MP urges Gov’t to restrict foreigners working in Kenya to specific businesses

Awendo Member of Parliament Walter Owino now wants the government to restrict foreigners to particular business activities in the country.

According to the legislator, foreigners must not be given the absolute freedom of running whatever business they want since that could affect local small scale traders.

The MP wants foreigners doing business in Kenya to only run unique business activities which do not emasculate those run by local investors.

The legislator further stated that local traders are facing unfair competition from foreigners running similar businesses, a situation he said must be dealt with forthwith.

“I want to tell government officers in charge of trade in our country, that we’re really not against foreign investors coming to invest in Kenya, because we also have our people who have invested and are doing business in other countries,” stated the legislator on Saturday.

“But let these people be regulated; let the kind of business that they’re doing in our country be regulated. We’re not supposed to have foreigners running kiosks in our country; we’re not supposed to have foreigners hawking everything including milk and water along the streets of Nairobi and other towns.”

The MP’s remarks come hot on the heels of controversial statements by his Starehe counterpart Charles ‘Jaguar’ Kanyi calling for the forceful deportation of foreigners.

The perceived xenophobic remarks saw the singer-turned-politician arrested and arraigned before a Nairobi court; he was detained for 5 days.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i last month deported seven Chinese nationals found trading illegally in Gikomba market.