Nairobi — President William Ruto has urged manufacturers to look beyond Kenya and the East African region in the setting up of their investments.
Speaking Wednesday when he presided over launch of Isuzu Electro-Deposition Paint plant in Nairobi, President Ruto emphasized the vast business potential that Africa offers and urged manufacturers to explore it.
President Ruto emphasized the need for manufacturers to broaden their horizons and consider other countries in addition to Kenya.
"As we consolidate the African Market our manufacturers must focus on the bigger opportunity that comes with a consolidated market not just looking at Kenya but looking at the region as well.
President Ruto further encouraged Isuzu East Africa and other investors to deepen their investment in the country by moving into tier one component manufacturing and rapidly graduating to fully integrated manufacturing plants.
To facilitate these efforts, the President revealed that the government is actively working on the preparation of the Automotive Bill, in order to guarantee the implementation of the policy and formation of the Council.
He directed the Trade and Industrialization Ministry to finalize the Bill in the next 120 days.
"Whatever matters that are outstanding in court we need to negotiate them out of the court and get ourselves moving the way we have done in other sectors," he said.
The President said that the Government is also in the process of reviewing the existing regulations and standards in a bid to enhancing the performance of the country's automotive industry.
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"We are intent on fully exploiting the immense opportunity presented in the form of our automotive industry's untapped potential," he added.
He pledged to collaborate and engage industry actors in a committed and intentional manner to ensure the country's automotive industry contributes to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The Head of State reiterated that 60 per cent of all the purchases of trucks and pickups and all the other motor vehicles that are available in Kenya should be procured from Kenyan manufacturing industry.
President Ruto said that his administration will work together with manufactures to ensure that government gives preferential priority to local manufacturers.
"We will ensure that we continue the journey to listen to industry so that they can tell us what they think government can do in terms of policy to support manufacturing so that we can grow our local SMES, expand and opportunities for employment , be able to pay the taxman the tax man and all of us be able to move forward," he said.
