Skip to main content

Badly Made In China

One day, several years ago, before Kenyans made head hunting a political past time, I helped a so called friend of mine with my Motorola phone charger. My so called friend then left the phone charging at a certain location. One of the more than 3.3 million thieves in the country could not believe his luck, having come across an unguarded phone complete with its charger. The rest is history.


Since I did not have a charger, I decided to look for a replacement, and I came across one pretty soon from a phone repair shop. This second hand charger served me well till early this year, when my mismanagement finally caught up with it, and it failed.


Again I hit the road to source for a replacement. Little did I know that it would be a hard path now trodden by many.


Chargers had dropped prices and I could obtain one for about 100 shillings. The sellers tested the chargers at the point of sale, and they did work. The sellers also told me that they do not offer warranties on such electronics, since they have no say no how much voltage the Kenya Power and Lighting Company decides to supply to the charger.


The first charger l bought lasted for a couple of days. I presented my bitter complaints to the seller, but he listened sympathetically, and then proceeded to show me a box of several other chargers that had lasted for 2 days too. Just then, my friend walked in with another 2 day charger. We then formed a 3 man committee (since no woman turned up with a 2 day charger, we couldn’t include them) which investigated the chargers. After an hour or serious deliberation, the committee recommended the 'made in China’ was to blame for the 50 shilling a day charger.


Just after the committee completed its work, one of the committee members turned up complaining that his fairly new high capacity hard disk had stopped working too. We hurriedly convened a 2 man committee to look into the matter. The committee noticed that the hard disk was physically identical to another one of my friend, which decided that its warranty period was too long a period for it to operate. The committee also noted that the hard disks were identical, yet from different manufacturers. The stickers were identical except for the part that shows the manufacturer. The committee finally concluded that the 'made in China’ designation was again to blame.


The committee extended its mandate to investigate other ‘made in china’ items. Below are the findings of this committee.

  • Several items were found to be made by a sixth of the world’s population, in China.

  • That several of the items were cheap enough for unemployed youth (those who are yet to be recruited by vigilante groups and others) and lowly paid Kenyans to afford.

  • That several of the above goods claimed to be from different manufacturers per category (computer mice, ear phones, chargers etc) but were entirely identical.

  • That the goods lacked major components found in the original devices.

  • That the goods were unlikely to last till your next Birthday.

  • That the goods did not meet any standard specifications, neither had they been inspected by any quality body.

  • That the original goods, or their spares, were quite hard to find. If you were lucky enough to find them, their price was way above what such goods cost in developed markets like the USA. For example the charger mentioned above was going for 600 shillings in the one shop that it could be found in!

The committee concluded that given the size of china, it’s hard for its government to monitor the quality of its goods, and they will continue to be badly made in China. Given that Kenyans like outdoing each other on how cheaply they can obtain goods, such badly made goods will continue having a big market in the country. This is compounded by the fact that the sellers of the genuine goods sell them at a premium, lowering their demand, resulting in only a few outlets stocking them. There has also been emergence of high quality counterfeits, which sell at prices higher than the other badly made products. Such high quality counterfeits are sold in several outlets, due to the shortage of the genuine products.


Therefore next time you are buying a badly made product, or even a high quality counterfeit, be prepared to forego the guarantee of the genuine product.

Do not blame the Chinese government for its failure to well monitor 18% of the worlds population output. That’s a tall order; given the problem African countries have in monitoring even less than 1% of the world’s population.

Blogged with the Flock Browser
Reactions:

Comments

Post a comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dar mpaka moro (part 2)

This post has been continued from Dar mpaka moro (part 1)

Exchange Rates: 1 Tsh = 0.58 Kshs , 1 Ksh =17.2 Tshs (note to divide rather than multiply fractions/decimals)

Arusha is the capital of the East African Community, and might be referred to as Tanzania's third most significant city. Arusha also marks the end of Tanzania's dry region, quite small compared to Kenya's expansive Northern and Eastern regions.

You will also notice the presence of Traffic lights at major junctions and round abouts, a difference from Kenya's preferred police controlled junctions. However, motorists will at time jump the lights. Be warned though that Traffic Police might be present and will not hesitate to fine you. Overlapping , a common aspect of road behaviour in Kenya is taken seriously in Tanzania, it may land you a Ksh. 10,000 fine and/or a jail term.

Our bus did not stop over at Arusha, which though is quite a large town. Arusha is on the slopes of Mount Meru, one of Tanzania's m…
Post a comment
Read more

Beers in Kenya: A sober opinion

Note: This is a dated post and has since been mostly passed by events. SAB Miller beers including Castle and Peroni are no longer widely available in Kenya after their exist. Sirville Brewery was bought out by Brew Bistro before being permanently shut in a tax dispute. Kenya is a land of milk, honey, beaches and taxes. I have penned, or is typed, a newer post here. 

I have had a short beer swigging stint in my life. It has however been long enough for me to share my opinion of Kenyan beer. Interestingly, over the course of sharing such opinions with other drunkards connoisseurs,  I have found that we all have different views as to what beer is the best, which one makes you too drunk, or which one gives one free, extra hangover for every hangover you get from it.
For starters, like everyone else, I discovered that beer isn’t as sweet as it looks like in those adverts that show golden barley swaying in breezes, happy men smiling and toasting chilled, foaming glasses of beer as a deep voi…
Post a comment
Read more

Coronavirus still proves Africa's Local Manufacturing Problem

For many people in Africa, more so Sub-Saharan Africa, local manufacturing is a concept we are very much in love with. We wish that our countries manufactured 90 percent of what we used locally, and by doing so, our feeling is that our countries would become developed countries.


Of course, manufacturing 90% of all locally consumed products means we would only import 10%. Early in school, we are taught that 1+3=4, and likewise 4-3=1.

Equally, if by manufacturing 90% locally means that we import very little, then the assumption is that importing very little means we manufacture a lot locally. And so, many people call for the banning of imports to promote local manufacturing.

Most governments understand that banning imports is hard, and so what they do is raise taxes on them. But interesting enough, raising taxes on imports does not lead to increased local manufacturing. Instead, it leads to a decrease in local manufacturing.

In 1981, manufacturing contributed to a quarter of sub-Sa…
Post a comment
Read more

The bitter story of the downfall of Mumias Sugar company

Have you heard the bitter story of Mumias Sugar?

Regarded by many as Kenya's most successful sugar miller, Mumias Sugar Company was a disaster waiting to happen.

Many pointed out how Mumias Sugar Company was a fortress in the wreck that is Kenya's sugar industry, only unaware that it was just a matter of time. As the old wise men said, "Ukiona cha mwenzako cha nyolewa, tia chako maji".

The proverb means that if you see your neighbour's head getting shaved, your head will soon be undergoing the same - you'd therefore better wet your head for a smoother shave, otherwise you will be forced to undergo a painful, dry, shave.

But what ails Kenya's sugar industry?

The Kenya sugar industry is under legal siege. The typical Kenyan issue of coming up with laws to tackle a problem is evident here.

Many of Kenya's sugar factories are owned by the government, and have slowly declined under mismanagement and corruption. The appointing of political cronies and trib…
Post a comment
Read more

Kenyan products: The art of punishing your consumer

This post was written in 2011. Facts may have and indeed have changed - but the conclusion has not. 
Peanut butter used to taste so good, but you could not afford it on the pocket money that you got back in school.

A few years later, you have your first real job and your first "disposable" income. You buy your first real tub of peanut butter, probably the first in your life. You feel proud that Dominion peanut butter is manufactured in Ruiru, a town that you visited in your campus days to withdraw your pocket money, it was the nearest bank ATM to your campus. 
This was before Equity bank became a mainstream bank and decided to open an ATM in your campus, and before M-Pesa meant that you could withdraw your pocket money next to the kibanda where you had your one meal of the day.
The peanut butter though is a far cry from the peanut butter you remember. It does not taste that good, and turns into some sort of stone barely third way through the jar. The stone is not the kind that …
Post a comment
Read more