The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) has expressed concerns over the ongoing protests being organized by the opposition.
KAM in a statement warned that the protests might derail efforts to growth the country’s economy.
Rajan Shah, the KAM board chairman noted that manufacturers have already felt the impact of the demonstrations.
“We share the pain of most of our members who have reported that numerous businesses have experienced disruptions, hindering their day-to-day operations,” Shah said in part of the statement .
“In some instances, some businesses and retail outlets have borne the brunt of angry protesters who vandalized their enterprises as we have witnessed in the media outlets,” he added.
The manufacturers have now warned that should the protests continue for another week, the country stand to lose up to Ksh2.86 billion daily.
It is estimated that that the manufacturing sector contribution to the Kenyan economy stands at about a trillion as per the Economic Survey 2023.
Transport industry
With the protests being staged for the last three consecutive days, KAM noted that transportation of raw materials had also been affected.
It has warned the continuation of the same might make the already bad situation worse in terms of the high cost of living.
“This directly impacts the availability of essential products in the market, leading to potential shortages and price volatility. This will not help alleviate the pain of the high cost of living and will instead increase it further,” cautioned the Kenya Association of Manufacturers.
Further, KAM said Kenya’s reputation as an attractive investment hub was at risk following the demonstrations.
In addition, it said with an ambitious plan to grow the manufacturing sector contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) threefold from the current 7.8% to 20% by 2030, “we are concerned that this may not be achievable at the current trend“.
The manufacturers now want the opposition and government sides to embrace dialogue in solving their differences.
