Author: David Wanjala

The Constitution professionalizes and democratizes the budget making process. On the one hand, it ensures Parliament benefits from the technical insights of the Commission while debating the revenue sharing and allocation Bills. On the other, it safeguards the legislative authority of Parliament by requiring that both Houses pay due regard to the recommendations without necessarily being bound BY DAVID WANJALA The Supreme Court of Kenya, in an advisory opinion, has finally settled, among other key issues, the controversy of whether recommendations by the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) are binding upon both the National Assembly and Senate during deliberations on…

We are staring at the third straight month since the economy was shut down by the various measures that were taken to contain the Covid-19 pandemic; the closure of international travel, keeping of social distance, dawn to dusk curfew, closure of movement out of certain hotspot counties and lockdown of certain locations within the cities of Nairobi and Mombasa. A lot of water has since passed under the bridge, carrying along with it lives, dreams, jobs and businesses. When all is settled, there will be horrifying tales from the survivors of this pandemic. I know of a friend who…

The end to this epidemic is not in sight yet, not with the growing number of confirmed cases every other sunrise, the attendant extension of the dawn to dusk curfew and the closure of more counties. It is now heading into three months since Kenya confirmed its first case and subsequently engaged the gear of containment that included a raft of measures, among them, closure of schooling and all other essential service provision with high risk of transmission, the notable curfew and the subsequent closure of Nairobi and other high risk counties. These measures suffice to say, as everywhere else…

If there is anything that the Covid-19 global pandemic has dismantled, it is the fallacy of the middleclass. The platitude that the bourgeoisie are always only a medical bill away from sliding back into poverty has ever been told, but that reality has never ever been laid bare as with this crisis. Kenya, as with the rest of the developing world, with nonexistent social valves that would cushion its underprivileged in the face of an epidemic, is in reality only comprised of the superrich and the poor. The middleclass is a mere fallacy that exists only for theoretical purposes. This…

According to data from the Registrar of Companies, a total of 388 companies dissolved between March and August last year, painting the grim picture of the real situation on the ground as far as business environment is concerned. That is a worrisome figure by all standards, accounting for an average of 20 companies in a week or at least three companies every day. Statistics for the informal sector, which normally is susceptible and suffers the biggest brunt of harsh economic times is unavailable but your guess in as good as mine; it could be tenfold what is recorded in the…

It is baffling sometimes to imagine of the seriousness of the Government of Kenya as a genuine enterprise keen on executing its mandate as a regime. It churns out crisp and well-meaning blueprints one after the other but nothing much to show for it. If the plans were implemented to the later, Kenya would make milestones. Think of the latest of them all, Agenda Four and its four pillars of expansion of the manufacturing sector; affordable housing; affordable healthcare and food security – all key sectors of an economy that if they were properly addressed would ensure prosperity for…

“With the resources that are available in the counties today, if they were available then, and they were given to her to administer, she would have ensured that no child missed education or suffered poor health that was avoidable. She would have ensured that there was running water and that every person had a home” – Dr Awori BY DAVID WANJALA “…Every holiday, all the children in the project would congregate at the mission hospital daily to help with planting trees, farming, making roads, weeding flowers and many other chores. And we would never go home hungry. At the end…

Following the release of the H1’2019 results by Kenyan insurance firms, what, according to Cytonn’s research team, are the main trends and areas that will be crucial for growth and stability and which insurance firms are the most attractive and stable for investment heading into 2020? BY DAVID WANJALA Kenya’s economy expanded by 5.6% in H1’2019, lower than the growth of 6.4% recorded in H1’2018, with the financial services and insurance sector registering the most improved growth of 2.1% points, to 6.7% in H1’2019 from 4.6% in H1’2018. Key highlights from the industry performance for the insurance sector in H1’2019…

BY DAVID WANJALA How time flies! Traditionally, I want, first of all to congratulate you, our esteemed reader, for staying steadfast notwithstanding the economic upheavals that the country has endured throughout the year. It is for you that we endeavor to churn out top of the notch Issues month after another. Thank you for your unwavering commitment and support. To our advertisers, a big thank you for enabling us to stay afloat in an environment that has become so unpredictable and murky in the wake of technological disruption. We promise to reinvent ourselves and remain relevant to your businesses…

BY DAVID WANJALA Dedicated to maintain its leading position in the region and provide top of the range plantation management services, Africa Plantation Capital (APC)’s team continued the great work during 2019. The hard work and amazing progress was once more rewarded with the recognition – Best Agribusiness Company of the Year 2019, the fourth time in a row, by the business community and KNCCi during the latter’s business excellence awards in Mombasa early December. APC’s East Africa operations are supported by a great team of 150+ well trained and skilled staff covering all sections of its operations together with…