Sh3bn
The government has pledged to revive the leather and textiles sub-sector and it allocated the sub-sector Sh 3 billion in the budget to breathe life into industries.
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“Kenya has ideal production zones for quality leather. With the global leather demand now estimated at more than Sh5.2 trillion we must work hard to grab a share of the cake.”
Industrialisation Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed
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Construction industry is braced for higher prices of steel following the increase in duty on imported on the commodity to 25% from between zero and 10%. This is meant to discourage imports of steel to promote local manufacturers and create more jobs for our youth in the iron and steel industries. Players in the construction industry see this move is a major disincentive to the real estate industry, which may result in higher cost of houses and rent and a blow to low-cost housing.
Businesses owed Sh32 billion in VAT tax refunds will wait longer to know how the government plans to handle their claims after Treasury failed to provide details of an earlier proposal by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to convert the refunds into debt. The government will have to allocate the money against other competing needs and KRA had suggested changing the debt into bonds that can be traded to avoid a huge outflow of funds.
Kenyan corporates remain closed to more women in the boardroom. Currently, only three women are chief executive officers in publicly listed companies: Ada Eze of Total Kenya, Maria Msiska of BOC Kenya Limited and Nasim Devji of Diamond Trust Bank. A survey by Ipsos Synnovate found that the majority of the women leaders blamed the lack of transparency on board positions, lack of mentorship, and competition with the entrenched men.
