It’s time to support Buy Kenya directive

It was disquieting to hear President Uhuru Kenyatta direct government ministries, last week, to buy locally produced goods and services instead of importing them. The uneasiness arises from the realisation that the President issued the same directive in March, last year.

The only logical conclusion to be drawn is that the people running ministries, departments and agencies turned a deaf ear to the presidential directive. Worse, there is nothing to suggest the same individuals will heed the President this time round.

Yet, the directive would go a long way in driving the country’s industrialisation policy forward. This may mean time has come for the direct beneficiaries of the directive to jump into action by asking the President to support them in commissioning an audit of all government procurement. This would reveal the public officers flouting the presidential directive and the details of what they are importing. It would then be up to the relevant government organs to take the necessary action.

It may also help to increase pressure on the recalcitrant individuals by making the audit report public so that wananchi can see the individuals they are paying to sabotage the country’s Vision 2030 blue-print. Perhaps, Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich may be persuaded to work with his industrialisation counterpart, Adan Mohamed, to draft legislation that would empower Kenya Revenue Authority to impose punitive duty and other taxes on the contentious imports. At the very least, that would make their prices too high to import.

The two cabinet secretaries, and Parliament, can enact these pieces of legislation with a clear conscience because the World Trade Organisation (WTO) allows countries to protect their own industries against dumping. And there is ample evidence to suggest that most of the imports flooding the country are subsidised by their own governments.

The Government might also return the private sector’s favour by commissioning its own audit to reveal those industries importing raw or semi-processed goods which can be sourced locally. One product that clearly stands out in this context is the cement manufacturers’ import of clinker. This importation is deeply injurious to the country’s balance of payments’ account and also increases the cost of manufacturing cement to levels that make it uncompetitive in the regional markets.

Past arguments that high cement prices are due to high power costs are beginning to wear thin in view of the continuing reduction of energy prices. The huge amount of clinker imports, a whooping 53,562 metric tonnes, last week, alone, suggests there may be more than meets the eye in the entire business. Indeed, some analysts suggest that this may be one way these firms use to avoid payment of appropriate taxes. This suspicion is heightened by the fact that some of the firms import the material from their subsidiary companies.

Second-hand clothes

The other products whose importation needs to be put under a microscope include textiles used in the export processing zones to make garments for export largely to Europe and America. Perhaps, it may not be too much to ask owners of these factories to draw-up a clear road-map on how they will participate in the production of their raw materials locally especially in view of the recent India’s credit extended to Rift Valley Textile Industries (Rivatex).

In the same vein, plans to regulate and ultimately ban importation of second-hand clothes and leather products needs to be stepped-up. This would create much-needed jobs throughout the entire value-chain. Yet, another import that needs to be checked is steel. It is regrettable that despite the country having ample deposits of iron ore in Taita-Taveta and Tharaka-Nithi counties, among others, the local construction industry continues to rely on imports.

Admittedly, it takes plenty of money and expertise to set up and run steel mills. But there is no reason to believe that the country cannot marshal the necessary resources and to hire expatriate staff, as required, were it to make up its mind to go this way.

The recent putting up of a local fertiliser plant in Eldoret on a public-private partnership basis is the way to go. After all, no country has ever industrialized without setting up steel mills to meet its local needs. —nmbatau@gmail