President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday said no one should be allowed to disrupt the country’s business environment in the run-up to the elections.
He said the culture of the country’s economy dipping every election year because of disruptive politics must stop. The President said the trend is unacceptable and called on all Kenyans to reject divisive politics. “Kenyans must stand up and say enough is enough. No one should be allowed to disrupt our development agenda,” Uhuru said.
The Head of State hosted the Kenya Private Sector Alliance Presidential Roundtable at Statehouse, Nairobi. The meeting was attended by more than 400 members of Kepsa. Trade CS Adan Mohamed and Kepsa chairman Ambassador Jeremy Awori were also in attendance. Deputy Chief Justice Kalpana Rawal was also present.
He was with Deputy President William Ruto and several senior government officials. The President commended the private sector for spearheading peace and reconciliation campaigns, citing the Mkenya Daima initiative. “I invite you to consult my government in any area that you may experience difficulties in and we shall be ready to provide the support required,” he said.
Uhuru urged the business community to also involve the opposition on their views about elections. “You should talk to them. I have no problem with that. Tell them what your expectations of them are,” he said. On the IEBC, Uhuru said he is ready to talk to the opposition but said that can only be done within the confines of the law.
He said the law does not allow him to interfere with the running of the Independent Elecctoral and Boundaries Commission. “I have spoken to MPs and they are ready to engage. I have also prepared my own views and recommendations, which I want to present,” the President said.
The meeting also deliberated on improving the ease of doing business by supporting SMEs. The President said the private sector should be at the forefront in promoting the ‘Buy Kenya Build Kenya’ campaign.
He said Kenya is on its way to becoming a major world economy if the current annual trajectory of seven per cent growth stays on course. Kenya improved significantly year-on-year in the ease of doing business while South Africa continued to decline, according to Bloomberg Data published on February 18.
Kenya’s doing business rankings improved to position 108 from 136 in 2015, while South Africa dropped from position 43 in 2015 to 78 in the ease of doing business for 2016 according to the report is based on World Bank collected in 2015.