Nyeri County to host investor conference

 

An aerial view of a section of Nyeri Town. The town literally goes to sleep after 8pm, which inconveniences many late shoppers. This is however bound to change. The County Government plans to hold a conference dubbed ‘The Nyeri We Want’ which will, among other things, discuss ways of making the town a 24-hour economy. PHOTO|JOSEPH KANYI|FILE.  NATION

In Summary

• The conference aims at discussing ways of turning Nyeri Town, the county headquarters, into a business hub to attract more investors.
• Nyeri town literally goes to sleep by 8.30pm, with most restaurant, shops, butcheries, and M-Pesa shops outlets closing business by 8pm.
• A former PC Peter Raburu banned night clubs from operating in Nyeri Town for security reasons.
• The business community argues that security must be given first priority if the dream of a 24-hour economy is to be realised.

By JAMES NGUNJIRI

The Nyeri County government is set to host a major investors’ conference early next month.

The conference aims at discussing ways of turning Nyeri Town, the county headquarters, into a business hub to attract more investors.

Speaking to the Daily Nation, County Chief of Staff Duncan Maina said the stage is set for the conference dubbed ‘The Nyeri We Want’.

Last week, Nyeri County Executive Committee members held a three day retreat in Embu to discuss an ambitious five-year integrated plan for steering economic growth in Nyeri County.

“We want Nyeri County residents to come and give their ideas on what we can do to improve our Nyeri.

This will form the basis of what we want to do for our county,” Maina said.

Mr Maina said the county government is looking for support from within and outside Nyeri County to assist in the county's growth and development.

He was reacting to a challenge directed towards the County government by a number of exhibitors, participants and visitors during the Nyeri Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) National Show held earlier in September.

24-HOUR ECONOMY

“We are challenging the County government to consider turning Nyeri Town into a 24-hour business hub to attract more investors,” said one of the exhibitors Ms Caroline Nyawira.

They challenged the County government to consider reviving Nyeri Town’s night economy.

Nyeri town literally goes to sleep by 8.30pm, with most restaurant, shops, butcheries, and M-Pesa shops closing business by 8pm.

By 8.30pm the last supermarket closes its doors which greatly affects those who would wish to do their late shopping.

During the Nyeri ASK show, some visitors who toured the town during that period and who arrived late at night could not get accommodation.

Ms Nyawira said Nyeri is not a bad place, “But I think it can be better if the county government works to improve much its potential," she said.

She said for those who have never been to Nyeri, the perception they have about the town is dashed when one visit the town after sunset.

“I expected people who are really aggressive, real entrepreneurs, I expected to get a number of restaurants open after 8pm.

NO BUSINESS AFTER 8PM

But what I realised was that after 8pm there is no business going on in Nyeri Town.

It was a shocker, a big challenge to the County government, I think we can do better,” said Ms Nyawira.

A former PC Peter Raburu banned night clubs from operating in Nyeri Town for security reasons.

Some residents claim that the directive was the course of the decline in night-time business in Nyeri Town.

However, the business community argues that security must be given first priority if the dream of a 24-hour economy is to be realised.

SECURITY

“We are very hard working, but without security we can’t risk operating at night.

Security must be guaranteed and street lights must be put in place to ensure proper lighting in town at night,” said a businesswoman Ms Irene Wanjiku.

The Kenya National Chambers of Commerce Nyeri County Chairman Joseph Wairuhi said security is an issue that they are addressing seriously as a community.

He however noted that despite this, Nyeri as a whole has no serious issues of insecurity like some other parts of the country.

He added that they are working with the security organs in the county in order to create a favourable environment for growth.

“As a chamber we are handling this issue seriously with the relevant authorities, but Nyeri has no serious issues of insecurity as such,” said Mr Wairuhi.