BY VICTOR ADAR You can laugh at the agony of someone who earns as little as Sh30, 000 to own a decent home. As always the case, this lot is priced out of most neighbourhoods, as satellite towns remain the saving grace. Some say if you earn so little, it is painful to set aside some. Let’s say you get a one bedroom house in Roysambu or Zimmermann at around Sh9, 000, and spend nearly the same amount on your daily transport, airtime, and for personal up keep. Clearly it could be hard to make a big purchase. But then…
Author: Editor
By Kosta Kioleoglou Over the last few years, Real Estate has been dominating investment interests of Kenyans looking to identify lucrative opportunities to place their lifetime savings. One of the most popular scheme attracting thousands of investments and billions of shillings in volume was the ‘buy to let’ investment option. Having headlines supporting the industry, promising a secure future in the sector with great returns, people’s thirst to be part of that opportunity rose leading to quick decisions. Today, the KBA house price indexes as well as market reports from international recognized organizations are presenting a different reality. The market’s…
BY PAUL MUTHAURA Today marks yet another milestone in an astounding decade of capital markets activity that KenGen has been at the centre of following its IPO on May 17, 2006. In that year, KenGen’s IPO attained a 333% subscription level- the 6th highest in Kenya’s history, as it raised over Sh7.45 billion shillings. Kengen’s public offer also played a pivotal role in introducing an estimated 300,000 new formal investors in the capital markets translating to stronger secondary market performance in terms of traded turnover, market capitalization and share volume. A few years later came the hugely successful KenGen Infrastructure Bond in 2009, a…
BY ANTONY MUTUNGA In 1973 the United Kingdom became a fully-fledged member of the European Economic Community (E.E.C), now the European Union (E.U), as a means of bringing prosperity to the country. However, after just two years as a member of the E.E.C the public was ready to go to its first referendum to decide whether to stay in the Common Market or not. This was according to the Labor manifesto that was agreed upon during the Labor General Election in 1974 that gave the people the right to vote on the matter. In 1975 the referendum was put to…
BY PETER WANYONYI It wasn’t supposed to end like this. South Sudan, Africa’s youngest state, was supposed to be the one country that would not succumb to the painful realities of post-independence Africa – the reasoning as that Juba would have seen the pitfalls that befell the rest of Africa and would have learnt from them, and would be too wise to get embroiled in the madness that passes for governance in Africa. For good measure, South Sudanese returned to the country from all over the world, many of them smart, well-educated young professionals eager to build the types of…
BY KENYATTA OTIENO There is a trend where in April, August and part of November when schools are closed traffic jams ease considerably in Nairobi. The irony is out of familiarity; we take it as normal. During school holidays Nairobi roads are clear, you are left wondering what school children do to us or rather what we do around schools when they are in session. First a majority of Nairobi’s commuting population, for lack of reliable public transport, opts for personal cars, which lead to congestion. Kenya has over two million cars and a good percentage, may be up to…
BY FRANCIS MONYANGO It is true that two things are certain, taxes and death. It is also true that we are in the information technology age where technology is becoming a major part of our lives day after day. The effect is that we now have new mediums of conducting business. We have virtual lives, virtual businesses and even virtual wallets. It is common knowledge that a third of what is always collected by the Kenya Revenue Authority is never accounted for. The efforts of sealing this loophole never see the light of day. The taxman however, is always keen…
By Dr Kellen Kiambati Corporate governance is of utmost importance in the supervision and regulation of institutions. It involves a set of relationships between a company’s management, its board, shareholders and other stakeholders. It provides the structure through which the objectives of the company are set and the means of attaining them and monitoring performance are determined. More specifically, it requires balancing the needs of policyholders, employees and other business partners. Recently we have all read about the spectacular failures of corporate governance. New rules and regulations are being introduced that are intended to rebuild public trust, yet a question…
BY PAUL OGEMBA On July 10, the newest lottery firm in Kenya launched its entry into the betting craze through an expensive entertainment function across seven counties. Dubbed “It is Big”, the Pambazuka National Lottery (PNL) boasts of being East Africa’s biggest ever, national lottery with a jackpot of up to Sh100 million and mini-jackpots of Sh10 million. The lottery was simultaneously launched in Nairobi, Kisumu, Mombasa, Meru, Nakuru, Nyeri and Kisii and broadcast live on a section of television channels, following the completion of multi-million shilling campaigns and road shows across the country. Speaking at the event, the CEO…
BY ANTONY MUTUNGA If you are a fan of fast food then you have definitely been disappointed when it comes to burgers in many restaurants. The picture that is usually advertised looks nothing like the actual burger that one is served. The one that is usually advertised is full of color making the actual meat look bigger and fresher although this is far from the actual reality. Without noticing it then you have been reeled in by false advertising. In the business world advertisement has become one of the most important instruments when it comes to attracting and persuading consumers…