Trade, Industry and Investments Cabinet Secretary (CS) Moses Kuria has clarified his earlier comments on banning Mitumba after public outcry.
Speaking to a local TV Citizen on November 2, Kuria stated that the government does not intend to ban Mitumba, but will make it less competitive by empowering local manufacturers of textile products.
“My point is that I don’t need to ban mitumba, and I will not ban mitumba. But I will make mitumba less competitive. I will give people better options, and that is what I said. I will make sure that people are able to buy clothes made in Kenya at cheaper prices,” said Kuria
“The whole conversation is if I make mitumba have a lesser value proposition, and I make locally manufactured clothes to be competitive. I don’t believe in banning things, I believe in making the other product less competitive. It is up to me to ensure people don’t go for mitumba, and mitumba will die naturally,”
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Kuria decried that Kenyans were being exploited by Mitumba sellers at the expense of the local textile industry, adding that locally manufactured fabric is sold at cheaper prices abroad compared to the rate of Mitumba in Kenya.
Kuria also said that his ministry was in the race to minimize imports by increasing production, as the current market trend is unsustainable.
“We have to stop importation; we are only going to import what is ultimately impossible for us to produce locally. The country is importing food worth about 350 billion and which we can manufacture locally,” he said.
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