Cheap Motor Vehicle & Tyres Imports Costing Kenyans Jobs

Kenya is staring at a loss over of Ten Thousand (10,000) jobs within the motor vehicle industry as companies are set to close following the huge losses they are incurring as a result of cheap motor vehicles and tires imports into the country.

Already the largest firm in the sector, Sameer Africa is set to close by September this year and more companies will be following suit since the cheap imports into the country have flooded the local market pushing out local products considered widely to be not affordable.

Other affected firms include General Motors,(GM) the Kenya Vehicles Assemblers as well as the Thika based Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers all including Sameer Africa having an estimated workforce of Ten Thousands workers who depend on these firms directly for their livelihoods besides their families.

The move comes despite frequent promises by the Kenya government to protect the local firms from skewed and unfavorable competition they continue to face from foreign firms and the cheap imports being hawked on every street in the country.

It is absurd that thousands of Kenyans are now set to lose their main source of livelihoods and the situation is set to worsen especially bearing in mind that Kenya as a country lacks a clear policy on how to cushion local firms including manufacturers from undue completion posed by foreign firms.

COTU (K) now calls upon the Kenya government to move with speed and avert this impending catastrophe that is now likely to even worsen the country’s already emotive employment situation especially among our youths.

Bro. Francis Atwoli, NOM (DZA), EBS, MBS

SECRETARY GENERAL