MWANGI: Reviving industries is the right thing, but will it work?

MWANGI: Reviving industries is the right thing, but will it work?

By Isaac Mwangi, Arusha, Tanzania

Excitement over the admission of South Sudan into the East African Community served to drown an equally important theme that came out of the Arusha summit – strengthening the private sector, especially through reviving industries that have suffered neglect.

Indeed, even the admission of South Sudan will benefit the private sector more than any other group. With a larger market, the region’s industrial giants can now expand their capacity to serve the market in this vast country. There will also be opportunities for involvement in projects to rebuild this war-ravaged country, giving enormous opportunities to those who are well-positioned to take advantage of the situation.

But there were other areas, too, the most significant of which was the effort to revive the region’s textile and footwear industries. If this pronouncement is followed through by concrete action, it will be nothing short of revolutionary.

In particular, in item 16 on the communiqué released at the close of the Heads of State meeting, the summit: “directed the partner states to procure their textile and footwear requirements from within the region where quality and supply capacities are available competitively, with a view to phasing out importation of used textile and footwear within three years.”

The younger generation – which by and large has no idea of the region’s textile industries of old – may not immediately appreciate the impact of this pronouncement. There was a time when clothes, blankets, bed sheets, school uniforms and other garments were largely produced by local industries. As with many other sectors of our economies, we brought these down through sheer mismanagement and bad policies.

Instead of nurturing our own industries – even though new clothes from there would cost more – we opted for the lazy option of bringing in millions of bales of used clothes. Thus, we destroyed our homegrown industries and helped to build those in distant lands such as China, Germany and the United States. Our people lost their jobs, cotton farmers lost their livelihoods, and we cut short the process of industrialization to create jobs in other countries with a greater measure of common sense.

Today, our young men and women parade themselves proudly in attire that has been discarded by the original owners in these more developed economies. It is a sign of a total lack of shame – or self-esteem for that matter – for a people to pride themselves in wearing the clothes discarded by citizens of other countries, including inner wear.

Shoes, too, have suffered the same fate. Today, even those shops that were selling locally-made shoes – such as the Bata chain in Kenya – mostly sell imported footwear. It is all a sign of the rot that has been suffered due to inept leadership: From paper manufacturing to the meat industry, one factory after another has had to close shop over the years.

Part of the problem, of course, has been the penchant by our leaders to agree to anything our former colonial masters say, even when good sense dictates otherwise. The prescriptions of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have been a disaster, deepening poverty and destitution across the region.

Corruption, too, has been the region’s undoing. For the sake of a little personal gain – and an unhealthy dose of ethnic rivalry – government bureaucrats have virtually sabotaged their countries’ economies, roads have been built to substandard levels, farmers have been exploited, and industries have been shut down.

But corruption isn’t all about government; the private sector, too, has danced itself lame. That is why, again, the launch of a code of conduct to fight corruption in the private sector at this summit is significant.

But we cannot fight corruption in the private sector when governments remain corrupt in their commercial dealings, are intolerant in handling their own citizens, and are prepared to cut corners in perpetuating the regimes in power. That culture must go if we are to begin on a new slate.

The decision by the Heads of State on the textile and footwear industries may prove unpopular in the short-term, but it is the right decision. The EAC Vision 2050, launched at the summit, can only be realized through hard decisions at the highest level. The private sector has a crucial role to play in this effort. The Arusha communiqué does certainly set new standards, and we can only hope that our leaders will live up to the billing. Or will they?

Want to send us a story? Submit on Wananchi Reporting on the Citizen Digital App or Send an email to wananchi@royalmedia.co.ke or Send an SMS to 25170 or WhatsApp on 0743570000

Leave a Comment

Comments

No comments yet.

latest stories