SPEECH BY THE CABINET SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF INDUSTRIALISATION & ENTERPRISE
DEVELOPMENT, ADAN MOHAMED, EBS, DURING THE 4TH AFRAC GENERAL ASSEMBLY
OPENING CEREMONY ON 23RD SEPTEMBER 2013, AT THE LA MADA HOTEL, NAIROBI
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The AFRAC Chairperson, Mr. Ron Josias,
The AFRAC Executive Committee,
All the AFRAC members present at this occasion,
The Support Partners, PTB-Germany, A Global HealthCare Public Foundation
Program (AGHPF)
The Principal Secretary, Ministry of Industrialization and Enterprise Development
The Board of Directors KENAS
The Chief Executive Officer, KENAS
Other Chief Executive Officers Present,
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am greatly honored and pleased to join you during the Opening Ceremony of this year’s AFRAC General
Assembly. This General Assembly is very important as it is the first one to be hosted by Kenya
Accreditation Service (KENAS), the National Accreditation Body.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Trade is a crucial driver of growth, yet Africa with over 10% of the world population commands less than
2% of world trade. Most African economies are small and provide limited national markets for local trade
that can spur faster growth rates for development. As a result, the pursuit of better access to foreign
markets is, therefore, a crucial component of Africa’s development strategy.
In expanding trade, the link between standards, access to foreign markets, and development is at the
forefront of policy debate. This is particularly true with regards to Africa. African countries face critical
challenges in improving domestic capacity to meet production and quality standards that are required in
foreign markets. It is my hope that during this meeting, the discussions that will take place will involve
solutions that accreditation can do to enhance competence in production practices; improve quality
assurance and management systems by conformity assessment bodies, and improve better monitoring,
evaluation, product testing and packaging methods to respond to the dynamism of technical
requirements by Kenya’s trading partners. In addition, institutional reforms, investment in human capital
and infrastructure improvements in laboratories and facilities are also necessary.
Distinguished Guests,
In the interest of the discussions of this regional event, it is good to reiterate what the President of Kenya
said in his maiden speech during his inauguration that the current government administration is
committed to regional trade and cooperation and will continue to strengthen ties through the free
movement of people, goods and investment, including the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers to
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trade within the [East African Community]. Therefore, my hope is that this meeting will develop solutions
to oversee the President’s goal showing continued growth of our community towards ultimate
integration.
In 2000, the Millennium Declaration was adopted by 189 member states of the United Nations, among
them Kenya. The declaration recognized the need for a collective responsibility to work toward a more
peaceful, prosperous and just world. Following the Declaration, the 8 MDGs were created accompanied by
21 targets and 61 indicators for measuring progress.
By the year 2005, the MDGs had gained traction and became a key organizing principle for a large
number of development actors. The MDGs have progressively become a central basis for policy, planning
and budgeting in government ministries. The Kenya Vision 2030 also incorporated the MDGs. The
government remains committed to ensure that the MDGs are met.
The transition expected from a resource based economy to a manufacturing based economy as enshrined
in Kenya’s Vision 2030 cannot happen at the pace expected without credible conformity assessments.
With the expected increase in mass production, a growing demand for interchangeable parts, demand for
cheaper quality goods, public demand for product safety and concerns about technical compatibility
between products, Africa cannot afford to operate without credible conformity assessments if we intend
to be competitive. In such a complex and highly competitive market, a high degree of confidence is
required when procuring products or services. Such reassurance is underpinned by accreditation.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The mandate of the Ministry of Industrialization and Enterprise Development is to formulate industrial and
enterprise policies and strategies towards the realization of the Kenya Vision 2030. The Ministry is
involved in developing programs aimed at creating wealth and employment for the Kenyan people. A
number of these programs target the SME sector in order to improve on their competitiveness in the
liberalized market. Such programs include development of CIDCs, SME and Industrial parks funded by
both government and the private sector through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
In addition, the Ministry ensures that in all goods and services consumed in the country there is adequate
assurance of quality and safety through synergy of national quality and regulatory infrastructure. It is in
carrying out this mandate that the Ministry, through the National Industrialization Policy framework, has
provisions for the development of an effective Standards, Regulatory and Quality infrastructure.
This infrastructure refers to all aspects of standardization, metrology, testing and quality management,
including certification and accreditation. It applies to both public and private institutions and covers the
regulatory framework within which they operate. It is against this background, and in keeping to
international best practices, that the Kenya Accreditation Services, Standards Tribunal and the National
Quality Institute have been established as independent institutions from the Kenya Bureau of Standards.
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Distinguished guests,
I wish to take this opportunity to urge KENAS to enhance their operations in order to realize its vision,
mission and mandate.
Accreditation cuts across the work of all regulators in fields such as energy,
agriculture, health and environment among others. I also wish to urge the business community in both
the private and public sectors to contact KENAS for purposes of accreditation of their conformity
assessment activities that impact on health, safety and environmental protection. The Ministry of
Industrialization is committed in supporting the operations of KENAS so that it can fully deliver on its
mandate of providing accreditation services to Conformity Assessment Bodies nationally, regionally and
internationally.
Finally, on behalf of the Government of Kenya, I would like to thank the AFRAC Secretariat for choosing
Kenya as a destination of choice for their 2013 meetings; it is one way of boosting the country’s tourism
industry. I am aware that there are a number of sessions that have already taken place and that you are all
looking forward to a productive meeting to come, geared at shaping Accreditation in Africa. With those
remarks, I would like to declare the 4th AFRAC General Assembly officially open
Thank you & God bless you.
Adan Mohammed, EBS
Cabinet Secretary
Ministry of Industrialization & Enterprise Development
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