This archive report was first published on 29 June 2020.
As the country prepares to reopen after a three-month lockdown, the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) has called on the government to provide relief to the manufacturing sector.
According to a memo sent to Treasury PS Julius Muia, the manufacturers are seeking measures to ease the importation of raw materials, intermediate goods, industrial spares, and machinery, particularly where ports of origin have been closed down and inspecting agencies are not operating optimally.
“The government should ease regulations on the importation of raw materials, intermediate goods, industrial spares and machinery, especially where ports of origin have been closed down and inspecting agencies are not operating optimally,” the manufacturers wrote.
The sector is also pushing for faster processing of value-added tax refunds to their members to pump liquidity drained by slow demand as the pandemic sweeps through various sectors of the economy.
Furthermore, the manufacturers are seeking an emergency rescue package for businesses hard-hit by the effects of Covid-19 control restrictions, including direct monetary support to their workers who have been thrown out of employment.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has already indicated a possibility of relaxing the movement restrictions between counties from July, which could pave the way for the reopening of the economy.
