“Corruption remains a significant barrier to doing business in Kenya. American companies continue to report challenges faced by foreign companies willing to ignore legal standards or engage in bribery and other forms of corruption. The report reads in part.
“Corruption is widely reported to impact government procurement at the national and county levels. Kenya has not effectively implemented anti-corruption laws. US companies routinely report direct bribery requests from all levels of Kenyan government.” She adds.
According to the report, the efforts made by the Kenyan authorities so far to address this issue have had no significant impact due to the backlog of cases and continued misconduct.
“Despite efforts to increase efficiency and public confidence in the judiciary, the backlog of cases and persistent corruption undermine the credibility and effectiveness of the judicial system. While judicial reforms move forward, bribery, extortion, and political considerations continue to influence court cases. The report states that.
Another issue highlighted in the report is the real estate obstacle that prohibits or complicates the process of owning real estate as a foreigner.
This ban is courtesy of the 2010 Kenyan Constitution which stipulates that foreigners are not allowed to own freehold rights in Kenya, only leasehold titles for a term of up to 99 years.
“The process for leasing developed land and properties is clear and well-established, but the process for obtaining clear title to undeveloped land is ambiguous and unreliable. For undeveloped land, investors risk obtaining fake titles or leasing a plot of land with multiple titles and unauthorized sales. As we saw in the report.
