Prisons to hog most of State furniture tenders

Local manufacturing of furniture has been on the decline over the years as imports from Asian countries expand their market share.

Though potential beneficiaries have been identified, the standards required by the government are yet to be crafted, with the Kenya Bureau of Standards set to work on the same.

A number of challenges still beset manufacturers, including lack of formal registration and value-added tax VAT compliance without which a firm cannot qualify for state contracts.

“A special team of the ministry, Kenya Revenue Authority, Registrar of Companies, and City Council Licensing should be formed to organise free registration for local SME furniture manufacturers,” the report recommends.

Access to finance is however the biggest challenge, with a high number of manufacturers incapable of supplying large orders.

But according to Industrialisation Permanent Secretary John Mosonik, the mostly small-scale businesses should use the Sh3.8 billion revolving fund and Sh14.3 billion allocated to the Constituency Development Fund in this year’s budget to boost their production capacities.

“The public sector is huge and diverse; there will be large and small orders from ministries to local authority and provincial administration offices. Manufacturers should be able to find a niche in which they can compete effectively,” he said.