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{
    "id": 1495651,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1495651/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 36,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Embakasi North, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. James Gakuya",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. The response is as follows: At the outset, I wish to thank you for giving me this opportunity to respond to a request for a statement by Hon. John Kiarie, Member for Dagoretti South Constituency, regarding the renewal of the Standardisation Mark of Quality from the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS). The Member expects the statement sought to respond to the under-listed specific issues. 1. The rationale behind extending the validity period of the Standardisation Mark and the impact of that on products’ quality and fair competition, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). 2. The justification for imposing back-pay penalties on businesses restarting after COVID-19 related slowdowns; and, 3. Measures that the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry is taking to ensure that the regulatory environment supports the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in economic recovery rather than penalising those recovering businesses. By way of introduction, I wish to state that KEBS is a state agency under the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry. It was established under the Standards Act Cap 496 of the Laws of Kenya with the mandate of promoting the standardisation of the specification of commodities and providing for the standardisation of commodities and codes of practice. To fulfil those mandates, the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) coordinates the development of standards, operates product certification programmes, tests products and materials and inspects imported goods and other matters incidental to and connected with the same. It is worth noting that KEBS operates a standardisation mark scheme which is a mandatory product certification scheme for locally manufactured products that are provided for under Section 10 of the Standards Act Cap 496 of the laws of Kenya. Having stated the above, I wish to respond to specific issues that were raised by the Member for Dagoretti South as follows: The first question was about the rationale behind extending the validity period for the standardisation mark and the impact of those on-product quality and fair competition, especially for small and medium-size enterprises. 1. The rationale behind extending the validity period. In 2015, the Kenya Bureau of Standards commissioned and carried out a comprehensive internal review of the standardisation scheme. The review aimed at looking at the success, challenges and opportunities for improvement. It culminated in a report that was aimed at improving quality, efficiency and ease of doing business. The review established that among other issues, the one-year validity permit faced"
}