Kenyans must be involved in all processes

President Uhuru Kenyatta, National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi and Senate Speaker Ekwee Ethuro after his State of the Nation speech on March 26, 2015. PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

• Indeed the wording of Article 1 of our Constitution stamps this fact, that sovereign power belongs to the people and that this power is exercised on behalf of the people by specified institutions.
• This August, we have the parliamentary open week. As we intensify our outreach to the people on the ground through participation in such events as agricultural shows across the country, we need the help of every Kenyan to implement this provision of our Constitution.
• I am hopeful that technology can be deployed to advance this provision of our Constitution. During Parliament’s open week, I would like to hear proposals on how Parliament can intensify its engagement with the people.

By JUSTIN MUTURI
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When Kenyans passed and subsequently promulgated the new Constitution in 2010, the message was very clear: that citizens wanted to be consulted on everything being done on their behalf by their leaders and that transparency was not optional.

Innovation thrives on producing and competing locally

In Summary

• Our universities don't work well with the private sector and the government, and we don’t collaborate enough with global partners.
• The problem is that we put too much emphasis on technical expertise, while forgetting that professionals also need a whole range of non-technical, transferable skills.
• Forget the nonsense that entrepreneurs are born. Several research projects attribute entrepreneurial success to learning.

By BITANGE NDEMO
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The other day, I watched a CNN news clip about the groundbreaking ceremony for Cornell Tech's campus on New York City's Roosevelt Island.

Why Uhuru and Raila have more in common with each other than you

President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga share a light moment at Uzima University in Kisumu on June 29, 2015. PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

• Those pictures were not contrived. President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga displayed genuine warmth and mutual affection. They respect each other and know that anything that threatens the economic and political interests of the ruling classes is a threat to them both and their extensive family enterprises.
• They will often publicly snipe at each other and encourage their noisy bands of supporters to unleash verbal broadsides and missiles, but when the decibels get too high both have been known to quietly call off their respective attack dogs.
• That is the reality that should cause the motley band of fellows — from senior politicians and business figures down to garrulous youth activists, lumpenproletariat in the slums of Kibera or Kiandutu, and peasant farmers blindly following ethnic chieftains —to pause for thought.

The images of camaraderie as President Uhuru Kenyatta and Opposition leader Raila Odinga shared a podium in Kisumu on Monday said a lot.

Blogs & Opinion

Kenya needs to invest Sh1.7trn yearly to hit 10pc GDP growth: Rotich

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich in Nairobi on June 30, 2015. Kenya needs to make investments worth Sh1.7 trillion each year if the country is to attain growth rates of over 10 per cent annually. PHOTO | JOSHUA MASINDE |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• Such investments, equivalent to 32 per cent of the country’s GDP would be channelled to critical sectors in energy and infrastructure development.

By JOSHUA MASINDE
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Kenya needs to make investments worth Sh1.7 trillion each year if the country is to attain growth rates of over 10 per cent annually, National Treasury Cabinet Secretary, Henry Rotich has said.

Former NSE boss Peter Mwangi named CEO of UAP-Old Mutual

Mr Peter Mwangi. The former NSE boss has been appointed the Group Chief Executive Officer of the newly merged UAP-Old Mutual Group business. FILE PHOTO | SALATON NJAU |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

By NATION REPORTER
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Former NSE boss Peter Mwangi has been appointed the Group Chief Executive Officer of the newly merged UAP-Old Mutual Group business.
Peter has been the CEO of Old Mutual Kenya since October 2014 before which he was the CEO of the NSE.

New automated system for management of donor funds launched

Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru (left) and Principal Secretary Eng Peter Mangiti at a past function. The government has directed immediate adoption of a new Automated Financial Management System for efficient management of donor funds in community driven projects. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU  

In Summary

• It is expected to boost donor confidence on the use and management of funds and grants that are released for various projects. It will also be used in audit of funds.
• Devolution and Planning Principal Secretary Eng Peter Mangiti gave the directive to the management of the Community Development Trust Fund under the Ministry, which coordinates donor funding for various projects implemented through community based organisations and private-public sector partnerships.
• Mr Sang said donor support for the program has been increasing over the years, justifying the need for a strong finance and grants management system for integrity and accountability in the management of the resources.

By CAROLINE WAFULA
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By VENESSA NYASIO
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The government has directed immediate adoption of a new Automated Financial Management System for efficient management of donor funds in community driven projects.

There is no greater love than this!

When Johnson Mwiti was diagnosed with kidney disease, his wife, Doreen Kawira, donated one of her kidneys to him. PHOTO| JOY ABISAGI 

In Summary

• But they were still struggling, and sometimes, Mwiti would skip medication to make ends meet. During one of his weekend visits to the village, Kawira noticed that his face and feet were swollen.
• When she pointed this out, he brushed her concern aside. One day, during their usual telephone calls, he mentioned that he could not see properly, but reassured Kawira that it could be the after-effects of his medication.
• She went to visit him in the city soon afterwards, only to find him bedridden, his entire body swollen, his sight almost gone. She immediately rushed him to Kenyatta National Hospital, where he was admitted.

By KARIMI GATIMI
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Johnson Mwiti could not help but notice the lovely young woman who would cheerfully serve him whenever he went to fuel his employer’s car.

Kenya to set up forensic lab for cyber security

 

In Summary

• “The lab will proactively monitor impending cyber security attacks, detect reactive cybercrime and link up with the judiciary in the fight,” said Mr Wangusi.
• CA is also committed to conduct a detailed study on the depth of web hackings in the country. Wangusi said cyber-attacks are on the rise with the banking sector suffering most, followed by government officials.
• “Criminals are carrying out illegal activities in the web and we must protect the region even us we focus on trade. A secure cyber space will reduce revenue loss," said Mr Dafalla.

By LILIAN OCHIENG
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Kenya has taken over chairmanship of Association of Regulators of Information and Communications for Eastern and Southern Africa (ARICEA), a body that fights cybercrime within COMESA.

Treasury Secretary Rotich sees stability in FX market

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich reads the 2015/2016 Budget in Parliament on June 11, 2015. Mr Rotich sees the shilling attaining stability in the short term aided by the hike in the Central Bank rate. PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• Today, the shilling has maintained relative stability, trading within Monday’s range against the dollar despite concerns that Greece’s impending default on its debt would cause the local currency to weaken.
• This, coupled with end month demand for dollars from importers, weakening exports against surging imports, would put the shilling under immense pressure.

By JOSHUA MASINDE
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National Treasury cabinet secretary, Henry Rotich sees the shilling attaining stability in the short term aided by the hike in the Central Bank rate.

Centum lists its Sh6bn bond on NSE

Centum Group chief executive James Mworia. FILE PHOTO | DIANA NGILA |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

By JOSHUA MASINDE
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Centum Investments has listed its Sh6 billion bond on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

The five year bond, which closed on June 5, 2015, received applications worth Sh8.3 billion compared to the Sh6 billion the firm sought from the market.

Do you treat your visitors better than you do your spouse?

We were taught to put the needs of visitors first, and be in our best behaviour in the presence of guests. FILE PHOTO |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• The small boy, with that unnerving innocence of a child, loudly responded “Mum, leo upike kama zile za Wageni.”
• (Mum, make chapatis as sweet as the ones you make for visitors). Though she was embarrassed, an important point had been made.

By SHADRACK KIRUNGA
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A story is told of a woman who was embarrassed by her son when she announced that she would make chapattis for dinner.

Raila seeks NYS probe but Uhuru tells him ‘keep off’

President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga share a light moment at Uzima University in Kisumu on June 29, 2015 the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Kisumu Catholic Archdiocese at the Uzima University College grounds. PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

• While they shared a podium, exchanged pleasantries and interacted cordially enough, they, however, expressed diametrically opposed views on corruption in the NYS.
• Despite their camaraderie, Mr Odinga still called for an audit of National Youth Service projects while the President told politicians to keep off, saying the project had transformed lives.
• The ODM leader also defended himself against allegations that he was fighting Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru and women in general.
• President Kenyatta recently rejected a Bill that had proposed payment of the former PM’s pension as well as that of Wiper leader and former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka.

By MOSES ODHIAMBO
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President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga disagreed over claims of corruption in the National Youth Service when they came face to face at a church function in Kisumu on Monday.

While they shared a podium, exchanged pleasantries and interacted cordially enough, they, however, expressed diametrically opposed views on corruption in the NYS.

Kenyan government, companies embrace social media power

A graphic depicting social media use. Kenyans joined the world in celebrating Social Media Day on June 30, 2015. GRAPHIC | MICHAEL MOSOTA | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

• Only 10 per cent of State departments are active on social media.
• He cautions parents to monitor what their children are posting online as it could expose them to many kinds of danger.

By BEATRICE OBWOCHA
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Kenyans joined the global community in celebrating World Social Media Day on Tuesday, with the event highlighting how social media have changed the way governments and companies communicate.

June inflation up on weak shilling

Eldoret grocer Lillian Kwamboka selling tomatoes in an undated photo. The cost of living for the month of June rose to 7.03pc from 6.87pc despite a decline in food prices due to a weak shilling. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

• KNBS says food prices continued a month-to-month decline, easing the high cost of leaving experienced in April as other basic expenses increased, reversing the gains in making life cheaper.
• Transport index increased by 0.86 per cent mainly due to notable rises in the cost of petrol and diesel, both of which climbed by close to 5 per cent.

By EDWIN OKOTH
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The cost of living for the month of June rose to 7.03pc from 6.87pc despite a decline in food prices due to a weak shilling, new government data shows.

Better cross-border trade key to EA growth

By CAROLE KARIUKI

 

Presidents Pierre Nkurunziza (Burundi), Jakaya Kikwete (Tanzania), Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) and Paul Kagame (Rwanda) at the East African Community Heads of State Summit in Nairobi. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE 

In Summary

• One key change is the National Electronic Single Window System, which has cut the cost of tax compliance for businesses.

Kenya’s economy has made remarkable gains over the past five years, maintaining a robust growth rate. 

The GDP growth stood at 5.4 per cent in 2014, an improvement on the 5.1 per cent recorded in 2013 and 4.6 per cent in 2012. 

The outlook is equally robust, with growth projected to reach 7.0 per cent by 2017 for an average of 6.7 per cent between 2014 and 2017).

Auto maker Mahindra aims for double-digit Africa growth, plans Kenya hub

Corporate News

An employee works at an assembly line at a plant of Indian automaker Mahindra and Mahindra in Chakan, Mumbai. The firm hopes the aggressive Africa expansion plan will help spur a 10-fold increase in business over the next five to seven years. PHOTO | FILE |  REUTERS

By WENDELL ROELF, REUTERS and BD WRITER

Posted  Tuesday, June 30  2015 at  11:50

India's largest utility and tractor producer, Mahindra and Mahindra, has set up an Africa-focused business unit as it looks to maintain double-digit growth levels in the continent, the company said on Tuesday.

Peter Mwangi to head of UAP-Old Mutual merger firm

Ex-NSE boss Peter Mwangi has been appointed the Group Chief Executive Officer of the newly merged UAP-Old Mutual Group business. PHOTO | FILE |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

By NATION REPORTER

Former Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) boss Peter Mwangi has been appointed the Group chief executive of the newly merged UAP-Old Mutual Group business.

Fuel prices, weaker Shilling push June inflation up

Money Markets

Fuel prices and a weak Shilling have pushed June inflation to 7.03 per cent. PHOTO | FILE  

By BD REPORTER

In Summary

• KNBS says housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels’ index increased by 0.37 per cent driven by cost increases in house rents and cooking fuels in June.

Inflation in June inched up marginally pushed by rising fuel prices, utilities and effects of a weaker shilling.

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data shows that inflation rose to 7.03 per cent from 6.87 per cent in May.

Govt to challenge ruling on teachers' pay

Politics and policy

Education secretary Jacob Kaimenyi. PHOTO | FILE 

By OLOO WINNIE and SANDRA CHAO-BLASTO

The Ministry of Education says it will challenge the ruling of the Industrial Court to increase the basic pay of teachers by up to 60 per cent.

IBM fits tracking devices in Nairobi garbage trucks to raise collection

Corporate News

Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero (left) hands over truck keys to a driver after he launched 11 new trucks for garbage and waste management in the county in March 2014. PHOTO | FILE 

By OKUTTAH MARK

In Summary

• City Hall says it was forced to seek IBM’s expertise after realising that drivers were using the vehicles to do private businesses.

IBM has developed tracking devices that will enable City Hall to manage its fleet of garbage collection vehicles more efficiently.

Naivas cuts milk price on rise in market supply

Money Markets

Naivas is selling a litre at Sh65 down from Sh70 following increased supply. PHOTO | FILE 

By GEORGE NGIGI

Naivas Supermarket has lowered the price of milk dispensed through vending machines, putting pressure on milk processors to follow suit.

Naivas is selling a litre at Sh65 down from Sh70 following increased supply. Milk processors have, largely retained prices with half-litre packs still retailing at as high as Sh50.

Watchdog starts probe of cartels in agriculture, finance sectors

The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) director-general Wang'ombe Kariuki. PHOTO | FILE 

By NEVILLE OTUKI

The competition watchdog has launched an inquiry into the conduct of powerful trade associations with cartel-like behaviours to weed out practices that have denied consumers full benefits of a free market.

US, Kenya trade gets boost with renewal of Agoa deal

Politics and policy

Workers at the EPZ in Athi River. The Agoa trade deal has been extended for 10 years. PHOTO | FILE 

By GEORGE OMONDI

In Summary

• The Agoa window allows Kenya and other African countries to export about 6,000 kinds of goods to the US without paying taxes.

The US Congress has approved extension of preferential trade pact with sub-Saharan African states by 10 years, safeguarding nearly 40,000 jobs and providing a lifeline to investments worth billions of shillings in Kenya.

How Burundi role in region has diminished

President Uhuru Kenyatta. PHOTO | FILE 

Uhuru asked Burundian president to postpone poll

By CHARLES ONYANGO OBBO

As I thought about the recent violence in the Central African nation of Burundi, I recalled a trip I made there three years ago.

I realised that something I’d seen in 2012 was a key to why the coup attempt in May by a group of army officers had failed. The capital city, Bujumbura, is bordered by hills that roll down toward Lake Tanganyika.

Kenya, Somalia in talks to end border row out of UN court

Politics and policy

Foreign Affairs secretary Amina Mohammed says Kenya and Somalia are seeking to end border row out of UN court. PHOTO | FILE 

By EDWIN MUTAI, emutai@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• Somalia has agreed to pursue arbitration outside the United Nation’s highest court which was preparing to start hearing the suit.

Kenya and Somalia are seeking an out-of-court settlement over the long-running border dispute linked to lucrative oil and gas reserves in the Indian Ocean.

Learn business success skills from the ashes of your failure

A stressed out businessman. An entrepreneur can triumph over a business failure and rise to start another venture. PHOTO | FILE 

By MURORI KIUNGA

In Summary

• Though not a prerequisite for success, failure is an indispensable part of it.

Failure is a reality many people hardly plan for when venturing into business. Even with the best plans in place, all resources assembled, and due diligence in all actions; still failure is highly probable in every business.

Sharpen your image and presence as they define your professionalism

 

Scrutinising a financial document. Forensic accounting requires training in fraud detection. PHOTO | FILE 

By PETER WERE

As a business owner, you need to determine reasons for requesting an audit. A forensic audit and a financial statement audit have different objectives that do not overlapinShare

Request a forensic audit if you suspect asset-theft fraud. Request a financial statement audit for assurance that your business’s financial statements fairly state the company’s financial position as of a certain date.

Important life and business lessons from the International Yoga Day

Businessman Vimal Shah (right) participating in yoga at University of Nairobi grounds on June 21, 2015. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

By BONIFACE NGAHU

In Summary

• For those in business and other time-consuming engagements, yoga ensures that you have time for meditation which keeps you alert while reorganising your brain cells to boost memory.

The world marked the first International Day of Yoga on June 21 following a declaration by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 2014.

Young entrepreneur unveils phone-connected school bell

                                    Young entrepreneur unveils phone-connected school bell

By ERIC MATARA

In Summary

• Using a smartphone, a teacher can set an Android-based bell ringing gadget to go off at selected times.

When Amos Keter was in primary school, he was a bell ringer; a task he did not like much. It was time-wasting.

Mr Keter has now sought to help schools do away with bell ringers, ensuring all pupils focus through lessons and stay in class. Using a smartphone, a teacher can set an Android-based bell ringing gadget to go off at selected times.

Sony to raise nearly $4 billion, ramp up sensors business in turnaround

Corporate News

A shopper walks past Sony logos at an electronics shop in Tokyo on June 30, 2015. Image sensors, a key high-tech component in digital cameras and smartphones, have emerged as one of Sony's strongest lines alongside its PlayStation videogames unit. PHOTO | YOSHIKAZU TSUNO |  AFP

By RITSUKO ANDO

In Summary

• The firm has long been plagued by losses in branded goods like smartphones, hit by fierce competition from both cheaper rivals in Asia and industry giants like Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co.

Japan's Sony Corp plans to raise nearly $4 billion via new shares and bonds to plough into image sensors as it reinvents itself as a niche component maker, pulling back from consumer goods like TVs that dragged it into losses.

DTB lending book ranked the best as National Bank trails

Cytonn Investments CEO Edwin Dande (left) with chief investment officer Elizabeth Nkukuu during the release of Cytonn banking sector report on June 29, 2015. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA 

By GEORGE NGIGI, gngigi@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• Diamond Trust Bank has managed to keep share of non-performing loans at 1.43 per cent of its total loan book compared to National Bank of Kenya’s (NBK) 9.95 per cent.

Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) has the healthiest loan book with National Bank of Kenya ranked the worst among listed lenders, a report by investment management firm Cytonn shows.

Regulator in row with KDF over missing illegal sugar

Butali Sugar Mills employees work at the plant in Kakamega County. Cheap sugar imports hurt local millers. PHOTO | FILE 

By GERALD ANDAE, gandae@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• Agriculture authority says it was denied entry to military base where about 370 bags of contraband sugar are stored.
• KDF has denied knowledge of the consignment amid efforts to dismantle a decades-old sugar smuggling cartel that is funding Somali militants waging war on Kenya.

The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) is locked in a row with the agriculture regulator over the whereabouts of 370 bags of contraband sugar, which were seized and allegedly stored at the Mandera military base.

MPs to cost taxpayers Sh2m each per month

 

Parliament in session: Budget documents show that legislators will be paid Sh390,000 more in the next fiscal year. PHOTO | FILE 

By KIARIE NJOROGE, gkiarie@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• MPs will, in the fiscal year starting July 1, get paid an average of Sh1.99 million per month in salaries and reimbursements for costs incurred up from an average of Sh1.5 million this year.
• Each MP then earns an average of Sh509,214 per month in domestic travel and other transportation costs, taking the total to nearly Sh2 million.

The cost of keeping a Member of Parliament will rise to an average of Sh2 million per month beginning Wednesday (July 1), highlighting the growing burden to the taxpayer of an expanded House of legislators with powers to determine their perks.

Court orders up to 60 pc basic pay increase for teachers

Politics and policy

Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) national treasurer Albanus Mutisya (left), chairman Mudzo Nzilli and secretary-general Wilson Sossion at a past media briefing. The pay rise will be backdated to July 2013, payable over four years. PHOTO | FILE |   NATION MEDIA GROUP

By SANDRA CHAO-BLASTO, schao@ke.nationmedia.com

Teachers have been offered a 50 to 60 per cent basic pay increase effective immediately.

le pay

Brothers turn father’s ailing firm into Sh58 million copier business

Mr Tawfiq Magan shares a light moment with employees at his Total Office Solutions outlet in the Nairobi central business district. The firm has outlets in other towns. PHOTO | COURTESY 

By Wanjiru Waithaka

In Summary

• Mr Magan had no experience running a company and was, understandably, terrified.
• He must have done something right because 10 years later the company is still around, having made Sh58 million in revenues last year as well as being listed among the Top 100 companies list last year.

Tawfiq Magan knows first-hand what it is like to be thrown in the deep end.

When his father asked him to take over Total Office Solutions in 2005, he felt like he was being asked to save the Titanic. The company was quite literally sinking under the weight of mismanagement by its former managing director.

Avoid perils of putting profit ahead of family

It is prudent to use wealth to build strong relationships in the nuclear and extended families. PHOTO | FOTOSEARCH 

By PETER MUTUA

In Summary

• Leaders who allow themselves to be completely entangled with what they own lack true purpose, compromise relationships and eventually slip into obscurity.

In August 2008, Steven Munuve* declared to his wife Susan* that he was no longer interested in staying together with her; he wanted her to move out of their matrimonial home and to leave him alone.