Trade, Investments, and Industry Cabinet secretary Moses Kuria has clarified that the government will not ban the importation of second-hand clothes commonly known as mitumba, but will instead make them less competitive.
Speaking on Wednesday night in an interview with Citizen tv, Kuria accused the media of misquoting him on the mitumba issue, adding that he meant to revive the textile industry to ensure Kenyans purchase cheaper clothes locally.
‘’My point is I don’t need to ban mitumba, and I will not ban mitumba, but I will make mitumba not competitive. I will give you a better option. I will make sure that people can buy clothes made in Kenya at cheaper prices. If you decide to go and buy more expensive it is your democratic right,’’ said Kuria.
Kuria noted that Kenya is one of the main contributors of exports under the African Growth and Opportunity (AGOA) program, adding that Kenyan exporters sell clothes to the US at cheaper prices than what is available under mitumba imports. Kuria said that Kenya should learn from other countries such as South Africa which banned the importation of second-hand clothes, a move that saw its textile industry augment.
According to the CS, the textile industry has so far employed 50,000 people, and the revival of the industry would see 5 million jobs created.
The conversation came after the CS had indicated that his ministry will strive to make more locally manufactured clothes that are cheaper to support the Buy Kenya Build Kenya initiative during the Changamka Shopping Festival at KICC Tuesday.
The Mitumba sector is said to contribute 7 percent to the country’s net export earnings. Today, Kenya is the largest exporter of apparel under AGOA with about USD 600 million worth of exports in 2017. Second-hand clothing imports have risen from 10 billion shillings to 18 billion shillings in the last six years.