Billionaire businessman Narendra Raval recently joked about being awarded by Kenya Power after disclosing his monthly electricity bill.
Appearing for a sit-down interview on JK Live, the DEVKI Group of Companies founder said the company’s monthly expenses amount to Ksh 2 billion.
He noted that the amount includes paying salaries for employees amounting to about 11,000 and utility bills like electricity.
To this, Ravals disclosed that they pay up to Kenya Power Ksh 900 million monthly for electricity.
“When it is low season we pay Ksh 700 million to Kenya Power otherwise we pay Ksh 800 million to Ksh 900 million every month. I must be the largest, they should give me the award but I never got it,” he said.
Elsewhere, the businessman notes that he is compelled to raise Ksh 100 million daily to avert strikes and shutdown of companies.
“We are more worried about our work and to be paid on time. We have to pay for 11,000 people so we have to look for the money from the beginning
“Our salary and paying power comes to Ksh2 billion a month. So we have to look for Ksh100 million every day, excluding Sundays,” Raval said.
Ksh 30 billion factory
In November 2022, President William Ruto launched DEVKI Steel Mills in Samburu, Kinango constituency, Africa’s second largest steel factory.
The factory seats on about 300 acres of land and it took Devki four years to set it up, making it the biggest in East and Central Africa thanks to its size.
” It is going to produce steel from iron ore. The capacity at the moment is 500,000 metric tonnes of steel, which can in future be improved to one million metric tonnes
“This is the biggest single investment in steel in Africa in two decades. We have got teething problems, but we are overcoming them and the plant is now stable,” Raval said.
Raval also highlighted the importance of the company which will be producing steel fillets and wire rod coils which have been imported from South Africa and China.
‘The plant is producing materials called steel fillets and wire rod coils. These are largely imported from South Africa and China
“They will now be produced by Devki Steel Mills. This will save the country about Ksh42.35 billion in foreign exchange,” he said.
Personal life
The Devki group founder was born in Gujarat, a small Indian village in 1962.
Before going to school, the firstborn child helped with morning prayers at the temple since he was a swaminarayan priest.
In 1978, he came to Kenya and worked as an assistant priest in Kisumu for Ksh 2,500 monthly salary.
At the temple he was in charge of teaching children on Sundays. The children were lured with treats making the numbers increase daily hence the name Guru.
Poverty prevented him from acquiring University education, he could not even afford a pair of school shoes.
He married Neeta, a medical practitioner then based in Thika, due to family pressure. This made him abandon priesthood as priests are forbidden to marry.
