The Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) has suspended three brands of galvanized roofing sheets over substandard products.
Haut International, Mwananchi Mabati Company Limited and Obor technology Kenya Limited have been flagged off the for not complying with the bureau standards including those that prescribe the quality of products.
Kebs managing director Bernard Njiraini noted that the suspension of the three brands from the market comes after a country wide market surveillance on galvanized roofing sheets which indicated the presence of substandard products do not fully comply with the specified requirements of.KS EAS 11: 2019.
"The test reports revealed that the weight of the coating metal used by some brands is way below what is stipulated in the Standard," Njiraini said.
At the same time, some manufacturers are importing and processing roofing sheets whose widths are below what is stipulated in the standard.
"This is a serious malpractice because buyers of such products do not get value for their money,"Njiraini said.
He said the existence of substandard roofing sheets has resulted in an uneven playing ground as manufacturers of these brands are undercutting their competitors while greatly compromising the quality and performance of the Roofing sheet metal.
Other manufacturers on Kebs radar include those that are not labelling their roofing products making it hard for consumers to make informed decisions when purchasing the product.
This comes amid surge in roofing sheets prices over the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
The pries previously shot over the roof in the wake of Covid-19 two years ago and gradually reduced, but started rising again over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine
Mabati Rolling Mills Chief Executive Manish Mehra said the prices started going up in January this year.
Mehra said the price has skyrocketed to nearly double the pre-Covid-19 price of about $1200 (Sh136,596) per tonne.
