products found not to comply with the requirements of the standard after the recall are destroyed.
