WIB boss wants 7-year tax holiday for youth, women in business

Chief Executive Officer and President of Women in Business (WIB) Mary Muthoni has called on the people spearheading the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) to consider youth and women in business.

Speaking at a women forum in Nairobi Muthoni said BBI should allow the youth at least seven years of tax holiday as an initiative to help them in business entrepreneurship.

“Youth and women are very crucial in the development of our economy and a tax holiday would play a big role in encouraging a big number of the youth and women engaged in business,” said Muthoni.

“The government and Kenyans should use the BBI to deepen social integration and invest in economic opportunities for improving their wealth and livelihoods,” added Muthoni.

She also called on the BBI initiative to consider ‘Biashara Mashinani’ policies and incentives for village level businesses that will spearhead the growth of business in the village level. 

“The policies that will be centered towards promoting small medium enterprises will be beneficial to youth and women in the society,” added Muthoni.

Muthoni asked the county governments to limit the number of people that may be employed in the County Government by providing a set, nationwide, ratio, as a ceiling, between County population and number of employees. 

“The counties should also fix the maximum number of ministries that a governor may establish and also eliminate nepotism and induce professionalism in county recruitments,” she said.

Speaking during the same forum, Wiper Party of Kenya Senator Judith Sijeny challenged the women to take advantage of the BBI and voice their opinions in regards to what kind of the governance they would aspire considering the fact that, politicians are not the only ones to make decisions.

“Let everyone read this document. Don’t rely on what the politicians will say. This document is for all Kenyans and women should be encouraged to read and make wise decisions so that to uplift their living standards,” Sijeny said.

Sijeny called on the citizens to seize the moment and robustly engage each other on the ideas in the document and those not in it with a view to determining lasting solutions to their intractable problems.

“If we leave the next steps to politicians, they will continue with their beaten path of schemes and counter-schemes and looking at the process both from a political dividend and trap standpoint, which is their principal pre-occupation,” said Sijeny.