The Kisumu Chamber of Commerce and Kisumu County Business Coalition have complained of frequent and unabated blackouts every time an announcement on lower costs is made.
Ben Kitoto, executive secretary of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) Kisumu chapter says that it is important to bring the costs of power down and ensure that power is available at all times.
“It will be of no use if the costs come down and we do not have power when we need it,” he said of the frequent power outages.
He said that the cost of power has been ‘the biggest challenge of any Kenyan businessman’. In a meeting with directors of the chamber on Tuesday, Kitoto said that the businesses should be cushioned from the high costs of production, including that of power.
Chairman of Kisumu County Business coalition Israel Agina said that Kenya’s finished goods could not compete with others in the market because of high costs of power that in turn adds to the shelf price.
“When the cost of energy goes down, consumers can be happy that they would get their favourite goods at a cheaper price,” he said.
However, Agina was quick to add that the coalition will only be happy with the reduction in the costs of power until they see their bills having come down.
“The only time we will be happy about the declaration is when we have those bills 30 per cent less,” he said.