The fresh bid by Kenya's business community to push for the much needed business reforms by engaging Parliament is not only laudable but also an indicator of just how desperate they are to usher in a better investment environment.

Led by the American Chamber of Commerce of Kenya, business executives expressed frustrations with the slow pace of reforms.

They have now resolved to court MPs and parliamentary committees to push through their agenda in the House.

While this initiative is not exactly new as it has previously been tried by some private sector players, it could boost the pressure for a change in Kenya's bruised business environment.

This move is welcome as it supplements the already existing Prime Minister's Round Table (PMRT) meetings, which have been pursuing targets like licensing reforms, intellectual property rights protection, improved infrastructure, reducing crime rate and transforming the SMEs sector.

Under this forum, members of the private sector have been expressing their concerns over the state of the business environment.

But for some, despite the raft of recommendations made during such meetings, there is still little to show in form of tangible benefits to the business community.

But again, the PMRT talks should continue with its efforts.

By engaging specific House committees, the business community will be in a position to push through a slate of legislative work.

It's worrying that Kenya ranks poorly as an international investment destination as the government dilly-dallyed on the business reform agenda.

Failure to tame the growing cases of corruption, slow pace of licensing reforms and general disregard of enacted laws by some players have continued to taint the business environment.

As a result, such a lag is increasingly emerging as the key source of extra costs that continue to make Kenyan goods uncompetitive in both the regional and international markets.

This is a wake up call for the government to be serious in implementing and enforcing the already enacted legislations, so as to provide a level playing field for all private sector players.

With a weakening economy that requires quick solutions to fix it and shield it from a further dip, a sound business environment is key.

It's against that background that all MPs must support efforts at improving it.

Apart from waiting for the private sector to approach them to push through Bills and Motions in Parliament, the MPs should also show individual initiatives and leadership towards this course.

It is by collective action--by pulling together on the same direction --that Kenya's economy can improve and more investors can be lured.