Manufacturer remains in dilemma after the government effected the ban

Peter Buguru (in checked shirt) oversees a section of his workers as they wrap-up machines which were being used to manufacture plastic bags in his Limuru factory

NAIROBI, KENYA: After sitting his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination in 1995, Peter Burugu’s dream was to pursue a course in accounting.

Mr Burugu, who was good at mathematics, wanted to one day become an accountant and continue with his love for numbers. However, that was unfortunately never to be.

His parents could not afford the money required to enrol him in college, leave alone pay for the course. A dejected Burugu was reluctantly forced to settle for a less prestigious air ticketing course, which was less expensive and which he thought his parents would afford.

However, as fate would have it, he dropped midway before completing the diploma course after his parents failed to raise the fees to see him through.

After dropping out of college, Mr Burugu was devastated. He was confused as to what his next course of action would be.

Leap of faith

And since he wanted to make ends meet, he had no choice but to look for a job that would enable him put bread on the table. Armed with Sh200 savings, he decided to make a leap of faith into the uncertain world of starting his own business.

For several months, Mr Burugu pondered on what would be an ideal business that would need minimum capital and which would in return give him maximum returns.

His survey convinced him to start plastic bags hawking in Nairobi.

The business survey indicated plastic bags were fast-moving goods due to the high number of people who were using them.

The new businessman, however, faced a major hurdle of not having a client base. As a result, he set out vigorously to snare customers to buy his wares.

“The thought of failing in my new business venture never crossed my mind since I knew that failing meant I would just go back to my rural home in Limuru,” Mr Burugu told Financial Standard, a thought he could not even entertain.

This saw him knock on many doors as his search for clients went full throttle. His campaign took him to markets, butcheries, shops and supermarkets, among other places, where he pitched for a chance to distribute plastic bags to them.

Due to what he attributed to his aggressiveness, Mr Burugu managed to build a client portfolio of 400 after only one year in business.

Retail shop

Things were looking rosy and there was no turning back. As he put it, the sky was now the limit.

To have maximum returns, he had to continue looking for new customers while at the same time retaining the old ones.

In 1999, he opened a small plastic bags shop in Nairobi where his fellow hawkers would buy and resell to their customers.

He operated the shop until 2007 when he became a distributor of polythene products for various manufacturers in the country.

After seven years as a distributor, Mr Burugu decided in 2014 to create his company, World Plastics.

With his savings, he bought two machines which he helped him in setting up his new company.

Four years down the line, the young businessman has 15 machines, eight of which he purchased in January this year at a cost of more than Sh100 million.

By having a plastic bags manufacturing plant, his dream of one day becoming a renowned industrialist was well on course.

However, Mr Burugu’s empire now faces uncertainty following the ban on plastic bags by the Government.

The future is bleak for the 43-year-old entrepreneur.

In a Kenya Gazette notice dated February 28, Environment and Natural Resources Cabinet Secretary Judi Wakhungu announced the Government would ban the use of plastic bags start September.

Wakhungu said the ban targets carrier bags, plastic bags with handles as well as flat bags used by consumers to carry goods, especially from retail outlets.

The ban came into effect on August 28.

A visit to World Plastics on the outskirts of Limuru town last week revealed changing times in the factory.

The plant, which was until recently a beehive of activity, is now a shadow if its former self. Production in the company which was employing 200 workers has now been halted as the management awaits the ban to take effect.

A handful of workers were busy covering the machines which had already been shut down to protect them from dust.

Speaking to Financial Standard at the company promises, Mr Burugu said the ban would have negative financial ramifications to manufacturers in the country.

“With the ban, I am staring at losing an estimated Sh200 million which I have strained so much to build in the last four years. I do not know where to start and what I will do next,” he said.

New equipment

He said his main worry was how to repay the loan amounting to millions of shillings at a rate of Sh5 million a month after he took financing to buy new equipment in January this year.

“By the time the Government gave out a six-month notice on February 14 this year, equipment worth Sh120 million was on its way to the country,” he said.

The manufacturer, who was producing three tonnes of plastic bags daily, said he could not imagine how the ban was going to snatch his treasured company.

He appeals to the Government to reconsider the ban, saying it could affect the economy negatively.

“There will be massive job losses as the about 200 plastic bags manufacturers in the country employ thousands of people directly and indirectly,” he added.

Mr Burugu said the industry should have been given a five-year notice prior to the ban - with alternatives including imposing levies considered.

He said equipment worth more than Sh150 million will go to waste at his factory as it cannot be used for other purposes.

Last week, the Government maintained it was not going to relent on the push to ban plastic bags which are blamed for polluting rivers and blocking drainage and sewer systems.

The Environment ministry said it will first act on the manufacturers before eventually reining in users.

According to Environment Principal Secretary Charles Sunkuli, there are at least 179 registered manufacturers of plastic bags in Kenya.

The High Court also dealt a blow to players in the plastic industry  on Friday after it declined to suspend implementation of the gazette notice stopping use of carrier bags.

Environment and Land Court Judge Bernard Eboso said public interest tilts in favour of not granting the orders sought.

Plastic manufacturers and importers wanted the ban by the Environment ministry temporarily stopped.

But in his decision, the judge said the notice is intended to control the plastic menace to the environment.