Govt to get rid of unfair trade policies, DP Gachagua assures Nyamakima traders
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua when he hosted a meeting with the Nairobi-based small-scale traders at Harambee House Annex, Nairobi on March 1, 2023. Top government officials including Cabinet Secretaries Prof Kithure Kindiki (Interior), Dr Alfred Mutua (Foreign Affairs) and the National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wa attended.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has assured the Nyamakima small scale traders that the President William Ruto government is willing to get rid of unfair policies that have threatened their businesses.
In a press statement after meeting the traders at his Harambee Annex office, DP Gachagua said the government is willing to consult with the traders and ensure their business are thriving.
“This is a government that listens to the people. The government you elected cannot abandon you. It will always listen to you and ensure your businesses thrive. It's a guiding principle President William Ruto has entrenched in his administration and we are keen to ensure all our doors are open to anyone who wants to raise their grievances with us,” Mr Gachagua said.
Mr Gachagua also said most of the small scale traders played a key role in their victory in the August polls and the government will not abandon them.
He has also assured them that the government will soon create policies to protect their businesses.
The meeting with the traders was attended by Cabinet Secretaries Kithure Kindiki (Interior and National Administration) and Alfred Mutua (Foreign and Diaspora Affairs), Trade Principal Secretary Alfred K’Ombudo, counterparts Abubakar Hassan Abubakar (Investment) and Julius Korir (Cabinet Affairs).
The meeting comes after a series of protests by the Nyamakima traders in the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD) yesterday.
The local traders insist that they should be in charge of controlling the wholesale and retail ends of the supply chain in the country. They accuse the Chinese of taking over the wholesale and retail supply businesses by lowering the price of their commodities for up to 45 percent of what they sell the wares.
Government directives
Last week, Trade CS Moses Kuria had instructed China Square, a mall located along Thika Road to give out their lease to Kenyatta University.
"I have today given an offer to Prof Paul Wainaina who is the Kenyatta University Vice Chancellor, to buy out the lease for China Square, Unicity Mall and hand it over to the Gikomba, Nyamakima, Muthurwa and Eastleigh Traders Association. We welcome Chinese investors to Kenya as manufacturers, not traders," Mr Kuria said on his social media.
But according to Mr Lei Cheng who owns China Square, the move by the CS are discriminatory.
“We have cooperated with all government directives for opening a business in Kenya and we are here to break the monopoly. The people who are fighting us feel threatened because Kenyans now know we exist and we are not exploiting them in pricing,” Mr Cheng said in an interview with Nation.Africa.
