Members of the National Assembly Committee on Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives have called on the government to consider letting devolved units fund and manage industrial parks in counties.
Committee Chairperson James Gakuya Member of Parliament (MP) Embakasi North expressed concerns that the state is struggling to finance the County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPs) and suggested that it is time for counties and other partners to take over the funding of the projects.
Gakuya made this recommendation during a meeting with Industry Principal Secretaries Dr. Juma Mukhwana and PS Hassan Abubakar of Investment Promotions.
Thursday’s meeting was prompted by a request for a statement from Mbeere North MP Geoffrey Ruku on the measures taken by the Ministry of Investments, Trade, and Industry to boost the manufacturing sector.
During the session, PS Mukhwana revealed that the ambitious plan to establish industrial parks in 18 selected counties has been hindered by a lack of funds, with most of the projects still incomplete.
He noted that while Sh4.5 billion was allocated to the program in the last financial year, only Sh1.13 billion was released by the National Treasury.
Dr Mukhwana told the MPs that 20 other counties have started their own aggregation parks, with at least two nearing completion.
In response to the PS’s disclosure, committee members, led by Gakuya, questioned why the national government is struggling to fund the program when devolved units could potentially fund and manage them with the help of other partners.
“Considering the tough economic times, we must think outside the box. Regarding the industrial parks, we should forget about government funding. The industrial parks should be left to be funded by the counties and the private sector,” said Gakuya.
PS Mukhwana responded that the government will consider the suggestion of alternative funding mechanisms in the second phase of the project.
