Kenyan money(photo/The Star)
The Kenya’s economy is feeling the political temperature after statistics indicated that the GDP has dropped by 10% over the last four months as a result of the prolonged electioneering period and the political uncertainty.
According to a KEPSA report on economic impact of elections, sectors hard hit by the consecutive political activities are tourism that has recorded a 30% decline in bookings in the period under review and the transport sector which is now losing Sh75 million daily.
Others include wholesale and retail sectors which have been hit in the last three weeks by violent demonstrations as well as the manufacturing sector which has shed off some informal jobs“The private sector, having reviewed the loss has estimated it to be about 10 percent of the GDP, equivalent to Ksh.700 billion just in the last 4 months,” said KEPSA Trustee Patrick Obath.Additionally, the International Monetary Fund disclosed that Kenya’s 2017 GDP is estimated at 7.4 trillion shillings with the business community largely attributing the drop. The business community has repeatedly insisted that the political players should engage in a constructive dialogue to solve the political stalemate expressed in the country.This follows the as the repeat presidential poll went ahead on Thursday, however, experiencing low voter turnout especially in NASA stronghold.