Kenyan President William Ruto has ordered an immediate crackdown on foreigners operating small businesses in the country.
Speaking to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME)
traders at the State House in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, on Wednesday, Ruto said
the move was aimed at protecting local traders from unfair competition.
He said a bill is already before parliament seeking to
legalise the ban and directed the ministry of investments, trade and industry
to begin enforcement action next week.
“It cannot be that a person comes from China or elsewhere to
be a hawker or open a small shop,” the Kenyan president said.
“We have made efforts to improve the economy; we have not
improved investor confidence for hawkers to come to Kenya.”
Ruto said Kenya remains open to foreign investment but noted
that investors should create jobs and expand production rather than compete
with Kenyans in small businesses.
He said the government had worked to stabilise the economy
by lowering inflation, stabilising the exchange rate and rebuilding investor
confidence.
However, he added that “we have not built investor
confidence so that hawkers can come to Kenya”.
“The investor confidence we have built is for investors to
come to Kenya, not hawkers and traders. People should not confuse us,” Ruto
said.
Many migrants in Nairobi and other major towns, mostly
Africans, work in blue collar jobs or sell clothes, food and household goods.
Ruto’s order comes as many African countries, including
Nigeria, have raised concerns about what they have termed as “Afrophobia” — the
targeting of African migrants by fellow Africans — following the recent
xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com