12 firms contribute to Kiambu COVID-19 response fund
The Kiambu County Covid-19 Emergency Appeal Fund has hailed well-wishers for responding positively towards its cash and foodstuff appeal.
The body which is chaired by Energy Principal Secretary Eddy Njoroge is targeting to raise 2 billion shillings to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 in the county.
More than 12 co-operative societies and private companies presented their donations to the Kiambu governor James Nyoro today with the PS sending a passionate appeal to other donors to chip in.
Among those who presented their donations was Thika Cloth Mills which donated both cash and clothing.
Speaking during the event, the facility's Managing Director Tejal Dodhia said that the company had withered the Covid-19 storm and had half of its operations back to normal.
She said that none of its 700 employees had been sacked despite the hard economic situation the entire country has undergone in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak.
"We are hoping that we shall soon be back on our feet again because our clients such as the Bata Shoe Company are back in operations," she said.
The MD urged the government to be keen to discourage importation of second hand clothings in order to salvage local textile industries.
She called on Kenyans to embrace the Buy Kenya Build Kenya doctrine in order to create jobs for the youth through industrialization.
"Second hand imports have had a huge negative impact on textile industries in Kenya thereby jeopardizing cotton farming as well as textile companies," said Tejal.
Her facility has a capacity to produce more than one million metres of fabric per month in different blends, colors and print.
"We make blended polyesters, viscose, polyester cotton fabrics as well as 100% cotton fabrics", she said.
During the event, it energed that 27, 772 households in Kiambu are vulnerable and require immediate relief food supply.
