Kenyan legislator targets foreign firms amid ‘Chinese invasion’
MP Rigathi Gachagua demands limits on foreign involvement in public contracts, with an eye on curbing a huge influx of Chinese businesses
A legislator from Kenya’s governing party has proposed limiting foreign involvement in public contracts after what he said was an outcry about an influx of Chinese businesses driving out local companies. China has become Kenya’s biggest trading partner, accounting for 17% of the nation’s annual trade by value, or more than $4bn, heavily tilted in China’s favour. That imbalance, together with growing Kenyan borrowing from China, which is estimated at 21% of Kenya’s total public debt of 2.51-trillion shillings ($24.67bn), has started to ruffle feathers among Kenyans. A recent wave of Chinese investments in the real estate, retail and road construction sectors has added to the unease. “The hue and cry has been brought about by what I call the Chinese invasion,” Rigathi Gachagua, an MP from central Kenya, told Reuters by phone. He proposes amendments to the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act of 2015, to prevent foreigners from bidding for any contract valued at up to 1-billion sh...
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