Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has urged Kenyans in the diaspora to invest the money they earn in Kenya, but not return home just yet because the country is facing unemployment problems.
He spoke on Friday at the close of a three-day Diaspora Investment Conference at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi.
Gachagua said, “East or West, home is best. At the end of it all, let us not pretend: it is the desire of every Kenyan working out there to one day come back home and retire here, but you must prepare for that retirement. You don’t want to come back and find it (the country) the way you left it.”
He continued, “Please put money here, but don’t come yourself; we don’t need you here right now…we have enough problems with employment we want you to stay out there, but we want you to send money here… you’ll come back home eventually but not now.”
Gachagua said the government was making deliberate efforts to make it easy for Kenyan diaspora to save and invest electronically in Kenya through bonds, Treasury bills and housing.
He said this will put an end to the situation where many were sending money home through relatives, only for them to realise the money was not being put to its intended use.
The theme of the second annual Kenya Diaspora Investment Conference (KDIC) was Tujenge Kenya; Bridging Borders, Building Futures.
The diaspora conference aimed to highlight and present investment opportunities across various sectors of the economy to members of the diaspora.
President William Ruto opened the conference on Wednesday.
He said the government appreciates the role played by the Kenyan diaspora in the economic growth of the country.
He said the government attaches great importance to its citizens living abroad and appreciates the close bonds they maintain with their motherland.
President Ruto said the government recognises, appreciates and commends the Kenyan diaspora for its role in decolonizing, democratising and globalising the country’s economy.
At the same time, Ruto assured Kenyans living abroad of their security in their host countries to be actively involved in the socio-economic development back home.
“As a government, the security and safety of all citizens is our foremost commitment and most fundamental obligation, without which every other endeavour, including investment, is not possible,” said President Ruto.
Source: Citizen Digital