Interior co-ordination ministry Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho has ordered all State agencies to only purchase locally assembled vehicles.
The PS explained that the directive is in line with a new government policy that aims to promote the local manufacturing industry.
“The Government is the biggest consumer of products and we have agreed not to buy from outside anymore.
“We have a monitoring mechanism in place to ensure all State officials who defy the directive are punished,” he explained.
The directive is the operationalization of an order that was issued by President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2016, where he also encouraged county governments to follow suit.
The President made the remarks during the official opening of German automaker Volkswagen’s Kenyan production line in Thika.
“Priority must and will always go to that which is manufactured, assembled or value-added to some level here. With the opening of this facility, I expect to see a lot of VW government vehicles. I hope the county governments will also buy Volkswagen cars.
“We are in consultations with Peugeot, Toyota and GM. That is why we are working on an integrated motor vehicle policy that works for all. But whatever incentive that we’ve given (to Volkswagen) will be given to everyone,” President Kenyatta stated at the time.
The National Treasury is one of the ministries that has embraced the directive. During the budget-reading, majority of the vehicles used by CS Henry Rotich and his team were VWs.
