Many top companies shed profits and laid off workers to stay afloat despite government data showing that the economy was expanding. Kenya’s economy recovered from a sluggish 4.9 per cent growth in 2017 to 6.3 per cent last year and has remained strong at 5.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2019. Government has been rolling out mega infrastructural projects such as the Standard Gauge Railway, pushing up the GDP growth. Dr Njoroge explained that GDP growth that is based more on infrastructure spending does not bring the impact that matters most to households — the money that hits their pockets. Barclays Bank of Kenya, National Bank of Kenya, Standard Chartered Bank of Kenya, KCB Group and Housing Finance all spent money on layoffs as did Britam and British American Tobacco.

Source: Daily Nation December 31, 2019 06:45 UTC