Post: Government to streamline the manufacturing sector

The government is inviting the stakeholders from both the public and private sectors to submit proposals for legislative and policy reforms in order to inspire trade, manufacturing and investments in Kenya.The submission targets traders, manufacturers, investors, experts, civil society, professional bodies, academia, religious groups and stakeholders to submit their proposals, which will help to formulate and develop a policy that will resolve matters fostering economic growth of the country.Investment, Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary (CS) Salim Mvurya stated that these rigorous reforms are aimed at advancing consumer protection, investments, trade and manufacturing in Kenya.'We will invite our stakeholders for physical meetings, but also allow them to participate online and through other platforms. This will be done until September 27th to receive critical input,' he said.Speaking during a press briefing, the CS noted that while significant efforts have been made to improve both domestic and fo reign trade, increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and enhance domestic direct investment (DDI), gaps still remain.Additionally, he said that the contribution of manufacturing to Kenya's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has declined from 15 percent to 7.6 percent over the past decade, underscoring the need for targeted reforms since we are promoting the potential but it is not translating into actual market entry.'It is important to engage with industry players who work on these businesses on a daily basis to understand how we can create an enabling business environment and ultimately raise the country's GDP,' he stated.Mvurya has emphasized that the submitted proposals will give the ministry a comprehensive view of the underlying challenges, terming that the feedback will inform technical teams across sectors as they robust legislative and policy reforms aligned with the governments Agenda.He expounded that the reforms objectives are to incentivize and de-risk private investments across all sectors of the economy, rationalize incentives in order to boost manufacturing, improve consumer protection, ensure fair trade and harmonize taxes within the manufacturing sector to eliminate distortions and create a stable tax structure.Mvurya expounded that the reforms aimed to incentivize and de-risk private investments across all sectors of the economy, rationalize incentives in order to boost manufacturing, improve consumer protection, ensure fair trade and harmonize taxes within the manufacturing sector to eliminate distortions and create a stable tax structure.'The ministry will have a team that will coordinate public engagement lead by the PS trade,' said CS, adding that the Ministry has commenced submissions of proposals on Thursday September 12, 2024 while setting a deadline of September 27, 2024,in which the ideas can also be made through both physical meetings and online platforms mailto:[email protected] private sector players expressed their appreciation for the Ministry's efforts, commit ting to provide feedback that will help guide the sustainability of businesses.Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) Public private dialogue Manager, Doris Lutende said that the process is quite timely, since KEPSA has an aliening private sector that is heavily burdened by regulatory framework.Therefore, an in depth review of the exercise will help to revamped and maximize the trade internally and regionally as they are set to corporate with the ministry in terms of submissions and public participation.The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) National Director Vishal Khagram stressed that the submission is all about putting together challenges, what has been working and try to figure out the right way forward, as he encourages everyone to put in their suggestions and comments during the submission on how to solve the challenges to make it more exciting.The CS was accompanied by Industry Principal Secretary Dr. Juma Mukwana, Investment promotion Principal Secretary Abubakar Hassan, T rade Principal Secretary Alfred K'Ombudo alongside representatives from the Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) and other key players in the sector.Source: Kenya News Agency