Kiambu MCAs force public and private companies to employ 70% locals

The Kiambu County Assembly has unanimously passed a motion compelling all public and private institutions as well as companies to employ 70% of their workforce from the local dominant community, failure to which their licenses and permits will be revoked.

Majority Leader and Kiambu Town MCA Anthony Ikenya moved the motion claiming that Kiambu residents were suffering from unemployment yet most companies and industries operating in the county outsource their labour.

The MCAs, while debating the motion on Thursday, claimed that several institutions within the county had continued to contravene legal provisions in respect to employing at least 70 per cent of dominant ethnic communities in a county and reserve 30 per cent to non-dominant ethnic communities as specifically enshrined in section 65(1) of the County Government Acts 2012

MCA for Ndeiya Ward, Gideon Gachara, cited the ongoing construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in his ward, saying that majority of the workers in the project are from other counties.

Juja MCA Kaplesh Rjan, who is from the minority communities, said the motion will help alleviate hopelessness among the majority of the youth who have acquired skills in school but have no jobs.

Critics have however, termed the move retrogressive and at cross purposes with the national push for unity and integration.

Among key public institutions in Kiambu County that could be affected by the directive include Kenyatta University, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Mount Kenyatta University, Alliance Boys and Girls schools, tens of tea and coffee multi-nationals, as well as hundreds of giant manufacturing firms in within Thika, such as Bidco Oils and Delmonte.