President William Ruto's Senior Economic Adviser, Moses Kuria, has castigated the Nairobi County government for ordering the closure of Naivas Supermarket, stressing that this will attract some serious economic repercussions.
In a statement on his official X account on Wednesday, May 14, Kuria stated that the Nairobi Health Committee's move to order the closure of the supermarket will create an unfavourable environment for investors in the country's capital and the country at large.
Additionally, Kuria has further stressed that the closure of the retailer, which is one of the largest in the country, will further play a key role in denying Kenyans jobs.
"We will not create jobs when county governments wake up and close Naivas and Carrefour arbitrarily. You don't attract investors by acting whimsical," he stated.
The committee's order to close down the supermarket, on Wednesday, May 14, has ignited a wave of controversy among Kenyans.
According to the health committee, led by MCA Maurice Ochieng, the committee conducted a spot check at the supermarket and found expired products, such as yoghurt, and some without expiry dates.
Additionally, Ochieng claimed that some of the Supermarket's staff were not certified.
“We are here at Naivas Moi Avenue, and we have realised that there are expired products on the shelf, putting Nairobians at risk,” he stated.
Responding to the allegation the same day, through a statement, Naivas claimed that it will not close down any of its branches in the city and termed the allegations as "false, misleading and potentially harmful".
Naivas Supermarket operates over 30 branches within Nairobi County, including areas such as Kilimani, Lavington, Westlands, Lang'ata, Buruburu, and Kasarani
Naivas further refuted claims that some of its branches had been shut down, stressing that "no expired products have been found on our shelves.”
“We would like to reassure our customers, partners, and the general public that no expired products have been found on our shelves,” it stated.
