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Governor tells Kiambu firms to hire 70pc local workers

waititu

Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Companies operating in Kiambu County will be compelled to employee 70 per cent of locals if a proposed law is implemented.

The Kiambu County Employment Bill 2017 is already causing jitters to investors in the area.

Governor Ferdinand Waititu said all factories, estates and public institutions will be required to adhere to the law to help the county create jobs. He said the proposed law will serve to absorb at least 50 per cent of unemployed people in Kiambu County.

“The proposal is perfectly in conformity with Section 65 of County Governments Act that requires county governments to ensure at least 30 per cent of public positions are filled by people not from the dominant ethnic community in the county,” he said.   The 70 per cent, he added, is therefore “an exclusive share” for residents.

“We are going to table the law in the county assembly and pass it. And I will sign it into law. We cannot be talking about our commitment to create jobs yet we are doing nothing to grab the opportunities in our county,” he said.

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“You are a contractor and you win a tender in Kiambu County, regardless whether that tender has been awarded by the central or county government, you will have to employ 70 per cent of our people.”

He said the law will apply even to public institutions like Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenyatta University and Kiambu Institute of Science and Technology.