BY DAVID WANJALA Even though Devolution is, arguably, the best thing that has ever happened in this country since independence, there are counties out there that had the misfortune of getting incompetent CEOs, by happenstance or design, as first governors. In the hullaballoo of jostling and positioning for the stake after the promulgation of the New Constitution 2010, the political class did not understand where the real power lay in the new offices that had come along with the fresh dispensation. A majority of the senior politicians and new entrants from both civil service and private sector, believing the Senate…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
BY NDUNG’U WAINAINA Women have been at the forefront of confronting challenges of inequality. While the challenges have been multi-faced, the ones relating to political and leadership spaces have had far-reaching consequences for Kenyans. In an effort to address them, women have attempted to assume political office, but this dream has proved a landmine. Flawed party nominations, negative socio-cultural attitudes from the electorate, and even electoral violence instigated against women have helped to obstruct this political participation. Nonetheless, women are increasingly taking the lunge into electoral politics. Some have organized themselves into coalitions or caucuses and have played catalytic roles…
In case Kenyan companies feel this is an abstract happening in the big bad world outside, the DPPand the CBK have proven otherwise with the Sh400m in fines levied earlier this year on Banks that failed to query the unusual movement of the NYS fraud monies that were transacted through their accounts BY ELSIE OYOO In 2012 and 2013 Goldman Sachs, one of the largest investment banks in the world bribed Malaysian and Emirati officials so that it could underwrite $6.5b in bond offerings with 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). 1MDB, a strategic development company wholly owned by the Malaysian Government, undertook…
BY VICTOR ADAR Being creative is what fires up Josiah Adiema, co-founder of Lean Leap Consultants, a company that not only focus on communication and training but also capacity building in fields that include social media, debate and public speaking, public policy, and governance. He is building the business with his spouse, Scarlet Chemarum, and brother-in-law, Jared Okuku. The trio started toying with the idea in 2017 but they mooted it in 2018 amidst busy schedules. Suddenly, it was registered in 2019. “We finally put our foot down and legally registered it,” he says. “The niche for training and capacity…
BY VICTOR ADAR It is a warm Friday morning and a battery of journalists are on transit to Kilifi from Nairobi on a Standard Gauge Railway train. It is 8:00 a.m. and it takes us exactly five hours to reach Mombasa terminus. Then we board a taxi to Vipingo Ridge situated in North Coast. As you drive into Vipingo, you will notice sisal plantation on one side and a forest on the other. Besides sisal farming, fishing and tourism are the economic activities synonymous with the area. The main aim of this trip was to go and see Pazuri, a…
BY GAD WESONGA The threat of criminal activities targeting urban homes in Kenya continues to linger. According to many security industry reports, burglary and theft targeting electronic items is prevalent. Other residual threats include theft by servant, rape and domestic violence. The 2020 Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) report indicates that these attacks can occur any time and in any location. The implosion in home based internet activities triggered by COVID-19 such as online learning, shopping, trading, entertainment and work from home models have potential to spike cyber security threats at home too. While acts of terrorism are yet to…
By RACHAEL GATHIGIA When naming basic human needs, I can bet travel is somewhere at the top. Hello Abraham Maslow, I just need to talk about that hierarchy again. Oh! the possibilities and the opportunities that travel has revolutionized. Don’t just take it from me, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) in 2019 published that the industry accounts for 10.4% of the world’s GPD. Travel is far ahead of other major sectors such as finance, technology and even health. While in a global pandemic that has affected each and every sector of our lives, travel has been…
BY GAD WESONGA AND ISAAC WESONGA Among the new words included in the 9th edition of the English Oxford Advanced Learners dictionary was ‘boda boda’ which is defined as a type of motorcycle or bicycle with a carrier for a passenger or for carrying goods, often used as a taxi. This term is reported to have its origin from the English word ‘border’ that was chorused by riders to attract clients at the border points of Busia Kenya and Uganda in the late 80s and early 90s. The bodaboda means of transport was preferable at the busy border points due…
Epazz Inc. DeskFlex (OTC: EPAZ, a provider of mission-critical cloud-computing software solutions and blockchain business solutions such as DeskFlex desk booking software, has revealed that customers say having their employees work part time in the office is beneficial for their companies. Employees are more productive, and companies are reducing the size of their office space, sometimes saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a trend we have been seeing over the past 10 years. Demand for desk booking software will increase once the vaccine is ready for distribution because employees will be back in the…
Turaco, a Kenyan based startup has secured Sh223 million ($2 million) in a series of seed equity investment to help it grow and upscale its operations across Sub-Saharan Africa. The micro-insurtech start-up also aims to develop proprietary technology and provide recruitment of key hires to position the business for continued growth in 2021. The start-up received the investment from a number of organizations such as Novastar Ventures – a venture capitalist firm -, Mercy Corps Ventures, Musha Ventures, GAN Ventures, Zephyr Acron, and several angel investors that have been prior investors in the firm. According to Ted Pantone, co-founder, and…