Stakeholders from across the coffee value chain gathered in Mombasa in mid February for the region’s pre-eminent coffee event. The EAC Coffee Business Forum – organised jointly with the African Fine Coffee Conference & Exhibition – is financed by the European Union through the MARKUP (Market Access Upgrade Programme). A forum for regional and international businesses, service providers and policy makers in the coffee sector to exchange and learn from each other as well as find markets and international sales opportunities, it featured a week of interactive discussions, workshops and networking events. During the Forum, a special coffee cupping session…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
Business Interruption (BI), 67% of responses, ranks as the most important business risk in Tanzania as larger and more complex BI losses continues unabated. Causes are becoming ever more diverse, ranging from critical infrastructure blackouts, fire, explosion or natural catastrophes to digital supply chains or even political violence. Changes in legislation and regulation (at number two with 61% of responses) and Climate change (at position 6 with 17%) underline the US-China trade war, Brexit and global warming as increasing concerns for companies and nations including Tanzania. Cyber incidents is second in this year’s Allianz Risk Barometer (39% of responses). Awareness of the cyber…
Education Investment Plans are versatile investment avenues that cater for clients of varying risk appetites. However, to save for education one does not have to use a purely education-oriented product. Other ways of saving for education other than Education Investment Plans include: Money Market Fund: A money market fund is a short-term investment vehicle that offers high liquidity, as the lock-in period is usually short and withdrawal is easy (most money market funds typically allow redemption within four working days). There are, however, no tax benefits associated with money market funds, nevertheless the higher rates of returns more than compensate…
Some of the options available for investors, the various factors that come into play when selecting an education plan, and asset allocation strategies that fund managers employ when investing the funds in education investment plans. Education is a key aspect in any economy. Over the last 10 years, Kenya’s budgetary allocation towards education expenditure as a percentage of GDP has been averaging over 5.3%. According to the FY’2019/20 budget, the education sector received a significant share of government spending at Sh94.8b, out of the total budget of Sh2.8tn, (equivalent to 17.7%). This, according to the 2020 Budget Policy Statement, is expected…
BY JACOB OKETCH Finally, Kenya’s second President, Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi, was laid to rest in a colourful ceremony at his Kabarak home. His death received mixed reactions from the public. There are those who berated him for misrule and didn’t think he deserved the send off that he was given. On the other hand, there are those who praised him for the good deeds in his long reign. That said, it is important to put into proper perspective the implications of his passing and also to look at his leadership objectively without giving a blanket judgment that does not…
It will slow down governors who have been on the gravy train BY JACOB OKETCH Watching two different impeachment proceedings, one of the US President Donald Trump and another of our very own Kiambu Gorvenor Ferdinand Waititu a.k.a baba Yao, leaves one with a number of observations to make regarding the efficacy of the process and how it can be enhanced in Kenya to aid in good governance. I watched with admiration, the seamless procedure of the US impeachment proceedings. I was particularly awed by how the questions from senators were meticulously channeled to the chief justice who then read…
Of utmost importance, African women and girls are convinced the reduction of the ever-increasing military budgets should be reallocated to country-specific development priorities such as health, education, environment and poverty eradication Congratulations President Cyril Ramaphosa, on your assumption of the Chairperson of the African Union for the year 2020! Your ascension into this critical position comes at a significant period when globally, gender equality and women’s rights demand substantive importance and seeks transformative processes that guarantee a life of equality and dignity for all women and girls. Sir, on this year 2020 and at the ushering in of a new…
The Standard Gauge Railway project will provide a safe and reliable means for efficiently transporting people and cargo to and from the existing Dar es Salaam Port The Government of Tanzania has signed a facility agreement with Standard Chartered Tanzania for a $ 1.46 billion term loan financing to fund the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project from Dar es Salaam to Makutupora. Running approximately 550 kilometres long, the SGR project is one of the country’s biggest projects connecting Dodoma to Dar es Salaam via Morogoro and Makutupora. Once complete, the project will provide a safe and reliable…
A spirited search for National Oil of Kenya (NOCK) CEO ended in the last half of February after the Cabinet Secretary for Mining and Petroleum John Munyes picked Leparan Gideon Morintat. Mr Morintat joins NOCK from D. light SOLAR where he was the country manager, Ethiopia, and the Horn of Africa. He has over 17 years of experience from various industries among them oil and gas, energy, infrastructure development and multinational corporations having worked in senior managerial positions at several companies including Royal Dutch Shell Group, Multichoice Africa Group as well as Mitsui & Co. This change of guard comes…
The executive boards of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank have considered Somalia’s eligibility for debt relief under the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. The boards commended the authorities’ sustained commitment to economic and institutional reforms under challenging circumstances and agreed that Somalia is eligible for assistance under the enhanced HIPC initiative based on a preliminary assessment. This assessment is an important step towards forgiveness of most of Somalia’s debt, which measured $5.3 billion at the end of 2018. Following the discussion on Somalia on, , said that “Today’s agreement by the IMF Executive Board that Somalia…
