The Coast branch Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry has expressed fears of a looming famine as a result of the post election violence.

Executive officer Felix Nyabuto Mogaka said the post election violence occurred in high production areas in the Rift Valley where farmers have undertaken any meaningful activity over the last two months.

Mogaka said that many farmers and "able-bodied Kenyans were still displaced and living in camps, a scenario which will translate in food shortages soon."


Speaking to the press in his office Friday, Mogaka said the business sector in the area, which suffered losses amounting to shs 2 billion, is yet to recover from the recent post election crisis.

He said sectors such as tourism, transport and small scale businesses were still reeling from the effects of the violence although efforts were being made to assist them to recoup their loses.

Most businesses have also lost their market segment since most of their clients have been rendered jobless thereby disrupting the trickle down effect where a single employed person takes care of other dependants.

The official also regretted that there were no data bank of businesses that were affected by the post election violence, a situation which may make it difficult to identify genuine beneficiaries incase of assistance from donor organizations.

In order to help the affected businesses to reconstruct their operations, the chamber is currently carrying out education programs to enable them adopt modern ways of running their operations with a view of recouping their loses within the shortest time possible.

"Extending financial assistance may not help much since what is needed is how best they can sustain their operations to recover lost business", Mr Mogaka added.

Mr Mogaka also called on the banking sector, especially micro finance institutions to reschedule the repayment of loans by businessmen so as to enable them reconstruct their businesses and recover their loses.

See the whole Tip-to-Annan series

See videos on post-election Kenya and on the whole election coverage
See the Kenya Protest - Day One photo gallery
See The Kenya Protest - Day Two photo gallery
See the Nakuru displaced photo gallery
See the burial of violence victim photo gallery


Keywords: kenya_elections