Azimio La Umoja presidential candidate, Raila Odinga, has come to the defence of Keroche Breweries after its closure following a prolonged tussle with the taxman.
Speaking during a meeting with Mount Kenya Foundation leaders on Friday, June 17, Raila stated that it is unnecessary to shut down Keroche considering the number of people the company employs.
Further, the Azimio presidential candidate opined that the government should help the company get back to its feet instead of suppressing it with the burden of exorbitant demands.
He noted that the government should remove punitive bureaucratic taxation systems, adding that if taxes are too high, businesses have a tendency of evading them.
"One way of lifting the country from poverty is through the private sector. It is the engine for economic growth worldwide. Therefore, our government needs to create an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive," Raila stated.
"You do that by removing restrictive laws, removing bureaucratic red tapes so that the private sector can be able to move and create wealth. It is not right to become punitive with taxation. If you close a business, you are also killing the employees," he added.
"Don't kill Keroche, if they can't pay today, they will pay tomorrow. They are Kenyans. Where will they run away and go to. Spread out the debt, if they can't pay today, help them to continue with their business. Don't kill the goose that lays the golden egg."
He stated that the Mount Kenya region is rich in agriculture and that is why he intends to keep Agriculture Cabinet Secretary, Peter Munya, in the same position so that he can continue instituting reforms that are beneficial to farmers from the region.
Raila wooed the region further with promises of reducing costs in the agricultural sector as well as creating laws that are favourable for marketing their produce.
The Azimio presidential candidate noted that it is prudent for the government to continue improving infrastructure in the country and create an enabling environment to do business.
Raila defended Keroche as one of the businesses from the region which has been beneficial to residents by creating avenues of employment in the country.
Although Keroche CEO, Tabitha Karanja, is running on a UDA ticket, the Odinga family remains close friends with the Karanja's.
Last week, Keroche Breweries announced it was closing down once again after an agreement on how it would settle its tax arrears failed to be reached.
Tabitha Karanja stated that the move has the future of its 400 workers hanging in the balance. She added that if the closure is not stopped, beer worth Ksh350 million could go to waste.
"Thousands of innocent hard working Kenyans are undergoing the indignity and injustice of unemployment, poverty and hunger," Karanja stated.
