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ISO 37001:2016 and its Vital Role in Fighting Corruption: KENAS joins the Public-Private Dialogue

By Michelle Makena

The Kenya Accreditation Service (KENAS) plays a crucial role in advancing ISO standards in Kenya and the region to improve business governance by offering accreditation to conformity assessment bodies. This ensures that they are competent to carry out their duties globally as they meet internationally recognized standards and thus the saying, accredited once accepted everywhere.

Recently, KENAS participated in a three-day British Chamber of Commerce Kenya, public-private dialogue aimed at enhancing awareness of the ISO 37001:2016 Anti Bribery Management System – Requirements with guidance for use and in this case for use by select exporting and export-ready businesses. The dialogue intended to inform more about unethical behaviors, especially corruption, and its key elements such as theft, embezzlement, nepotism, fraud, bribery, and conflict of interest. The discussion also addressed the dynamics of an act of corruption.

Corruption is a pervasive problem undermining economic growth. It also erodes trust in institutions and perpetuates social inequalities. To combat this global challenge, countries around the world have implemented various strategies and initiatives to prevent, detect and punish corruption. ISO 37001:2016 – an international standard designed to help organizations implement effective anti-bribery management systems, consequently is a critical tool since it provides guidance for establishing, implementing, maintaining, reviewing, and improving an anti-bribery management system in relation to the organization’s activities

KENAS has joined forces with public-private stakeholders to promote the adoption of the standard as a key means in this fight. This blog post explores how ISO 37001:2016 plays a vital role in fighting corruption and highlights KENAS’ efforts towards promoting its implementation through public-private dialogue initiatives.

 

From Left to Right:  Mohammad Shohaieb- Principal Consultant BSI, Martin Chesire- KENAS CEO, Eddy Njoroge- President ISO, Farida Abbas – CEO, BCCK

The ISO 37001:2016 standard deals with bribery in various sectors, including public, private, and non-profit, involving the organization or its representatives, as well as its business partners, in relation to the organization’s activities. This includes direct and indirect forms of bribery. The standard is only applicable to bribery. In Kenya the Bribery Act, 2016 is the key legislation governing bribery. Other supporting legislations include the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, 2003 which discusses legislation governing bribery.

The impact of these and other international instruments is to have a corporate liability offence in which the key legal defense for the company is evidencing adequate procedures and exercising all due diligence to have prevented the bribery. The Standard contains requirements for an effective anti-bribery management system, including:

• Policy
• Commitment
• Context
• Roles, responsibilities, and authorities
• Planning
• Implementation
• Operation

In conclusion, unethical business practices are a serious threat to a country’s economic growth and social well-being. ISO 37001:2016 provides a framework for organizations to develop effective anti-bribery management systems to help prevent and detect such corrupt practices. KENAS’ participation in the public-private dialogue is a crucial step towards promoting the implementation of the standard in Kenya as we contribute towards improving business governance and promoting ethical practices. Through its accreditation services, KENAS will always ensure that conformity assessment bodies meet internationally recognized standards and are competent to carry out their duties. We hope that the adoption of ISO 37001:2016 will continually be in use as we work towards a more transparent and fair global business environment.

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