By MKT Correspondent
Former KeNHA chairman and Nyeri gubernatorial aspirant Eng. Wangai Ndirangu has called for increased investment in value addition and manufacturing, saying Nyeri County has the potential to become a major leather production hub.
Speaking during a leaders’ meeting in Mbiriri, Kieni constituency, Wangai said areas such as Kieni have enormous livestock potential that remains largely underutilized despite the county having large numbers of cattle and sheep.
He noted that farmers continue to earn little from selling live animals while other regions and countries benefit from processing hides into high-value leather products such as belts, shoes and bags.
“Right now, we sell the animal, someone else takes the hide, someone else processes the leather, and someone else sells the finished products at many times the original value. That cycle must end,” he said.
The aspirant said his vision is to establish a leather processing industry within Nyeri starting with Kieni, where most livestock farming takes place. He said the county should focus on producing and branding finished leather goods locally for both domestic and export markets.
“The dream is to make Nyeri a hub for value addition, importing nothing we can make ourselves,” Wangai stated.
He observed that the global demand for quality leather products continues to grow and argued that Nyeri already possesses the raw materials needed to build a competitive leather industry capable of creating jobs and increasing farmer earnings.
Wangai also emphasized the need to empower young people through industrialization and entrepreneurship opportunities.
He said Nyeri has more than 203,000 youths, whom he described as the county’s greatest strength and a key driver of economic transformation.
“Our youth are not tomorrow’s leaders. They are today’s leaders waiting for opportunity, trust and a seat at the table,” he said during another engagement at Kiamuiru Primary School in Nyeri Town constituency.
The gubernatorial aspirant said he wants to see young people leading businesses, innovating and participating in decision-making processes instead of waiting for opportunities later in life.
He maintained that investment in local manufacturing and value addition would help tackle unemployment while stimulating economic growth across the county.
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