Author: Kawira Mutisya

President Uhuru Kenyatta has urged the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to prepare harmonised COVID-19 protocols that will ensure participants are safe during the African Union meetings scheduled for February next year.

President Kenyatta emphasized that the protocols will determine whether the African Union (AU) meetings will be virtual or physical given the challenges occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention should give protocols that they think will ensure participants are safe and that will determine whether we will have virtual or physical meetings,” the President said.

President Kenyatta spoke Thursday evening during a virtual meeting of the Bureau of the Assembly of the AU Heads of State and Government and chairpersons of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs).

Also read: Housing and construction sector key in post pandemic recoveries -Uhuru Kenyatta

The meeting was convened by President Cyril Ramaphosa of …

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is increasing efforts aimed at bolstering the global response to Fall Armyworm (FAW), considered one of the top 10 devastating plant pests affecting food and agriculture.

According to a statement from the organisation, the Director-General, QU Dongyu, noted today that great strides had been made by the Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control (GA), a coordination mechanism established by him a year ago, but emphasized that many challenges remain to be tackled in the sustainable management of this pest.

Speaking at a virtual meeting of the Global Action’s third steering committee, the Director-General noted FAW’s reach was expanding, noting that it had been reported in four new countries in Asia and the Near East.

FAW is a voracious transboundary insect which targets maize and other food crops. Originating in the Americas, it invaded Africa in 2016 and has spread …

Bamburi Cement has launched an innovative and green construction project in Kenya dubbed “Houses of Tomorrow’ (HoT) in a bid to fulfil its sustainable construction agenda through low-carbon based building solutions.

The projects seek to achieve very low embodied CO2 footprint buildings using low carbon cement-based materials and locally available resources.

The project involves careful selection, design and use of materials which leverage low carbon standards in the overall construction, and especially application of near zero embodied energy concrete designed by incorporating low carbon content cement. Some of the cement products to be used for this construction project feature a mix of Bamburi Cement’s products Powermax and Nguvu pozzolanic cements for concrete works. Fundi masonry cement, a low carbon cement, will also be used for mortar and plaster works.

The project launched by Bamburi’s parent company LafargeHolcim, is ongoing in several countries on each continent.

Commenting on the new building …

 The East African Business Council (EABC) is urging for tax regime harmonization within the East Africa Community (EAC) and improve ease of doing business to lure more investors in the region.

East African countries such as Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania are ranked in the top 7 by “Where to Invest in Africa” 2019 report of the Rand Merchant Bank (RMB).

Speaking on the second day of the Virtual Conference on Trade & Investment Opportunities in East Africa Beyond COVID-19, EABC CEO, Dr. Peter Mutuku Mathuki urged EAC Partner States to continue creating a favorable business environment in the region.

Also Read: Tanzania: Electronic stamps improving tax collection

“Addressing the cost of doing business such as energy and infrastructure issues and ensuring stable human capital development will entice investors to come to East Africa,” he said.

The conference attracted Investment Promotion Authorities, Senior Government Officials, Industry Champions, Development Partners and Investors …

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has partnered with the PanaBIOS Consortium, represented by AfroChampions, to support the safe re-opening of Africa to travel and trade in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The “PanaBIOS-UNDP” Initiative involves a bridge to an international system called Global Haven at the base of which is a standardized and harmonized testing platform that enables international cross-border travel and trade, as well as business continuity in the face of health and similar catastrophes, thereby creating resilience into the future.

Since travel is highly international with intercontinental hubs tightly connected around the globe, the initiative anticipates the participation of many global actors within the Global Haven compact.

PanaBIOS and its promotion of trusted testing will play an important role in promoting the safe reopening of Africa to advance some of the objectives of enhanced intra African trade through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) – …

UBA Kenya has defied coronavirus effects and made 199 per cent pretax profit increase in Quarter 3.

United Bank for Africa, Kenya has announced its third quarter 2020 financial results, registering a 199 percent  jump in Profit Before Tax (PBT) to stand at Sh348 Million ($3.132 million), compared to Sh116 Million ($$1.044 million) reported in September last year.

The performance growth was largely driven by efficient management of the balance sheet as well as cost optimization, amid challenging business operating environment.

According to a statement from the financial institution, the bank’s asset base also grew by 37 percent mainly due to additional investments in Fixed Income securities.

According to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), Kenya’s economy slowed down during the first quarter of 2020 compared to the corresponding quarter in 2019.

The loan book and deposits increased slightly by 10 percent and 25 percent respectively due to financial support …

The study by the African Development Bank (AfDB) shows that the country is currently experiencing inadequate electricity generation capacity. Kenya is also grappling with high-power bills. This situation has therefore pushed the government to scout for alternative ways of resolving these problems.  

Currently more than 39 per cent of Kenya’s electricity comes from hydropower according to the 2015 data by the government. The situation is particularly difficult during the summer months when water levels are low. Capacity gaps are then compensated by expensive thermal generation based on fossil fuels.  

In Kenya currently according to Global Petrol Prices, the price of electricity stands at $0.206 per kWh for households and $0.164 for businesses. This price includes all components …

Only 14 percent of Small and Medium Size Companies  access legal services in Kenya according to a new report by KIOI & CO Advocates.

The report which was released at the launch of the firm’s virtual legal services, indicated that over 70 percent of SMEs do not access legal services citing cost as the major factor. With over 100, 000 companies registered in Kenya every year, very few make it to their third birthday mostly due to compliance issues.

“Some of the major legal problems affecting SMEs include poorly drawn contracts or no contracts at all, little or no legal advice on agreements, bank loans as well as failure to meet compliance set by the law ,” said Angela Kioi, founder, Kioi & Co  Advocates.

According to Company Registrar there are 326 new business registrations across Kenya daily, however many SMEs cite prohibitive legal fees as a barrier to engaging …

Kenya is keen on strengthening trade and investment ties with Europe, President Uhuru Kenyatta has said.

According to the Kenyan embassy in Brussels, Kenya has enjoyed a longstanding cordial association and trade relations with the European Union, under the framework of the successive Lomé Conventions and the Cotonou Agreement.

The cooperation began in the 1960s, prior to the Lomé Convention, and has been in the areas of, inter alia: development finance, trade, political, industrial development, energy, socio-cultural, regional cooperation development, agriculture and environment, with the objective to increase export income, promote industrialisation, and promote economic growth of developing countries.

To achieve these objectives, the European Union (EU) provided Kenya and other ACP countries preferential market access for primary products, essentially agriculture and other agro-based products, together with funds and other forms of assistance towards trade and private sector development. The preferences have been non-reciprocal, and are in the …

The East African Business Council (EABC) has called upon South Sudan to stop charging Visa entry fees on any East African Partner States and embrace the use of National Identity cards as a travelling document across the region.

“As it is now, South Sudan still charges visa fees to EAC citizens from EAC Partner States which do not have a bilateral agreement, with the country. We also urge South Sudan to join Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda to use National IDs as travel documents,” said EABC CEO, Dr. Peter Mutuku Mathuki.

This follows EABC’s visit at the Nimule – Elegu One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) yesterday. EABC in collaboration with the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) and the South Sudan Chamber of Commerce held a meeting with the Joint Border Management Committee, deliberating on sustainable solutions on issues affecting the flow of goods and movement of persons at the border post.

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