The Kenya
Bureau of Standards (KEBS) intercepted 24,000 substandard power extension
cables worth Sh2.5 million imported from a country in East Asia.
The
consignment was handed to the Kenya Revenue Authority for reshipment to the
country of origin or destruction at the owner's cost as per the Standard Act.
The
40-foot imported container arrived in the country a week ago and was offloaded
at a cargo clearing agency.
According to
officials, it contained 30 cartons of extension sockets, weighing 15,390
kilograms.
According to Kenya’s Business Registration Service, the company behind the importation is owned by a Chinese national and a Kenyan national. They are under probe.
In March 2023, KRA investigated the company behind the importation and established its involvement in tax evasion activities, thereby denying the Kenyan government millions of tax revenue.
The container imported was accompanied by a Certificate of Conformity (CoC).
Still, upon closer examination of the document, KEBS established that the documentation doesn't
tally with the actual product that accompanied the cargo, said KEBS Managing
Director Esther Ngari in Mombasa.
A CoC
confirms that the imported product conforms to the quality standard of the
importing country.
She
confirmed that the model of the extension cables delivered is different from
the model captured in the CoC.
After
evaluation, KEBS found that the product doesn't meet the Kenyan quality
standards.
“Our role as
KEBs is to protect the consumer, and this product cannot be allowed into our
Kenyan market because it fails to meet the Kenyan standards, said the KEBS MD,
adding that the product lacks earthing to protect the users, and the shutters
are open, thus they can easily cause accidents,' said Ngari.
Importers
of substandard goods have been put on notice, as KEBS has intensified surveillance and inspections to safeguard consumers against substandard products.
“We will not
allow anything that doesn't meet the Kenyan standards, whether you have it
inspected out of the country or you bring it for destination inspection,”
reiterated the MD.
“We are very
keen. We are targeting especially these electrical products getting into the
country to make sure none of them are allowed into the market.”
