Kebs Quality Not Assured: Choose Your Consumption Wisely
The likelihood of purchasing products of inferior quality from supermarket shelves and other retail sources might be significant.
This comes after the confirmation by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) before a parliamentary committee that they do not conduct tests on locally sold products to determine their appropriateness.
Concerns regarding the use of inferior products seemed to be validated during a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly last Thursday. During the session, Ms. Esther Ngari, the acting Managing Director of Kebs, mentioned that Kebs places its reliance on manufacturers’ trust to create products of high quality.
Ms. Ngari was called in by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), led by nominated MP John Mbadi, to address concerns about the government’s use of 125.1 million Kenyan Shillings on faulty Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders. However, the committee removed her from the proceedings before they concluded due to her provision of inadequate responses.
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu highlighted the acquisition and distribution of faulty cylinders in the financial records of the State Department for Petroleum during the 2020/21 fiscal period.
The admission from Ms. Ngari that surprised the PAC members was that Kebs inspects the facilities of manufacturers who meet the standards outlined in the Quality Act before granting them the Diamond quality mark.
This implies that the subsequent outcomes rely entirely on the manufacturer’s trust in creating products that meet the required standards.
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“Kindly note that it is the responsibility of the person manufacturing a product covered by a Kenya Standard to comply with the requirement of the standards,” Ms. Ngari said in response to questions from PAC members on why over 78,000 defective gas cylinders supplied by three companies were released to Kenyans.
The Diamond Mark of Quality is a designation granted by Kebs to manufacturers who can uphold the required quality standards.
Ms Ngari added; “issuance of the standardisation mark attests to an assessed capability to manufacture compliant products but does not transfer the responsibility for ensuring compliance of the specific products being manufactured in the assessed factory to the government or the regulator.”
The acknowledgment from Kebs management led the committee members to suggest a modification of the law, aiming to impose severe consequences such as lifelong imprisonment on Kebs officers who put the lives of Kenyans at risk.
“I don’t think any more engagement with you is beneficial to this committee. Just admit that Kebs is not doing its job and that it’s asleep on the job. We need to amend the law to provide punitive measures such as life imprisonment for Kebs officials exposing the lives of people,” said Mr Mbadi.
Wajir South MP Mohamed Adow said he was not convinced by Kebs’ responses.
“I am gobs marked. I have always grown to respect Kebs’ mark of quality but little did I know they don’t test or inspect the goods coming into the country and even those sold locally. What quality control are you talking about when all is based on trust? How sure are you that what Kenyans consume is of the right standards? Tell this committee,” said Mr Adow.
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In the 2017/18 Fiscal Year, the government, via the State Department for Petroleum, initiated the execution of an LPG project to encourage the adoption of contemporary cooking fuels among economically disadvantaged households.
The initiative known as “Mwananchi gas” involved providing and distributing 6-kilogram LPG cylinders, as well as grills and burners. The National Oil Corporation of Kenya was responsible for delivering these gas cylinders to households.
The materials submitted to the Parliament reveal that Surge Energy Limited brought in and distributed 79,998 gas cylinders, while Allied East Africa Limited dealt with 11,132 cylinders, and Accurate Power System Limited handled 15,056 cylinders.
Nevertheless, most of the cylinders that were provided had technical issues and were subsequently recalled following the involvement of an independent inspector hired by the Ministry of Petroleum.
A technical company named Bureau Veritas presented an examination document about the gas canisters to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The report reveals that out of the gas cylinders provided by Surge Energy Limited, approximately 33.91 percent, which is equivalent to 27,129 cylinders, successfully met the criteria of the tests. On the other hand, around 66.09 percent, totaling 52,869 cylinders, were identified as faulty in the examination.
Every cylinder provided by both Allied East Africa Limited and Accurate Power System Limited was flawed since they failed to meet the necessary standards.
The cylinder flaws varied and included issues such as valve leaks, observable rust, absence of zinc coating, missing manufacturer’s stamp, and inadequate documentation provided by suppliers for review.
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Nevertheless, Ms. Ngari informed the committee that Kebs had no part in examining the cylinders. She became aware of the faulty cylinders only after being called before the PAC, alongside Mr. Mbadi, who expressed astonishment at the level of negligence displayed.
However, this is even though the Auditor-General highlighted the issue in the examined financial records of the State Department for Petroleum for the fiscal year 2020/21.
Mr. Bernard Nguyo, the Quality Assurance leader at Kebs, informed the committee that the cylinders hadn’t undergone testing due to their existing Kebs quality mark.
“We do not test any shipment of goods that arrive at the port of Mombasa as long as they have the Diamond Mark of Quality,” said Mr Nguyo noting that the only thing that happens at the port of entry is the ascertainment that the goods have the diamond mark of quality.
While Mr. Nguyo acknowledged that Kebs maintains quality assurance personnel at both the source and entry points of incoming goods, the inspection report highlights a lack of evidence regarding the external assessment of the cylinders in question. This is attributed to the absence of issued certificates for the supplied cylinders.
Allied East Africa Limited failed to furnish documents related to quality control after the manufacturing process. As outlined by Kebs, the certification necessitates the manufacturer to be a registered entity. Additionally, Kebs must inspect the manufacturing facility to evaluate its capacity to adhere to the standards set, ensuring successful test outcomes.
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The manufacturer must also enter into a certification agreement with Kebs. This agreement outlines the systematic instructions for quality management practices that the manufacturer follows to ensure sufficient quality assurance.
This is done to make sure that quality assurance tasks are being performed adequately within the process, thereby providing confidence that the products are consistently aligning with the authorized specifications.
The item, when subjected to testing, should fulfill the specifications outlined in the applicable product standard of Kenya. The manufacturer must apply the measures specified in the certification agreement for the entire two-year validity period.
Kebs Quality Not Assured: Choose Your Consumption Wisely
