The national government will spend Sh220 million in the provision of equipment to 159 Constituency Industrial Development Centres (CIDC) in this financial year 2020/2021.
The Cabinet Administrative Secretary (CAS) Ministry of Trade and Industrialization Mr. Lawrence Karanja revealed that nationally, 159 CIDCs were in existence since 2007 and the government would also construct 131 centres in the remaining constituencies to benefit artisans.
“The equipment will be provided according to the specifications and demands of the artisans since the government will not give machines where they are not required as in the past,” he stated.
He appealed to all national programmes to use the local artisans in a bid to empower them instead of buying good from other countries only for traders to make huge profits at the expense of the tax payer’s money.
Speaking in Sotik and Bomet East constituencies during the launching of their CIDCs Karanja said that the government would achieve the Big Four Agenda by involving what was called “Jua Kali” informal sector in all the programmes.
“We will not achieve much if cartels and tender –procurers take the centre stage in the Big Four Agenda as they will inflate the prices and hence the common citizenry will not benefit,” he said.
Karanja said on learning from the Covid-19 experiences, the government had given all sub counties rules and regulations as to how they would get tenders to supply desks to schools in their jurisdictions according to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s decree that only youth artisans would be allowed to supply desks to selected schools.
On her part, Bomet County Commissioner Ms. Susan Waweru said that the informal sector had played a great role in the economy adding that the government was keen in providing incentives to the sector.
“For instance, all the artisans in the five sub counties of Bomet, Sotik, Chapalungu, Bomet Central, Bomet East and Konoini will only be allowed to supply school desks in the area and nobody will come from Nairobi or Kericho,” she said.
She appealed to artisans to follow the government laid down procedures to avoid frustration in following their payments as only those with bank accounts would be paid.
Bomet Deputy Governor Mr. Shadrack Rotich who graced the occasion said that Bomet Central had not constructed CIDC hence there was need for the national government to allocate land for its construction.
He said that even if trade was a devolved function, the national government had a duty to train artisans and farmers on entrepreneurship.
The function was attended by among others the first Bomet Women Representative Sicily Ngetich who said that she pioneered the artisan bill while in the 11th Parliament.
By Joseph Obwocha
