Kenya’s High Commissioner to Ghana, Eliphas Mugendi Barine, has urged countries in the African continent to create economic policies that would support consumption of locally manufactured goods in their respective countries.
Speaking on GPHA’s Eye on Port program, he revealed that the government of Kenya has put in place a policy that requires 30-40percent of procurements by public institutions to be locally sourced.
“That itself is an encouragement to industry. This is a deliberate policy by government to ensure goods particularly produced in the country are given priority,” he said.
This initiative, according to Mr. Barine, should be adopted and even bettered by African countries as it would go a long way to boost private sector confidence in the local market, create jobs and generate increased revenues for the state.
“We want to encourage investors to come in and be able to produce and be assured of a supportive market environment,” he explained.
The high commissioner also revealed that in his country’s economic agenda, the government of Kenya has identified four special areas to invest in and develop which would serve as a springboard to meet its target of becoming a substantial middle-income country by 2030.
He said that health services, tourism, textile industry, and beverage production are key areas Kenya is putting all available resources to add value and promote for intra-continental and intercontinental trade.
Lamenting the historical incidence of African goods being often traded in primary form, he expressed his keen desire on value addition of African products and outlined its accompanying benefits.
“We have been producers of coffee, tea, timber, scrap metal, and others but most of this has been leaving in primary form, including our cotton. What we are doing now is to encourage the private sector and investors to come into the country and begin to add value.”