It’s time for hustlers to concentrate their efforts on trading rather than gambling, President William Ruto has said.
Speaking on Tuesday when he presided over the bell-ringing ceremony to mark the launch of the enhanced NSE Market Place, Ruto said he looks forward to a time when hustlers like Boda Boda operators and Mama Mbogas will be trading in the national stock market too.
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Ruto said that this could increase their earnings significantly rather than focusing on gambling.
“I look forward to the government of Kenya raising more resources for our development using NSE, whereby many Kenyans grow their wealth using the NSE, whereby that Boda boda guy is trading on his phone as he awaits the next customer, instead of betting. When Mama mboga, when waiting for her next supply, is on her phone buying shares,” said President Ruto.
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“It is time to unlock the potential that exists in this institution to drive the economy of our county. There is demonstrable evidence in the stock market that there is potential for us to raise the resources that today we are struggling to raise using debt instruments and others we are looking for in debt capital and multilateral instruments.”
In Kenya, NSE trading has been secluded to only a chosen few and is rarely done online. Introducing the common mwananchi into the stock market will go a long way towards improving Kenyans not only our stock exchange but also helping us clear debts.
“I came here deliberately because I believe the stock market has the capacity to help us raise capital. There is demonstrable evidence that within this market there is potential for us to raise the resources that today we are struggling to raise using debt instruments,” said the president.
“I encourage the private sector companies to work together with the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and the NSE to list. For those that are reluctant to list because of issues around tax, we will work together with them to deal with any impediments.”
President Ruto’s visit to the NSE was the first by a sitting head of state since the era of late former president Mwai Kibaki.
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