Opinion: Standards agency duties must not be compromised

By its very name, the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) stands for quality and the safety of Kenyan consumers.

It is the first line of defence against harmful substances that, if released into the market, could harm consumers, yet KEBS allowed the importation of a fertiliser that contains much higher amounts of cadmium, a chemical reputed to cause cancer and kidney failure, in 2015.

Disturbingly, while KEBS had in 2009 acted professionally and denied a ship carrying DAP fertiliser containing higher amounts of cadmium than the internationally recommended levels for safety to offload its cargo at the Kenyan coast, the quality control agency allowed unscrupulous individuals driven by greed to force it to revise its own set levels that guaranteed safety.

Earlier, KEBS had specified that not more than 7 ppm (parts per million) be allowed in DAP imports. But in pandering to the whims of wheeler dealers, KEBS raised the standards to 30ppm, levels that are dangerous to human beings.

Extensive use DAP containing higher levels of cadmium means the chemical seeps into rivers, stays in the crops harvested and pollutes our soils.

This may in part explain the surge in cancer cases over the last few years where before the few cases of cancer was considered a disease of the privileged in society. There are more than 40,000 cases of cancer every year, out of which at least 27,000 lead to death. KEBS has a duty to the Kenyan taxpayer that it must execute with diligence. Standards cannot be compromised for the sake of a few.