President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday visited his deputy William Ruto's backyard in Eldoret where he relaunched the ultra-modern textile manufacturing plant, Rivatex.
During his speech, he issued a number of directives that he hopes will impact positively the lives of the locals as well as Kenyans at large.
1. He called on all county governments to support farmers by providing them with all the assistance they require at the local level.
"On our part as the national government, we will continue to improve policy conditions and ease-of-operations for farmers, while at the same time delivering on direct interventions that make inputs, operations and support activities, cheaper; and also direct interventions that enhance productivity and market access," he spoke.
2. He directed the Agriculture Industry, Environment, Health and Education Ministries to fast-track the steps remaining towards the approval for commercialization of Bio-Technology Cotton which will give better yields and returns to farmers, compared with conventional cotton.
3. The president called upon every Kenyan, more so those in government, to consume locally produced goods to support Kenyan entrepreneurs.
"We must create demand for our own products by actively consuming these products ourselves," he urged.
4. Further, Uhuru set aside Friday as a day when government officials are encouraged to wear locally made clothes. In line with this, he also wore a shirt that had been produced by Rivatex.
"Let us encourage each other to proudly wear 'Made in Kenya' garments. For the government to lead by example, I urge all public servants to wear at least one piece of apparel that is made in Kenya on Fridays," President Kenyatta announced.
5. The Head of State also directed Kenya Power to increase the voltage of the electricity supply in the immediate region to facilitate the operations of the factory. Further, the president ordered the Energy Ministry to discount the price of electricity since it was the largest consumer of expenditure in the factory.
6.The Head of State also called upon the private sector to join the government in the campaign to encourage Kenyans to buy the locally made goods due to the planned gradual phasing out of imported 2nd hand apparels
7. For those who may find it hard to shop for locally tailored clothes, he directed Kenyans to utilise the internet to connect with entrepreneurs who used social media to market their wearables.
8. President Kenyatta underscored the importance of the textile factory as well as other local industry players to produce quality goods that will pass standards for both the local and international markets.
"As a company, you must continue to invest in new innovations and diversifications of products in order to satisfy emerging markets. I especially challenge you to produce fabric that can be utilized by our investors in the Export Processing Zones, who still rely heavily on imports," Uhuru ordered.
9. President Kenyatta also ordered institutions of higher learning to address the ICT gaps in the industry to facilitate the creation of revolutionary technology.
"I expect that in the coming years we shall rely exclusively on Kenyan manufactured or assembled hardware for our computing hardware needs," he expressed.
10. Lastly, Uhuru urged all Kenyans to unite and forge better relations with each other regardless of the backgrounds or lifestyle.
