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Kenya: High Expectations As Textile Company Rolls Back to Life
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The Nation (Nairobi)
12 October 2007
Posted to the web 11 October 2007
Peter Ng'etich
Nairobi
A textile company abandoned a decade ago is today a beehive of activity after it was given a new lease of life.
Eldoret's Rift Valley Textiles Mills (Rivatex), now Rivatex East Africa, was reopened by President Kibaki. Now hundreds of jobseekers are flocking its premises in search of work.
President Kibaki pressed the button to set of the mills rolling again on Thursday last week after 10 years and cotton yarns started spinning.
About 480 workers of the factory, who had been rendered jobless, have already been recalled by the firm that is now the property of Moi University.
The number is, however, much smaller than the 1,600 on the payroll when mills went under.
But the new firm is upbeat more workers will soon be on its pay roll as its fortunes turn around.
In the mid 1980s Rivatex was vibrant and employed about 1,600 workers on who about 10,000 people were dependants.
Moi University gave the factory a lease of life a month ago when it paid Sh205 million for it.
After completing some repairs, the university plans to start producing calendars, kangas, school uniforms and T-shirts at the factory.
The university is using its expertise in the department of textile engineering, headed by Dr David Tuigong, to steer the factory to success.
It is expected that the mills will be fully rehabilitated in three years.
Dr Tuigong says its revival is in three phases.
Some 740 people will be in its payroll during the second phase and another 1,074 in the third phase.
This will bring to 2,000 the number of employees at the end of the three phases.
Dr Tuigong says about Sh1 billion is needed to revamp the factory and enable it to produce competitive products.
The revival, he says, will include installing new machines to make its products more competitive.
Technological advancement
"There are products from China on the market and they are going for lower prices because of technological advancement in the country's textile factories," Dr Tuigong says.
He adds: "We have already started sensitising farmers to grow cotton and we expect ginneries, which had collapsed, to be up and running soon."
President Kibaki, while commissioning the factory, called on cotton farmers to double their production to feed the factory with adequate raw material.
"Cotton farmers should now double their efforts because Rivatex has been revived and will offer good prices," he said.
He said the university would be advanced Government funds to make the factory fully operational.
Education minister George Saitoti welcomed the university's purchase of the textile mill as a step in the right direction.
Universities, the world over, were running industries and had been successful because of the readily available expertise in their ranks, he said.
"The handing over of this industry is to ensure that technology makes it afloat with the emerging challenges," Prof Saitoti said.
Trade and Industry minister Mukhisa Kituyi said the revival of the factory was in line with the Vision 2030.
He said no country could be proud if its citizens were fond of buying only second hand clothes.
The revival of the factory would result in the revival of ginneries in western Kenya, he added.
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Moi University vice-chancellor Richard Mibey said Rivatex East Africa would be used for research, industrial training and as a source of income for their institution.
Rivatex began operations in 1976 under a joint effort between the German and the Kenya governments.
Local debenture holders included Industrial Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC), Industrial Development Bank and East Africa Development Bank.
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