Kitui Governor Dr. Julius Malombe responded to requests for his Government to revamp Kitui County Textile Center (KICOTEC) which was started during Governor Charity Ngilu administration.
Addressing the members of the Press at his office in Kitui town on Thursday, (May,11) Malombe revealed that KICOTEC has made a lot of losses thus rushing to revamp it without deliberating on how it will bring more revenue to the County may not be a wise decision.
“Last year in the report we have, KICOTEC had a loss of Ksh. 80 million and KRA is demanding a tax of Ksh. 294 Million which was not paid. Are you saying we put money there when already we have a deficit of over 350 Million?,” Malombe stated.
“We don’t want to rush into roadside decisions, we have a team that will look objectively at whether the project is viable and sustainable. It is not KICOTEC alone but also the crusher at Kwa Kilui and the other ‘industries’ I hear they are called Pharma industries which were to make soaps and other things since there are machines there which are already rusting and when you ask where the money from the sale of the products was being deposited is nowhere to be found,” Governor Malombe added.
He affirmed that many people are pressurizing the County Government of Kitui to allocate funds and tell the people of Kitui whether the projects will continue. Governor Malombe reiterated that he won’t be in a hurry to conclude such a decision before gathering facts first before anything else.
“It is always good to gather facts before running to a conclusion but from what we see from the financial reports we have despite the hype of the projects they led to losses. We will give priority to things that are of more benefit to Kitui residents like construction of ECDE classrooms and other development matters,” Governor Malombe affirmed.
He urged the residents of Kitui to take full responsibility for the projects they have because when Kitui County sinks as was witnessed in the previous regime, all the residents will be affected.
On Monday, May 8th, according to a document seen by Mauvoo News, the Kenya Police signed a contract with KICOTEC worth Ksh.20 Million to make police uniforms. GSU has also indicated a continued partnership with KICOTEC as long as the transactions are transparent and above board.
According to the Chief Officer for Trade, Industry, MSMEs & County EIZs Stephen Musili, the business means increased revenue for KICOTEC where he added that KICOTEC only needs a cocktail of goodwill, proper marketing, and internal restructuring for it to operate at its optimum.
“This means with more inflow of business, KICOTEC will start making profits and the profits will be plowed back to the County for use in core County functions with a direct impact on the residents. It will also become self-reliant and generate revenue for the County,” the Chief Officer stated.
