BY MUKULU KIOKO “My own sex, I hope, will excuse me if I treat them like rational creatures instead of flattering their fascinating graces and viewing them as if they were in a permanent state of childhood, unable to stay alone – Mary Wollstonecraft, English writer, philosopher, and women rights advocate Last month, I watched in wonderment as people gave tribute to the late Winnie Madikizela Mandela. The star of the show, for me, was her daughter, Zinzi. She spoke with emotion and composure that was both moving and admirable. In her speech she said, “We (women) can be beautiful,…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
BY DR WAHU GITAKAH Adolescents are defined as individuals between 10 and 19year age group. Young people include up to the age of 25 years. This phase is characterised by acceleration of physical growth and, psychological and behavioral changes, thus bringing about transformation from childhood to adulthood. Physical growth and development are accompanied by sexual maturity, often leading to intimate relationships. In addition, the adolescent experiences changes in social expectations and perceptions. The individual’s capacity for abstract and critical thought also develops, along with a sense of self-awareness when social expectations require emotional maturity. Adolescent HIV/AIDS is an epidemic on…
In a fast-changing world, the legal industry has been struggling to keep up. Brick and mortar firms of yesterday are being replaced by online legal services, often provided through artificial intelligence systems such as Facebook chat bots. Therefore, as lawyers where do we stand and how will we survive? Earlier this year, Lawgeex – an artificial intelligence site that helps automate, review and approve legal contracts – pitted 20 experienced US attorneys against an algorithm. Guess who won? Not only was the algorithm 94% accurate at reviewing contracts (while experienced lawyers had an average of 85% accuracy), but it took…
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…
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…