Bold policy implementation needed to jumpstart Kenya's auto industry

President William Ruto during the launch of the electro-deposition paint plant at Isuzu East Africa, Nairobi. [File, Standard]

Recent statistics indicate that Kenya’s industrial manufacturing sector has been contributing just 7.6 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), far short of the government’s target to increase this to 15 per cent by next year. This is because the automotive sub-sector, though central to the transport economy, accounts for only around six per cent of the manufacturing sector’s total contribution.