Protests
A section of small-scale traders from Nyeri town have protested the continued delays by county officials to organize elections for their representatives. Trouble started when the county officials cancelled a meeting that was scheduled to discuss the election timetable at the last minute.
The traders, who had temporarily closed down their businesses to attend the meeting, were left stranded at the Whispers Park after the county officials walked away without addressing them. Led by their spokesperson, Harun Gichure, the traders said that they, together with the county officials had arrived for the meeting in good time.
But instead of calling the meeting to order, the county officials held a meeting amongst themselves and then left the venue in a hurry without saying a word to the traders.
“We arrived at Whisper’s park and waited for the officials who then arrived but left without addressing us. I then called one of the officials who told me that they had cancelled the meeting but he did not divulge the reason. So, we decided to take to the streets to raise our grievances with the governor and the chief officer in charge of Trade,” said Gichure.
This is the 12th time that the county has cancelled the meeting with traders. The first time the traders sought audience with the county government was in 2012 but the then administration gave them a cold shoulder. According to Gichure, the traders feel side-lined by the county officials of trade. Besides the elections, traders were hoping to discuss their welfare issues which include getting their stalls connected with water and electricity.
“Our current state of affair is detrimental to our businesses. We need leaders who will address our concerns and be available to offer services that traders pay taxes for,” said Gichure.
The traders later matched to the governor’s office where the Deputy Governor, Warui Kinaniri directed the Chief Officer in charge of Trade, George Mwangi to convene a meeting with the traders before Friday this week and an ensure an election for their representatives is conducted before the end of July.