President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday assured manufacturers that the government is in the process of rolling out a 30 percent electricity cost reduction plan to be implemented through a rebate system.
Kenyatta further announced that special requests for further cutbacks to be extended to the textile and steel mill sub-sectors are under consideration and will be effected by the end of the year.
He underlined the government’s investment in diversification of the national energy mix with a focus on renewables like wind and geothermal energy both of which have lower feed-in tariffs than thermal energy.
“This year alone, we have seen the injection of over 310 megawatts of renewable energy on to our grid,” he said.
Kenyatta was speaking when he inaugurated in the outskirts of Nairobi an ultra-modern complex developed by Bidco Africa, East Africa’s largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) manufacturer.
Kenyatta urged leaders to uphold peace, stability and national unity as important ingredients that attract investment.
He affirmed his administration’s focus on implementing more business friendly policies that will reduce the cost of manufacturing thereby enhancing the sector’s global competitiveness.
He said the policies are being implemented with the desire for results as the government works to grow the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the national cake from its current 8.4 to 15 percent.
The President said his administration has put in place the necessary incentives for the development of Special Economic Zones and Industrial Parks by the private sector to complement government’s efforts to plug the infrastructure deficit so as to improve the business environment.
JK/abj/APA