Second hand clothes traders in the country are expected to be hit hard should a new proposal the government to increase duty taxes on the imports sail through.

In a move that the government says is geared towards reviving the ailing cotton industry, investment, trade and industry cabinet secretary Moses Kuria has proposed the imposition of 25 percent  duty on imported garments, including second hand ones popularly known as mitumba.

“As a country we have a rich textile sector but it has been stifled by imports. The textile industry should be expanded to benefit Kenyans and to encourage the sector to grow we need to control imported fabrics ” The CS said in a pre devolution conference in Eldoret with textile industry players. He regretted that the sector employs about 50,000 people instead of millions in the entire value chain.

CS Kuria went ahead to indicate that the government would introduce a bill within this financial year to incorporate the 25 percent on imported textiles citing that imported garments should be treated as a luxury.

“For us to revive the textile industry, Kenyans should consume more of our locally made clothes but that’s not the case at the moment because mitumba and other imported fabrics are now our main source of clothing. We should reverse this trend .” He said.

To encourage mitumba traders to buy locally made clothes, he said that the government would ensure that cheap fabrics are available.

“One of the reasons that Kenyans flock to mitumba is the perception that they are cheap. In the future we will create an alternative for the mitumba where the will have access to cheap and durable clothes to sell.” He added.

The CS went further ahead to urge cotton producing areas in the country to up their production saying farmers were eager to see the revival of the sector.

“I was recently in Busia county and was thrilled by the enthusiasm of the farmers. All they needed was a little support to help them achieve the maximum yields not the seminars, workshops and benchmarking we see,” he said.

“We intend to give incentives to counties that explore their potential in cotton production. We will give them commercial ginneries with full boards and make them semi autonomous,” he added citing that counties have an important role to play in supporting cotton farmers.

During a tour of the Rivatex factory, Kitui governor Julius Malombe and his West Pokot counterpart Simon Kachapin said that farmers in cotton producing counties should better paid.

“Farmers need a guarantee of payment because they are very willing to grow cotton,” said Dr Malombe

Mr Kachapin said their tour of the factory showed just how under utilized the factory was

“We need to encourage our farmers to grow more cotton, there is a lot of potential in the sector,” he said.