The dimensions and scale of leadership required to end backsliding and restore or initiate sustainable democratic progress have received insufficient attention relative to that devoted to democratic decline. By Prof John Harbeson The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a distinguished Washington-based think tank long known for wide-ranging careful, and influential studies advancing its stated goal. A recent essay by two of its well-known scholars, Thomas Carothers and Frances Brown, is a welcome, still relatively infrequent attempt to discern the underlying drivers of democratic backsliding: the gradual but steady, secular decline of democratic institutions and practices across the globe in…
Author: NLM Team
Why Kenyans who value constitutional democracy have no reason to hold their breath. By Shadrack Muyesu The late justice Antonin Scalia often reminded his audiences that the actual and deliberate separation of powers implicit in its constitutional design made the United States of America the greatest country on earth. As he would often say, it is not enough to have a liberal democratic constitution; after all, many failed states do. Neither is it enough to have a Bill of Rights. Apart from the aggregate happiness of its citizens, the hallmark of a proper democracy is the functional health of its…
By Gediminas Lesutis People’s responses to large infrastructure projects – railways, bridges, highways – are rarely neutral. To some, these projects represent powerful social and political promises of transformative change and a brighter future. To others, they mean evictions and the disruption of livelihoods. The reaction of Kenyans to the country’s Standard Gauge Railway, dubbed the Madaraka Express, is no different. In 2017, Kenya finished the railway’s first phase, which connects the Port of Mombasa to the country’s interior. Its second phase stops abruptly in Naivasha, a town 120km northwest of the capital, Nairobi. Ultimately, the railway is planned to…
By Kanyi Gioko The current announcement of a task force to review the education needs of Kenya is welcome and timely. I must thank the president for giving career educationists a platform to shape their profession. Education in Kenya has transformed since the early 60s. Let us take a sneak peek into this, shall we? First, we have the Omondi commission 1964, which sought to reform the education system to make it responsive to the needs of the country by then, which created the 7-4-2-3 system of education, i.e., seven years of primary, four years of secondary, two years of…
Boniface Orucho Apart from the deep vein of history, both social and political, connecting Africa and the Middle East, current developments show two regions committed to exploring economic collaboration that could see Africa actualizing its green energy goals. South Africa and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recently signed a virtual framework agreement to develop a $10 billion green hydrogen plant in South Africa through leading Saudi developer ACWA Power. ACWA Power is already actively involved in multiple renewable energy projects in the country through the implementation of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program, REIPPPP, that the government is…
By Ouma Ojango It is funny how, two months down the line after the August 9, 2022, General Election, Kenyans are still animated about its campaigns, voting, results, the presidential petition in the Apex Court, the judgment on the petition, the handing over of the instruments of power, the swearing-in of the new President. More than any other elections, these elections have many talking points. It was, indeed, an election like no other. For instance, the third, after the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution that ushered in Devolution as a new form of governance, presented a massive dilemma to second-term…
Africa is poised to leap forward, unencumbered by legacy technologies and processes, and empowered by youthful demographics It’s time to reappraise Africa’s place in the global digital market. Long held back by affordability and availability issues, the advent of cheaper smartphones and ubiquitous, higher-capacity mobile networks have provided a huge springboard for growth. Young, internet-savvy Africans are optimistic and opportunistic about tech, utilizing it as a platform for their creativity, entrepreneurial spirit, and thirst for education. Already the world leader in mobile money, Africa is poised to leap forward, unencumbered by legacy technologies and processes, and empowered by youthful demographics.…
Logistics saw the biggest increase in suspected digital fraud attempts from Kenya, which increased by 61%, with the most common fraud type shipping fraud. Other industries that saw increases were gambling (36%) and retail (23%). The rate of suspected digital fraud attempts from Kenya in Q2 2022 decreased by -27% compared to the same period last year – and a -14% decline shown globally. TransUnion’s (NYSE:TRU) quarterly fraud analysis showed that the rate of suspected digital fraud attempts originating from Kenya declined across half of the industries tracked. TransUnion’s data on fraud against businesses is based on intelligence from billions of transactions…
Mastercard and Cellulant have partnered to allow millions of Cellulant customers across Africa to shop and pay online with global merchants wherever Mastercard is accepted. The Mastercard virtual payment solution, linked to Cellulant’s payment gateway – Tingg, can unlock a host of opportunities for consumers, whether they have a bank account or not. Consumers can shop from well-known global digital commerce brands, paying quickly and securely for leisure shopping, travel, accommodation, entertainment, streaming services, and more while traveling abroad in their home countries. The announcement comes as digital commerce and online shopping is thriving across Africa, and the need for…
Electric vehicles (EVs) are not new to Kenya; they have been present in the country for a while. In 2019, the number of electric vehicles stood at over 300. Since then, the number has increased as companies like Nopea Ride continue to rely on electric cars. Also, some individuals have started making the shift. This has been due to these vehicles being more affordable and charging stations becoming widely available. Apart from that, the government has continued to encourage the use of electric vehicles through several policies. For example, the government reduced the excise duty for fully electric cars from…
