Trade and Industry
The agenda for job creation would be underpinned by, among others, the following:
a. pursuing aggressive industrialization and value-addition to agricultural produce
b. providing tax and related incentives for manufacturing businesses in sectors such as agro-processing, light industries, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, garments and textiles, among others
c. providing a reliable and cost effective mix of energy supply for businesses
d. providing the necessary incentives for private sector participation in health service delivery
e. pursuing policies that will reduce interest rates
f. implementing policies that will reduce the cost of doing business
g. stabilizing the currency
h. providing incentives to the hospitality and creative industries that will enable them create jobs
i. investing in skills training and apprenticeships, and
j. promoting exports, especially of value-added agricultural produce and light manufactures.
Significant challenges
The country’s industrial sector faces significant challenges, the principal ones of which are lack of access to finance, high interest rates, inadequate and poor quality raw materials for industrial processing, poorly developed domestic trade, weak consumer protection, lack of effective collaboration between research institutions and industry, poor trade facilitation.
An unstable exchange rate, lack of coherent industrial development planning and initiatives, poor research and development support scheme for industry, lack of land for industrial zones, high import duties on raw materials, poor standards of certification, and an unreliable and expensive power source.
Our strategy is to address these challenges in ways that enable industry to thrive and become a major source of jobs, especially for the youth.
