The evening of 6th August 2019, was full of glamour and pomp as KENAS celebrated its 10th Anniversary and rich history of 35 years of Accreditation in the East Africa Region. The celebrations were officially unveiled by Ms Betty Maina the Principal Secretary, State Department for Industrialization at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives. Over 300 guests including accredited bodies, stakeholders, previous employees and board members and several CEO’s of State Corporations under the Ministry attended the elaborate occasion.
The activities commenced with the PS visiting the KENAS offices where she unveiled a commemorative plaque of the 10th Anniversary celebrations. Thereafter, she also unveiled a timeline of the major milestones that KENAS has achieved in the past 10 years since establishment; and the history of accreditation in East Africa for the past 35 years.
The PS paid tribute for all the work done to build and make KENAS more stable as the sole and nationally recognized accreditation body in Kenya. Speaking during the ceremony, the PS said, “We are at a critical moment in our nation where quality has been compromised by some of the conformity assessment bodies, in fact, there has been a public outcry about some of the commodities being substandard, posing various risks, among them health. The good news is that policymakers recognize the importance of accreditation in the lives of all members of our communities and are willing to work with KENAS to ensure that standards of various commodities are adhered to. Our Ministry is willing to work with KENAS to ensure that it achieves its endeavours for enhancing accreditation on international platforms hence building confidence among its end users.”