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Kenya keen to attract Diaspora investors – Ruto

CISSA-MEETINGNAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 3 – Deputy President William Ruto has said that the government is working on a framework of incentives and tailor-made investment packages to encourage more Kenyans in the diaspora invest at home.

He noted that the recently launched Kenya diaspora policy was among other strategies by government to mainstream Kenyans living abroad into the national development agenda.

“We want everyone to participate in the affairs of their motherland without any hindrance,” he said
The Deputy President stated that government will continue assisting Kenyans in the diaspora direct their remittances towards productive ventures both at the national and county levels.

“I want to assure our diaspora that the government’s initiatives are real, sustainable and aimed at ensuring that our brothers and sisters abroad continue to do an excellent job of building Kenya here and all over the globe,” said the Deputy President.

Speaking when he officially closed the twin 17th biennial conference of Ambassadors, High Commissioners and diaspora conference at Windsor hotel, Ruto said the government was also taking bold steps to eradicate corruption, wastage and insecurity in the country.

“The government is doing everything possible to eradicate corruption, insecurity and wastage so that you get a good return on your investment,’’ he told the meeting.
Ruto was categorical that the government will fight craft to the end emphasizing that the purge on corruption was unstoppable.

“On the issue of corruption, the President has spoken clearly on this matter and that is our position. Neither politics nor pressure will stop us from ensuring that corruption is fully eradicated,” he said.

He said a corruption free environment will attract investment and innovation especially from Kenyans living abroad .

“We want to create an environment that compels our diaspora’s best ideas to benefit us locally. Corruption, barriers to entry, unreliable legal system, lack of sound protection for capital both intellectual and real is significant constraint to the achievement of this goal,” said Ruto.
He said that to enhance efficiency, the government will soon launch a digital payment platform to ease payments and eradicate corruption.

Ruto urged Kenyans abroad to join envoys in wooing tourists and investors by reassuring people the country was safe.

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The DP said “We need the support of everyone, I encourage Ambassadors and High Commissioners to bring investors, to find markets for exports, to bring tourists to Kenya, to sell Kenya out there as the preferred destination of investment, to identify opportunities for Kenyans.”

In response to the attack on Garissa University, Ruto said the government has mobilised both equipment and personnel to restore normalcy.

“We have mobilized all equipment and resources to ensure that the situation is under control,” he said.

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed said the conference which attracted an overwhelming response with over six hundred Kenyans from different parts of the globe attending had provided an opportunity for government officials and the private sector to share ideas encourage diaspora engagement in the country’s economic growth.

“The bonds that you have established will certainly enhance coordination as you project, promote and protect our national interests and image globally,” she said.

Representatives of the diaspora community thanked government for the initiative to broaden dialogue through organizing the meeting that facilitated broader exchange of views.

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