The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) President, Erick Rutto, has urged the government to protect all businesses during protests, in reference to the recent looting and destruction witnessed in the country over the last few weeks.
The calls follow the June 17 and June 25, and Saba Saba protests, which saw suspected goons infiltrate the demonstrations, looting shops and destroying property.
During the chaos, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) were mostly targeted, with proprietors lamenting suffering irredeemable losses after their shops were vandalised and destroyed.
For instance, protests in Meru County descended into unfortunate scenes of vandalism as a renowned supermarket was razed to the ground by protesters.
Apart from Magunas Supermarket, a well-known club in Meru Town called Seven Eleven was also vandalised, and some of its facilities were stolen by goons.
To that effect, Rutto called for a review of Kenya’s economic structure to protect businesses during times of political instability.
While speaking on Spice FM on Wednesday, July 9, Rutto cited the imbalance between the contribution of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and the larger private sector to the country’s economy.
As per Rutto, SMEs contribute to 40 per cent of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and contribute about 82 per cent of the nation’s labour force. Contrastingly, the larger private sector contributes 60 per cent to the GDP but only a paltry 18 per cent to the labour.
This, according to the KNCCI boss, resulted in an economic imbalance where small businesses suffer while the larger private sector remains underutilised.
Rutto proposed better policies and reforms that are geared towards the stability of small businesses.
“In our country, the SMEs contribute 40 per cent to the GDP and 82 per cent of the employment. This is while the larger private sector contributes 60 per cent to the GDP but only 18 per cent of the employment. There is a structural problem in our economy,” Rutto stated.
“We have to change, and we do not have to prescribe political solutions. As we talk currently, I think the reason we are having a lot of instability is because the devolution and the Constitution we have right now is currently expensive,” he added.
As per statistics, the country loses an estimated Ksh3 billion daily during protests, most of which is borne by MSMEs, who have the least financial resilience.
