INTERNATIONAL - The World Bank on Wednesday signed an agreement with the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) to enhance the public private dialogue frameworks at the county level.
Sarah Ochieng, program manager of Kenya Competitiveness Enhancement Program, World Bank Group told journalists in Nairobi that the advisory agreement will help to pave way for the implementation of business-friendly reforms and unlock additional investment for Kenya's private sector.
"Under the collaboration a number of pilot counties are set to benefit from the technical support, best practice exposure and peer-to-peer learning that targets to improve the public private dialogue frameworks at the sub-national level," said Ochieng.
She added that the proposed public private dialogues present a unique opportunity for the participating county governments to formulate well-informed, quality and timely policies.
The World Bank official added that the lender's support is based on the recognition of the private sector as the engine of economic growth.
"We will also help to improve the rate of adoption of business-friendly policies, laws and regulations that will be formulated through a more robust consultative process between county governments and the private sector," Ochieng added.
Richard Ngatia, president, KNCCI, said that it will receive support to enable county governments to develop a database of new laws, regulations, licenses, taxes, fees that have implications on the county business environment to enable tracking and analysis of the business environment.
Ngatia said that conducive business environment at the county level will help to increase both domestic and foreign investments into the country.