Atwoli Blasts Uhuru Regime at Conference Held in Egypt

COTU Secretary General, Francis Atwoli.
COTU Secretary General, Francis Atwoli.
Twitter

Central Organization of Trade Unions(COTU) Secretary-General, Francis Atwoli, has blasted president Uhuru Kenyatta' government at an international conference held in Egypt. 

While closing the one-week conference held in Hurghada Egypt on Tuesday, September 21, Atwoli called out the Kenyan government for frustrating its citizens through over-taxation. 

His sentiments came while he was addressing employers in the North African Sub-Regional Conference on Post Covid-19 worker’s position, which ended on Monday. 

He implored African employers in the continent to try and liaise with their respective governments, and appeal to them to fund the losses that they have encountered as a result of the pandemic. 

President Uhuru Kenyatta (right) with COTU boss Francis Atwoli at Uhuru Park, Nairobi, during Labour Day celebrations on May 1, 2017
President Uhuru Kenyatta (right) with COTU boss Francis Atwoli at Uhuru Park, Nairobi, during Labour Day celebrations on May 1, 2017
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The trade unionist emphasized the need for employers to reject unfavourable policies set by their governments, especially on taxation. 

This, he said as he called out governments that have taken advantage of the pandemic in the world to exploit workers, making the cost of doing business unbearable. 

Atwoli used Uhuru’s government as an example of one of the regimes that have turned a deaf ear to the plight of citizens. 

He mentioned that the Kenyan government had taken advantage of the pandemic to exploit their citizens and increase the cost of doing business. 

“Kenyans have been forced to pay up to Ksh135 for a litre of petrol at a time when its neighbours are paying far much less,” his report read. 

He proceeded to ask the delegates at the meeting whether such a government should maintain their silence in peace while the people who voted for them continue to suffer. 

The COTU boss mentioned that they would continue to liaise with African governments to ensure that employers are appreciated and that there’s a favourable business environment. 

His sentiments come just days after he made an attack on Uhuru's government over the high fuel prices in Kenya, and asked the President to personally make an official statement on the issue. 

The veteran unionist is known to be a close political supporter and ally of both the head of state and ODM Leader Raila Odinga. 

An-Image-of-a-Car-Fuelling-At-a-Petrol-Station
A photo of a petrol attendant fueling a car on February 2020.
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