Before we ‘buy Kenyan’, make in Kenya

NAIROBI: At the official opening of the Kenya Association of Manufactures (KAM) House last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed Government ministries and parastatals to increase the amount of locally manufactured products that they buy, to build the Kenyan manufacturing industry.

The President’s call to ‘buy Kenyan and build Kenya’ is a step in the right direction. We definitely need to raise the share of manufacturing in GDP from the current 10 per cent to at least 25 per cent to succeed in this front. Buying goods made in Kenya will promote manufacturing and encourage new companies thereby creating employment.