The Kenya Private Sector Alliance has announced that the country has lost an estimated Sh. 700 billion in four months.
The body said most of the losses came from frequent disruption of transport and industrial operations during the campaigns ahead of the August 8 General Election and protests that followed the Supreme Court’s nullification of the presidential election.
Investors at the Nairobi Securities Exchange topped the list of losers – having lost Sh227 billion paper wealth in the past six weeks. Market capitalisation dropped from Sh2.54 trillion on August 25 to Tuesday’s Sh2.31 trillion offering yet another measure of the ongoing erosion.
“The harsh political climate has serious implications as medium, small and micro-enterprises employ about 85 per cent of Kenya’s labour force. The education sector has also had its calendar disrupted and national examinations could suffer if the current political situation is not managed properly,” said Kepsa Trustee Patrick Obath.
Kepsa further said transport of people and goods had been adversely affected and that matatu operators in the affected counties were losing Sh75 million daily — hurting their ability to service loans.
