Benson Kaya The Kenyan legal framework on consumer law protection is markedly stunted. The reason is that it has failed to address new aspects of consumer trends. Technological advancements have left our laws lagging. Disappointingly, our consumer framework is left playing catch up! Kenyan laws, generally, are borrowed from jurisprudentially advanced jurisdictions like the United Kingdom. Recently, the United Kingdom enacted commercially sound and consumer friendly legislation, The Consumer Rights Act, 2015 (CRA). This splendid legislation consolidates and reforms key areas of interest. The two major areas of concern were consumer rights and remedies in respect of goods, services and…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
BY ED KLESS In the 1800s in northern France, weaving machines were brought into textile factories, to perform a task that had been done manually for decades. Workers were not happy, believing the machines would take their jobs and kill their craft. In protest, they destroyed the machines using wooden shoes, or sabots, and became known as ‘saboteurs’. Fast forward 200 years and we’re seeing a similar rebellion from accountants who are worried about being replaced by bots and automation. Yet their way of protesting is not to sabotage the bots but to cling to the way they’ve always done things,…
BY PIETER BENSCH A new data privacy and protection framework called the General Data Protection Regulation (DGPR) will come into effect across the European Union on May 25 – and it will change the game for African businesses, too. If your business based in Africa handles personal data about European residents and citizens, you will be expected to comply, even if you do not have a direct presence in Europe. The law affects just about every organisation in Africa that processes the personal data of individuals who are based in Europe. If your company offers goods or services to individuals in the European…
BY STEPHAN DAMHORST In the last years we have seen digitalization affect our lives and the market in several ways; Online marketing especially on social media, has become a common smart strategy that works. Businesses now have an online presence where companies use their own digital platform and are able to interact with consumers. This cannot go without mentioning smart phones. Whenever internet is mentioned, think mobile; Most of the activities over the internet is being done through the smart phones due to the convenience that they create. Customer reviews are also common nowadays, whereby if you want to know…
By Victor Adar Governments employ entrepreneurs. But unsurprisingly, the enterprising individuals they employ quit pretty fast in order to take charge of their own ventures and create opportunities. Perhaps this is partly the reason why the public sector wrestle complex challenges like using taxpayers money to pay individuals who would most likely demand a fortune in return. Or, pay people who would resign anytime to pursue other things in the process leaving the government with no option but to look for someone else who can discharge similar duties. Not perfect but pundits think that it is awesome to move from…
BY VICTOR ADAR The fall of one of East Africa’s top retailer was not only a wake up call to other retail sector players but also to tenants and developers. Nakumatt’s story is similar to that of Uchumi supermarket some ten years back. It started with billions of debts, delayed salaries, empty shelves, and then, closure of several branches. Well, Nakumat is gone forever, so, it seems. This has meant that landlords must change certain things like offering better deals based on either long-term, or short term leases. Perhaps tenant negotiations with landlords can go a long way. But how…
Kenyans’ trust in the government and businesses took a serious dent last year according to the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer released last. The barometer which was released by Gina Din Group in partnership with Edelman Group-South Africa illustrates that Kenyans faith in both institutions are at 61% and 73% respectively compared to the rest of Africa. “Kenya’s economy is driven by the price of commodities such as oil and minerals. When prices of these essential commodities begin to fluctuate, naturally the trust in businesses starts to dip,” said Edelman account manager Alex Scharf. Edelman is a global communications marketing firm. It…
BY ANTONY MUTUNGA Kenyans are faced by a number of different challenges from an increasing unemployment rate to a persistent credit crunch. Despite the statistics showing that the country’s GDP gradually grew to the year 2016, the situation on the ground was far different as Kenyans couldn’t notice any improvement, rather they could only see things getting worse. In 2017 the country’s GDP plummeted from 5.8% to 4.5% with the blame put on the severe drought that the country had faced and majorly on the prolonged electioneering period that saw many businesses within the country come to a standstill. However,…
BY LUKE MULUNDA “The survey found that 14% of digital borrowers were repaying multiple loans from more than one provider at the time of the survey. This means over 800,000 Kenyans were juggling multiple digital loans. Although having multiple loans is not necessarily an indicator of debt distress, it is important to closely monitor the market going forward and detect possible risks,” says the Kenya’s Digital Credit Revolution Five Years On survey report. According to the survey, it is also important to note that debt stress does not occur only when customers borrow multiple loans: It can happen even with a single,…
BY ELSIE OYOO Conducting an Internet search on a lawyer is becoming increasingly common. You may use the web as the primary way of obtaining legal services or as a complement to a referral you have received. Either way, online searches reveal useful information about lawyers that assist you in making the final decision on whether to hire them or not. You can obtain the following useful information on a lawyer online. The lawyer’s compliance status with the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) The LSK maintains a publicly accessible online database of all the advocates (lawyers admitted to the bar)…