The Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry in Kenya Moses Kuria has called upon international investors to come and partner in privatisation of Kenyan Universities to revive the economy.
Speaking at a media briefing in Nairobi, the CS said that local universities have Alot of potential to generate profits.
“These universities are sitting on alot of land that could be used for commercial housing, farming or other business. We ask investors from the US, Malaysia and elsewhere to come and partner with us in turning our local universities into world class institutions. Instead of Kenyans going abroad to study, we want foreigners flying in and increasing our revenues,” He said.
The CS added that He does not suggest that all universities should be privatized but only some. “There is alot of resources being wasted in universities and this is one of the ways we can utilize them to boost our economy,” He said.
Speaking at the same meeting, Moses Kuria also said his office is working with other stakeholders to streamline the exportation industry with the aim of making it more efficient and to maximize on profits.
“We are currently putting in place digital infrastructure that will make exporting more profitable and stress free that even a regular citizen can do it. Exporters will be able to track their products from when they leave the country to where it gets delivered and paid for. Payments will be done digitally and the exporter will just be waiting for a bank alert,” He said.
He added that he is working tirelessly to stimulate the economy and improve the living conditions of local citizens. “We are having meetings with different industry players and we will keep you updated on more.” He said.
The CS also put on notice schools that are selling uniforms and asked them to let parents shop for uniforms wherever they want. He said that school principals have been making alot of commissions at the expense of struggling parents.
“This will help local tailors and small business traders to make some money so as to earn a living. We cannot let big monopolies to continue dominating while others are going down. This is one of the ways we can enable small businesses to grow. The same applies to school books. Parents should buy the school books from any distributor and any manufacturer should be allowed to make the books (not the contents). This will boost the economy in a big way,” He said.
According to the Macro-Fiscal Analytic Snapshot Kenya Report prepared by the institute of Public Finance (IPF) and Oxford Policy Management, the COVID-19 pandemic halted economic growth in 2020, but the country has since recovered, although not strongly enough to put GDP back on the pre-pandemic path. The CS said that his office will not relent in getting the national economy back on track.
Moses Kuria also said that big plans to build the Kenyan economy are underway and he will keep the public updated through monthly briefings.
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