On April 8, 2021, President Uhuru Kenyatta unveiled a guns factory in Ruiru with an annual capacity of 12,000 assault rifles.
The factory which cost the government Ksh 4 billion was celebrated by the Head of State who said it would create employment for thousands of Kenyans.
The launch of the guns factory was among key government projects that Deputy President William Ruto failed to attend bearing in mind his poor working relationship with the Head of State.
One year down the line, the United Democratic Alliance presidential flag bearer has heavily criticized President Uhuru’s flagship project saying it has little economic value if the money sunk in and jobs created is anything to go by.
Speaking at Kasarani Stadium on Thursday, June 30 during the launch of the Kenya Kwanza Alliance manifesto, Ruto wondered why the government would spend Ksh 4 billion to create only 100 jobs.
“We have recently inaugurated a firearms factory that cost Ksh 4 billion and celebrated the fact that it will create 100 or so jobs. This works out to an investment of Ksh 40 million per job,” Ruto said.
According to the second in command, it would have been better for President Uhuru’s government to invest the billions in building garment factories which he said would have cost less while employing more people.
Ruto who is among the front runner to succeed President Uhuru gave the example of Kitui County which he said used Ksh 168 million to create 600 jobs by building a garment factory.
“In the same country, the County Government of Kitui established a garment factory with a capacity for 600 jobs at a cost of Ksh 168 million, Ksh 280,000 per job. The Ksh 4-billion-gun factory investment is the equivalent of 24 Kitui garment factories and 14,000 jobs,” he said.
The former Eldoret North MP wondered why the government has not made effort to change its economic model which he said was flawed.
“The question is why we have stayed on this path, why the government did not heed its clarion call to restructure the economy, why we would choose to manufacture guns rather than garments,” Ruto posed.
