Kenya

"NESC public private dialogue to enhance Foreign Direct Investment"

The National Executive Steering Committtee NESC on Public Private Partnership dialogue project aims at enhancing investment promotion.

Investment and Competition in Kenya – Review of laws and policies

Under its project “Enhancing Foreign Direct Investment”, UNDP commissioned the United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD) to conduct a review of Kenya’s investment law and policy. The findings of this study were presented in a draft report in Nairobi in March 2005 through two workshops, one for Members of Parliament, and one for all stakeholders. Comments received from the two workshops were incorporated to produce the final report, complete with recommendations for policy reform, which were then formally submitted to the government of Kenya. It is expected that this study will be a significant milestone, especially in light of the new Investment Promotion Bill of 2004, which the President of Kenya signed into law on December 31, 2004.

Under its project “Enhancing Capacities through Trade Expansion and Diversification”, Dr. Peter Njoroge, Commissioner of the Monopolies & Prices Commission, and Professor Arthur Owiro of the University of Nairobi were commissioned to conduct an extensive study on the status and problems of Kenya’s competition law and policy since the law’s enactment in 1989 and to draw recommendations based on their findings. The draft report was presented and circulated to stakeholders, followed by a stakeholders workshop in March to incorporate comments for the final version. The final version will be formally submitted to the Ministry of Finance for review and advocated for responsive policy action and reform.

Building Capacity for Kenya’s Investment Promotion Centre

As mandated within the Opportunities Component of the CPAP, UNDP is committed to assisting the development of capacity for Kenya’s Investment Promotion Centre. Under its project “Enhancing Foreign Direct Investment”, UNDP is sponsoring the participation of Investment Promotion Centre staff in several World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies study tours. Three Investment Promotion Centre staff are expected to depart shortly for Uganda, Ghana, and South Africa, where they will gain valuable experience by interacting with officials from the Investment Promotion Agencies of their respective host countries. Participants will return to the Investment Promotion Centre equipped with newly acquired knowledge and to become agents of change. This exercise will be complimented by an institutional audit of IPC’s operations and organizational strategy and training sessions for Investment Promotion Centre staff, also to be sponsored by UNDP.