Kuria warns Kenya will fall behind regional rivals without industrial policy change

Kenya risks falling behind Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo unless it changes how it uses its natural resources, former Investments, Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria said.

Kuria backed the government’s decision to push Tata Chemicals Magadi out of Kenya. President William Ruto accused the company of extracting Kajiado’s resources for decades without generating enough local industry, jobs and value addition.

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We will not take off if we keep on playing politics with our industrialisation policy

“We will not take off if we keep on playing politics with our industrialisation policy,” Kuria said. He argued that Kenya should require investors to process raw materials locally and build industries around the country’s mineral wealth.

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I fully support the government decision on Tata Chemicals and Magadi Soda

“I fully support the government decision on Tata Chemicals and Magadi Soda,” he said. “If we do not do things differently, Uganda, Ethiopia, DRC and Tanzania will overtake Kenya’s economy in the next 5 years.”

Kuria pointed to Indonesia’s restrictions on raw nickel exports, saying they helped attract processing and manufacturing investment. He also recalled that Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni set a deadline for Devki Steel to establish operations in Uganda after Kuria sought an exemption for the company to obtain iron ore there.

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If we do not do things differently, Uganda, Ethiopia, DRC and Tanzania will overtake Kenya’s economy in the next 5 years

“So far our economy has survived on what is above the surface. To move forward we must move our focus to what is below the surface,” Kuria said. Ruto has presented the dispute with Tata Chemicals as part of a broader effort to extract more economic value from Kenya’s resources.

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So far our economy has survived on what is above the surface. To move forward we must move our focus to what is below the surface