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Principal Secretary for Industry visits KENAS offices

No. 06 Masaba Road, Upper Hill, Nairobi Kenya, January 30, 2023 – Dr. Juma Mukhwana, Ph.D., HSC, the Principal Secretary of the State Department for Industry under the Ministry of Investments, Trade, and Industry, paid an inaugural visit to the Kenya Accreditation Service (KENAS) to appreciate the accreditation mandate undertaken by KENAS both locally and within the region. Dr. Juma Mukhwana was received at the new KENAS offices at No. 06 Masaba Road, Upper Hill, Nairobi by the Board Chairperson, Ms. Eva Oduor, the Accreditation Appeals Tribunal Chairperson Mr. Joel Bosek, and the KENAS CEO, Mr. Martin Chesire alongside other members of the Board and the Appeals Tribunal.

Speaking during the visit, Dr. Mukhwana affirmed the Ministry’s support for the work that KENAS does and the efforts being put into finalizing the quality infrastructure policy by the government. In particular, he took a keen note of the regional accreditation of conformity assessment bodies that KENAS is currently providing in Tanzania, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda and other neighboring countries “I have taken a key interest in the way KENAS has made inroads within the East African region which is in line with the government focus of ensuring the full utilization of the AfCFTA opportunity for trade.” said Dr. Juma Mukhwana. He further committed to assisting KENAS in setting up an East Africa Accreditation Board.

 “We are currently developing new schemes in partnership with Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) on Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme (CORSIA) to help in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from the civil aviation sector and have also projected a partnership with Rivatex East Africa Limited on certification of their products,” intimated the Mr. Martin Chesire while presenting the recent achievement and the future focus areas. In 2018, KENAS had 106 clients but has grown to 256 in 2023 spread across 8 African countries.

Kenya Accreditation Service (KENAS) is a State Corporation established by the Kenya Accreditation Service Act, 2019 to be the national accreditation body. We accredit Medical Testing Laboratories, Testing and Calibration Laboratories, Inspection bodies, and Certification bodies. Our vision is to be a symbol of trust in quality, safety, and environmental assurance. The accreditation of conformity assessments provides for order in trade, health, safety, and environmental protection through the elimination of incompetent practices and the creation of a level playing ground for conformity assessment bodies to compete effectively.

For more information, contact us at 0723554475 or mutisyam@kenyaaccreditation.org

Photo 1: Martin Chesire (centre) introducing PS Dr. Juma Mukhwana (left) to the Accreditation Appeals Tribunal Chair, Mr. Joel Bosek (right)

Photo 2: Board of Directors Chairperson, Ms. Eva Oduor (right) presenting the PS Dr. Juma Mukhwana (left) with the KENAS Accreditation Act, the KENAS Strategic Plan 2020 – 2024 and other governance documents for KENAS

Photo 3: The KENAS Board of Directors with the PS Dr. Juma Mukhwana, PhD., HSC (seated – middle)

Establishment Of A Validation And Verification Scheme Under ISO/IEC 17029

Kenya Accreditation Service (KENAS) is working to establish and operationalize a validation and verification accreditation scheme, aligned to the ISO/IEC 17029 standard. Currently, the scopes under focus in this scheme will be in the aviation and agriculture sector for Green House Gases.

As a matter of priority, the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme (CORSIA) for international aviation is under consideration for accreditation of Validation and Verification Bodies (VVBs). CORSIA is a global offsetting scheme in which airlines and other aircraft operators offset any growth in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions above 2020 levels which is estimated at 100,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent. The aim is to stabilize aviation’s net CO₂ emissions, while other emission reduction measures, such as technology, sustainable aviation fuel operations, and infrastructure options, are pursued.

Aviation emissions from international flights are not included in the international climate regime administered by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as they fall outside of the scope of nationally-determined climate action. Instead, these emissions are being dealt with under CORSIA scheme by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Following many years of multilateral engagements, ICAO made a historic decision to adopt a global market-based measure for aviation emissions.

The European Union (EU) has financed a technical cooperation arrangement with the overall objective of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from the civil aviation sector in Africa and the Caribbean. They intend to achieve this, by assisting African countries to enhance their capacity to implement the CORSIA. The implementation of CORSIA is in three phases, namely: initial (2021-2023); voluntary (2024-2026); and mandatory (from 2027).

Consequently, the EU in collaboration with partners, European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), and Kenya Accreditation Service (KENAS), organized a capacity-building workshop themed ‘’Opportunities and advantages for an Accreditation Body offering the scope of “validation and verification” according to the ISO/IEC 17029 and ISO 14065 standards and the CORSIA sub-scope.’’

The workshop was held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Upper Hill, Nairobi from 16^th – 18^th January 2023 and included participants from KCAA, KENAS, validation and verification bodies, and airline operators. The capacity building workshop was aimed at imparting knowledge to the participants on the requirements of ISO/IEC 17029, ISO 14065, ISO 14063, ISO 14064; and CORSIA as provided for in the manuals and operating procedures.

Photo 1: John Shideler & Africa Abajas, the EASA technical leads capacity building different stakeholders during the workshop.

Photo 2: KENAS Chief Executive Officer, Mr Martin Chesire giving a speech during the closing ceremony on the 3^rd day of the event

The workshop provided an opportunity for the various stakeholders to interact and have deliberation on matters relating to the implementation of the CORSIA scope under the ISO/IEC 17029 KENAS accreditation scheme. In addition, other areas with potential for accreditation in the Kenyan economy were identified, including claims relating to construction technology, energy management, financial management, industrial automation systems, software and systems engineering, artificial intelligence, information technology, healthcare products and medical devices, machine safety, safety and design engineering, and social responsibility. It was also noted that this was a first step towards implementation of ISO/IEC 17029 and CORSIA scope and all stakeholders present promised to take up their roles in ensuring the scheme is established by January 2024 which marks the end of the pilot phase and start of the voluntary phase for the CORSIA implementation as provided by ICAO.

KENAS wishes to acknowledge the EU who are the project sponsor, EASA, the project implementer, African Civil Aviation Cooperation (AFCAC) and KCAA for the instrumental roles they played during this validation and verification capacity-building workshop.

World Accreditation Day 2022

09 June 2022 marks World Accreditation Day (#WAD2022), a global initiative established by IAF and ILAC to promote the value of accreditation. This year’s theme is Accreditation: Sustainability in Economic Growth and the Environment.

The world economy relies heavily on natural resources provided by healthy ecosystems, and yet we continue to put these ecosystems through enormous stress and to consume resources at an alarming rate. Accreditation, alongside other quality infrastructure tools including metrology, standardization, conformity assessment and market surveillance, can support the shift to a circular economy and more sustainable forms of production. Use of standards can help organizations adopt more eco-friendly practices, with accredited conformity assessment providing assurance that organizations are meeting requirements and fulfilling claims.

KENAS is employing measures to working with our conformity assessment bodies remotely during this period. Contact our office through info@kenyaaccreditation.org or call (+254) 0725 227640 to be assisted.

This Technical Publication is for all KENAS Accredited Bodies.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic all over the world and its resultant spread, the
Government of Kenya halted, until further notice, all non-essential travels for all state and public officers, whether on official government business or on private business. Additional measures have been taken in containment of movement across counties in order to manage the resultant spread of the disease. With reference to the KENAS Policy on management of extraordinary events KENAS – POL -002, kindly note the following: –

Download the Preventive Measures From Covid-19 Pandemic here

World Accreditation Day 2020

The term food safety describes all practices that are used to keep our food safe. Food safety relies on all players involved in the supply of food, from farmers and producers to retailers and caterers. Accreditation improves food safety.

Standards and accreditation are referenced in the WTO TBT Agreement and play an important role in trade facilitation. The appropriate application of standards and accredited conformity assessment has the potential to resolve concerns raised on food safety to the benefit of both industrialized and developing economies.

#WAD2020
Watch this short video on how accreditation improves food safety as we prepare to hold the annual World Accreditation Day celebrations on June 9th.
 

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