The National Treasury is warning of a looming debt crisis as a result of global shocks and a slowdown in economic growth. In its Draft 2023 Budget Review and Outlook Paper, the National Treasury debt service-to-revenue ratio will breach the 18 percent threshold in 2024 (24.9), 2025 (18.2), and 2026 (19.2). It links the high debt service to the revenue ratio in 2024 to the maturity of the international sovereign bond. “The debt sustainability analysis shows that Kenya’s public debt remains sustainable as a medium performer in terms of debt carrying capacity,” Treasury said. “However, there is a high risk…
Author: Guest Writer
By Carmel Rickard Zambia’s constitutional court has found parliament in breach of the constitution by not passing legislation to ensure the full financial independence of the judiciary and that it is adequately funded. In a decision strongly underlining the principle of judicial independence, the court has ordered that until these laws have been passed and put into effect, the minister for finance should report to parliament every six months on what has been done to ensure financial independence of the judiciary. Ironically, the challenge was brought by Zambian counsel, John Sangwa. In March 2020, the chief court registrar informed all…
The Law Society stands as a bulwark against creasingly iron-fisted Executive, and their next representative at the Judicial Service Commission will determine how eloquently they can articulate independence and rule of law. By Franklin Mbogori In a properly functioning democratic system of Government, the principle of judicial independence towers above all else. Due to the constitutional design of modern governments, the Executive branch invariably retains monumental powers of the state. In a presidential system like ours, there are endless opportunities for mischief if a regime hostile to constitutional checks assumes control. Hence, the Constitution and the judiciary – the organ…
Since the Moi-era, when it was the highest in the land, the Court of Appeal has set itself apart as perpetually in the government’s corner in defeating the letter and spirit of the law By Ouma Ojango When former President Uhuru Kenyatta, upon re-election, announced the names of those he had either retained or nominated and appointed to his new administration on 26th January 2018, they included, besides cabinet members and their principal secretaries, 16 new persons appointed to the newly created office of cabinet administrative secretaries (CASs). The constitutionality of the new office of CAS created by the President…
The intrusion by the Executive must be dealt with in a way that recognizes the supremacy of the separation of powers doctrine and maintains judicial independence. By Ouma Ojango Of the many things that happened in the three-day demonstrations in July against the high cost of living called by the Opposition, a police raid and attack on journalists inside a courtroom in Milimani is the most dumbfounding. As had been predicted, the demonstrations were met with the full force of the State’s monopoly of violence. This resulted in police brutality, death, and destruction of property. The raid, however, by the…
Should banks allow staff to be given mandates so that they may operate the accounts of customers? It’s a question that has to be asked in the wake of a new decision by Namibia’s Supreme Court. The apex court had to consider the bank’s liability for funds misappropriated by a clerk who had been given a mandate by a customer to operate the customer’s accounts. By Carmel Rickard The story is about Ursula Blaauw, a customer of Bank Windhoek Ltd. She was a very busy woman. Her work included bookkeeping, renting out properties and speculating in livestock. Because of all…
By Ndung’u Wainaina Constitutional sovereign devolution turned ten last month. There is consensus on two fronts. First, devolution has changed lives and dynamics across the country. Secondly, devolution has played a stabilizing factor in the country. The underpinning social contracts and the cornerstones of the 2010 Constitution are devolution, public finance, social and economic rights guaranteeing equal society, shared prosperity, and public expenditure that promote equitable development across the country. The starting point is a comprehensive audit, unbundling, and costing of all functions at both levels of government, and decisive political actions to restructure, align, and rationalize ministries, departments, and…
Carmel Rickard Uganda’s high court has been wrestling with the difficult question of how to balance three sometimes competing constitutional principles when it comes to reporting on divorce cases: the right to free expression claimed by the media, the parties’ privacy rights and the general principle that courts should be ‘open’ and the justice they dispense should be seen to be done. The need for a judicial balancing act was triggered when an advocate appearing for one of the parties in a divorce due to be heard by the high court, brought an unusual application. He asked the court to…
Journalists have been forced to temporarily take down articles critical of powerful oil lobbyists due to the exploitation of US copyright law, according to a report. At least five such articles have been subject to fake copyright claims, including one by the respected South African newspaper Mail & Guardian, according to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). The claims – which falsely assert ownership of the stories – have been made by mystery individuals under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a law meant to protect copyright holders. In February 2023, three separate false copyright claims were…
By Prof John Harbeson I devote my column this month to consideration in some depth of a remarkable finding by Afrobarometer about public opinion in Kenya on the importance of environmental protection and addressing rapidly advancing climate change. The finding constitutes an early glimpse at partial results of Afrobarometer’s ninth round of surveys, currently being analyzed, of citizens’ opinions concerning political and economic circumstances in the nearly forty African countries. This finding is that Kenyans want the government to prioritize environmental protection at the expense of job creation. These results, published in late July, come when, at this writing, the…