Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir has appealed to foreign investors in the county to give locals priority when recruiting staff to work in their firms.
The county boss said hiring staff from local communities will go a long way in addressing unemployment in the devolved unit.
Speaking at the groundbreaking event of Taifa Gas Group in Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone in Mombasa on Friday, Nassir said the metropolitan city harbours sufficient skills for any investor.
“As a county, we are ready to work with foreign investors. We have a database of all the skills that Mombasa County has. We will present it to them so that our people can also benefit from such projects,” he said.
Taifa Gas Group is a Tanzanian-based firm that deals in the storage and distribution of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and is the first investor in the Dongo Kundu, Special Economic Zone.
The governor assured investors that his administration will create an enabling environment for their businesses to thrive.
A master plan has been developed with support from the Government of Japan and presents opportunities for investment in value addition in the industrial zone.
The development of the Special Economic Zone will include the establishment of a Free Trade Zone, a free port, a logistics hub and an industrial zone.
Nassir further urged politicians to stop talking about last year’s election and focus on spurring development.
He said leaders should quit hurling insults at each other and instead focus on uplifting the living standards of Kenyans.
“What brought us here is purely cohesion as leaders, despite our political differences. We have to put our people first because these people voted for us to bring development,” he stated.
