Council of Governors KNFJKA
THE NATIONAL JUA
KALI DEVOLUTION CONFERENCE
Theme;
Building a Skill-based
County
Enterprise Economy!
THE BOMAS OF KENYA,
23rd – 25TH
JULY, 2014
In collaboration with;
and
Ministry of
Devolution & Planning Ministry
of Industrialization &
Enterprise
Development
The role of the Jua Kali sector in Sparking a County Industrial
Revolution towards Economic Productivity and the achievement of Vision 2030
Background
The
Council of Governors (CoG) invited the Kenya National Federation of Jua Kali
Associations (KNFJKA) National leadership jointly with the Jomo Kenyatta
University of Agriculture & Technology (JKUAT) under the JKUAT Mashinani Initiative and other Jua Kali sector partners to
participate and make presentations at the just concluded 1st year
Devolution Conference at the Leisure lodge in Kwale County between 1st
– 5th April, 2014. Following the presentation of Eng. Charles Kalomba, majority of the
Governors through the CoG alluded to the need for the establishment of a
collaborative framework between the Jua Kali sector and the County Governments.
This
partnership would be aimed at developing and driving a County enterprise
economy through the utilization of the innovative and resilient skilled Jua
Kali labour force reposed at the Counties. Through such a partnership, it would
be anticipated that the Jua Kali sector will provide services to the local
cottage industries by offering appropriate technologies for agro-processing and
value addition of raw materials. This would unlock the potential of the
Counties to become the new frontiers of economic growth and spark an
industrial revolution in Kenya.
Rationale/Justification
Historically, it would be recalled that through a
Gazette Notice No. 412 of 1988, the then Central Government had lauded the Jua
Kali sector as a leader and fore runner towards industrialization by 2020. In
subsequent National industrial development policies and strategies, the sector
has continued to be named as a critical contributor to jobs and wealth and thus
named as the forerunner towards the Kenya Vision 2030. Currently, the Jubilee
Government through its pre-election Manifesto promises to develop the Jua Kali
sector through the following interventions;
1.
Equipping
investment parks with major capital items required in operating small
businesses such as motor mechanics, plumbing, artisans, leather and wood works,
carpentry and similar trades.
2.
Provide
tools for technicians and ICT-based enterprises.
3.
Providing
training services and creating market for locally produced goods and services
internally, regionally and internationally.
4.
Promote
brand-names of locally manufactured products to boost incomes for promising
artisans.
5.
Create
markets for Jua Kali products, male and female body care products, coffee
houses and milk-bars.
In
terms of the regulatory environment, the Micro and Small Enterprise Act 2012 is
the principal National guide to regulate, Monitor to ensure the development and
growth of all the micro and small enterprises. The Act thus needs to be enhanced
to recognize the reality of Devolution in its implementation, given that constitutionally
{Trade development and regulation} (excluding regulation of professions) is
now a function of the County Governments.
The MSE
Act, which took 13year to enactment with immense persistence contribution of
the JuaKali leadership, demands support to acquire tools and guidelines to
recognize and address the uniqueness of the skilled Jua Kali artisans and their
sub-sectors. For example, many County Governments are already invoking their
constitutional function to ‘develop and regulate trade’ (excluding regulation
of professions) at the County level. On this, several Jua Kali Artisan
Associations across the Country have been given legal notices by County
Governments to vacate their land and sheds or face forceful removal due to
accumulated unpaid land rates.
Such
examples are like Kisumu Center Jua Kali Artisans Association which sit on
approx.15 acres and housing 14,000 artisans, Ziwani Jua Kali Artisans
Association in Nairobi which houses in excess of 7,000 artisans among others.
Several other Jua Kali artisans operating on temporary road-side sites have
since been flushed out of their work-sites by the County authorities bringing
back to the sector, memories of the brutality meted on them by the defunct
local authorities.
This
has prompted the Jua Kali national leadership in collaboration with respective
Governors to organize fundraisers to offset the accrued land rates and salvage
the parcels on top of addressing other pertinent sector development issues. In
view of the foregoing and the Kwale Devolution Conference resolutions, it has
therefore become necessary that the Jua Kali sector, its partners, National and
County Governments engage in dialogue to highlight some of the observed shortcomings
in national policy and legislation as well as create the envisaged enabling
environment at the County level to develop the Jua Kali sector within the
devolved system of Government.
As a
strategy to initiate this partnership towards the implementation of some of the
Kwale Conference Resolutions and facilitate linkages between the Jua
Kali sector and respective County Governments and continue conversation on
devolution, the KNFJKA, its partners and the CoG are planning to stage the
First National Jua Kali Devolution Conference scheduled to be held at the Bomas
of Kenya, Nairobi between 23th and 25th July, 2014. The
CoG and KNFJKA would therefore wish to welcome the support and collaboration of
all relevant stakeholders to make this important conference a success.
Pre-Conference and Conference activities
Before the National Jua Kali Devolution
Conference, the CoG in partnership with the Jua Kali sector national leadership
would be spearheading a series of County Jua Kali Devolution Dialogues across
all the 47 Counties. The County Jua Kali Devolution Dialogues will also serve as
a means of continuing the conversation around devolution and facilitating
linkages between the Jua Kali sector and the respective County Governments. The
Devolution Dialogues are scheduled to be held concurrently across the 47
Counties between 1st and 24th of May, 2014 as a build up
to the National Conference and the issues raised and deliberated on during the
County Jua Kali Devolution Dialogues will be synthesized to isolate the major policy
and actionable issues that will inform the sessions/thematic discussions during
the conference.
The National
Jua Kali Devolution Conference
The National Jua Kali
Devolution Conference is slated for 23rd -25th July 2014
at the Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi. This would be a climax National Jua Kali
Devolution Conference after a series of 47 County Jua Kali Devolution Dialogue
forums that will present an opportunity for the Jua Kali sector in Kenya to
give their view on what devolution means to them, the impact that it has had on
their lives to date and the opportunities that the counties have, to make
service delivery more efficient and relevant. The National conference is
designed to restore the hope and expectations that the Jua Kali sector has had
in Devolution and the County Governments as a vehicles for industrial
revolution.
Conference Goal and Objectives
The
main goal of this conference is to impart civic knowledge on the implementation
of devolution, influence democratic governance and change, accountable
leadership and catalyze the Jua Kali
sector’s role/participation in the socio-economic
development of the Counties through sparking an enterprise-based economy. This
is to be guided by the following specific objectives:
- To raise awareness among the Jua kali sector on the general
content and provisions of the Constitution of Kenya 2010.
- To empower the Jua Kali
sector with advocacy skills concerning their roles in the national
civic and devolution implementation processes.
- To reflect on the socio-economic implications of the new
constitution (2010) to the Jua kali sector with specific reference to
jobs, employment and wealth creation.
- To put in place long-term measures to address future sector
socio-economic development needs of the Jua kali sector within the
devolved government framework.
Conference Design
County Jua Kali Products Exhibition.
The National Jua Kali Devolution Conference, one
of its kind in the history of mankind anticipates to draw together in excess of
five thousand (3,000) delegates, among them forty (40) Jua Kali artisans from
each of the 47 Counties totaling to 1,880 Jua Kali members to participate in
the National Jua Kali Products Exhibition and a side on Symposium. The
respective County Jua Kali delegates will be facilitated by their respective
County Governments to exhibit at each of the designated County booths that will
be patronized by the Governments to showcase the Jua Kali products manufactured
from the respective Counties.
Tour of National Institutions relevant to Jua
Kali Development
The delegates will also participate in a tour of
all National institutions with a mandate relevant to the Jua Kali sector
development which include the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute
(KIRDI), Numerical Machining Complex (NMC), Jomo Kenyatta University of
Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Technology Development Centre (TDC), Kenya
Bureau of Standards (KEBS), National industrial Training Authority (NITA),
Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI) and National Youth service among
others.
Decoration of the National and County Jua Kali Patrons
During the conferences plenary, it is expected
that the retired President, H.E Daniel Arap Moi who since the inception of the
sector has been its patron would relinquish his patronage to the seating
President H.E Uhuru Kenyatta as the
National Jua Kali patronage who will in turn decorate the seating Governors as
the Jua Kali patrons in their respective Counties. The conference anticipates
to simultaneously seeing veteran Jua Kali leadership receive national awards in
appreciation of their contribution to the sector development.
Conference outputs
This conference is guided by the CoG strategic
plan and the National devolution implementation framework with benchmarks as
set to achieve planned results. The conference also takes into account both the
strategic interests and expectations of other Devolution partners and
stakeholders.
Key conference outputs will include the
following;
- Several (at least 10) devolution
workshops and Seminars among the Jua Kali sector at the Counties
and regions,
- 100,000 Jua Kali sector registered appearances/attendances in
general public and multi-sectoral
devolution gatherings
and symposiums
- 20 sector leaders appearances in media talk-shows on TVs, FM
radio stations
- 1 million social media contacts (Twitter hash-tags, face-book
wall posts, blogs etc)
- 15 Publications ( Newsletters, reports, case studies, outdoor advertisements)
- 2 Jua Kali Informal sector baseline surveys and position papers
on the participation on the implementation of devolution
- 1
National Jua Kali sector devolution conference in Nairobi every July of the
Year.
- Official Inauguration of 1 National and 47 County Jua Kali
patrons
- A decided
number of Juakali leader decorated by head of State Commendations.
- A
juakali National Sacco unveiled to ease access to appropriate financing of
the sector in which case there shall be 47 county Sacco’s demanding guarantee
from CoG for offshore borrowing for financial affordability.
Conference Expected outcomes
·
Increased knowledge and participation of the Jua
Kali sector in the constitutional and devolution implementation processes
·
Increased sector sensitivity to the reality of
devolution and Jua Kali sector inclusion in social-economic development of
their respective Counties.
·
Increased uptake of civic knowledge on devolution
by the Jua Kali sector due to their strengthened responsibility and
participation at the Counties.
·
Reduced marginalization of the Jua Kali sector in both National and County-level devolution
implementation processes.
Richard N. Muteti
Chief Executive, Kenya National Federation of Jua Kali Associations (KNFJKA)
Regional Project Manager, East Africa Community Jua Kali Exhibitions
Director, Small and Medium Enterprise Support-East Africa (SMES-EA)
Email:-juakalisector@yahoo.com / info@smeseastafrica.com / rnmuteti@yahoo.com
Blog:- smeseastafrica.blogspot.com
comesa-sems.blogspot.comP.O. Box 6101-00100, GPO - Nairobi
Tel: +254 020 2243283
