By Stephen Makabila
Stakeholders in the struggling textile industry have called for government intervention to save it from total collapse.
The Kenya Tailors and Textile Workers Union national chairman Rev Joel Chebii and Midco Textiles (East Africa) Directors Kiran Shah and Godfrey Mwangi warn that the remaining indigenous textile firms are likely to close shop due to flooding of the market by mitumba clothes and high operation costs resulting from high electricity charges.
“It’s unfair for the Government to concentrate on cushioning EPZ textile firms whose presence in the country can be terminated any time and leave indigenous ones to collapse,” said Chebii.
Early this year, the Government raised duty charged on mitumba clothes to protect local textile industry. Before the new taxes, a container of mitumba used to attract duty of between Sh900,000 and Sh1.1 million, but with the new rate, it now attracts Sh1.8 million, an increase of more than Sh800,000. Chebii spoke when he led union officials in signing a collective bargaining agreement with Midco, which will see its more than 600 workers benefit from a six per cent salary increment across board.
“Unfavourable working environment has seen us reduce the workforce from 1,000 workers to 600. We are simply struggling to remain in business because most firms have closed shop since 1996 when the Government withdrew the 20 per cent export compensation fee for local textile firms,” said Shah.
Chebii said textile was a labour intensive industry and that at one time it was only second to agriculture in creation of employment opportunities.
“If we want to create employment for our people, we should equally look into ways of ensuring local firms are supported instead of watching them helplessly as they go under,” said Chebii.
