NAIROBI, Kenya
Economies in Kenya’s main cities and towns are operating at 30 per cent capacity because of the delay in implementing the policy of a 24-hour economy, limiting the ability of the country to create more job opportunities,said a business lobby group.
The Nairobi Central Business District Association (NCBDA) said on Wednesday that it estimates that economies in major towns and cities have the ability to create new additional hub for each existing one if the 24-hour economy policy is implemented.
“Most businesses in Kenya operate for only 8 hours. And those 8 hours are also interrupted with lunch and other non-work related issues that have to be done. So we are talking about very little time that is dedicated to productivity,” NCDBA chairman Timothy Muriuki said in Nairobi.
The implementation of the plan has however delayed partly because of the security situation faced by business people and consumers operating late at night. For instance, some supermarkets in Nairobi that had decided to be open for 24 hours have had to revert to the normal opening hours because of the attacks by thieves.
“Crime is one issue that requires to be addressed urgently if the 24-hour economy is to work. Businesses will not open under threat of robbers while shoppers will be scared. The same applies to the manufacturing industries who workers cannot work well when they know they are not secure,” said Muriuki.
Crime in the urban centers has been complicated by the emergency of terrorists that are using improvised explosive devices to state attacks. Key hotels in Nairobi like the Laico Regency said on Wednesday that it is operating at 50 per cent capacity because of security concerns from the would-be clients.
The Deputy Director of Kenya National Disaster Operation Center Jeremiah Njagi said concept of community policing is now more necessary for Kenya because most terrorists so far arrested have been found to be Kenyans.
“It may be easier for our intelligence agencies to follow foreigners but when it is our own citizens staging such attacks, we need collaboration of the public to succeed in defeating them,” he said.
Terrorist attacks stared late last year after Kenya invaded Somalia to root out Al-Shabaab terrorists that had started abducting tourists and foreign workers inside Kenya territory. Creating a 24-hour economy is part of Kenya’s development blue print known as Vision 2030.
It recognizes that around the clock economy will ensure available resources are utilized more efficiently, creating greater job opportunities for available workers, especially the youth, who constitute a major portion of the working-age population.
“History indicates that the greatest economic growth is driven by an increase in productivity. A fully operative 24-hour economy will enable us to increase productivity by allowing us to do more with the available space, manpower and technology,” notes a 24- hour economy implementation report prepared by the National Economic and Social Council and the Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development.
“The additional income from extra work shifts from a 24-hour economy is will enrich the consumer, improve savings, increase demand for goods and services and grow private and public investment,” it adds. (Xinhua)
Leave a comment