The national government will establish a manufacturing plant that will reduce importation of pharmaceutical commodities in the country.
The facility will be established in Murang’a County on the 1,300 acres of land ceded by Delmonte land buying company along the busy Thika-Kenol highway.
President William Ruto made the announcement at the Murang’a County Investment Conference attended by thousands of local and international investors.
He said the facility will save the government about Sh150 billion used in the importation of drugs and pharmaceuticals annually.
According to the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA), the country imports about 62 percent of pharmaceuticals, while the rest are produced locally.
“I want to proudly say that we have identified Murang’a Special Economic Zone as a pharmaceuticals manufacturing hub.”
“I am confident that Kenya’s economic future lies in empowering our counties to become vibrant hubs of production, innovation, and enterprise. Murang’a is ready. Counties are ready,” he said.
He lauded Murang’a county for leading the way in encouraging value addition saying the state has already disbursed Sh230 million to support the County Aggregation and Industrial Park that is established in partnership with the county government.
The President also expressed concerns that only 283,000 residents, a paltry 27 percent, have registered under the Social Health Authority (SHA) out of 1.2 million residents.
This places the county at the 35th positional nationally with the President saying a team from the authority will be dispatched to the county to create awareness.
“My intention is that no citizen will have to sell their property to pay health bills. It’s possible to have a health infrastructure that supports everyone,” he said, adding that government has invested heavily in elevating the health infrastructure to enhance health services.
by ALICE WAITHERA
