Author: Francis Muli

Contractors have accused the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) of flouting procurement laws in the award of a Ksh960 million tender for the repair of Terminals 1B and 1C at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). The Ksh963,541,535 was awarded to China Jiangxi International Economic and Technical Cooperation, but according to contractors, the firm is either non-existent or operated by state operatives. In a complaint filed with the Procurement Administrative Review Board by Ms Flooring & Interior, which prepared a joint bid with other local contractors, the contractors say that the winning contractor trades under different names, which is against the…

A United States Pentagon report published last week claims that China may soon set up a military base in Kenya. The report claims that China is keen on expanding its military logistics in a number of countries including Kenya and Tanzania. “The PRC (Peoples Republic of China) has likely considered Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania, Angola, and Tajikistan as locations for PLA (People’s Liberation Army) military logistics facilities,” said the Pentagon in its annual “China Military Power” report to Congress. According to the report, China could have already initiated talks with countries…

Microsoft has embarked on an initiative to impart the youth with skills for the modern workplace. More than 2,300 youth are set to receive Microsoft training and certification by the end of September 2020. Microsoft said that the certification would equip the youth with the skills required to prepare them adequately for the workplace after college. According to the company, the World Economic Forum report shows that there is a skills gap in Africa with 41 per cent of the companies in Tanzania, 30 per cent in Kenya, nine per cent in South Africa and six per cent in Nigeria…

Fines imposed on banks associated with the National Youth Service (NYS) scam grew the Central Bank’s kitty by 20 times. The kitty holds penalties imposed on banks that breach regulations. The CBK financial report released last week showed that the fines kitty held Sh 420 million in the year to June 2019. Standard Chartered Bank, Equity, Diamond Trust Bank, Cooperative Bank and KCB group paid Sh 392.5 million as a penalty for failing to report suspicious activity in the bank. This demonstrated that NYS fines accounted for 93 percent of the monies paid to the CBK kitty in the year…

Machakos governor Dr Alfred Mutua has launched his 2022 Presidential Bid, becoming the first candidate to officially declare his quest for the top seat. Addressing journalists in Mlolongo, Machakos County Mutua faulted the current and past leadership for overseeing a regime that has been unable to move the country into the next phase of development. “I, therefore, declare that in the General Elections of 2022, I, Alfred Ng’ang’a Mutua, will vie to be the next President of the Republic of Kenya so as to return Kenya to the RAILWAY TRACKS of where we were meant to be after independence,” declared…

Senate is working towards finding a solution to the contentious Revenue Allocation Formula that has divided the House, speaker Ken Lusaka has said. Speaking in Bungoma, Lusaka assured Kenyans that the lawmakers will not stop until a solution to the stalled discussions is found. “Senate is the defender of devolution, as a protector of counties we cannot allow them to starve. I want to assure Chairman Council of Governors Wycliffe Oparanya that the Senate will not allow services to halt in devolved units. He added: “As a house we will spare no effort in ensuring that the matter is completely…

The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) will in September take action against companies and institutions whose properties sit on riparian land or discharge untreated sewage into Nairobi River. In the month of September alone, the authority is set to crack its whip on 140 companies. The affected areas are Dagoretti, Kabete, Kileleshwa, James Gichuru, Museum Road, Globe Cinema, Ngara, Kariokor, Gikomba and Dandora areas of the city. Read: Filthy City: NEMA Threatens City Hall Officials With Arrest Over Uncollected Garbage There are over130 properties sitting on riparian reserves, some of which are along Kirichwa Road, Kingara Road, Mbagathi Way and Lang’ata…

The latest statistics from the daily Covid-19 updates show that 136 people have tested positive for the virus within the last 24 hours. This brings the total confirmed number of cases in the country to 35,020. The Ministry of Health released a statement saying that 3,707 samples were tested in the same period, bringing the cumulative number of tests to 471,384. Among the positive cases,124 are Kenyans while 12 are foreigners. The youngest person to test positive for the virus among the ones tested is eight months old old and the oldest is 75. Unfortunately, 5 people succumbed to the…

Imperial Bank depositors can breathe a sigh of relief after the Kenya Commercial bank (KCB) commenced on an exercise that will see them access their funds. The eligible depositors, approved by the receiver manager- Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC), will be allowed partial access to their bank balances. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) in May announced that KCB would acquire Imperial Bank’s assets valued at Sh 3.2 billion and assume its liabilities effective June 2, 2020. KCB will pay the remaining Imperial Bank depositors a total of Sh 3.2 billion, same as the value of its assets over a…

Nairobi, Mombasa and their neighbouring counties have already experienced peak Covid-19 infections. A scientific study by the government has revealed that the disease is now at a decline in the cities which first experienced a high infection rate. It said that Mombasa had experienced peak infections in June and the rates in Nairobi were highest in August. “We find that the rate of new infections has also peaked in Kiambu, Kajiado, Machakos Kwale and Busia.” Kwale is predicted to have been the first to peak in the middle of May. The report also shows that Covid-19 infections are still rising…

The Ministry of Agriculture has launched an online portal that will guide farmers on the best crop and input per region in a bid to increase food productivity. Dubbed Vifaa Kenya, the portal contains useful information such as the cost of fertilisers, recommended usage per hectare and real time information on the application of various products to crops to ensure high yields. “Timely and accurate data are critical to support closing the gap between farmer demand and fertiliser supply during the planting season. Vifaa visualises key information on fertiliser price, use, product availability and policy at the national and county…

The World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed that Africa is in the line up to receive at least 220 million initial doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, once it is found. WHO Africa Program Area Manager Richard Mihigo said that priority will be given to front-line workers in the continent who will receive the first batch. Africa has a collective population of about 1.3 billion and distribution to countries will be according to the population and the intensity of the pandemic. Dubbed COVAX, the global Covid-19 vaccine initiative intends to assist countries in the purchase and fair distribution of 2 billion…

Safaricom Foundation’s Ndoto Zetu initiative has supported six groups in Kwale and Kilifi with economic empowerment projects worth Ksh800,000 impacting close to 4,000 people in the two counties. In Kwale County, Tsamvulani Mwache Fishermen and Traders Association received water pumps and fish coolers while Huhenzane and Taru Groups benefited from baking equipment and a posho mill respectively. “The COVID-19 pandemic is much more than a health crisis, it’s also an unprecedented socio-economic crisis. Some of the groups we have supported are those that comprise of people living with disabilities because we believe that no one should be left behind when…

Whatsapp is reportedly working on its ‘vacation mode’ feature yet again, WABetaInfo has revealed. The App had started work on the feature but abandoned it last year. According to the report, Vacation mode works by allowing users access a dedicated menu containing two new notification options for their archived chats. The options are Notify New Messages: This is the default setting currently on Whatsapp. Vacation mode will allow users to disable it and the archived messages can continue staying in the archive when new messages arrive. Read: Whatsapp Now Allows You To Fact-check Forwarded Messages Auto-hide inactive chats: This is…

Class B investors who invested their money with Amana Capital’s Amana Shilling Fund (ASF) will be forced to forfeit Ksh255 million, a 59 per cent of the total unit share value of Ksh434 million. In an annual communique to investors, Amana Capital announced that it had impaired the amount, which was lost on paper after chain retailer Nakumatt went down, where the Capital had invested  Ksh500 million. An impairment happens when the sum of estimated future cash flows from an asset is less than its book value. Amana had invested the amount with Nakumatt Holdings Limited Commercial paper program (NHLCP),…