As the government rolls out the construction of the Rironi-Mau Summit Road under the Public Private Partnership (PPP), the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) is proposing the allocation of 10 per cent of the total amount of money for the establishment of specialised modern industrial parks.
The KNCCI President, Dr. Erick Rutto, said the Industrial Parks will ensure that the 2.4 million trucks cleared at the Mombasa Port to transport goods to the hinterland go back with industrial goods, instead of the current situation where they go back empty.
Speaking during the Elgeyo Marakwet County Trade and Investment Business Summit in Iten, the KNCCI Boss said the industrial parks will help the country to address the challenge of trade imbalance, where Kenya imports more than it exports.
Dr. Rutto hailed the government for increasing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from Sh110 billion to Sh129 billion, saying this was good for investment, as there is no investor who would want to invest in a poor country.
He also expressed satisfaction with the lowering of the inflation rate, the stabilisation of the dollar exchange rate and the decrease of the interest rates, which have come down from 20 per cent to 13 per cent in the last three years, thus making loans accessible to Kenyans.
The KNCCI President noted that the government fertiliser subsidy programme had seen a substantial increase in agricultural production, especially maize in the North Rift region, which meant that millers were able to access raw materials at a relatively cheaper price.
However, he said access to markets, levies and high taxation remain the major obstacles to doing business in the country, saying currently there are 540 levies and taxes across all sectors, with 63 per cent belonging to the national government and the other 37 per cent to the county governments.
He called on Parliament to fast-track a Bill before the House to enable the country to have a Single Business License, which will allow traders to conduct business freely across the 47 counties, where he said they have over 60,000 members.
“If we can’t have free trade across our 47 Chapters, how do we access the 54 countries under the African free trade area?” he posed.
National Treasury PS, Dr. Chris Kiptoo, called on the KNCCI to conduct international market requirements and then ensure that their members have the necessary certification to sell in the markets, saying this was the only way to ensure that they penetrate the markets.
The CEO, Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority, Laban Mulongo, said the Authority has huge unclaimed financial assets belonging to residents of Uasin Gishu, Baringo, West Pokot, Nandi and Elgeyo Marakwet counties and called on the residents to make a point of claiming the same.
By Alice Wanjiru
