Big Four Action Plan is enhancing manufacturing

One of the key goals established by Uhuru Kenyatta in his 2017 Big Four Action Plan is enhancing manufacturing from 9.2 per cent to 20 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The importance of both setting and achieving this goal cannot be overstated.

First of all, government support for building more manufacturing plants leads to more job creation.

The government that set up several industrial sites in remote regions of the country outside of Nairobi, including in Western regions and on the shores of Lake Victoria.

Making sure that high quality, reliable work is available to all counties helps Kenya to maintain its diverse integrity and boost equality.

For the past several decades, the world has become accustomed to purchasing most of its consumer goods from Asia. These include textiles, electronics and even food.

The four Asian tiger economies - Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea - achieved much of their financial growth in the 1960s to 1990s through good economic policy and increasing local manufacturing. Their rapid industrialisation led to stellar GDP growth rates of around 7 per cent.

It is time Kenya achieved total industrialisation - and with all of the tools that modern technology has to offer, it might be possible to catch up faster than the time it took other nations to industrialise.

Making more local products is also better for the environment.

There is no meal as tasty as one prepared with local produce, and food does not have to travel far to be nutritious and delicious.
The same goes for electronic goods and textiles. Equipment does not have to come from Asia to serve us well, especially when Kenyans are capable of producing the same things.

And with so many new Kenyan clothing brands hitting the market, it is easy to be fashionable when you are buying locally.

Just look at the President’s fashion statements. In all of his press statements and addresses to the public, the president wears colourful shirts with African prints.

He recently told the media that they come from a textile factory based in Eldoret called Rivatex East Africa Limited.

And now, local textile manufacturers have begun taking part in the Covid-19 mitigation effort. As demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) intensifies, manufacturers that usually make clothing are changing their focus to supply essential goods.

Rivatex, where Kenyatta buys his shirts, in addition to Kitui County Textile Centre (Kicotec), Edi Investment in Nakuru and Shona EPZ are now the government’s main supplier of PPEs and face masks to serve health workers on the frontlines of the pandemic.

The government’s Covid-19 Emergency Response Fund recently allocated Sh600 million to purchase gear from these factories.

This boost to Kenyan brands will not only ensure that they do not go out of business due to lower demand for the usual products they create.

It will also make sure that Kenyan money goes to Kenyan companies, creating Kenyan jobs, rather than sending it to Asian suppliers.

Cutting down on imports not just during the Covid-19 period but in general will make our country more self-reliant in the long run.

The pandemic just serves to teach us once again that no we cannot rely on anyone but ourselves when things get really tough.

The PPEs will now not only serve Kenya as they prepare for export abroad.

Their gear has passed regulations set by the Kenya Bureau of Standards and they are preparing to begin shipping them to any country in demand in the coming weeks.

At Shone EPZ, the company’s director told the press that they can already produce 20,000 aprons, 20,000 surgical face masks and 20,000 pairs of safety footwear every day.

This kind of productivity, despite all of the challenges, is a true testament to what Kenyan workers are capable of.

Even in a pandemic, our overall development aspirations remain the same. Kenya might be slowed down but we are unstoppable in the long run.

Luckily, our medical community has a whole army of factory workers behind them to make sure they have the equipment and supplies necessary to treat patients. There is no force as powerful as a group effort.