MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDING CEO
As the founding Chief Executive Officer of KENAS, it gives me privilege and pleasure to be part of KENAS’ 10th Anniversary celebrations. As we mark this occasion, we cannot fail to recognize the fact that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Such is the journey of KENAS from an Accreditation Department at Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) to a fully established and independently recognized body by the Government of Kenya, and later a global acknowledgement.
Starting with 10 officers and hiring other staff to assist in putting up structures at KENAS, it was then paramount to serve the interest of customers and clients of whom some we had started with from Quality Systems Assessment Committee (QSAC) within KEBS. It’s notable that bringing in awareness to clients about KENAS and accreditation in general was a major challenge that we had to put up with by placing strategic plans. It was more challenging in creating awareness and especially among the political class. The 10th Anniversary celebration is indeed a victory over time to mark a journey from about 10 clients to over 100 clients; from just a simple department with an organization, to a globally recognized independent accreditation body with ILAC and AFRAC. KENAS has gone further to train assessors and staff in the areas of calibration, inspection and verification. The recognition by the Government as a sole leading accreditation body was a major step in the life of KENAS.
Today, I am happy for KENAS having achieved international recognition and this was possible through the support of various stakeholders and more so from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives. The good news is that our accreditation services enables a free trade in the fact that if goods cross borders then there is no more need for further inspection beyond borders. KENAS is a major participant in proficiency testing and inter-laboratory testing comparison. I therefore congratulate KENAS wishing them well and to work harder in accreditation for more recognition. May you grow well to see more anniversaries.