David Ndii says mass layoffs in Kenyan companies only affect privileged class

Ndii responded to a post on X, whereby a user questioned why the business environment is not favourable to local manufacturers who either end up declaring insolvency or laying off workers en masse. 

This is after G4S, Tile and Carpet became the latest companies to announce plans to retrench their workforce amid a biting economy. 

According to Ndii, such businesses would continue exiting the Kenyan market if they continue to serve a small customer base. 

"What do all these companies have in common? They all serve a small elite market. I am not going to sugar coat this. If your customer base is suburban lifestyle—private security,  home improvement, upmarket  FMCG —things will get worse before they get better," he stated. 

The post attracted criticism from the public which posed why government officials are often tone deaf to the public's outcry. 

"Mr Ndii, your dreams that the economic model you're pushing down Kenyans throats is working are textbook examples of delusions of grandeur! Please drop it! It won't work," read some of the comments online. 

"What does the loss of jobs and investments mean in real terms to the economy?  You are generally saying you care less as an economic advisor yet clearly there is merit in terms of the impact . Are workers in this companies elite? Perhaps not and class isn't the issue." 

"You understand that one person's spending is another's income. With this you also understand it has a ripple effect in the economy, this is not it."

Ndii's remarks come amid the latest notice by the government seeking to hire consultants to implement the Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA). 

Critics have since questioned the efficiency of the current crop of advisors and why the government would need new consultants, two years after assuming office.