A section of the business community in Homa Bay County have urged the county government to ease their tax burden to spur economic growth.
The traders said that the high taxes were making it difficult to sell their products.
The Chairperson of Latent Hub Business Association Jennifer Okoth said some of their members had relocated to other counties where the tax regime was more favourable.
The Association brings together micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across the county.
The official spoke Sunday during a MSMEs trade fair held in Homa Bay town.
Okoth said that there were disparities on taxation levels between the counties and Homa Bay was among those whose taxes were highest.
She said in some cases, traders pay different levies for the same products when they move from one market to another.
Some business operators also complained of inefficiencies in county offices when applying for trade documents.
Ms Okoth said the county government needs to set up an office whose main role is to offer information to MSMEs.
“Some of the business owners are struggling with startups. Access to information is crucial for traders,” she said.
Traders also expressed concern over frequent power outages in the county inconveniencing businesses that require electricity and those handling perishable goods.
Ms Okoth said Homa Bay Town was struggling to attain a 24-hour economy due to some challenges which needs to be resolved.
“Achieving a 24-hour economy requires street lights and good security,” she said.
Mr David McOlonde, the proprietor at Chicken village and Michelle Ndege, a laundry services entrepreneur said the county government should incentivise traders to address unemployment levels.
Mr McOlonde said suppliers of different products prefer doing business with traders from other regions while ignoring Homa Bay.
“The ease of doing business in other regions makes established firms prefer dealing with entrepreneurs from other counties while sidelining traders from Homa Bay,” he said.
By Melvin Otieno and Davis Langat
