CS Kuria: Opening ministry office at shopping mall is to give investors world-class ambience

Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria says the move to set up his ministry’s office at an upscale shopping mall in Nairobi is to give global investors a world-class taste of the country.

There have been reports that the CS moved his offices from the city’s central business district to Two Rivers Mall, an upscale shopping complex along Limuru Road in Nairobi’s Ruaka area.

In a Monday night interview with Citizen TV, Kuria said his official ministry headquarters still remain at the NSSF Building in the heart of the city.

He however confirmed that his ministry had set up an office at the ritzy mall, which he said is not entirely private as had been purported, but majorly owned by the Trade Ministry.

“First, the registered office of my ministry is the NSSF Building, 17th floor. Two, the Two Rivers Mall which people are talking about is owned largely by the Ministry of Investments and Industry, so it’s like accusing you of being in your own house,” Kuria told Trevor Ombija.

He went ahead to explain his decision, saying he had travelled to major business cities across the world and seen how business moguls are treated to entice them to invest in the respective countries.

The NSSF Building office, Kuria explained, did not make the cut as a world-class facility offering investors the environment needed to leave them with an ideal impression of the country.

“Three, I visit many countries and I know the environment which the investors enjoy in those particular countries. I benchmark with many countries and I am going to give investors an environment that ranks equivalent to what the other countries do,” said Kuria.

“This is about how we treat investors. I go to the US, Europe and know the kind of ambience that investors are treated with.”

He brushed off criticism on the move, saying there are far better things to be concerned about regarding boosting investment in the country.

“I have a very ambitious program to move foreign direct investments from 500 million dollars to 10 billion dollars. Of all the things that we should be asking ourselves, is it all about moving offices to a private mall? Let’s get serious! I have got a reason for everything,” said the CS.