This archive report was first published on 10 January 2020.
On January 10, 2020, the Kenyan Bureau of Standards (KEBS) unveiled a plan to combat the sale of substandard products and services in the market.
According to KEBS, the 'Wajibika Na KEBS' initiative aims to create an environment where both the quality watchdog and the public are accountable to each other.
Speaking during the launch, KEBS Managing Director Bernard Njiraini emphasized the importance of collaboration between KEBS and Kenyans in tackling the proliferation of substandard products.
“We anticipate that Wajibika Na KEBS will usher a future of a more interactive KEBS and hopefully a more accountable public that values quality and embraces communal progress,” Njiraini said.
Under the initiative, members of the public can verify the validity of the S-Mark permit on a product by sending the code underneath the S-Mark to 20023 (SM#Code) to get product manufacturing details.
KEBS has also called on Kenyans to report substandard products on sale through its various customer touch-points, including the KEBS official App, emails, SMS, and Toll-Free Number 1545.
Principal Secretary for Industrialization, Dr. Francis O. Owino, lauded KEBS efforts to tackle trade in substandard products, stating that the initiative has come at a time when the government has prioritized the fight against illicit trade.
