President Uhuru Kenyatta has promised to expedite the process of setting up of an arbitration centre in Nairobi in a bid to attract investors who lament of delays in the Judiciary.
On the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in London, United Kingdom, the President sold his government as pro-investors.
The arbitration centre will eliminate continual backlog of cases in the courts, especially commercial suits, some which have taken several years to adjudicate.
“Investors want Kenya to set up an arbitration centre to tackle the bulk of commercial cases, because our court system takes too long and is injurious to business,” State House Spokesman Manoah Esipisu told the Nation.
“The President has asked senior staff to coordinate discussions with our justice team to see how this can be delivered quickly.”
While in the UK, the President held talks with officials at the London Stock Exchange, where they explored the idea of having Kenya float bonds in Kenyan shillings to cushion investors from the fluctuations in the exchange rates.
At the sidelines of the Commonwealth forum, Kenyatta held trade talks with Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa (South Africa), Filipe Nyusi (Mozambique) and Nana Akufo-Addo (Ghana). He also met Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, where they discussed a range of issues of mutual interests.
He has also held talks with United States billionaire business magnate Bill Gates.
At Commonwealth forum, leaders discussed trade between the 53 member states, targeting the $2 trillion (Sh200 trillion) mark.
United Kingdom is among the top investors in Kenya with 220 British companies worth £2.7 billion currently running operations in the country and employing about 250,000 Kenyans both directly and indirectly.
The exit of Britain from the European Union is seen by Kenya as an opportunity for it to explore new economic ventures.
Foreign Affairs and International Trade CS Monica Juma said that investors are welcomed to Kenya to help harvest resources in the oceans, as long as there is protection of the environment.
“The cooperation in Maritime Security should not be restricted to piracy but to cover other illicit maritime activities such as illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, smuggling of oil, trafficking of drugs, arms, persons, agricultural products, toxic waste dumping and marine pollution,” she said in a speech at the Commonwealth Foreign Minister’s Forum on a ‘More Sustainable Future’ and a ‘More Prosperous Future’.
