Foreign-operated small businesses in Kenya, including those run by Chinese immigrants, will be shut down from next week to protect local traders and entrepreneurs.
President William Ruto announced the crackdown in the capital Nairobi on Wednesday, and said foreigners should invest in the economy and create jobs instead of competing with Kenyan small businesses.
“From next week, all [foreign] traders doing those small businesses should close them, and if they don’t do that…” he said.
“It cannot be that a person comes from China or elsewhere to be a hawker or open a small shop.
“We have made efforts to improve the economy, we have not improved investor confidence for hawkers to come to Kenya.”
Mr Ruto said he had directed the Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry to begin enforcement action next week, Kenya media outlet The Star reported.
He said a bill to prohibit foreigners from engaging in businesses reserved for Kenyans was before parliament, and that the government wanted to make sure there were no loopholes that immigrants could exploit in order to continue running small-scale businesses.
The president also urged Kenyan traders to move into manufacturing and take advantage of government initiatives and support to grow domestic production.
Kenya, which has a population of almost 59 million, is home to 857,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from Somalia, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Refugees are currently allowed to work and run businesses, and are able to apply for a special permit to do so.
