Public Editor: When reporter becomes concrete tester with a little help from Kebs

George Sila of Unity Homes, Tatu City, found “The untold story of Kenya’s fake, substandard cement” (Business Daily, Sept. 9, 2024) highly informative.

His feedback, “Gaps and Questions in the Cement Scandal,” in the ‘Readers Have Their Say’ column, highlights the significance of the story.

The story is about serious concerns regarding substandard cement in a country grappling with a troubling history of building collapses. It underscores the urgent need for enhanced regulatory oversight and increased consumer awareness.

Cement, which is essential for construction, is used to produce mortar and concrete for bricklaying, stonework to create walls, foundations, floors, and other structures. It’s crucial for the stability and durability of buildings.

In fact, cement is the second most consumed resource globally after water.

As of September 2023, Kenya consumed about seven million metric tonnes of cement.

This was a drop from the nearly 9.5 million metric tonnes consumed in 2022.

Our per capita consumption is around 150 kilogrammes, while that for Africa as a whole is 164 kilogrammes, according to Statista.

Our focus, however, is the Business Daily's story on substandard cement.

NMG business reporter Dominic Omondi bases his story on a leaked document from the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs).

The document reveals that cement samples collected from the market failed to pass industrial standards.

In reporting the story, the reporter steps into the shoes of a concrete tester.

His task is to inform readers about the quality and safety of cement. Readers say they found the story beneficial.

Yet, there are several information gaps in the story.

Notably, the story doesn’t disclose the brands of cement Kebs tested in a country where there are seven cement manufacturing companies.

Knowing which brands complied with safety standards would enable consumers to make informed choices when buying cement. It would also enhance transparency.

Other critical questions not answered in the story include: What can consumers do to verify cement quality before buying?

What measures can Kebs implement to mitigate the presence of substandard cement on the market?

The tests were conducted in February and June 2022 and January and December 2023.

Consumers could have benefitted from an update on the presence of substandard cement on the market in 2024.

Additionally, the story should have clarified the long-term trends of substandard cement in relation to the history of building collapses.

Equally, it’s important to know whether Kebs engages in consumer education on substandard cement.

Consumers need guidance not only on how to identify substandard cement, but also on how to mitigate risks linked to substandard materials, and the remedies they can pursue.

Addressing these questions would have provided readers with a comprehensive view of Kenya’s cement market.

It would have empowered them to make better decisions when buying cement or undertaking construction projects.

Furthermore, the story could have enhanced reader understanding by clarifying several technical terms, such as “compressive strength”, “markings test standards” and “supply chain transparency”.

Simplifying these concepts would have made the information more accessible.

The story should also have explained the various classes of cement tested.

Classes of cement range from Portland cement (32.5) to higher strength classes (42.5 and 52.5) for commercial structures. “Portland” is a generic name for cement suitable for most general jobs.

Another issue is that, from the story, it appears Kebs is overly protective of the defaulting companies at the expense of product safety and consumer interests. Kebs is quoted in the story saying: “There is no cause for alarm.” This sounds like downplaying the risks associated with the significant percentage of non-compliance Kebs found in its tests.

Also, the story should have clarified when substandard cement should be recalled.

Normal practices dictate recalling products that fail to meet safety and quality standards, especially when they pose safety or structural hazards.

In conclusion, the Business Daily story serves as a concrete example—pun intended—of an investigative story that warrants further exploration.

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“I always tried to move up the food chain. I started with cement and then moved into textiles and banking. When I was trading sugar, I added salt and flour so that then we could do pasta. And then I thought, why not make the bag for it, too? So, we started making packaging,” says Aliko Dangote, Nigerian industrialist. Dangote Cement Plc, the largest cement manufacturer in Africa, operates in 10 African countries. In 2022, it earned over $3.5 billion.

Readers' say

Gaps and questions in cement scandal

“The untold story of Kenya’ fake, substandard cement” (Business Daily, Sept. 9, 2024) is insightful and also a matter of concern for us in the construction industry. I am with Unity Homes. We build homes for sale within Tatu City. This article is really good as it gives us awareness on matters cement. We shall be engaging our own internal cement testing as well as external labs, Kebs excluded, to test the cement we use.

Your article, however, left me with some questions. I would appreciate if you gave clarity on cement “required standards, including the capacity to withstand the slightest pressure without crumbling.” What was the average failure load of the samples from the test report? What type of cement was tested? This is not clear from the article. Strength being one of the critical parameters, it's hard to see how the cement couldn't withstand the slightest pressure considering a 90 percent success rate.

Collapse of buildings between 2009 and 2019: 28 per cent of the collapses are attributed to materials. On these collapses what percentage can be attributed to cement only, not concrete, and how was that determined?

--George Sila

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‘Rogue’ police boss? It’s biased reporting

“Rogue police boss,” the Daily Nation headline of September 17, 2024, is misleading. The media is supposed to be objective, not subjective. You should report and the reader is the one who should judge whether the police boss is rogue or not. Before you came up with this headline, did you interview the “rogue police boss” to hear his side of the story? It’s wrong and misleading to brand someone as rogue if you do not have both sides of the story.

-- Michael Kinuthia, Researcher

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How does the ‘Nation’ prioritise news?

Of late, the Nation has fallen low in many aspects especially in the way it prioritises the news. Apart from many typing errors, news reporting in terms of prominence leaves a lot to be desired. For example, 12 people perished at the notorious Nithi Bridge on August 31, but this news never made it to the front page of the paper.

--Paul Gikundi

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James Gichuru didn’t lose the election

In his article, “How a Kenyan minister vanished in London and lessons we never learnt” (Sunday Nation, August 25, 2024), John Kamau incorrectly stated James Gichuru died at 68 “after losing his Limuru constituency seat to Njenga Karume”. Following correction by readers including myself, he corrected the article in the online version to say Gichuru “died after losing his seat to Jonathan Njenga.” That’s also incorrect. Gichuru won the seat in 1979, but died in August 1982. Njenga was elected in 1983.

--Githuku Mungai, Nairobi

The Public Editor is an independent news ombudsman who handles readers’ complaints on editorial matters including accuracy and journalistic standards. Email: [email protected]. Call or text 0721989264