Procurement experts are rooting for a policy where qualification of local products is based on the amount and value of local raw material, move aimed at enhancing market access by local manufacturers.
Procurement Expert Joseph Ogachi argues that the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act of 2015 which carries the content policy is not definitive on what constitutes a locally manufactured product making it easier for pre-packaged imports to be passed off as locally made goods.
Public procuring entities reported 23,367 contracts concluded in FY2023/24, valued at Ksh 210.8 Billion of which only 4pc amounting to Ksh 8.5 Billion were reserved for disadvantaged groups.
Of the total contracts by value, the largest proportion at 43pc were for non-consulting services, 39pc works, and 17pc goods, while consulting services were only 1pc.
To build on this, procurement experts are calling for definition of locally made goods to be based on the value and percentage of raw material in the product to cushion local manufacturers from unscrupulous traders importing products and packaging them as locally manufactured goods in order to access government tenders.
The latest procurement study 2024 by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers recommends the differentiation between reservation for local suppliers and reservation for locally produced goods, to boost local manufacturing.
Procuring firms are calling for a centralized register of local manufacturers showing their locally produced goods, from which they could conduct market survey to inform their procurement planning.
