Kepsa warns of far reaching effects to the economy following political contest in Kenya

Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) CEO Carole Kariuki

NAIROBI, KENYA: The Kenyan business community has cited that the super-heated political rhetoric and hardline positioning by politicians, threats of chaos and implied violence is hurting the economy.

Under the banner of Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), the group contends that the continued stalemate is now a serious threat to the continued economic well-being of the country.

Kepsa brings together all the associations from the different sectors of the economy to pursue an enabling business environment and create wealth and jobs for Kenya.

The business community explained that because of the negative impact of the current political situation on investment and spending decisions, there is economic slowdown.

Kepsa said that factories shutdown are likely to be witnessed, mounting corporate and personal debts, international conference cancellations with their direct effect on tourism and related labor intensive activities, corporate distress and increased unemployment are predictable effects of a dysfunctional politics.

Kepsa argued that already Kenya’s GDP for the past six months, this year has slowed down to five per cent in the immediate pre-election period, a trend that is expected to worsen when updated numbers taking in the election period comes out. 

“Our super-heated political rhetoric and hardline positioning by politicians, accompanied by threats of chaos and implied violence, are now a serious threat to the continued economic well-being of this country and, by extension, to our hopes of lifting our people out of poverty. No one wins when the economy grinds to a halt,” reads part of Kepsa statement.

And now the business community in the country has listed three point messages to the political class and to those leading the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the Supreme Court, security agencies and other institutions critical to the success of the fresh Presidential election.

Kepsa wants the political class to be civil to each other and towards Kenyans, allow the fresh Presidential election take place and respect the independent institutions.

Kepsa argues that Kenyans have been subjected to vile abuse, shameful, hate speech directed at whole groups, be they tribal, ethnic, gender, religious or any other, wild and unsubstantiated attacks on individuals, institutions, companies and others, accompanied by threats of violent ejections and  boycotts. 

“Elections are the bedrock of our political infrastructure. Without elections, we risk the lack of legitimacy among our political leaderships. The answer lies in our strict adherence to the issues raised in the Supreme Court's ruling. The court directed the IEBC to address the Court's concerns as it sought to organize and oversee the Presidential election re-run within 60 days,” reads part of the statement.

On Monday, after a meeting at a Nairobi hotel, Kepsa said that the Independent institutions should be able to dispense their mandates without fear or favour, citing that “we toy with them at our peril.”

“As business community, we are passionate about maintaining the independence of institutions such as the IEBC and the Supreme Court, which are the two in politicians' cross-hairs right now. We must let these carry out their mandates unfettered.”