Monday,
30 January 2012 - Prime Minister has guaranteed foreign
investors that Kenya remains the top investment destination in Africa and that
the country will remain peaceful in the upcoming general elections.
“The time to invest in Kenya is now. Those who wait
until after elections will regret because it will be too late. I want to assure
you that the next elections will be the most peaceful ever held in this country
since independence,” the PM said.
“They say to make a mistake is human. But to repeat the
same mistake is foolishness. Kenyans have learnt and no violence will accompany
the forthcoming elections,” Odinga said.
The premier said companies that adopt a wait-and-see
attitude will regret as competition will be stiff for the Kenyan market after
the polls.
Mr. Odinga gave the assurance on Sunday at the Nairobi
Museum during a cocktail party hosted for the visiting Chief Executive Officer
of General Electrical Jeffrey Immelt.
He said the role of the private sector was critical in
spurring economic growth and for the same reason the government keen to promote
investor confidence.
The Premier said the government was engaging the
private sector to ensure that the targeted annual growth rate of 10 percent was
achieved within the set time frame
The GE CEO said that his firm is seeing evolving
opportunities in the locomotive industry, health care, aviation, water, energy
distribution and oil and gas.
“Looking at the portfolio of technologies GE has access
to all have some applicability in East Africa and across sub Saharan Africa” he
said.
He also talked of ample opportunities to invest in
Kenya and called on interested companies in Kenya to partner up with Americans
in pursuing business interests in the region.
GE Kenyan subsidiary General Electric Energy is
building a 100 MW wind power station amongst other undisclosed projects in an
expenditure estimated to be around Sh25 billion.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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