Government explains impact of NASA boycott to the country

The Jubilee led administration has spoken for the first time since Raila Odinga’s team declared a boycott on three major companies.

Treasury CS Henry Rotich on Thursday told the press in Nairobi that the government is accessing the would-be impact that is projected to the economy by Mr Odinga’s onslaught.

“We are still evaluating to see the impact. I can assure you that the impact may not be great,” CS Rotich said in his update to the press.

He added: “Kenya’s economy remains strong and stable, all economic fundamentals are solid. Kenya is moving forward.”

CS Rotich divulged that the Kenyan economy has remained stable despite the elections, which were speculated to have taken a bite in the economic activities.

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Many businesses in Kenya experienced shocks in the wake of annulled August 8 elections. On the fateful day of the historic Supreme Court ruling, Nairobi Securities Exchange lost nearly Sh50 billion in a 10 minutes record.

“The economy is expected to rebound in 2018, and is forecasted to expand by between 6% and 7% owing to anticipated favorable agricultural output, following the short rains. Agriculture contributes more than 25% of our GDP,” the CS said.

He added: “Kenya has demonstrated maturity in terms of adherence to the rule of law and this respect for our independent Judiciary is reassuring to both international and local investors.”

Boycott

Last week, National Resistance Movement put an injunction on the use of products from Safaricom, Bidco Africa and Brookside Dairies for alleged “involvement in rigging for Jubilee.”

Economists have argued that the injunction put on the three giant companies in service and food processing is set to shade off millions of jobs- either directly or indirectly.

Nasa Presidential candidate Raila Odinga faulted Safaricom of colluding with Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to frustrate the election results transmission, calling on his millions of supporters to boycott all services associated with it.

Equally, Mr Odunga rallied his supporters to boycott billions-worth Brookside Dairy - which is associated with Uhuru Kenyatta – and Bidco Africa, Kenya’s leading cooking oil manufacturer, for endorsing a corrupt regime.

On Wednesday, traders dealing in Safaricom products decried of poor state of their business, a week after the boycott were announced by Nasa. Already Nasa leaning MPs have publicly declared that they have moved from the largest telephony service provider in Kenya.