This archive report was first published on 5 December 2019.
On December 5, 2019, the East African Community (EAC) Council of Ministers met at the EAC headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, to discuss the fate of second-hand clothes in the region.
However, the council failed to decide on the ban of second-hand clothes, which was meant to be adopted by Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta and leaders of Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda in 2016.
Only Rwanda has implemented higher taxes on second-hand clothes, while the other countries have yet to take action.
EAC Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed clarified that there are no plans to increase duty on second-hand clothes or a ban, but the government is supporting textile industries through the reduction of production costs to make new clothes affordable.
“Second-hand clothes is free trade and we won’t interfere with that. We are making the production of textile manageable locally so that Kenyans can afford to buy new clothes at a lower cost. This way, the mitumba clothes will be phased out automatically as no one can buy them when the new one is cheaper,” he said.
The adoption of the cotton strategy by EAC ministers aims to make the textile industry competitive not only in the region but globally. It focuses on the value chain, which includes seed production, lint, and production of garments.
The council further approved the final draft on leather and leather products sector strategy and its implementation roadmap.
