Devki founder and billionaire Narendra Raval has appealed to President William Ruto to help streamline the business environment and boost the output from his various companies.
Addressing a gathering that included the Head of State during the launch of the Cemtech Limited Clinker Plant in West Pokot County on Monday, Raval indicated that Kenya Power bills him Ksh1 billion every month.
The billionaire further revealed that he pays Ksh2 billion in taxes for his employees which range from the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) deductions among others.
His goal, however, is to up the tempo by boosting company production and increasing exports hence providing opportunities for employment.
"I must tell you what I pay because I think the government is interested in what I pay in taxes. I want to pay the money to help all the children," the billionaire stated.
"I pay Ksh2 billion shillings as a company every month to the government not as income tax but in the form of other deductions such as NHIF, NSSF, and others."
"I pay over Ksh1 billion to Kenya Power every month. In total, that is almost Ksh100 million a day. I have to look for the money every day and I thank my banks for trusting me," he added.
Raval narrowed down to Kenya Railways. He revealed that he had paid Ksh75 million to the agency since he set up his Samburu plant that manufactures steel and clinker.
He, however, lamented that the corporation did not have enough locomotives affecting his company's optimum delivery.
"We pay Ksh75 million every month to Kenya Railways. I want to pay them Ksh200 million but they do not have the locomotives. If you give them the locomotives. I want to revive the railway, we will put slidings in all our companies," he explained.
During the launch, Raval indicated that the West Pokot company is primed to export clinker to Uganda, Rwanda and Sudan for USD200 million (Ksh26 billion) annually.
Energy CS Davis Chirchir concurred with the billionaire noting that he was the largest single-company source of revenue for his Ministry. He, therefore, offered his direct telephone line to him in case issues arose.
In 2022, Raval opened a Ksh50 billion state-of-the-art raw steel production factory in Samburu ranked among the biggest in East and Central Africa.
At the time, the billionaire noted that the facility would produce 500,000 tonnes of steel every year and was connected to the meter-gauge railway to lower the cost of transportation.
The project created 2,500 direct and 9,000 indirect jobs.
