300 mid-sized firms expected in survey

Mwananchi Communications Limited managing director Francis Nanai speaks during Top 100 Mid-sized Companies Survey update yesterday in Dar es Salaam. Seated from left are Patrick Wanjala from Research Solution Africa, KPMG director David Gachewa, Bank M deputy chief executive officer Jacqueline Woiso and Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange finance chief Ibrahim Mshindo. PHOTO | SAID KHAMIS 

By  Ludger Kasumuni ,The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

“We commend Bank M for sponsoring this programme and we also commend upcountry companies, especially those from the Lake Zone and Northern regions for increasing participation. We call upon more companies to participate,” said Mr Nanai

Dar es Salaam. The Top 100 Mid-sized Companies Survey has entered the fourth phase with increased participation of upcountry businesses by 30 per cent.

US official’s Dar visit focuses on economic growth

Mr Jack Lew testifies at his confirmation hearing to be the new Treasury secretary in Washington. PHOTO|FILE 

By  Veneranda Sumila ,The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

• Mr Lew will hold meetings with senior government officials and business leaders to discuss the state of the global economy and policies as well as promote regional growth and investment,  the US Embassy in Dar said

Dar es Salaam. The US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew starts a tour of Tanzania  to discuss various issues with government and business officials.

Uhuru happy with WB pledge of Sh716b for regional peace

President Uhuru Kenyatta receives World Bank President Jim Yong Kim as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (left) looks on at State House, Nairobi, on Wednesday. PHOTO | PSCU. 

By The Citizen Correspondent

In Summary

• Islamic Bank President Ahmad Ali  Madani was one of the participants at the meeting where President Kenyatta said the funds would boost peace-seeking initiatives already underway

Nairobi. President Uhuru Kenyatta has welcomed the Sh716 billion ($8.3 billion) support for peace and development in the Horn of Africa region pledged by the United Nations, the World Bank, African Development Bank and other development partners.

Mining sector in the doldrums

Price Water House Cooper (PWC) Australia Assurance Partner, Ben Gargette (left) and PWC David Tarimo exchange views after the release of the PwC report in the city yesterday. PHOTO | VENANANCE NESTORY 

By Veneranda Sumila ,The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

Mr Shah said Tanzania’s many incentives have since been eliminated, yet production costs remain very high.

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s mining industry faces a dim future if the country fails to take immediate actions to stabilise its fiscal policy; it has been observed.

EDITORIAL: Stop personality clashes at Eala and serve people!

 

Posted  Friday, October 31  2014 at  11:11

In Summary

• For a week or so now, the august House’s activities have come to a standstill because of the so-called scandal to do with Tanzanian representative Shyrose Bhanji. On Wednesday, the sitting to deliberate on the move to suspend the MP from the Eala Commission came to a halt due to lack of quorum just minutes before the vote.

The latest developments in the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) cast doubt on the credibility of the regional organisation and the quality of those elected to serve the people.

Continue investing in TZ, Huawei told

President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete speaks with Huawei Technologies top management during his recent visit to the company’s headquarters in Shenzhen, China.  PHOTO | COURTESY OF HUAWEI 

By The Citizen Correspondent

In Summary

• President Kikwete said this during his official visit to Huawei Technologies headquarters in Shenzhen, China recently. The two sides had constructive talks and exchanged views on Tanzania’s 2025 ICT development plan

Shenzhen. Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete has urged Huawei Technologies to continue its investment in Tanzania’s information and communication technology to help innovate and develop the local ICT industry.

Armed robbers grab Sh1bn at Stanbic bank

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Stanbic Bank headquarters along Ali Hassan Mwinyi Road, Kinondoni District in Dar es Salaam. PHOTO | FILE 

By  The Citizen Reporter

Posted  Friday, October 24  2014 at  07:41

In Summary

• Suspects have been locked up at the Oysterbay Police Station as investigations continued to unravel the truth in the robbery that is being seen as an inside job.
• Eye witnesses said they saw them load what appeared like cartons into a car that sped away

Dar es Salaam. Nine employees of Stanbic Bank in Dar es Salaam were arrested yesterday evening as the police moved in to investigate a walk-in robbery in which over Sh1 billion was reportedly carted away by armed suspects.

Bank tasked over ‘ghost customers’

Stanbic Bank headquarters along Ali Hassan Mwinyi Road, Kinondoni District in Dar es Salaam. PHOTO | FILE 

By Alex Bitekeye,The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

• Managers of state-owned bank, Twiga Bancorp, reportedly pocketed millions through interest
• Twiga Bancorp Ltd, formerly known as National Bureau de Change Ltd, was established in 1992 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the then National Bank of Commerce.

Dar es Salaam. Managers at Twiga Bancorp, were yesterday taken to task over ‘ghost customers’ whose loan interest was shown as amounting to Sh584 million that could also not be accounted for.

The managers, who appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), could not produce a list of the individuals loaned by the bank nor prove that the said interest could be vouched for.

.Zitto feted for drive on social security

Kigoma North Mp Zitto Kabwe holds the award he won as the first East and Central Africa champion on Social Security Protection Scheme during the 7th Social Security Protection Policy makers conference in Livingstone, Zambia. Left is minister for Labour and Employment Gaudensia Kabaka, minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government) Hawa Ghasia (second right ) and Social Security Regulatory Authority director general Irene Kisaka (right). PHOTO | SAUMU MWALIMU 

By Saumu Mwalimu,The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

• Mr Kabwe said he was pleased that in a short time, people from the informal sector had welcomed his initiative

Livingstone. Kigoma North MP Zitto Kabwe received an award as Africa’s first champion in social security, even as it was announced that more than 43,000 farmers countrywide have now enrolled with the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).

Contracts: Govt, Bunge lock horns

Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee deputy chairman Deo Filikunjombe speaks during one of the House team’s briefings.  PHOTO | FILE 

By Alex Bitekeye,The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

• A House team wants mining contracts, but the government says that won’t be possible for now

 Dar es Salaam. The Ministry of Energy and Minerals has directed the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) not to handover to the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) the Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) as requested by the latter, pending investors’ approval.

JK angered by bureaucracy

President Jakaya Kikwete talks to minister of State in the President’s Office, Social Relations and Co-ordination, Stephen Wassira during the 10th year of the Public Service Commission (PSC) workshop held in Dar es Salaam yesterday. PHOTO | VENACE NESTORY 

In Summary

• Mr Kikwete, who was speaking in Dar es Salaam yesterday during a function to mark 10 years of the Public Service Commission (PSC), took time to highlight weaknesses in the offices of permanent secretaries.

EAC Parliament sinks to all-time low

Eala Speaker Margaret Zziwa 

By Athuman Mtulya,The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

• The assembly’s integrity also took a hit with yesterday’s resignation of four members of the key business committee (Commission) following a nasty falling out. 

Kigali. The reputation of the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) is at an all-time low after it failed to accomplish even a single task on its timetable in the two weeks members spent in Rwanda.

Clear vision helps balancing act in life

Azim Jamal 

In Summary

The minimum is the least you can get by with. The maximum is the most you’re capable of. The optimum is the amount or degree of anything that is the most favourable toward the ends you desire.

IMF cautions govt over spending, Pinda reacts

Premier Mizengo Pinda speaks to city-based journalists soon after landing at the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam yesterday.  PHOTO | EDWIN MJWAHUZI 

By Songa Wa Songa and Florence Mugarula,The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

• The Bretton Woods body says the government, faced with tax shortfalls and aid freeze by donors, has resorted to heavy borrowing through the central bank and this may impact negatively on the market.
• The mission said the upcoming mid-year Budget review with the state would be used to align expenditure allocations with available resources

Cost of living eases slightly on lower food, electricity prices

Politics and policy

Inflation dropped to 6.43 per cent in October from 6.6 per cent in September on reduced costs of food and electricity. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

By KIARIE NJOROGE

In Summary

• This is the second month that the inflation rate has dropped having risen to 8.36 in August.

Falling electricity, food and fuel costs have seen the cost of living fall marginally with October’s inflation rate decreasing to 6.43 per cent from 6.6 per cent in September.

Beauty queens and State House visits: this week in pictures

Sauti Sol group members pose with the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (centre), President Uhuru Kenyatta and their respective spouses. PHOTO | COURTESY  

In Summary

In this week's picture story, we feature newly crowned beauty queens and the artists that got calls from State House. Enjoy!

By FAITH ONEYA
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Members of the musical group Sauti Sol pose with President Uhuru Kenyatta (third left) at State House, Nairobi. PHOTO | COURTESY

You need emotional support

Mr Polycarp Omari (left) is being screened for breast cancer by Agha-Khan hospital nurse during an event organised by African Cancer Foundation at Jomo Kenyatta sports ground in Kisumu. PHOTO| JACOB OWITI 

In Summary

• Your diet should include fruits and vegetables, which boost the immune system.
• A good diet will also improve your energy levels, so that you are able to manage the fatigue that comes with cancer treatment.
• Exercise will help you to cope better during treatment - talk to your doctor about the kind that is appropriate for you.

By REBECCA MUTHONI
More by this Author

A cancer diagnosis is not easy to digest, and how well you cope will be determined by how well you understand the disease.

Pop stars climb stairway to heaven early: Australian study

Iggy Pop Iggy and the Stooges. The bands lead singer, Iggy Pop is a character who has made a living out of throwing his marbles on stage. He is popularly known as the pioneer of stage diving. It's long been said that pop stars live fast and die young, but a new Australian study has added scholarly credibility to the adage, finding that US musicians die up to 25 years earlier than the general population. PHOTO | AFP 

In Summary

• The psychology and music professor found that pop stars' accidental death rates were between five and 10 times greater than the general US population, while suicide rates were between two and seven times higher.
• Female pop musicians had an average age of death of just over 60, unlike the wider population which had a lifespan of above 80, the study showed.
• Researchers found then that the musicians' mortality increased relative to the general population over time after they become famous.

By AFP
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SYDNEY,

It's long been said that pop stars live fast and die young, but a new Australian study has added scholarly credibility to the adage, finding that US musicians die up to 25 years earlier than the general population.

Who said eggs and red meat are bad for you?

I’m not sure how it started, but somewhere along the line, it was decided that saturated fat was bad for the heart, and that it should be avoided like the plague. PHOTO | FILE  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• The only problem is that the meat we eat isn’t the same as the meat our grandparents had. In those days, chicken ran around eating insects and seeds, while cows ate grass.
• Nowadays, we lock up our domestic animals to make them grow faster and plumper, and pump them up with various chemicals.
• They also tend to eat commercial grain-based feeds.

By SONA PARMAR MUKHERJEE
More by this Author

’m not sure how it started, but somewhere along the line, it was decided that saturated fat was bad for the heart, and that it should be avoided like the plague.

Brain abnormalities in people with chronic fatigue: study

A study of 15 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome has found that patients' brains have at least three distinct abnormalities when compared to healthy people, researchers said Wednesday.. FILE PHOTO |   NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• The imaging study also found abnormalities among CFS patients in two areas that connect the right arcuate fasciculus. Each connection point, known as a cortex, was thicker in CFS patients, the researchers said.
• Until now, chronic fatigue syndrome has been difficult to diagnose, with its characteristic "brain fog" enduring more than six months and coinciding with a host of other symptoms.

By AFP
More by this Author

A study of 15 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome has found that patients' brains have at least three distinct abnormalities when compared to healthy people, researchers said Wednesday.

What causes pelvic floor dysfunction ?

Avoid routinely holding in stool or urine for prolonged periods (a common habit amongst office workers). Go when the urge initially hits you.. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

Signs of PSD

• Difficulty emptying the bladder completely (most people also report repeat attacks of urinary tract infections – popularly known as UTI)
• Urinary incontinence
• Faecal incontinence (inability to control bowel movements)
• Constipation
• Prolapse: This presents as a feeling of heaviness or fullness like something falling out of the vagina or rectum. Some people also report a ‘bulge’ in the lower abdomen or pelvis. This occurs when either the uterus drops down into the vagina or parts of the intestines/rectum/bladder bulge into the vagina or when the rectum pops out of the anus.
• Sexual discomfort
• Unexplained pain in the low back, pelvic region, genital area, or rectum

By DR MUKUHI NG’ANG’A
More by this Author

The pelvis is an area of the body which most people are still not comfortable to discuss (even with their doctors). Most people with pelvic problems only turn to their doctor when they cannot bear their discomfort any more.

Nestle Japan hiring 1,000 robots to sell espresso machines

A file picture taken on June 28, 2014 shows Japanese mobile communication giant Softbank's humanoid robot "Pepper" displayed at a high-tech gadgets exhibition in Tokyo. Food giant Nestle said October 29 that its Japan unit would hire 1,000 robots as sales clerks at stores across the country.PHOTO | AFP 

In Summary

• Pepper — which has already been at work, chatting with customers at wireless giant SoftBank's outlets — has proved an effective marketing tool for the Japanese mobile carrier, delighting managers who put it to work collecting customer opinions.

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By AFP
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TOKYO,

Food giant Nestle said Wednesday that its Japan unit would hire 1,000 robots as sales clerks at stores across the country.

Global leaders come calling with Sh700bn

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (L), and World Bank Group president Jim Yong Kim during a press conference in Addis Ababa on October 27, 2014. PHOTO | ZACHARIAS ABUBEKER |  AFP

In Summary

• Kenya to share a Sh716 billion ($8 billion) fund with Uganda, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia.
• The World Bank has published a paper which forecasts that Kenya, Uganda and Somalia and Ethiopia will undergo a dramatic economic change when oil production starts.

By BERNARD NAMUNANE
More by this Author

Kenya has scored a major diplomatic coup by hosting a high-powered meeting that brings together some of the world’s top bosses.

It is time to promote country and region

Equity CEO James Mwangi (centre), Group Chief Operating Officer Julius Kipng’etich and Equity Foundation Managing Director Hellen Gichohi during the announcement of the lender’s third-quarter results in Nairobi on October 30, 2014. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

 

In Summary

• The presence of world economic and diplomatic leaders is the latest signal of improving relations between Nairobi and the wider community of nations.
• It is to be hoped that Kenya’s leaders have used this chance well.

By EDITORIAL
More by this Author

The presence of world economic and diplomatic leaders, among them UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, in Kenya this week is the latest signal of improving relations between Nairobi and the wider community of nations.

Blogs & Opinion

Why harambees will soon become illegal

Kisumu Senator Anyang’ Nyong’o at a past event. Prof Nyong’o has sponsored the Public Fundraising Appeals Bill that seeks to abolish harambees on account that they have been abused. FILE PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o, who sponsored the Bill, said harambees should be left for certain cases that deserve public input such as funerals and medical bills.
• The Bill will see committees established at both the county and national levels to regulate fundraisings, ensuring they are not used to promote corruption and dishonesty.

By DENNIS ODUNGA
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Organising public fundraising events for projects already funded by the government will be illegal if a Bill before the Senate becomes law.

The Public Fundraising Appeals Bill seeks to abolish harambees on account that they have been abused.

Court annuls elections held by coffee firm

The entrance to the Kenya Planters’ Co-operative Union premises in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• Mr Justice Weldon Korir ruled that the poll conducted last August was unlawful.
• The union was placed under statutory management on October 19, 2009 over a Sh644 million debt.

By THOMAS KARIUKI
More by this Author

The long-running battle for the control of assets of the collapsed Kenya Planters Cooperative Union was likely to intensify following Thursday’s High Court nullification of recent board elections.

Geothermal Development Company signs deal for extra geothermal power

A steam well drilled by the Geothermal Development Company (GDC) at Menengai. FILE PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• The deals will see the GDC supply steam to three firms.
• This is expected to increase national installed capacity for generation from renewable sources by 10 per cent.

By NATION REPORTER
More by this Author

The Geothermal Development Company on Thursday signed agreements with three independent power producers for generation of electricity at Menengai in Nakuru.

Athi River Mining opens new factory in Tanga

An ARM employee at the company's plant in Athi River. FILE PHOTO |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• The company said the factory, opened on Saturday, will boost its market share.
• ARM started construction of the plant in 2012.

By NATION CORRESPONDENT
More by this Author

Athi River Mining Limited (ARM) has commissioned its Sh14.6 billion cement manufacturing plant in Tanga, Tanzania as part of the firm’s regional expansion strategy.

Mobile phone talk time takes a beating from short messages

Data released by the Communications Authority of Kenya shows that mobile phone users sent a total of 24.4 billion short messages in the year through June, up from 13.2 billion texts the previous year. FILE PHOTO |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• Mobile phone users sent a total of 24.4 billion short messages in the year through June.
• Time spent talking on phone declined by four per cent to 7.3 billion minutes.

By CHARLES WOKABI
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Kenyans are talking less and sending more text messages on their mobile phones, new industry statistics show.

Youths spend big on electronic gadgets

A whopping 92 per cent of the respondents in the StanChart survey reported that use of technology had made their lives easier. PHOTO | FILE 

In Summary

• The survey by Barclays Bank and South African based Columinate, found that 63 per cent of Kenyan youths regularly choose to invest any extra income in electronic devices (at 38 per cent), while the church or mosque get a paltry one per cent.
• The majority of the youths said technological gadgets are important tools of personal advancement hence the heavy spending. 
• The latest survey is a near reflection of an earlier one by Standard Chartered Plc and UK-based global research consultancy Globescan, which found that 66 per cent of Kenya’s middle class had tech devices at the top of their buying list in the past five years.

By GEORGE NGIGI
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Kenya’s youths are spending their money on technological gadgets while giving little or nothing at all to social causes such as alms in church, a new survey on Africa’s spending habits shows.