Kenya: Scheme to create $1.4bn leather sector
18/07/2013
“I want to do things now and quickly,” he said. “The government will look into the challenges affecting the sector.”
The sector employs 16,000 people but has the capacity to employ about 130,000. It could earn $1.4 billion per year if value-addition is embraced, up from $12.6 million now, said the government.
Amos Ngonjo, chairman of KLDC, said poor animal husbandry and inadequate livestock extension services have impacted the quality of hides and skins. He added that “cheating” during declaration of exports and imports on raw hides, skins and leather products is also a major hindrance. He called for strengthening of sector policies and expansion of KLDC’s mandate to enable it conduct verification of leather and leather products at all entry points to deter the practice.
The majority of the country’s tanneries lack the capacity to finish leather due to the high costs of production involved. Currently, 85% of hides are processed to wet blue, 9% crust and 6% finished leather. For skins, the production is distributed as: 90% wet blue, 6% crust and 4% finished leather. The high cost of tools and equipment, inadequate incentives, inadequate skilled manpower, insufficient policy framework and inadequate funding are some of the limiting factors, reported the KLDC.
KLDC CEO John Muriuki asked the government to allocate more funding to the council to enable it execute its mandate effectively. He said that the transfer of the leather development service to MoIED is a boost to the industry, which stands to gain due to the importance the government has attached to industrialisation.
Wilson Songa, the principal secretary MoIED, added: “KLDC has identified challenges and answers, that way, it’s easier for us to address them.”
The cabinet secretary asked the council to organise a stakeholders’ forum before the end of July to develop a unified approach for the sector’s development.
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