NAIROBI, Kenya, July 23 – The Retail Trade Association of Kenya (RETRAK) wants the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to offer tax relief for retailers who were severely impacted by recent protests by young Kenyans demanding good governance.
RETRAK is hopeful that KRA will come to their rescue, enabling them to get back onto their feet, as some had their properties destroyed and stocks looted.
“We had a meeting with the CS of MITI last week, and we are going to be having a follow-up meeting. We have specific (requests), especially for those people who got totally destroyed because one KRA is going to come knocking, so can we get some relief? And if we can’t get 100 percent relief, can we get into an agreement to pause my payments so that I may be able to rebuild and then come back and pay for you, especially in this case where I have seen a lot in the news about people’s accounts being frozen?” RETRAK CEO Wambui Mbarire.
“We do not want these retailers to get into that because then you have really killed them. So, we are hoping that KRA will give us a listening ear, and hopefully we will be able to find a way to keep those people who really are technically starting from scratch again to get some relief that allows them to restart and then be able to get back on board,” she added.
This month and last one, Kenyan businesses were severely disrupted by youth-led protests commemorating Saba Saba Day as well as anti-Finance Bill 2024, resulting in closures of shops, office buildings, and commercial premises amid fears of looting. Consumer traffic also dropped significantly, with customers avoiding these areas for fear of being caught in violent confrontations between protesters and anti-riot police.
Consequently, retailers incurred Sh2 billion in losses, according to RETRAK. Most of the losses were through stock losses and infrastructure destruction, with Kiambu outlets suffering the most. Unlike last year, Kitengela retailers were less impacted.
However, business activities have now resumed to normalcy across the country, offering reprieve to thousands of businesses that were hit hard.
