Chamber of Commerce fights to shed ugly image

By John Njiraini

Kiprono Kittony grew up knowing that one of the things that should hang on the wall in every house, apart from the portrait of the president, is the certificate of chamber of commerce.

That was years ago. Today, very few homes hang the certificate and even fewer children know of the existence of an organisation called the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI).

To the older generation, the mention of KNCCI evokes the memory of leadership wrangles, confusion and an organisation that has long become irrelevant in as far as championing the interests and needs of the business community is concerned.

But now Kittony, a businessman with vast interests cutting across key sectors of the economy, is on a mission to revive KNCCI and restore the vibrancy of an organisation whose only claim to existence is the old and dilapidated offices at Ufanasi House and a secretariat that whiles away doing nothing.

"We want to return the chamber to where it was when people used to hang the chamber’s certificate on their walls," said Kittony, who has been elected the chairman of a caretaker board.

Bury hatchet

Already, the first major handle in the achievement of this ambitious dream has been overcome. A fortnight ago, the two main warring factions that for four years have laid claim to the leadership of the chamber buried the hatchet.

It was a rare scene when the erstwhile enemies, the Kittony-affiliated faction and the former chairman David Githere group, converged at KNCCI offices and announced the birth of a new beginning for the chamber.

Arising from the disputed elections in May 2007, the chamber has been unstable with frequent leadership wrangles among the various factions.

These wrangles have been resolved through consensus," said the two groups in a joint statement.

The protracted wangles have seen the status of KNCCI plunge significantly and its importance among the business community badly eroded.

For instance, besides membership decreasing to a low of 4,000 during the height of the wrangles, the Government also withdrew the chamberÌs right to issue the certificate of origin to exporters, a move that ultimately squeezed its revenue channels.

Luckily, the chamber has survived on a tight income generated from Ufanisi House, something that has also saved it from getting into debts.

With the squabbling now resolved, Kittony told the Financial Journal that the caretaker board has come up with a four-pillar strategy to transform the chamber over the next 12 months.

Top on the list is repairing the tattered image of the chamber. According to Kittony, both the internal and external https://cdn.standardmedia.co.ke/images of KNCCI are in dire need of repair to reflect a new beginning and to enhance the interface with other chambers of commerce globally.

A man who has traveled widely, Kittony greatly admires the chambers of commerce in India, China, Dubai and US. According to him, chambers in these countries wield huge influence both in the private sector as well as in government, and he hopes to craft the Kenyan chamber on the same premise.

The board plans to engage in a thorough image-building initiative that will include refurbishment of Ufanisi House, re-jigging of the secretariat and holding forums with the business community and stakeholders both locally and globally.

"The image of the chamber is mortally wounded and we need to clean it," stated Kittony, adding the ultimate goal is to confine the word ‘wrangles’ in the graveyard.

The initiative will also involve reviving the status of KNCCI branches dotted across the country. Some world chambers and the United Nations Development Fund have expressed interest to help the new board revive the rundown and neglected 68 branches.

Another crucial pillar would be member recruitment and enhancing the chamberÌs revenue channels. Currently, KNCCI has some 10,000 members who pay an annual fee of Sh10,000, but the persistent wrangles have meant that many are dormant.

KNCCI is also facing a revenue crunch considering that it only issues 70 per cent of the certificates of origin, with the remaining being issued by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.

Full authority

The new board, however, plans to engage in an aggressive recruitment drive to double membership to 20,000 by December.

It has also written to the Ministry of Trade asking to be given the full authority to issue the letters of origin, which if granted would automatically catapult KNCCI revenues by 40 per cent.

The third pillar revolves around the development of a service charter that will contain a wide variety of services to the business community. The services will include arbitration, advisory and facilitation for business people.

It will also contain a comprehensive database of businesses in Kenya, training, facilitating businesses to join friendship societies and the revival of the library for students and members of the public.

"We want to develop a one-stop-shop where the business community can access various services," said Kittony who holds commerce and law degrees from the University of Nairobi.

The fourth pillar, and which is critical for the long-term stability and continuous growth of the chamber, entails the amendment of the constitution, something that should pave the way for sober elections.

There is no doubt the current constitution, which was last reviewed in 1973, has been the catalyst for all the problems bedeviling the chamber, particularly on issues relating to leadership transition and who is eligible to vote.

Kittony said the new board plans to engage the Law Society of Kenya and the Kenya Private Sector Alliance to help in drafting new articles of association.

"What is ahead of us is a big challenge because we are starting from ground zero but we are committed to transform the chamber," Said Kittony, who describes himself as considerate, aggressive and hardworking.

He added that his ultimate goal is to have the certificate of the chamber hanging on the walls of every living room in the country.