Hundreds of workers in Kisumu on Thursday held protests outside the headquarters of the Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL) demanding jobs for locals.
The casual workers accused the company of hiring non-resident professionals and leaving out locals in the process.
The area ward representative, Mr David Arao, called for 70 percent of the job opportunities to be given to residents of Kisumu County as they camped outside the gate for the better part of the morning.
Deputy Governor Mathews Owili agreed with the protesters asserting that priority should be given to locals when jobs are sourced from within the county.
[caption caption="Governor Anyang' Nyong'o with Kisumu Firstlady Dorothy Nyong'o and DG Matthews Owili during the Governor's inauguration"]
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Dr Owili added that the county administration will constitute a special committee which will be constituted to resolve the crisis.
"We are going to formulate a committee that will recruit residents for the opportunities that the EABL plant will provide.
"The committee will comprise of a representative from the county government, office of the area MCA, MP and two members of the community," the DG announced.
He further directed the workers to register afresh for the positions with the new committee to ensure that claims of bias are mitigated.
"We want to know the total number of people and skills they have for recruitment. The office will be situated outside the premises for fair recruitment of our people," he urged.
KBL, as part of the East African Breweries Limited (EABL), plans to open a Sh15 Billion Keg brewing plant in 2018 as projections estimate the creation of up to 110,000 new jobs.
[caption caption="File image of President Uhuru Kenyatta at the Kisumu EABL plant "]
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Kisumu residents over the weekend flocked the Kisumu Airport to see off the National Super Alliance (NASA) leader who had visited the county to spend some time with his family.
