Trade CS Moses Kuria: I won't ban mitumba, I'll make them less competitive

Trade, Investments and Industry Cabinet Secretary (CS) Moses Kuria has dismissed news reports intimating that he intends to ban the importation of second hand clothing popularly known as mitumba, noting that he was misquoted.

News of Kuria's alleged intention to ban mitumba started doing rounds on news sites on Tuesday before the matter was quickly escalated  by Kenyans on Twitter who slammed the CS.

Speaking on Citizen TV's JKLive show on Wednesday, Kuria insisted that he has no intention to ban mitumba but rather augment Kenya's manufacturing and textile industries.

"This is about media distortions when I was asked this question by a journalist the other day, I told him that he was only posing the query since he wanted to report that Moses Kuria is banning mitumba and I am glad that I got that on record," said the Trade CS.

"We were at a manufacturing event and I was trying to bring out that Kenya needs to take the issue of local manufacturing seriously. I had just come from South Africa where I  had a very good discussion with the Trade minister there and South Africa has actually banned the importation of second-hand clothes and their industry has shot up and  jobs have been created as a result."

According to Kuria, by augmenting Kenya's manufacturing sector and textile industries, garments will be readily and affordably available and Kenyans will opt for locally made clothing over second-hand clothes which he says are more expensive than attires Kenyans export abroad.

"Kenyan exporters sell them much cheaper than what is available here under Mitumba imports and 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 make sure people are able to buy clothes made in Kenya at cheaper prices. So it is up to me to ensure nobody goes for mitumba and that it dies naturally.

"We in the textile industry in Kenya, have employed 50,000 people. Bangladesh, a country that we cannot call very advanced, has got 5 million people in the textile industry. By promoting manufacturing,  I will create 5 million jobs within textiles and that will address our unemployment woes," he said.

Kuria also stated that he would hold talks with mitumba stakeholders next week to ensure that they become part of his intended plans for the local manufacturing sector.  

"I am going to meet people from the Mitumba industry. I will make them part of the value chain of the locally manufactured clothes. I will get manufacturers and people who sell clothes and I will link them together and the same people selling mitumbas will sell the locally manufactured clothes so that everybody can win," said Kuria.