Author: staff reporter

From left CPA Dr Nebart Avustwa, CEO, UN Sacco, middle CPA Charles Wambua Chairman Supervisory Committee and right CPA Bernard Koech, Chairman, Board of Directors

By Maximilla Wafula

in the Ushirika day celebrations.

The UN Sacco has come a long way since it’s inception in 1975.

CPA Bernard Koech, chairman UN Sacco said that in the last few years the organization has been recognized by other cooperators as among the top saccos in the country.

In 2019 the UN saccos were the runner up and recognized as the top sacco being managed in 2022.

“This has come from hard work behind the scenes to enhance governance, improve operational efficiency through investing in technology as well as growing member base, ” CPA Koech said.

CPA Charles Wambua Chairman Supervisory Committee observed that corporate governance is key to the development of any sacco.

“We take Corporate Governance Issues seriously and Supervisory Committee plays a pivotal role in it” CPA Wambua noted.

Dr Nebart Avutswa CEO UN Sacco said his organization draws membership from within the UN fraternity and other UN affiliated international organizations.

“We are now focusing on growing our membership in the diaspora and within the international organizations and foreign missions within Kenya,” CPA Koech said. Ends

Fernandes Barasa leds the Kakamega gubernatorial race with 43.6 percent with one month left to the elections, according to a survey released on Friday.

Charles Mc’Olonde, Team Leader at the Consortium of Researchers on Governance (CoRG AFRICA) told journalists in Nairobi that Barasa leads the contest so far based on the popularity of his party ODM, manifesto as well as experience working  as a CEO of Ketraco.

Following closely is Cleophas Malala who is running on theANC party  ticket polled at 39.2 percent.

In Vihiga county, Wilber Khasilwa Ottichilo of ODM,  the current Governor received 30 percent in the poll.

George Khaniri received 15.3 percent in the opinion poll while Moses Akaranga recieved 15 percent.

Ottichilo became governor in 2017 having trounced Hon Rev. Moses E. Akaranga of Progressive Party of Kenya in the 9/8/2017 General elections.

Muranga was also a tight race with little known Wairagu wa Maai leading the pack at 28.1 percent, while Jamleck Kamau of the Jubilee party received 27.1 percent while UDA’s Irungu Kangata polled 26.3 percent.

In Kiambu, UDA’s Kimani Wamatangi polled 28.5 percent in the survey while incumbent James Nyoro of Jubilee party received 25.2 percent while Willam Kabogo polled 20.9 percent. Vocal Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria only received 9.8 percent.

 In Makueni, Mutula Kilonzo jr has a comfortable led at 45.9 percent while Patrick Musimba got 22.9 percent.

CoRG AFRICA conducted the public policy & governance survey between 20th to 28th June 2022 on the selected key parameters and approval of respective incumbent Senators transitioning to Governors in The survey was conducted in Kakamega, Vihiga, Kiambu, Murang’a and Makueni Counties.

The survey evaluated Oversight record versus competitor’s experience, Manifesto and Campaign strategies, County political dynamics, Incumbent  and Outgoing governor influence as well as the relationship of coalition or party ticket on expected performance during the general elections slated for August 9..

Kenya national Farmers federation has come out to complain for not being consulted by two political contenders on farmers needs ahead of election.

Speaking during the ongoing Farmers conference in Nairobi, Dr. Mwendah M’Mailutha ,CEO KENAFF said that presidential candidate candidate need to accommodate farmers needs in their next government.

He said the organization have invited two main contenders to iron issues related to farmers.

The conference which is happening in Nairobi brought together 44counties representatives.

Dr. Mwendah has urged the government under the ministry of trade to provide more market for farmers to supply their products.

He said Kenya has overtaken countries like South- Africa in the avacado production.

On the second day of her visit to Zambia, Administrator Power visited Good Nature Agro Company (GNA), one of Zambia’s largest legume seed suppliers and exporters. The Administrator toured GNA’s seed warehouse and spoke with staff and food security experts about how private-sector partnerships support Zambia’s agriculture sector and help Zambia increase their regional exports to provide food for other African nations as the world faces a severe food security crisis.

She highlighted President Biden’s recent announcement that the United States is expanding Feed the Future, the U.S. government’s global food security initiative, with Zambia as one of eight new target countries, and shared that USAID will invest $9 million in Zambia to expand the efficient delivery of agricultural inputs to the most vulnerable farmers, including women farmers, stimulate investment in new sources of fertilizer, and engage the private sector to bring down the high cost of fertilizer. The Administrator also launched a new $30 million trade and investment program in Zambia called TradeBoost. The program is part of USAID’s continent-wide Africa Trade and Investment program, part of the U.S. Government’s Prosper Africa initiative. TradeBoost will amplify market intelligence, increase investment in Zambian businesses, and direct targeted trade facilitation assistance to Zambian businesses to reach regional and international markets. She also announced a planned five-year, $14 million initiative designed to spur economic development in Zambia. 

Administrator Power then met with the Minister of Finance and National Planning and the Minister of Agriculture. They spoke about tackling macroeconomic challenges and creating an enabling environment that would increase international investment in Zambia. They discussed the ongoing food crisis facing many countries in Africa and ways the United States and USAID can assist Zambia in increasingly agricultural outputs and increasing their exports of essential foods to the continent. The Administrator expressed USAID’s readiness to help Zambia meet its food needs by working together to increase the amount of arable land used by Zambian farmers and urged them to continue work to reform the Farmer Input Subsidy Program, 

Later in the day, Administrator Power met with President Hakainde Hichilema at the State House. The two discussed working together on commitments to strengthen democracy, anti-corruption efforts, and rising food insecurity, as well as the need to continue swift work to enact important reforms laid out by the New Dawn Administration. Administrator Power highlighted USAID plans to provide additional assistance to democratization efforts in Zambia and reiterated the U.S government’s commitment to helping the government deliver tangible benefits for the people of Zambia.  

In the evening, the Administrator joined youth leaders gathered at the University of Zambia for a discussion on young people’s role in civic activism. The young leaders shared how they are championing citizen-led accountability and engagement on issues they are passionate about from climate change to gender equity.  

By jeff Kizilah

Public Service Principal Secretary has officially launched a mentorship program for the public administrative personnel.

She said, this will create platform for existing and retiring administrators to facilitate knowledge sharing and learning across the public service.

The program started in 2019,to mentor and evaluate the working conditions of the office administrators and report on ameriti activities in the public service.

She said free compulsory public schooling in the 19th century, has educated women who became qualified to fill the secretarial positions that were vacant.

Mrs Mary Kimonye said mentors will be helpful in the building competencies in areas of efficiency in the office of administrative.

Safina Party presidential aspirant Jimi Wanjigi wants the court to stop the 2022 election until IEBC is “cleaned up of the illegalities and Unconstitutionalism” marring the commission.

Wanjigi, who stormed out of the IEBC disputes resolution committee after the tribunal “unconstitutionally” upheld Chebukati’s decision to stop Wanjigi’s presidential candidature on grounds that he didn’t have a university degree certificate.

Wanjigi, has moved to the high court in Nairobi to seek conservatory orders, halting the printing of ballot papers that is slated to be on Thursday 30th June.

Through renowned lawyer Fred Ngatia, Wanjigi has told the court that he has the required university education qualifications and that Chebukati’s move to disqualify him smacks of discrimination and is ill motivated.

Wanjigi has cited a 2013 judgment in favour of IEBC that allowed outgoing governor Hassan Ali Joho to vie on the strengths of his academic transcripts that ruled a degree is a process and not just a certificate.

At the time, Justice Isaac Lenaola, now supreme court judge, ruled that a graduation ceremony could not be used as a measure of having attained university education.

Wanjigi has told the court, that the Judgment has never been challenged and thus remains to be law.

Justice Jairus Ngaah wants IEBC to make it’s submissions by 3PM today, to enable the court give further directions.

Wanjigi has previously accused president Kenyatta of being behind his troubles, saying the president doesn’t want him on the ballot.

A new app is being launched this week to provide mentoring, counselling, budget tracking and affordable student loans that target girls at risk of sexual exploitation from sponsors in Kenya.
Girls First Finance is an initiative that supports the education and professional development of the girl child in her transition to womanhood. The app is being privately released for Android today to the students of St. Therese Vocational Training Centre and will be publicly available on July 1st. The first pilot of student loans will start in Kenya in October 2022. 
Poverty and access to education are major challenges for African youth, especially young girls. Students are particularly excluded from higher education because of the lack of student loan financing options outside of government. 
“At HELB, we have over 40,000 students at any time seeking emergency funds to supplement their HELB loans. Not every student loan product can match government interest rates but, to the extent that more students are taking out predatorial mobile loans to bridge their funding gaps, we should encourage private lenders who can offer sustainable loans at scale.” Charles Ringera, CEO HELB, and Advisory Board Member of GFF.
Research indicates that this lack of options for Kenyan girls (and increasingly boys) allows older adults to sexually exploit them in exchange for financial support for school through the “sponsors” culture that has proliferated Kenya with social media. Recent studies suggest that as much as 25% to 50% of girls are enveloped into the sponsor culture at some point during their schooling. 
Equally, the prominence of sex-for-grades exploitation within school increasingly affects those fortunate enough to attend. A 2019 Action Aid study indicated that nearly 60% of students were adversely exploited by professors or higher education staff. These issues of access and exploitation are what GFF seeks to solve through its mobile app being launched this week.
“The exploitation of girls and women is the largest pandemic in the history of humanity. Almost every woman and girl has at least one story of gender-based violence. It transcends class, race, and country. But no young person should ever be forced to knowingly compromise her dignity just to manifest her education dreams.” says Andrea Pizziconi, Girls First Finance’s founder. “Sugar daddies and sponsors have become a culturally accept norm around the world. But the practice is tantamount to child abuse causing profound damage to girls and boys lacking alternatives to fund their education.”GFF is launching the app first for private distribution to the girls of St. Therese Vocational Centre in Karen. Through the generosity of a private foundation, GFF is able to build a cohort of test users this week before making the app available to the public on July 1st. While students of St. Therese will have the first crack at using the app, the pilot will soon expand to involve approximately 3,000 girls from across the country. And after July 1st, the general public can sign up to gain access as well. 
New features of the app will be rolled out over the coming weeks and months with early features offering budget planning tools, daily news feeds and advice from prominent women around the world as well as matching services connecting users to mentors and counselors. The latter feature is supported through a pilot partnership with the Kenya Association of Professional Counselors. KAPC’s trained counselors will provide deeply discounted therapy sessions for users of the app recognizing how many traumatized and exploited girls now need support to heal. Director of KAPC Elias Gikundi decided to partner with Girls First Finance out of recognition that mental health access must be democratized urgently to serve our most vulnerable youth. 
The public can support GFF’s users by signing up to become a certified mentor or life coach, by joining a “crew” of four to support each young user’s financial health or eventually by posting gigs and jobs targeting young women. Mentor training is easily available online for those who sign up with GFF. Pilot mentors have already been recruited by GFF’s Kenyan team with efforts led by GFF’s Program Officer Mercy Kalung’e.
Through this app, Girls First Finance will begin to connect Kenya’s most vulnerable girls to the world and will soon prove that, regardless of what has happened to a girl in the past, she can be empowered back to full mental health all while showing that unbanked vulnerable girls given the right support are likely the most responsible loan borrowers the banking sector has far too long overlooked. 

Pay Television broadcaster StarTimes Media has enhanced local content availability across subscriber bouquets which has seen subscribers on both terrestrial and satellite platform access a variety of Kenyan productions including unscripted reality shows, crime dramas, series among other genres.

The broadcaster’s latest addition FIHI done by Zamaradi productions is airing on Rembo TV across Nyota, Basic and Classic bouquets on terrestrial platform and also on Nova, Smart and Super bouquets on satellite platform which has facilitated subscribers enrolled to the StarTimes pay television platform to have an array of original Kenyan content to complement the international offering available on the platform.

Speaking on the recent addition, StarTimes Regional Marketing Director Mr. Aldrine Nsubuga noted the brand has sustained local content investment efforts as outlined at the beginning of the year where the company committed to inject an additional Ksh.200 Million investment in local content development following the success of the company’s local content channel – Rembo TV.

“This year alone, our subscribers have access to various local productions including NIA, Kupatana, Borderline and now FIHI. We have remained true to our commitment to grow our local content investment as we endeavor to secure content that our subscribers demand for towards our quest to offer increased value for money,” noted Mr. Nsubuga.

FIHI will be airing every Monday to Friday at 8pm, a drama series on Bridget, a widow left with 4 children in a spiral of misplaced love, betrayal, the need for money and the selfishness that is the human spirit. Left with nothing following her husband’s death, she finds herself in the midst of constant struggle to hold the family together, despite tearing itself from within.

The increased local content investment will bring StarTimes overall spend to over Ksh.400 Million by the end of the year towards securing exclusive self-produced and acquired content from renowned local content developers in the country as the company seeks to develop unique genres that subscribers will easily resonate with while at the same time ensuring the content is appropriate for the whole family television viewing experience.

“Subscribers can look forward to increased local titles on the StarTimes platform with the exciting part being we will explore diverse content genres over and above the dramas which have dominated our screens in the past,” added Mr. Nsubuga.

The broadcaster is equally leveraging on its online streaming application StarTimes ON to not only provide its pay television channels on the go but continues to grow its video on demand content available for viewing and download to both subscribers and non-subscribers.

Over 150 transit trucks cross over the Katuna-Gatuna One Stop Border Post (OSBP) daily following the reopening of the border. This was revealed during the EABC-TMEA Public Private Dialogue with Trade Facilitation Agencies at the Katuna-Gatuna OSBP.

Mr. Peter Gikwiyakave, Regional Manager, Uganda Revenue Authority said “800 people cross the Katuna border.”

Mr. John Bosco Kalisa, EABC CEO applauded H.E. Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda and H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda for re-opening the Katuna-Gatuna OSBP on 31st January 2022.

The Katuna side of the border is under construction and is set to be fully operational in August 2022.  

The Gatuna Katuna OSBP currently only facilitates movement of transit cargo. Traders pleaded for Ugandan exports to be allowed to enter Rwanda and vice versa for bilateral trade ties to flourish better.

Transporters called for harmonization of road tolls citing Rwanda charges a flat fee of USD.76 while Uganda charges USD 10 per 100 mileages.

Mr. Joseph Etomet, from the Ministry of EAC Affairs Uganda said, “The EAC Secretariat has already undertaken a study on charges fee and charges If equivalent effect to inform the harmonization process of road tolls and other charges at regional level.”

Ms. Akaukwasa Miria, Chairperson of Katuna Women Cross Border Traders appreciated that a trade information desk is instituted at the border. She stated that women need to be sensitized on the EAC Simplified Trade Regime and small cross border traders should be allowed to do business at the Gatuna-Katuna OSBP.

The EABC-TMEA public-private dialogue convened over 40 officials from trade facilitation agencies, importers, exporters, transporters, EABC Members – East African Grain Council, Private Sector Foundation Uganda, The New Forests Company and women cross-border traders to chart out solutions to ease the free movement of persons and cargo at Gatuna-Katuna OSBP.

A series of external and domestic shocks are putting acute pressure on Malawi’s macro-economy, increasing the urgency to protect essential services for the vulnerable says the latest World Bank’s Malawi Economic Monitor (MEM).

The 15th Edition of the MEM underscores significant deterioration in the government’s finances, with the deficit reaching its highest level in over a decade. For several years, spending has exceeded revenues while the country has imported more than it exports. This has been financed by increased commercial borrowing and Malawi’s debt has now become unsustainable. Malawi’s economic growth is expected to decline further due to these chronic imbalances, which have been heightened by severe weather events. The Ukraine-Russia war has added a new crisis to what was already a challenging economic climate, with rising prices for fuel, fertilizer and other commodities impacting foreign reserves and exerting pressure on inflation. 

While risks to the Malawian economy are tilted to the downside according to the MEM, the government has begun implementing critical policy reforms that are aimed to address macroeconomic imbalances and secure a recovery. However, further action is needed in three areas: i) a coordinated package of reforms to restore macroeconomic stability, ii) enhancing export competitiveness and market-oriented growth, and iii) protecting the poor and strengthening resilience.

In the context of these fiscal constraints, the Special Theme of the 15th MEM highlights the importance of deepening fiscal decentralization, strengthening the intergovernmental fiscal transfer system, and delivering quality services that reach poor and vulnerable households. The MEM shows that Malawi’s decentralization journey to date has been characterized by a system where ‘finance has not followed function’. This has resulted in uncoordinated planning and decision making over service delivery across levels of government, with sector and district processes often occurring in parallel and overlapping. This is further complicated by development partners that continue to primarily concentrate funding through fragmented, off-budget projects. For a meaningful deepening of decentralization to continue, the vicious cycle of low trust, low investment and low accountability in local government systems needs to be broken.

“At times of fiscal constraint, it becomes critical to maintain effective services for citizens and protect the poor from shocks,” said Hugh Riddell, World Bank Country Manager for Malawi. “The acute economic context provides the Government an opportunity to lock in difficult reforms to stabilize the macro while also deepening decentralization. We at the World Bank are very encouraged by the response of local governments – and citizens – to the new performance-based financing model which can serve to increase confidence in local government systems to bring more development partner resources on-budget.”