Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry National Chairman
Kiprono Kittony addresses a press conference regarding the repeat
election, at the agency's offices in Nairobi on September 7, 2017. He
has said business is slow because of elections. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU |
NATION MEDIA GROUP
Kenyans have started paying a hefty price arising from the
ongoing stalemate over the fresh presidential election slated for
October 26.
The prolonged political activities have
also had adverse effects on the economy, with business leaders calling
for a speedy resolution.
“As it is now, the political
activities have crippled business activities,” Mr Kiprono Kittony, the
national chairman of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and
Industry, said on Friday.
CIVIL SERVANTS
Many businesses have adopted a wait-and-see attitude, putting their customers as well as suppliers in limbo.
Many businesses have adopted a wait-and-see attitude, putting their customers as well as suppliers in limbo.
Unless the political temperatures ease, this could lead to a systematic disruption of the supply chain for basic consumer goods.
Besides
the business community, among the first to feel the pinch are civil
servants who have had their domestic and international travel allowances
reduced to raise money to pay for what the National Treasury Cabinet
Secretary, Mr Henry Rotich, calls “emerging priorities”.
One of these is the repeat election that is only 26 days away.
SANCTIONS
Mr Rotich has sent to Parliament a supplementary budget that he hopes MPs will approve even as political leaders take hardline positions that have compelled the diplomatic community and religious leaders to seek an end to the stalemate.
Mr Rotich has sent to Parliament a supplementary budget that he hopes MPs will approve even as political leaders take hardline positions that have compelled the diplomatic community and religious leaders to seek an end to the stalemate.
On Friday, diplomats from Europe and the US held a meeting with Mr Odinga and other Nasa leaders.
Although
it was not immediately clear what they discussed, sources said that the
diplomats are likely to impose sanctions against leaders from both the
Jubilee Party and Nasa who adopt hardline positions.
REQUESTS
After the talks with the diplomats, Mr Odinga met Anglican Church of Kenya clerics who later asked the Opposition to call off demonstrations and instead embrace dialogue.
After the talks with the diplomats, Mr Odinga met Anglican Church of Kenya clerics who later asked the Opposition to call off demonstrations and instead embrace dialogue.
Led by Bishop Jackson ole
Sapit, the ACK clerics also asked the Jubilee Party to shelve its
proposed amendments to the election laws that it introduced in
Parliament on Thursday.
Addressing the press, Mr Odinga said he will take part in the fresh election if only Jubilee can drop the proposed amendments.
And
while campaigning in Bungoma, President Kenyatta said Mr Odinga should
call off the protests set to start on Monday and instead prepare to face
him in the election.
TOURISTS
It
is yet to be seen if the two leaders will close ranks and end the
stalemate that has put the rest of Kenya on the slow lane and left the
country in the international spotlight.
Only this week,
Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, who heads the United Nations Conference of Trade and
Development (Unctad), warned that Kenya is facing a reputation risk
globally due to the political impasse.
Considering that
tourism is one of the key sources of Kenya’s foreign exchange, a dent
in the country’s reputation abroad could expose it to a reduction in the
number of tourist arrivals, which will further hurt the economy.
Already,
Mr Rotich has warned that the country is facing “challenges with huge
financial implications” that have emerged since the start of the current
financial year on July 1.
“Given that the economy has
not generated new resources to finance the emerging needs,” he told MPs
in a brief summary of the mini-Budget, “we are proposing to re-organise
the planned expenditures for the financial year”.
AUSTERITY
In the brief dated September 25, he has also asked accounting officers to reduce their spending in a series of austerity measures on 13 areas.
In the brief dated September 25, he has also asked accounting officers to reduce their spending in a series of austerity measures on 13 areas.
For
instance, budgets for domestic travel and subsistence costs have been
reduced by 20 percent while all others, such as routine maintenance,
purchase of vehicles, training, hospitality, advertising and several
others have been slashed by 75 percent.
He is also seeking the reduction of development expenditure by Sh30.6 billion.
In
the mini-budget, the bulk of the re-allocations are to the Free Day
Secondary Education programme (Sh24.7 billion), the electoral agency
(Sh9.95 billion), the Interior Ministry (Sh4.62 billion), the National
Intelligence Service (Sh3.15 billion) and the Kenya Defence Forces
(Sh1.8 billion).
AMENDMENTS
It is instructive that the allocations to the IEBC, the Interior Ministry under which the Police Service falls, the NIS and KDF could be election-related expenses.
It is instructive that the allocations to the IEBC, the Interior Ministry under which the Police Service falls, the NIS and KDF could be election-related expenses.
Although Mr Odinga appeared
to back down when he said he would take part in the fresh election if
Jubilee shelves the proposed changes to the election law, there is no
guarantee that new hurdles will not emerge on the road to October 26.
Jubilee, for instance, has not indicated that it will drop the amendments.
If
anything, President Kenyatta on Friday justified the changes, saying
they were in line with the ruling of the Supreme Court and were part of
what Mr Odinga was pushing for.
“There is no wrong in Parliament executing its mandate,” he said.
He also challenged Opposition MPs to take part in the debate on the floor of the House.
DIALOGUE
As part of efforts to unlock the stalemate and pave the way for a smooth fresh presidential election, diplomats have started holding meetings behind the scenes with key members of both the Jubilee Party and the National Super Alliance.
As part of efforts to unlock the stalemate and pave the way for a smooth fresh presidential election, diplomats have started holding meetings behind the scenes with key members of both the Jubilee Party and the National Super Alliance.
The diplomats, together with
the head of the European Union Election Observation Mission Kenya, Ms
Marietje Schaake, held talks with Mr Odinga in Nairobi.
“We appreciate the keen interest in the Kenyan electoral process that the US, EU and UK have taken.
"Our
meeting in which we exchanged views on the country’s political
situation proved to be very fruitful,” Mr Odinga said on his Facebook
page after the meeting attended by Mr Musalia Mudavadi, and Senator
James Orengo among others.
IEBC
A spokesman for the Jubilee Party told the Saturday Nation that he was aware the party had been approached by the diplomats and said the President’s party is ready to meet them when called upon to do so.
A spokesman for the Jubilee Party told the Saturday Nation that he was aware the party had been approached by the diplomats and said the President’s party is ready to meet them when called upon to do so.
“We believe the issue is still with Nasa. We are being called into these meetings and we don’t object.
"Even
with the IEBC, we had been called into the meeting and did not object
to anything being added to the agenda,” the source said.
A
member of the diplomatic corps said their efforts were aimed at getting
everyone “to agree on the way forward” so that the repeat election can
happen in a credible manner.
Reporting by John Ngirachu, David Mwere and Silas Apollo
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