Deputy President, William Ruto, has promised second-hand clothes sellers, locally known as mitumba sellers, a stake in his government.
Speaking in Mandera county on Wednesday, June 8, the DP stated that he will ensure that mitumba sellers are investors in his government as he vowed to revive the textile industry.
DP Ruto went on to promise locals that he will make sure that they manufacture clothes to the extent of making designer clothes locally which can be sold in the luxury clothes market.
“The government of Kenya through the bottom-up model in partnership with the TVETs will help in running your business and we will help you to be the investors in the clothing industry in Kenya.
"You will run the textile industry as well and make designer clothes, nobody will kill your business,” Ruto stated.
Ruto also promised the residents that he will also concentrate on other economic sectors to help grow the county.
“I have sat with the leaders and all the stakeholders of Mandera county, and we have agreed that we must invest in agriculture and livestock keeping here in Mandera county,” he added.
On Tuesday, Ruto criticized Azimio La Umoja One Kenya presidential candidate, Raila Odinga, after his remarks indicating that the importation of mitumba clothes into the country had killed other sectors of the economy including manufacturing.
Raila stated that the mitumba clothes people wear in Kenya might have been worn by deceased people in foreign countries where the clothes are sourced from.
The ODM leader detailed that he will revive the manufacturing sector to enable traders to acquire locally made clothes to substitute mitumba.
However, Ruto took the opportunity to accuse Raila of alleging that the products were counterfeit - a comment that Raila responded to promptly.
"Trickle-down is dangerous. They branded business people's merchandise counterfeit and destroyed them. Now clothing enterprises are dealers in dead people's wares to be banned. Bottom-up, using TVET will assist these enterprises to grow from sewing, cottage to textile and leather industry," Ruto wrote.
"Tell the guys on the other end that the internet never forgets," Raila responded, sharing a video of Ruto declaring that he would stop the importation of clothes and furniture into the country.
On June 7, the ODM leader noted that he was grossly misinterpreted as the trending video was edited to include the part where he stated that he would establish a system to have the traders sell locally manufactures clothes.
