The Trade Cabinet Secretary, Moses Kuria said that he plans on proposing an introduction of new tax on imported clothes to help the local textile industries.
According to Kuria, Kenya has a rich textile industry sector that should be expanded to benefit its citizens. It has however been impossible for the local industries to compete with the cheap prices of imported clothes, also called ‘mitumba’.
“In the next Finance Bill or even earlier, I will propose a new 25 per cent levy on imported clothes because the time has come for us to grow our textile sector for the benefit of Kenyans,” Kuria said.
In his statement, the imported clothes ought to be a luxury and not the main source of clothing for Kenyans. He spoke in Eldoret on Monday while addressing the textile sector stakeholders.
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He continued and mentioned that the mitumba traders would be against such levies being enacted. His reasoning was that the opposition would come due to the lack of an equally cheaper alternative offered to the traders.
“I agree with Mitumba traders because we have not given them an alternative. There are no cheaper locally produced clothes for them to sell,” he said.
He however did not issue a response on the cheaper alternative. Instead, he mentioned that the new levies on imported clothes would have a net benefit on the price of locally produced clothes in the long run. He said that Kenyans should not be reliant on imported products when the country has the potential to build a strong textile sector.
“Our farmers are very enthusiastic and ready to play their role in cotton production. We just need to give them all they require and they will produce enough,” Kuria said.
In addition to that, he mentioned that the industry was only employing 50,000 people yet it has the capability of employing millions. He said that with this new provision, cotton growing would be increased to fit the demand for it by local industries which would better the economy.
“We can be self sufficient in clothing production which is a simple basic matter,” Kuria said.
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