Kenyan business helps fight against jihadis and corruption
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Kenyan business helps fight against jihadis and corruption

Kenyan business helps fight against jihadis and corruption

di lettura
(AGI) Turin, June 11 - The president of the Kenyan Chamber ofCommerce, Kiprono Kittony was in Turin on Thursday for theninth World Chambers Congress. "If you want to walk quickly goalone, but if you want to go far do it together", he said,using the idea of a Nigerian poet to illustrate the commitmentof a country plagued by corruption and terrorism to grow itseconomy and business. "It's not been easy tackling corruptionbecause of course it involves the private sector and we havecompanies in our organisation," he told AGI. The country hasbeen rocked by scandal in recent months and has seen almost themass resignation of anti-corruption commissioners. Last monthPresident Uhuru Kenyatta appointed a special tribunal, headedby High Court judge Jonathan Havelock, to investigate theconduct of the commissioners. "What we businessmen did againstcorruption was to open a business chapter to be signed by ourmembers and that defines a sort of code of ethical practices.We report companies that do not sign up for the chapter to thegovernment so they win no public contracts." The KNCCI is aprivate organisation, said Mr Kittony on the "Trust inGovernments" panel held by the business communities of a numberof "difficult" countries. "The government supports us in thistask and contributes to strengthening the Chapter. This helpsthe business community to regulate itself," he continued. Asfor the security issue, in a country where Al Sheebab violencehas multiplied in recent years with the tragic attack in Aprilon the university campus in Garissa in which 137 people died,Mr Kittony explained: "We have the phenomenon of Islamistradicalisation in Kenya. Our businessmen meet regularly andreport problems or suspects to the intelligence services toprevent infiltration. Indeed, we bolster the work of theintelligence services. We have just started this practice andthe results will be seen next year." Mr Kittony also tookadvantage of his visit to Turin to strengthen ties with Italy,a country with which Kenya has "a very strong relationship"."In Malindi there are more Italians than Kenyans and thecommunity of your countrymen there is one of the largest in allof sub-Saharan Africa." In terms of trade there are areas suchas blue technology "a field in which Italy is leader". And inSeptember, a delegation of Kenyan businessmen will arrive atMilan Expo during the Kenya week". "Among the areas on which weare focusing there is also that of agriculture - Italy is veryspecialised and may help us to develop our industry," headded.. .
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