By CONSTANT MUNDAMore by this AuthorThe value of goods ordered from abroad by State departments and parastatals has increased nearly five-fold in five years, punching holes in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s call for higher domestic products quota in public procurement. Import orders directly placed by the government hit Sh52.20 billion in the January-November 2018 period, latest official data shows, a 473.86 percent surge compared to Sh9.096 billion in the same period in 2013. The CBK data does not give particulars of the imports, but the items commonly ordered by state departments and agencies include furniture, textiles, paper products, food, arms and machinery. The presidential directive was aimed at ensuring that at least 40 per cent of supplies to ministries and parastatals are sourced locally. Kenya remains a net import country with government and commercial orders from foreign countries rising 2.99 percent to Sh1.63 trillion billion in the January-November 2018 period.

Source: Daily Nation February 12, 2019 08:37 UTC