BY PETER WANYONYI There was a time when everything happening in the East African Community revolved around Kenya. This was when Kenya was the leading economic power in the region, Tanzania was mired in the leftover decline of its socialist past, and Uganda was tied up in civil war after another. The less said about Rwanda and Burundi over that period, the better. Kenya looked good because we didn’t have the all-out wars of Uganda and Rwanda-Burundi, and because our industrial base stood out in stark contrast to the centrally-planned poverty then prevalent in Tanzania. The legacy of this still…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
BY NBM WRITER Ever since the world experienced the Great Recession back in 2008, things are yet to return to normal with the growth of the global economy being greatly affected. For the last six years, the global economy has kept a low economic growth, which has stuck around 3%. This has caused investments around the world to slow as well as lead to the reduction of global trade growth, in turn causing employment, labour productivity and wages needed to improve the living standards of the people to greatly suffer. Low growth has been a major problem for not only…
BY ANOTNY MUTUNGA Migration has become one of the major solutions for many people, especially those in developing countries looking to fulfill their dreams or simply feed their families. However, people in the developed and least developed countries feel the effects of migration differently. Most people in developed countries, which are the most likely destination for people who are looking to better their lives, normally think of migration as incomers coming to compete for their jobs at a lower wage. While on the other hand, least developed countries see migration as losing their best and brightest to the developed world.…
BY NBM writer After enjoying about two decades of robust growth, the situation in sub Saharan Africa seemed to have hit a snag after the economic growth slowed down sharply to 1.4% in 2016. This was mainly as a result of low commodity prices as well as the increasing imbalances in some of the largest economies in the region such as Nigeria and South Africa. In 2017, the region’s economy was able to slightly recover as its growth stood at 2.7% according to a report by Moody’s Investors Service, a credit rating agency. The growth was accredited to the slight…
BY ELSIE OYOO Knowing when it is time to establish a legal department could save you millions of shillings in legal fees charged by external lawyers. Hiring in-house counsel could also save you valuable management time and many costly errors occasioned by doing your legal work by yourself or having non-lawyers in your company handle it. Below are factors to consider in determining whether it is time to bring in an in-house lawyer. Escalating costs Although retaining legal advice in a timely manner can aid you in averting risk, such as closure of business or paying government fines for non-compliance…
By Antony Mutunga Once upon a time, Nairobi city was nothing but a railway depot used by the British colonialists on the Kenya-Uganda railway. However, 101 years since it replaced Machakos as the capital city of Kenya, it has grown to become one of the largest cities in Africa. It is identified as among one of the top investment destinations on the Continent. In addition, this has seen its population grow as well, hitting over 3 million people according to data from the Kenya Census 2009. However, regardless of its visible growth since its early ages, the city has been…
BY DAVID ONJILI It is a no brainer that there is an acute demand for efficient, reliable and decent mass transit system within Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. With the centralization of civil service, commerce and other service activities within the Central Business District (CBD) and industrial areas, the influx of citizens can be overwhelming especially as the city grows. With average passenger traffic of 19,000 people daily, the existing railway system within Nairobi is extremely underutilized factoring that 75% of commuters employed in the CBD relies on public transport. Government estimates that around 1.5 million people access the…
BY NBM WRITER Thanks to the Almighty’s good graces I secured an admission to the Advocate’s Training Programme at the Kenya school of law. That means shuttling between my work station in Parklands and Karen where the programme center, is situated. Some will say that I should concentrate on my academics and rightly so, but shelving work considering all the benefits I derive from it is not an option for me. I’ll just die. “Should everything pan out as I hope, my routine will be very simple.” I told myself. “I’ll get up in the wee morning for a jog,…
BY VICTOR ADAR You know how much pain those who do actual selling of complex investment options like insurance can stand. As always the case, converting prospects into customers is usually no easy task. That’s perhaps the reason as to why more and more sales representatives seem to hide critical details just to close some deals. But while it seems those whose hands have been burnt in the market simply for lack of knowledge still find wary of investing in the industry, one P.V Saseendran, was prompted to out think. Reporting at Kenindia Assurance from Life Insurance Corporation of India…
A group of Kenyans is threatening to sue the Kenya Power and Lighting Company for what it considers abuse of dominance, monopoly and buyer power. In a letter of demand dated 8 January 2018 and addressed to KPLC through their lawyers Apollo and Company Advocates, they accuse the Company of slapping electricity consumers with inflated power bills as a means of recovering ksh10. 1 billion backdated bills from consumers allegedly incurred on diesel generation in the year 2017 but not factored in the monthly charges. They demand that the Company provide them with information concerning the issue failure to which they…