Mr. George Mburu Mizizi Africa who started his property development in 2019 says it has not been smooth sailing, but the real estate sector is the next big thing.
Mr.Mburu is among the aggressive property investors in the market.
Now Muzizi Africa controls around 200 to 300 properties units in Kagundo,Kiambu and Kilifi county.
“We use almost 90% locally based materials and import less,in away to upgrade our local market “,he added.
He says the plan is to diverse their properties developedment with an affordable price across the country.
However the price of land and cost of construction have up but Mburu says that will be sorted as things goes.
He says tye pandemic and election period have taught developers lessons to be flexible when dealing with investments.
He says even though the cost of living might eat into money ment for investment, it would be worthwhile to invest when things are tough because the fruits will be sweet.
Mr. Mburu says things are beginning to look up and people are still buying houses.
Susan Gichia the General Manager, Finance &Administration and a Director of Broadcom Group, today spoke in a panel discussion during the launch of ellevate by Ecobank Programme where she addressed women on a largely untapped and underserved segment strategically important and huge opportunities in entrepreneur sector. She also shared her humble background in her family that motivated many young entrepreneurs. Her role in financial management includes planning, organizing, measuring and controlling the organizations resources focuses on achieving the organization mission and vision.
With 27 years experience in diverse Industries, Susan has been involved in financial management for societies, non-governmental organizations and profit making institutions. She has extensive knowledge of product costing and pricing , project accounting, micro finance accounting, statutory requirements, taxation matters & international standard financial reporting.
Wahome owns more than 12 companies and plans to venture into solar business.
Susan also offers support in administration. Her main objective is to exceed both internal and external customer expectations through best practice processes and procedures yet achieving optimal financial results and ensuring growth and innovation. She is a Graduate of Strathmore University and a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK).
Dr. Esther Muchemi The founder and CEO of Samchi Telecom today spoke in a panel discussion during the launch of ellevate by Ecobank Programme where she addressed women on a largely untapped and underserved segment in the entrepreneur sector.
She also talked how she made her investments early when she spent little money of her savings to establish a Safaricom outlet as one of the early adopters of the network’s dealers.
Her friends laughed at her but Esther knew what she was doing, a time when sim cards cost as high as Ksh 2, 500.
She has been able to recoup the investment many times to build one of the leading telecom dealerships. Her investments now cut across many industries like microfinance, real estate and hospitality where she owns five-star hotels in Nairobi and Mombasa and runs more than 20 Companies under her brand . Ellevate by Ecobank , which is a flagship Women’s Programme, focuses on empowering , growing and supporting women – led and or women focused businesses with the customized financial and value -added solutions that will help them succeed. She added .
In attendance was Bertha Dena, Board Member Ecobank Kenya Limited, Dr. Esther Muchemi, CEO Samchi Group, Dr. Divya Gandhi CEO, Prime Teleradiology Solutions Limited among others.
3000 youth are set to benefit from an internships and job placement program through a partnership between BrighterMonday Kenya, Creative Management Consultants Ltd, and The Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities Project (KYEOP) under The Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs.
The partnership was ratified and announced on Monday 19th September 2022 at the Ministry of ICT offices in Nairobi, Kenya marking the start of the World Bank-funded initiative that aims to drive socio-economic development for the youth.
Announcing the partnership, BrighterMonday Kenya noted that the program will lay the ground for both organizations to shape more strategies for the youth to get empowered and be viable for employability. The project will offer opportunities to the Kenyan youth, drawn from 17 counties across the country who will get access to different employers across diverse work disciplines.
The announcement comes at a time when the unemployment rate in the country is on the increase with World Bank data showing that 5.7 percent of Kenya’s labour force was out of work in 2021, up from 2.8 percent in 2013. The initiative is timely to improve youth employability in the target counties and improve the livelihoods of young Kenyans.
National Project Co-ordinator at KYEOP Augustine Mayabi noted” We are happy to witness the unveiling of a great initiative that will enable the youth in these 17 counties to get access to training and employment opportunities. We have noticed that after training these youth with various training institutions, we lose track of some and we now want to bring them back on board to offer internships and employment opportunities as they are fully equipped. This is such a great step towards curbing unemployment because so many youths lack the necessary skills to help them land opportunities. We value such impactful and life-changing initiatives”
BrighterMonday’s CEO Brian Ntambirweki, further stated, “We remain keen on supporting the youth and enabling them to get access to jobs in Kenya, and by collaborating with the Ministry of ICT under KYEOP, which is working on different initiatives, we are confident that we are heading towards the right direction in solving labour market challenges in Kenya,”.
As Mercy Ships (www.MercyShips.Africa) marks 30 years of service on the continent, providing free surgical care, training, and support from its hospital ships to local development projects in Africa, its Africa Bureau Director Dr. Pierre M’Pele calls for continued vigilance and tireless pursuit in the efforts to improve the level of health of African populations.
Life expectancy across Africa has increased by 10 years since 2000 — a result of interventions such as the implementation of the 2000-2015 Millennium and successful commitments made by national governments in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2015-2030. Working to serve the greatest number of people in a sustainable way, having a people-centered vision, and planning for greater investment in health as part of national development programs, in conjunction with good democratic governance, stability and economic growth have also positively influenced health indicators across the continent.
“We must absolutely celebrate these positive results, however, we must be cautious and avoid complacency, because this positive news is a tree that hides the forest,” says Dr M’Pele. “One-third of clinical conditions in Africa require surgical, obstetric, and anesthetic care, and yet there is less than 1 surgical specialist per 100,000 inhabitants, so surgery is a particularly neglected component of health systems in Africa. It is a critical area where much improvement needs to be made. While much of the world is looking to the latest technologies to improve their clinical care, we are saying that in Africa, there is still a lot of work to do to increase the number of qualified, specialized, and dedicated doctors and nurses too.”
Access to quality, safe, and affordable surgical, obstetric, and anesthesia care is a luxury in most African countries, and especially for the poorest populations. The challenge of equity and the integration of surgical and anesthesia care into national health systems are prerequisites for achieving Universal Health Coverage in Africa.
ORGANIZATIONS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL NOMINATION IN 22 COUNTY ASSEMBLIES
By Maximilla Wafula
The Executive Director , association for physically disabled of Kenya ( APDK) Mr.Joseph Atela today with other organizations for persons with disabilities (OPDS) working with the consortium of disabled persons organizations in Kenya ( CDPOK) held a press briefing and called on the government to ensure inclusive governance and proper representation of persons with disability in all county assemblies , national assembly and senate .They congratulated all the elected legislators with disability in both National assembly and the County assemblies .
Atela noted that the politicians gave a spirited fight in the campaign trails as the electorate trusted in their leadership skills and the manifesto they presented to them.
IEBC gazetted 186 nominees to the county assembly
CDPOK noted with heightened concern that there was lack of representation of persons with disabilities in 22 county assemblies. This manifested continuation of previous patterns of intentional oversight where after 2017 General election , a total of 17 County assemblies did not have a single representation of persons with disability.
They called for open and fair democratic process that encompasses a component of fair representation and non discrimination as expressed in Article 81( c) of the Kenya constitution. Their representation and decision making spaces is essential in guaranteeing their inclusion and participation in societal affairs , Article 177in our constitution envisioned such representation .
Joseph Atela said that CDPOK has filled a petition in court to challenge the lack of proper respresenation.
The disability leadership led by Benson Kiptum , head of National programs APDK congratulated President Dr. William Samoei Ruto for winning the August elections . Kiptum hoped that Ruto’s government will lead in inclusion of persons with disability as cited in UDAs disability charter developed during the campaign period . They also noted with great concerns the omission of persons with disabilities in the just named list of proposed cabinet secretaries.
CDPOK expects the government to ensure actual implementation of Article 54 ( 2) that provides for a minimum of 5% representation of with disability for both appointive and elective positions , for examples Cabinet , Secretary, PS CAS CECs Ambassadors,CAS ,CECs, Ambassador’s, Commissioners, Parastatal boards , CEOs and many others.
Anne N. Williams, a trained agricultural specialist, has taken the helm as USAID Madagascar’s new Mission Director. Her appointment follows the U.S. Government’s designation of Madagascar as a target country for both the global Feed the Future initiative and USAID’s new resilience initiative, promising significant new investments by the American people to help Madagascar improve its food security and develop its agricultural sector.
At a recent swearing-in ceremony, for Williams, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power stressed that Madagascar needs someone who understands the country’s political, economic, and cultural context; can win the trust and respect of those who work for her; and can be decisive, yet collaborative, informed, and curious. “In all of those respects, Anne is the perfect person to take on this new role.”
U.S. Ambassador to Madagascar and Comoros Claire A. Pierangelo highlighted USAID’s work in the region: “The entire Mission has been hard at work on initiatives to increase resilience, improve health outcomes, strengthen natural resource management, promote sustainable economic development, and address climate change.”
Williams described Madagascar as “a unique and fascinating country” that nonetheless “faces many daunting challenges stemming from both climate-related shocks and deep poverty.” USAID, she added, works to implement programs “to help where we most can.”
A career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, Williams joined USAID in 2000. She previously served as a Deputy Mission Director in Mali and held postings in Senegal, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, and Washington, D.C.
Dr. Davji Bhimji Secretary General of the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) on Monday urged media houses to be objective when reporting on issues affecting the medical fraternity.
Bhimji said that the story in the Daily nation of Saturday 24th September 2022 carries a lot of fundamental errors of fact which make it read more like a witch-hunt.
“The story is nevertheless a good attempt at attracting the attention of Kenyans to the plight of the Kenya Public Health sector and to this effect, it must be commended,” he added.
Bhimji observed that the media house ought to know that it is not a crime in Kenya for civil servants to run a business.
“Trying to selectively criminalize it for the doctors must be one of the most inhuman and calculated attempts to kill a dog by first giving it a bad name,” he added.
He urged the media house to study the content of the human resource policies and procedures for the public service which makes provisions for those whose work arrangements may not strictly follow the 8am to 5pm schedule.
“Doctors work in odd shifts because a doctor is on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” Bhimji revealed.
He said that doctors’ salaries are not hefy as state agencies have studiously blocked any attempt for a CBA to be concluded.
The 23RD Nairobi International Bookfair kicks off on Sept 28 running up to Sunday Oct. 2 at the Sarit Center hall.
The event which is organized by the Kenya Publishers Association (KPA) comes as a source of great relief for local publishers still recovering from the devasting effects of COVID-19 pandemic.
Kiarie Kamau, the chairman of KPA said the pandemic and the attendant restrictions meant that the bookfair was not held in 2020 and 2021.
“We are excited that we are holding a phyiscal book fair after being unable to do so the last 2 years owing to the COVID-19 disruption,” Kamau said.
Kamau, who is also the managing director of East Africa Educational Publishers, noted that the NIBF has an admirable profile internationally.
“This is the biggest book fair in this part of Africa. Perhaps the only one that comes close is the Cairo International Book Fair,” he noted.
The theme of this year’s book fair is ‘publishing in the New Era’ which is a representation of current realities, both locally and internationally.
