The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) and the National Assembly will on Friday, October 18, hold the Speaker’s Roundtable.
The annual event brings together the National Assembly and the apex body of the private sector for structured engagements over two days and will be held at the Travellers’ Beach Hotel in Mombasa.
An estimated 300 participants drawn from the National Assembly and the private sector are scheduled to share ideas on the role of the Legislature and the private sector in boosting Kenya’s competitiveness to enable economic growth and the creation of jobs.
Speaking ahead of the event, KEPSA Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Carole Kariuki, said the Speaker’s Roundtable will build on the discussions held last year; when the event raised awareness about the role of Parliament in the creation of a conducive business environment and to set the business legislative agenda for Parliament.
“The National Assembly plays a critical role in creating the right environment for businesses to thrive. For the private sector to increase investments and create jobs, the policy needs to be right and we are happy that the National Assembly has worked to make this possible over the years. This is a conversation that we need to continue having and that’s why this annual event is important,” Ms. Kariuki noted.
National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi said this year’s event will provide both the business community and the Members of Parliament an opportunity to take stock of the implementation of agreements made last year and to plan for the future.
“The Speaker’s Roundtable is in essence an opportunity for us to deliberate on the legislation that the private sector deems necessary to catalyse economic growth and address Kenya’s social-economic challenges. This is a valuable forum as it informs and enriches the quality of debate on various Bills in which KEPSA has provided input and KEPSA’s involvement in turn represents an important element of public participation,” said Hon Muturi.
A similar meeting is scheduled with the Senate at a later date.
In the past two years, both legislators and the private sector through KEPSA have collaborated on a number of important laws, among them; County Revenue (Raising Process) Bill, 2017; Natural Resources (Benefit Sharing) Bill, 2018; Data Protection Bill, 2019; Tea Bill, 2018; Kenya Customs Agents and Freight Forwarders Management Bill, 2019; Statute Law (Misc. Amendments) Bill (No. 2) 2018 on the Amendments to the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act (otherwise referred to as Prompt Payment Bill); and National Hospital Insurance Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
Some of these Bills are expected to have an immediate impact on investors.
With the County Revenue (Raising Process) Bill, county governments are expected to improve their revenue-racing processes. KEPSA hopes that this Bill will help address the multiplicity of taxes, levies and charges and the lack of harmonization of the same. It is also expected to put in place more stringent accountability measured to avoid the arbitrary enforcement of increased rates and levies.
The amendments to the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, otherwise known as the Prompt Payment Bill, are expected to help unlock business funds for suppliers, improve the stability of businesses and as a consequence improve GDP growth. The new law is expected to improve businesses’ trust in government, enhance stability in the monetary sector because of the reduction in non-performing loans and reduce non-performing trade-credit related to pending bills.
