President Kenyatta ordered the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives to extend the sale to other cities and towns across the country/PSCU
NAIROBI, Kenya, 31 March 2017 – President Uhuru Kenyatta today pitched for the “Buy Kenya, Build Kenya to create jobs for the youth” when he visited a grand sale to export quality cheap branded new clothes.
The sale at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi opened on Wednesday.
“This initiative accords Kenyans an opportunity to access quality, locally made affordable clothes with prices range from Kshs 100 to Kshs 600 for the same clothes that are sold at Kshs 6,000 in the US and UK Markets,” President Kenyatta said.
The “First Ever Super Sale” is an initiative by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Co-operatives in partnership with Textiles and Apparel companies at the Export Processing Zones both in Nairobi and Mombasa.
It features companies that export for some of the biggest brands in the world. Some of these companies include Hela clothing that opened the first intimate clothing production line in Kenya and has exported for brands such as Victoria Secret and Calvin Klein. Other companies include United Aryan, New Wide, Mombasa Apparel and Africa Apparel exporting to the US and UK market.
President Kenyatta ordered the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives to extend the sale to other cities and towns across the country. The Nairobi sale – which has attracted over 50,000 buyers in three days – has also been extended to Saturday night.
“This initiative is important in creating jobs for our youth,” the President said.
In a bid to continue to promote local production, President Kenyatta said the Government issued VAT and duty exemption for export processing companies to sell 20 per cent of their production to the domestic market.
The President observed that apart from creating jobs, the initiative is also geared towards restoring the dignity of Kenyans by ensuring that they have access to brand new clothes instead of second hand clothes.
The apparel and textile sector – which is at the heart of the Government’s industrialization agenda – has created 22,000 employment opportunities over the last three years with a potential of creating another 100,000 jobs.
It is a key plank of growing Kenya’s industry-focused economy in the near term, with exports to the U.S. under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
