MPs push to replace 1974 Standards Act after talks with KEBS
If approved, the new Standards Act will overhaul KEBS operations, tighten enforcement measures and raise the level of consumer protection across the country.
A fresh push to update Kenya’s standards law gathered pace on Friday after the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee met officials from the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) to review a draft Bill meant to replace the five-decade-old Standards Act.
The Committee said the country can no longer rely on a law drawn in the 1970s to guide a fast-changing market, growing industries and new consumer needs.
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Committee chair George Murugara explained that the current framework has become outdated and cannot keep up with modern production practices, trade patterns and the rising number of goods entering the local market.
He said the new Bill has been designed to set up a forward-looking system that can guide the country for the next several decades.
“We cannot regulate a modern economy using a law written in 1974. This Bill must give Kenya a standards framework that is contemporary, enforceable and constitutionally sound,” Murugara said.
While the work naturally lies with the Trade Committee, Murugara said JLAC is involved to ensure the draft fully aligns with constitutional requirements before it can be taken to the Cabinet and later tabled in Parliament.
He noted that the team is refining the document with close input from KEBS to avoid gaps that could weaken its enforcement once enacted.
Murugura added that another stage of the process will include wide consultations with industry players and the public.
Industrialisation Principal Secretary Juma Mukhwana told MPs that the proposed law has been developed with careful focus on the Constitution.
He said Article 46 gives the State a clear duty to protect citizens from harmful or poor-quality products.
“The existing law simply does not give the government the tools it needs to fulfil this duty,” he said.
Mukhwana also pointed to Article 10, saying the draft reflects national values such as accountability, transparency and sustainable development.
KEBS Managing Director Esther Ngari asked the committee to back a law that creates a fair and clear standards regime while giving the agency the strength it needs to act when rules are broken.
“We need a system that rewards compliance and decisively deals with negligence and illicit trade,” she said.
Ngari explained that inspectors still lack proper powers to shut down factories that ignore safety rules or remove unsafe products from shops.
“We are asking for powers that match the scale of risks facing consumers today,” she said.
KEBS Board Chairperson Chris Wamalwa said the reforms will finally bring the agency’s work in line with the Constitution.
“Article 46 guarantees Kenyans the right to quality goods and services. This Bill gives life to that promise,” he said.
Wamalwa noted that the changes will improve surveillance, regulation and quality checks across all sectors once the new law takes effect.
If approved, the new Standards Act will overhaul KEBS operations, tighten enforcement measures and raise the level of consumer protection across the country.
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