The Glass Monopoly: Fred Ogolla Sounds Alarm Over KSh 1.7B Loss and Industry Collapse

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential aspirant, Fred Ogolla, is urging the government to immediately implement the Finance Act 2025, which grants an excise duty exemption on float glass.

According to Professor Ogolla, they are concerned about developments that have effectively condemned Kenyan glass processors to a single dominant supplier—KEDA Ceramics (Tanzania), with its Kenyan subsidiary Twyford Ceramics Kenya.

He states that “glass supplied by KEDA Ceramics is reported not to meet processing quality standards, lacks product variety, and does not include high-performance glass products widely used in advanced construction markets such as Singapore and other developed economies.”

This supply distortion has created a de facto monopoly that undermines fair competition, weakens local value addition and innovation, and exports industrial advantage outside Kenya.

According to Ogolla, Commercial documentation obtained from KEDA Ceramics, including an invoice dated January 29, 2026, indicates Kenyan processors are being compelled to purchase glass at approximately USD 4.28 per square meter, while comparable glass sourced directly from China averages about USD 2.00 per square meter.

The impact arising from this price disparity has significantly increased production costs and eroded Kenya’s export competitiveness.

On the fiscal and economic losses, transport services tied to this supply chain are largely executed outside Kenya—particularly through Tanzanian logistics channels—leading to capital flight and loss of local enterprise participation.

According to industrial estimates, Kenya incurs direct and indirect losses of approximately KSh 1.7 billion annually in taxes, levies, clearing, forwarding, and transport services.

They demand that the government explain to the public the policy rationale behind this arrangement, the beneficiaries of the structure, and how they protect the Kenyan industry and public revenue.

He puts on notice that the glass manufacturing and processing industry has created 1,253 direct jobs and over 23,000 indirect jobs across construction, fabrication, transport, logistics, glazing services, hardware supply chains, and allied sectors.

This crisis will affect the daily lives and economic wellbeing of ordinary Kenyans, leading to job losses and factory slowdown, loss of Kenyan revenue, and a high cost of living.

The government is challenged for failure to promote local manufacturing by enacting Section 46 of the Finance Act 2025, granting excise duty exemption on float glass.