MOMBASA- National Assembly Speaker Rt. Hon. (Dr.) Moses Wetang’ula challenged Private sector players not to be spectators in the law making process urging for greater Private Sector investment in the processes.
Speaking while making his closing remarks following an intense two day session that saw the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) members engage the House Leadership including chairs of various committees on matters impacting the economy, the Speaker noted that while Parliament came under sharp scrutiny over the laws churned out from the floor of the House, the Private sector had a role to play in sharing their views on proposed legislations under consideration.
“Legislation is not a preserve of Parliament, in the process of development of laws, we should work together and help this country,” he stated.
Taking note of the heavy criticism levelled against Parliament and the government over the alleged lack of transparency in the JKIA expansion deal pitted to cost millions of shillings, the Speaker questioned why the private sector had not given its position.
“I have gone through the documents, I did not see the issues that were out there in the public domain, but you(private sector) you were quiet, you should have come out to inform the public because we need to upgrade our airport if we are to compete with our competitors,” he said.
During the round table discussions that saw participants burn the midnight oil in the quest to find viable solutions to issues that impact the country’s development, calls for deeper collaboration between the National Assembly and KEPSA were heightened acknowledging the role the private sector played as a driver of economic transformation.
“Committees in the House, I give you liberty to have sectoral meetings with KEPSA and other stakeholders and the liberty to bring the conclusions and resolutions on the floor of the House, I pledge my support,” he added.
During the panel discussions, deliberations centered on cost of doing business with a focus on infrastructure that aids its improvement, how to encourage productivity in the digital and social market economy in the advent of Artificial Intelligence and also the impact of Governance on economic development.
“Let us bake the cake together, let us eat the cake together. This country has great potential but we must change,” the Speaker added
Members challenged KEPSA to ensure that their criticism of the activities of the August House were grounded by fact-based submissions if action was to be taken.
The three day engagement themed “From Policy to Practice – Delivering through business and government partnership” seeks to bring together change makers from different sectors to identify solutions to issues that impact the economy.
“Let us trust each other and allow the government of the day to deliver, distractions will deflect those in power from focusing on their mandate he concluded.
