Kindiki assures counties of Sh3bn for industrial parks projects
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki.
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has assured 13 counties of Sh3.25 billion for the County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPs) programme, which is also meant to accelerate attainment of the country's new economic plan for 2060.
Speaking while chairing the 30th Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC) ordinary session at his official residence in Karen, Prof Kindiki said the money will be factored into the Kenya Kwanza administration's last budget next year.
"The State Department will budget for the 13 counties during the supplementary and in the next financial year," Prof Kindiki said during the meeting with the State Department for Industry and the governors.
The 13 counties include Bomet, Elgeyo Marakwet, Isiolo, Kisumu, Lamu, Makueni, Mandera, Nairobi, Samburu, Tana River, Tharaka Nithi, Turkana and West Pokot.
"As we look for a vision of Kenya beyond 2030, CAIPs are the centre of the realisation of the vision. They are the first step to industrialisation. If we want to create an industrialised nation, CAIPs are crucial in value addition and aggregation," Prof Kindiki said.
"I'm happy to note that, despite the fiscal constraints we are facing as a country, the National Treasury disbursed all the amounts due to county governments as part of the equitable share by the close of the financial year," he added.
Prof Kindiki also pointed out that the government is accelerating the finalisation of the construction and operationalisation of the first eight county industrial parks, in Meru, Embu, Kirinyaga, Kisii, Busia, Migori, Garissa and Wajir. He said the raw materials for value addition have been mobilised and that the private sector investor and operator framework is being finalised.
The government has touted CAIPs as the crucial link between the agriculture and manufacturing sectors, noting that they would address input costs and quality for farmers and provide them with working capital to achieve much-needed value addition.
The initial plan was to implement CAIPs in all counties within two years from July 2023, with the national government footing half of the Sh500 million cost of each park. However, the plan has been delayed by constant budgetary constraints. For instance, while the national government planned to inject Sh9 billion into the project in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years, parliamentary reports indicate that only Sh3.25 billion was factored into the budget.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry had projected that, through the implementation of CAIPs, the government would not only spur productivity in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors but also promote backward and forward linkages with other sectors of the economy.
The project is being implemented by the national and county governments in partnership with private sector players, development partners and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.
"The main objective of CAIPs is to grow manufacturing and investments through agro-industries and enhance productivity of the agriculture sector in a sustainable manner, hence creating inclusive decent jobs, increasing farmers' income, increasing foreign exchange, and providing a platform where farmers, processors, exporters, research institutions, industrial bodies and government can engage for agro-industrial development," the ministry says.
Prof Kindiki assured all the counties that the government will provide the necessary financial support to make all the industrial parks economically viable.
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