Businessmen dealing in scrap metal trade emerged, issuing fresh demands to President William Ruto's administration.
The traders have faced financial uncertainty since mid-2022 when former President Uhuru Kenyatta placed a caveat on the trade.
Speaking to the press while launching their latest association on Tuesday, October 25, the Knight Scrap Metal Dealers Association (KSMDA) demanded the state to reduce the licensing fees from Ksh250,000 to between Ksh5,000 and Ksh10,000.
The fee was increased at the beginning of 2022 after reports emerged that scrap metals dealings led to a spike in vandalism of state infrastructure.
KSMDA chairman, Evans Ng'ang'a, argued that the fee was too high for the traders and heavily dented their working capital.
"You will never find a business that you will be able to pay Ksh250,000, not even a bank. I mean, you need to have a working capital of over Ksh1 million, and this is a cottage industry.
"People don't have that type of money. The directive affected us. Those license fees must go down to Ksh10,000 or Ksh5,000," stated Ng'ang'a
He further demanded a sit-down with the head of state to discuss the new arrangement aimed at allowing the players in the industry to self-regulate.
"We will have to sit down with the government to see how we can come up with an amicable situation where all our members will be encompassed in business," he added.
In April 2022, the businessmen announced that they lost upwards of Ksh800 million in a span of two months after Uhuru outlawed the scrap metals trade.
The former president also ordered police to arrest and press treason charges against anyone caught vandalising national infrastructure projects.
At the time, the team demanded to be allowed to resume scrap metal dealerships arguing that it provided livelihoods for many people.
In June 2022, the state gradually allowed the trade to resume but imposed a high licensing fee and strong policies to regulate the industry.
During the Tuesday, October 25 press briefing, Gladys Nyambura, KSMDA secretary general, challenged the state to cast its net wider to nab scrap metal thieves rather than blaming dealers.
"We can't entertain thieves within our business because we want to conduct genuine business. But even the same, please stop blaming us on everything because I don't think it is only us. Let them also check other avenues," she stated.
