Moses Kuria, the CS for Industry, Trade and Investments, has stated that the problem of a shortage of dollars in the country is beyond the government’s control.
He explained that the issue is not unique to Kenya, but rather a global problem, with Africa being hit the hardest due to the way the Federal Reserve System (FED) is manipulating interest rates.
Kuria pointed out that the culture of importing goods that can be manufactured locally also contributes to the rise of the dollar.
Kuria made these remarks while appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, where he presented the ministerial position on the budget policy statement for 2023/2024 for review.
He suggested that protecting local manufacturers from foreign competitors would encourage entrepreneurship and increase the contribution of manufacturing and trade to the Gross Domestic Product.
Banking experts, on the other hand, attribute the ongoing dollar crisis and the subsequent weakening of the shilling to the Central Bank of Kenya’s strict interbank forex regulations.
They claim that the ban has led to a parallel foreign exchange market where traders purchase a dollar at a high of Sh143, more than 10 units above CBK’s rate.
