Kenya’s business community has reiterated its commitment to be part of the economic recovery and reconstruction process in the aftermath of the post-election violence that has rocked the country. The Kenya Association of Manufactures said in a weekly newsletter released on Monday that the group supported the former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan-led mediation process and urged political parties to avoid any actions that could derail it. “The business leaders said issues that have arisen need to be resolved within a new constitutional dispensation,” it said. The group called for the “conclusion of fundamental reforms that address equity in equality, justice, and restoration of democratic and human-rights of all Kenyans, while providing for ethnic diversity in the management of public affairs and management of electoral process…
There was need to review the thorny land questions especially in the Rift Valley and the Coast, which bore the brunt of the post-election violence, besides working towards a solution that would eliminate the recurrence of violence in the future. “The business leaders committed themselves to promoting diversity and co-existence at the workplace and urged the government to criminalize tribalism, while upholding the right of all Kenyans to live, work and own property anywhere in the country,” the newsletter said. The business leaders recommended a ”broad-based, inclusive government that supports and builds on the diversity of the Kenyan people and promotes healing of the nation”.
