Businesses across the country took a hit on Monday following the nationwide demonstrations that were called by Azimio One Kenya Leader, Raila Odinga, which led to losses and destruction of property. Both large and small business, especially in Nairobi and Kisumu, were majorly affected owing to the destruction of property and looting by some of the protestors.
In a statement, the Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua, claimed that an estimate of Kshs 2.0 bn was lost in revenue due to the protests yesterday. The major businesses that were affected included retailers dealing with different products, supermarkets, eateries, and service businesses across Nairobi and Kisumu.
These protests, which will now be held every Monday and Thursday, according to Raila Odinga, comes at a time when the Kenya shilling has been on a steep devaluation after hitting another record low exchange rate at 130.0 against the US Dollar yesterday as reported by the Central Bank of Kenya.
Read: Details Of Azimio Leader Raila Odinga’s Nationwide Mass Action
Going forward, the county governments of Nairobi and Kisumu will feel the heat of the demonstrations owing to the revenues not collected from their biggest streams of income which are parking fees. For instance, a report by the Controller of Budgets dated July – December 2022 showed that Nairobi collects an average of Kshs 5.3 million daily parking fees which forms 30.0% of its annual own revenues. This translates to Kshs 5.3 mn loss every Monday should the protests continue.
Kenyans are now calling for a dialogue between the sitting president, Dr. William Ruto, and the opposition leader, Hon Raila Odinga, to stop any future planned demonstrations.
Email your news TIPS to editor@thesharpdaily.com
