Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago has also moved to assure that the visit will be peaceful despite the escalating political tension in the region/PSCU
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 21 – There was excitement across Uasin Gishu County on Friday as local leaders prepared to welcome President Uhuru Kenyatta for the launch of Rivatex textile factory, in a visit loaded with political expectations due to perceived wrangles in the ruling Jubilee Party.
MPs Silas Tiren, Swarup Mishra and Cornelly Serem have dispelled rumours of a rift in the party, noting there will be no politics at the event, which they are describing as a State function.
Friday’s visit follows last week’s warning by the president to a section of Central Kenya leaders who have openly warmed up to Ruto’s camp, vowing to support his presidential bid in 2022.
“When as man and wife we are together, girlfriends will come and go; so that should not bother our development and governance agenda. We are one, Jubilee Government is one under the leadership of our President Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto,” Mishra said.
“We are having some gaps, in terms of having funds to meet the issues of purchase of cotton seeds and other recurrent expenditure. We will be having over 2,000 employees coming in and there are no funds to actually employ the same. so even as are delighted that we are having this facility here, we want to highlight to the President the challenges that we are likely to face in getting back to operation,” Serem.
Other elected leaders from the area urged the National Treasury to consider paying the factory’s employees for at least one year as it gets on back on its feet.
Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi, who is a key ally of Deputy President William Ruto, is confident that the re-opening of the textile factory will create employment opportunities, especially for youth in the region.
“We are peace-loving and hardworking people. I know there are people who want this event to be turned in a political event but I want to disappoint them by saying that this is very big event for us, because the re-opening of this factory has ability of creating 3,000 jobs to 5,000 jobs when it stabilizes in operations and in the regional market,” he stated.
Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago on his part urged neighbouring counties and farmers to turn to the cotton on the promise that Rivatex will provide a ready market.
“And people must realise the direct benefits from the industry, and one way to do that, is to ensure that we support Rivatex further to establish ginneries in Elgeyo Maraket, Tinderet, parts of Nyando and West Pokot and all this counties all over the country which will be doing cotton growing. We also want ginneries to be established in those areas and the whole value chain every person will reap from a certain part of the process of cotton processing in the country,” the Governor said.
Elegyo-Marakwet County Governor Alex Tolgos who recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Rivatex in a bid to improve cotton production in Kerio Valley, also welcomed the re-launch terming it a breakthrough in cotton farming in the county.
He noted that his county is targeting to put more than 2,000 acres under cotton this year in Soy North, Soy South, Tambach, Emsoo, Arror, Endo and Sambirir Wards. This is in addition to least 300 farmers along Kerio Valley are growing cotton.
“We are planning to engage more than 1,000 farmers along the Kerio Valley which is one of the best cotton producing zones in the region. The farmers had stopped cultivating the crop owing to poor prices,” Tolgos stated.
According to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives, cotton production has remained below national demand due to unstable international prices and the high cost of production.
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