NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 30 – The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) is urging the government and private sector to coordinate their efforts to curb the negative effects of the on-going global economic down turn.
The new chairman of the KEPSA board Patrick Obath said on Thursday that despite numerous efforts to mitigate on these effects, the two groups may not succeed due to the disjointed efforts.
“We would like to see a cohesive national response,” Mr Obath said.
He noted that at the moment different initiatives are being carried out which could work against each other.
“What we would like to see is like it was done in the USA and a lot of other economies, where they picked one or two big issues which were tackled by everybody,” Mr Obath said.
He called on the government to sit with the private sector and narrow down on the major issues so that they can be better handled.
However, Mr Obath said it was KEPSA’s view that the government was doing its level best to help the private sector to better tackle the issue.
Outgoing KEPSA Chairman Steven Smith urged the political class to reduce their bickering, which he said is hurting the country’s attractiveness as an investment destination.
“We have to recognise that we have to set the political turmoil that is enveloping the country aside. Though it is an important part of democracy it’s not the one that runs the country,” Mr Smith said.
He intimated that the country needs to learn to separate politics from national economic interest, and added that politics should not define the country.
Mr Obath was elected new chair of the private sector lobby group during its AGM held on Thursday, replacing Mr Smith who has chaired the organisation for the past 18 months.
Lucy Karume takes over as Vice Chair replacing Mr Obath.
Other new members of the Board include Martin Oduor-Otieno, Dr Nelson Githinji, Vimal Shah, Kareithi Murimi, Gloria Ndekei, Bob Karina and Walter Okok.
Dr Kevit Desai continues as Acting Chief Executive of the Board.
