Editor, Please refer to the article, Unemployment: We are our own enemies, published in the Business Times on Tuesday November 25. I thank the writer, for highlighting the issue so vividly. Hopefully decision makers, the ones responsible for creating the change, are listening. Despite the great research done by institutions such as IPAR (Institute of Public Analysis and Research), the findings of their work, in most cases, are rarely translated into actual projects such as job creation. Another point well articulated is our lack of patriotism to support our industries. In the 70s in Kenya there used to be a slogan - “buy Kenyan build Kenya.” Imagine the impact on our local industries if such a slogan appeared in our local media and especially if it were inculculated in our youth right from primary education. Here in my country a foreign investor is given VIP treatment while local investors are given the over-the-shoulder treatment despite the fact that local investment has more impact on the economy than foreign investment. I was encouraged to hear a prominent political personality in a conference this week refer to the need for the government to address the investment issue starting from the base of the pyramid instead of the top. We been to support small fellows, SMEs, for they are the greatest creators of jobs. The government needs to give them tax incentives to enable them survive and grow. A statistic I would be keen to know is how many companies that are registered are still operational five years later. If IPAR has done their research, what has followed? It is great to have think tanks like IPAR but we need think tanks that can also influence the government. Gerald
