Small and emerging businessmen in Makongeni shopping centre have appealed to the Kiambu County Government to construct them business sheds to enable them do business even under bad weather.
The businessmen who are mostly youths have said that the county government can empower individual youths through constructing them sheds and leasing to them at an affordable fee.
"As emerging entrepreneurs we are faced with challenges of raising capital to enable us to at least rent somewhere we can do our businesses at all times. We end up erecting makeshift kiosks where we are faced with challenges of bad weather. If the county government could construct good kiosks in this place and lease them to us affordably we would appreciate," said Jeremiah Kamoko, a shoeshine on Thursday.
The youths argue that the county government would even earn revenue from the kiosks and have the shopping centre more organized.
"It can be an extra source of revenue for the county government to be able to provide services to the people more effectively. These makeshift kiosks that you see around are sometimes used by thugs as hideouts to waylay people at night but with good county kiosks some of these things would reduce," Rose Njeri, a fruit vendor said.
Joseph Mwangi who sells clothes at Makongeni Phase 6 says that he has been forced to relocate his business twice this year after plot owners asked him to bring down his kiosk to develop their land.
"Doing business in such an environment where you keep on being disrupted can at times lead to a loss of morale and more so customers. Getting a place where one can operate uninterrupted at a low fee is much better," said Mwangi.