Author: Opinion

Kenya has much of what it takes to become a globally competitive tourist destination. With its modern infrastructure, the country has the capacity to receive many more tourists. The favourable investment climate means any increase in demand would easily trigger new investments in accommodation, attractions, and tourist services.

Demand is, however, the most crucial factor here, and with the current visa regime, Kenya faces an unnecessary barrier that limits the growth potential of a key engine of the country’s economy. 

An easing of visa policies could be implemented in a matter of days and would provide an immediate boost to Kenya’s tourism competitiveness. Bringing back visa-on-arrival would be a major improvement. Visa-free entry for citizens of the main source markets even more so.…

Insurance brokers in Kenya, as well as insurance agencies, can negotiate terms requiring insurance coverage under credit terms, as happens in the banking industry. The article seems to go all out to malign the insurance agents’ names by saying they are the ones owing the billions.

This gives the impression there could be a hidden motive in the penning of the article. The Kenyan insurance sector is highly regulated, and a working regulator should ensure that such cases are unheard of with licensed insurance agents in Kenya.

According to the Insurance Act Cap 487 Section 156 talks about insurance premiums and the manner in which they are supposed to be remitted to the insurer. Insurance brokers in Kenya are supposed to remit their premiums immediately after they receive the same from the client. Other intermediaries have a certain window within which they are supposed to remit the premiums and this …

More importantly though, a clear signal was sent to the EU Parliament that the colonial days are over and that meddling in affairs and interfering with matters that are of the exclusive sovereign remit of the host countries, Uganda and Tanzania, is simply not tolerated.

Following the EU Parliament’s action, Total Energies is to appear before the Parliament for a hearing and answer queries that the members of parliament will have. That coupled with the fact that Total has an ongoing court case in France regarding an allegation of its failure to put in place an adequate vigilance plan covering health, safety, environment, and human rights risks as required by French law, related to the the same EACOP project, it will be interesting to see whether or not Total Energies might drop out of the project at the risk of being exposed to breach of contract claims by the other …

The opposition was excluded, the army shot protesters in the post-electoral uprise, and according to Amnesty, at least 5 people were killed during the last election, and several hundred were arrested or exiled.  Since then, nothing has changed.  Repressive laws and regulations that excluded opposition from the past elections are still in place, and opposition leaders are still in prison; a crackdown on dissenting voices is still occurring, except now Talon has blackmailed, corrupted and coerced local politicians into participating in the 2023 election to legitimize his electoral holdup.

Therefore, his August 30th declaration before the Business community in France in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron, is not an accident but by design and should be taken seriously because back home, Talon had already started the process of changing the country’s constitution after January 2023.

The January 2023 legislative elections represent another major challenge for the country but …

For practical reasons, European gas buyers need to find a way to make up for the supplies missing from Russia. And for both policy and practical reasons, Brussels wants to deny Moscow the opportunity to continue using gas supplies as a blunt instrument with which to threaten Europe in the future.

The change isn’t going to be immediate. Reducing Russia’s profile in the EU’s energy mix will take time. But the process of supply reduction is underway, and it has already opened up new opportunities for African gas producers to acquire market share in Europe. I expect those opportunities to last beyond the near term as the EU attempts to establish a new combination of gas suppliers to replace Russia over the next few years. 

I also hope Africa’s emerging gas producers take advantage of new LNG technologies, such as the modular Fast LNG solutions offered by New Fortress Energy …

One of the many lessons learned from the pandemic is that SMEs need to embrace digital transformation, not just to weather unplanned challenges but because it will help them be more competitive and stable. Digital enablement is not just a means of survival. It is a way for SMEs to conduct business more efficiently, which in turn can empower them to expand their operations and earnings further. 

Being nimbler than their big business counterparts, SMEs can quickly rethink their marketing strategies and adopt new technologies to enhance their offerings faster. Digital innovation provides extraordinary opportunities for SMEs. It empowers them to implement new market models, has a greater line of sight across their business, improves traceability, and meet their customers, service providers, and logistics partners, in many instances, all on the same page. 

In the digital trading space, solutions such as import/export platforms, automated cargo-tracking and digital reporting of non-tariff …

• Digitalization brings new opportunities in trade and creates the potential to underpin resilience in times of crisis
• The digital transformation of customs and borders in Africa could improve efficiencies in processes and yield trade gains on the continent of US$20 billion a year
• Single Window can cross-check credentials for consistency and traceability, reducing errors and fraud

The digital transformation of customs and borders in Africa could improve efficiencies in processes and yield trade gains on the continent of US$20 billion a year.

Digitalization brings new opportunities in trade and creates the potential to underpin resilience in times of crisis.

The digital transformation of customs and borders in Africa could improve efficiencies in processes and yield trade gains on the continent of US$20 billion a year. With digital trade in place, pre-existing bottlenecks in infrastructure can be tackled, efficiencies can be leveraged, and Innovative solutions can be harnessed. However, countries in …

Tax relief or a better legal framework for SMEs and start-ups would have been a major milestone for Tanzania’s private sector development agenda, however, the Finance Act does not address the heavy burden that start-ups and SMEs face when doing business in Tanzania and furthermore the proposed allocation of local government to the improvement of local entrepreneurship infrastructure was proposed, it was subsequently removed along with the contribution of local government finances to women entrepreneurs as well.

It would have been an opportunity for the Finance Act to enact amendments to certain Anti-Money Laundering Act and Economic Crimes Act provisions that treat tax offences as economic crimes or money laundering offences that are unbailable offences when they should be treated as tax offences that attract hefty fines and/or penalties.

Other areas that could have been amended are the problematic provisions of the Tax Administration Act including section 52(10) which provides …

From cement to food and beverages to metal production and processing, manufacturing organisations are looking for sustainable energy solutions to help them refine their costs and efficiencies so they can better compete on the local and global stages. Energy provision is now being pulled from mini-grid installations, solar plants, gas plants, wind energy, and rental. The latter becoming increasingly popular as organisations recognise the value of a trusted third-party service provider over having to manage, maintain and install their energy solutions on their own. 

Using a supplier that provides the right technologies to remote, rural and high-demand environments allows for the organisation to enhance power production while minimising the administration and cost impact. Leveraging energy-efficient, environmentally friendly and sustainable systems that bypass reliance on diesel and instead introduce hybrid offerings that combine gas, LNG, solar, and diesel means that companies can build stable and reliable energy platforms that not only …

To meet its growing energy needs and increase electricity access across the population, Mozambique must build 1.3GW of new power capacity over the next decade.   

A further 2GW would be needed to support the planned development of the Beluluane Industrial Park in Maputo province. The challenge facing policymakers today is to identify and develop an optimal energy mix at the lowest total cost to service this growing demand. A recent study carried out by Wärtsilä shows that investing in a combination of renewables and gas would save US$2 billion and 25 million tonnes of CO2 by 2032 compared to adding new coal-fired capacity.  

Working in cooperation with EdM (Electricidade de Moçambique), to assist the country in developing its long-term electricity plan, Wärtsilä has examined how an optimized power system expansion would look like with the competing technologies and fuels available, under different demand increase scenarios from 2022 to 2032. With …