Author: NLM Correspondent

Kenswitch Kenya Limited and Absa Bank Kenya Plc have formed a partnership that will allow the bank’s customers to access over 2200 ATMs on the Kenswitch network, thereby increasing access to banking services. Under the partnership, over 10mn Kenswitch member bank customers can also transact on Absa’s ATM network countrywide. “The addition of ABSA to our network is a significant milestone towards our core objective of ensuring interoperable real-time payments across all banking channels. This continued growth reaffirms our commitment to increasingly providing value to our customers and deepening financial inclusion,” said Kenswitch chairman Yousef Bazian. Kenswitch promotes enhanced interoperability between…

During Africa Day celebrations on May 25, it was apparent that African states need to focus on critical factors such as food security, strong agricultural systems and proper health systems. The day coincided with the African Union’s (AU) 20th anniversary, whose theme was nutrition. Hunger affects millions of households. As of 2020, in Africa, 282 million people experience hunger, more than double the proportion of any other region in the world, according to World Vision. In East Africa alone, 7.2 million people are at risk of starvation and another 26.5 million are facing acute food insecurity, with at least 12.8…

By Ouma Django When archivists finally put pen to paper on President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta’s legacy, he will, among other firsts, go down in history as Kenya’s first two-term President with three presidential elections. He was voted for twice in 2017 in his bid for re-election after the Supreme Court nullified his victory and called for another presidential vote in 60 days. But the most intriguing first of President Kenyatta, where historians will dedicate acres of literary space on, will be that he was the country’s first President under whose tenure Article 148 of the 2010 Constitution was operationalized. The…

In just a few short years, hybrid work has gone from a nice to have to a need to have. More than half of workers say they’d consider leaving their employer if the option to work in a hybrid manner was taken away from them. While the idea of mixing time at home and in a physical workplace, alongside colleagues, is still in the early stages of evolution, workers have voted – and they’ve said it’s here to stay.  “A large number of people who work in offices have got used to the idea that they can also be productive…

“For me the metaverse means freedom,” says Idiat Shiole, a Nigerian virtual fashion designer, “I say that because I’m Muslim. When I worked as a fashion illustrator for most fashion houses, their first impression of me was normally ‘won’t this lady just draw Islamic dresses for us or can she even draw?’ But in the metaverse, nobody cares who you are, they only care what you can do. I just wanted to do what I love without being oppressed.” In 2018, Idiat Shiole, stumbled on a software called marvellous designer to help her create locomotive 3D models and fabrics. At first she…

Growth in fraud, cybercrimes and other economic crimes is expected to drive the legal services market in the forecast period. Due to the increasing prevalence of fraud, law firms globally will face increased demand for legal services. The global legal services market size is expected to grow from $713.12 billion in 2021 to $788.94 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.6 percent. The growth in the legal services market is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities…

A new law to punish states that back certain Russian actions could have major implications for African countries. By Peter Fabricius A bill that would oblige Washington to punish African governments that abet Russian ‘malign’ activities on the continent is about to get Congressional ascent. The Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act passed the House of Representatives on April 27 by a huge, bipartisan 419-9 majority and is now sure to be passed by the Senate and become law soon. It would direct the US Secretary of State ‘to develop and submit to Congress a strategy and implementation plan outlining United…

By Kabakua Mbogori On May 13, 2022, the High Court of Kenya at Mombasa (Constitutional Petition No. E 032 of 2021) declared unconstitutional the failure by the government to disclose the contracts relating to the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway(SGR) signed with Chinese lenders. Two petitioners, Khelif Khalifa and Wanjiru Gikonyo, went to Court after their request for information on the SGR contracts were declined by the Attorney General (AG) and the Ministries of Transport and Finance. In its defence, the government primarily relied on non-disclosure clauses, the Official Secrets Act cap 187, and legitimate government interest to deny…

By Ali Amersi The Finance Bill 2022 was brought for its first reading on April 12, 2022, to provide for the scheduled break before the August 2022 elections. With the rising cost-push inflation, there is a need for the government to increase revenues, reduce bond yields, and increase interest rates. Therefore, through the Finance Bill, several changes have been introduced to increase taxes within the jurisdiction, such as increasing capital gains tax from 5 percent-15 percent. Vitally, large changes impact multinationals and Kenyan businesses conducting business within preferential tax regimes. Transfer pricing Transfer pricing, also called transfer cost, is where…

By Antony Mutunga To date the disruptions caused by COVID-19 are still being felt throughout the economy as many businesses struggle to stabilize and return operations to the norm. In fact, its impact led to Africa’s GDP to contract by an estimated 3.2 percent in 2020. This saw an estimated 55 million Africans pushed into extreme poverty as more than two decades of progress in poverty reduction was wiped out. According to an Economic Report on Africa (ERA2021), ‘Addressing Poverty and Vulnerability in Africa during COVID-19’, an estimated 12.6 percent more people were expected to fall into poverty in 2020…