The National Treasury has released Sh1.125 billion for development of 17 industrial parks, the Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry, Rebecca Miano has announced.
In a press release issued earlier today, the Cabinet Secretary said 17 counties in phase one of the implementation of the industrial parks programme technically referred to as County Aggregation and Industrial Park (CAIPs) Programme will each receive Sh62.5 million from the kitty.
“This welcome shot in the arm for CAIPs will spur economic growth in the counties and rekindle the momentum of one of Kenya’s most revolutionary post-independent pro-people projects,” said the CS in the press release.
Miano said the funds were disbursed on May 9, 2024 (Thursday) adding that her ministry will soon be issuing a call for expression of interest in the management of the industrial parks to support their operationalization.
CAIPs was established as collaborative project by the two levels of led by State Department for Industry, County Governments and the Council of Governors.
Envisioned in the joint plan was growth of manufacturing through agro-industries and enhanced competitiveness in the agriculture sector that would then lead to the creation of jobs, increased income to farmers, earning of additional foreign exchange, promotion of new products, reduction of post-harvest losses and ultimately the provision of a reliable platform where farmers, processors, exporters, researchers, industrial entities and the Government would engage in agro-industrial development.
Counties that will receive funds under tranche one are Migori, Mombasa, Busia, Meru, Bungoma, Kirinyaga, Homa Bay, Machakos, Siaya, Kiambu, Murang’a, Trans Nzoia, Embu, Uasin-Gishu, Nandi, Nakuru and Garissa
The programme is based on the theory that each of Kenya’s 47 counties has a competitive edge whose fuller economic dividend can only accrue if the government focus is on the grassroots. The theory attempts to overturn the traditional one-size-fits-all approach applied in gleaning the economic potential of Kenya’s diverse regional dominions which is blamed for denying planners the sharper focus required in drawing the rarest value from devolved entities.
“As a matter of fact, the manufacturing sector plays a key role in economic development and employment creation besides reducing poverty. Kenya’s huge agro-processing potential across counties renders CAIPs a high octane economic game-changer within the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) framework,” she said
The CS said the CAIPs is anchored on Vision 2030 which seeks to transform Kenya into an industrialised middle-income economy offering a better quality of life to all her citizens. The Vision envisages a Kenya that can produce manufactured goods for consumption in eastern and central Africa besides making inroads to the global market.
The Kenya Kwanza Plan aims at delivering economic turnaround and uplifting the lives and livelihoods of those at the bottom of our socio-economic pyramid through BETA.
Miano said her ministry targets to raise the contribution of manufacturing to our GDP from the current 7 percent to 15 percent by 2027 and to 20 percent by 2030 while increasing exports from 10 percent of the GDP to 30 percent by the year 2025 to achieve the Kenya Kwanza agenda.