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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.”

The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (https://bit.ly/3HXs6GI) on 24 June approved a technical assistance grant of $2 million to fund research that will contribute to electricity reforms in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The grant from the African Development Fund — the concessional window of the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) — will go to the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority. The ultimate objective is to stimulate cross-border electricity trade and improve energy access in the 15 countries in the region.

The project has five components. The first involves selecting electricity regulatory principles and key performance indicators from the African Development Bank’s flagship Electricity Regulatory Index for Africa (https://bit.ly/3OIAb4V) report, to be adopted by the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority. As part of this component, the project will build capacity in member countries for collecting and reporting on these indicators on a common platform.

The second component will involve conducting a study in order to update a comparative analysis of electricity tariffs and their underlying drivers across the electricity value chain of ECOWAS.

The third involves developing a centralized database management system that will provide a platform for digitally collecting relevant energy information from member countries, storing, and disseminating them on a common digital platform.

The fourth component will assess and identify project bottlenecks and risks in ECOWAS member countries and recommend a coherent approach to progressively address ground-level barriers to investment in the power sector in pre- and post-establishment phases of the regional electricity market.

The final component focuses on program management and capacity building, which will be co-financed with the Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority. All components of the project will include gender-disaggregated data.

“Ultimately, this project will facilitate regional electricity trade and help improve access to electricity,” said Solomon Sarpong, project team leader at the African Development Bank. “It will address major causes of fragility, such as infrastructure bottlenecks, youth unemployment, environmental challenges, gender inequalities, and regional development imbalances.”

Established on 28 May 1975 via the Treaty of Lagos, ECOWAS is a regional organization that promotes economic integration in the constituting countries. ECOWAS consists of 15 countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Covering about 6.1 million km2, ECOWAS has an estimated population of 360 million people.

by Jeff Kizilah

Millions of Kenyans are set to benefit from a clean solar energy solutions programme roll-out by the Ministry of Energy.

More than two million Kenyans will have access to clean energy solutions in a major government initiative to provide modern energy to traditionally marginalised areas through the Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project (KOSAP).

Beneficiaries will be drawn from half a million households in 14 counties namely West Pokot, Turkana, Marsabit, Samburu, Isiolo, Mandera, Wajir, Garrisa, Tana River, Lamu, Kilifi, Kwale, Taita Taveta and Narok.

The Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project (KOSAP) is a flagship project of the Ministry of Energy, financed by the World Bank, and jointly implemented by the Ministry of Energy, Kenya Power (KP) and the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (REREC), with funding from the World Bank.

The KOSAP programme targets remote and far-flung areas of the country where there is no way the traditional national electricity grid could reach.

Speaking during induction which brought together Solar system companies in Nairobi PS Dr.Kialangwa noted that, ‘KOSAP is a demonstration of the government’s commitment to not only ensure they access electricity but also adopt clean energy solutions’.

“It is a major step towards the fulfillment of the Constitutional guarantee for all Kenyans to access government services, no matter where they live,” PS Energy Hon. Dr.Gordon Kialangwa said.

The targeted counties were selected based on their classification as marginalised by the Commission of Revenue Allocation (CRA), which currently has a 23 percent rate of connectivity to electricity, compared to the national average of 70 percent.

He said the marginalised counties cover at least 80 percent of the country’s land mass, with populations sparsely distributed in the vast areas, making the construction of mini-grids and installation of standalone solar systems the most effective strategy to achieve universal access to modern energy.

Under the Projects, 400,000 households will be served with Stand-alone Solar Systems (SSS) while 111,277 households will be served with Clean Cooking Solutions (CCS).

In addition, 450 community facilities such as schools, health facilities and administrative offices and 380 community boreholes will benefit from the flagship project of the Ministry of Energy, financed by the World Bank.

A further 146 solar powered mini-grids will be constructed in the targeted counties to supply about 55,000 households with solar power.

“KOSAP is a catalyst in our quest to ensure Kenyans access electricity that is clean, sustainable and environmentally friendly. We are helping reduce over-reliance on fossil and non-sustainable biomass fuels,” added Eng. Mr. Rodney Sultan,coordinator ,World Bank finananced projects in the Ministry of Energy.

The government has scaled investments in the energy sector, ensuring those not covered by the main grid tap into alternative sources considered clean, healthier, and environmentally friendly.

KOSAP’s model is to provide incentives to solar service providers and sellers of modern cook stoves to set up sales and after sales infrastructure in the targeted counties.

This is in response to the market trends, where though the country has a very robust market for standalone solar, majority of the companies shy away from investing in the vast underserved areas, citing logistical and other operational challenges.

The project has disbursed Sh500 million to 20 private companies that are actively selling solar and clean cooking products.

Out of these, 10 Solar Service Providers (SSPs) have already received a total of Sh300 million to enable them set up sales infrastructure in 14 counties.

In additional to that , the ministry of energy has chosen 16 Solar Service Providers are currently poised to enter into contracts worth Sh450 million with the Ministry under Round Two of the funding.

KOSAP is aimed at providing electricity to parts of the country that are not served by the national grid, critical in achieving the Government of Kenya’s goal of ensuring that every part of the country has access to energy – a critical factor in reducing poverty.

Blueberry Travel has stepped up a campaign to increase its footprint in the kenyan market after its two and half years operational in the kenyan market. The airline has attractive and executive packages to Masai mara which ensures everyone can fly Blueberry from as low as twenty five thousand with two nights accommodation meals on full board and 4by 4 game drives. The travel company offers pocket friendly and convenience travel package to Diani sea resort,a one way ticket to India at a cost of USD 236 making a travel company of choice by many. Blueberry has existed for 10 years in the world market and has presence in 22 world destinations which will increase to 25 at the end of the year. speaking to journalist during the ongoing Hindu cultural day at premier club Naresh samaria Tourism manager Blueberry travel has said the company is offering a football fanatics package of 4days stay and 3nights,return airport transfers,transfer to stadium, half day Doha city tour and a football match of the year Portugal vs Uruguay st this year Doha Quatar world Cup,which is aimed at ensuring football fans across the world can enjoy watching football live from Doha.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has lauded the World Rally Championship (WRC), terming it a great motor sporting event that positively impacted the country’s economy.

President Kenyatta said since its return last year, the international motor sporting event has raised the country’s profile by attracting renowned motor sports giants.

The President spoke on Sunday afternoon when he awarded winners of this year’s Safari Rally in Naivasha, Nakuru County.

“Thank you very much for your partnership and your cooperation, and to the people of Kenya you will see this is an event that is in our blood. Let me also remind you that it is not only an event that is in our blood because of our history but it is also an event that impacts us economically and positions us globally,” President Kenyatta said.

At the same time, the President called on Kenyans to continue supporting the event not only as a sporting activity but also an economic one as well.

“An event like this is not just about the drivers and the crews, it’s also about every single person who is a participant from the hotels that are occupied, to the waiters who serve them, from those that do traffic management to those who are spectators, and those who are vendors for various items. It is an event that brings money to the pockets of wananchi.

“As we promote it, we promote not just the sport, we also promote our own economic wellbeing and that is how I would want Kenyans to view it. Don’t look at the event with small lens but rather see it in a bigger picture. Lets see it as an event which will help us prosper,” said the President.

The Head of State thanked all stakeholders who helped in bringing back the WRC to Kenya and congratulated the winners for demonstrating the true spirit of sportsmanship.

“We are here today to really celebrate the second year that we have hosted the return of the Safari Rally back on the WRC circuit. We are here to say how happy and proud we are to be together with all our partners and racing lovers across the globe as we celebrate our drivers, as we celebrate their cruise across the globe.

“Mine is to congratulate every single participant and as I said when we started, the prize is not in winning, the prize is in how you win. I want to believe that all our competitors for this year’s Safari Rally have shown us the need and the great desire for competing vigorously but acknowledging competition is not enmity and that is why we are here. To celebrate not just the winners but every single entrant, congratulations to each and everyone of you,” he said.

Movie star and ocean activist Jason Momoa was designated the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Advocate for Life Below Water today at a major conference mobilizing global support for an ocean besieged by the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and rampant pollution. 

The UN Ocean Conference, co-hosted by Portugal and Kenya and attended by thousands of ocean advocates from business, civil society and government – including several Heads of State – will advance progress on science-based solutions to ensure better management and conservation of the ocean and its resources. The conference, which is aligned to SDG 14, life below water,  stresses the critical need for scientific knowledge and marine technology to build ocean resilience, and is expected to culminate in a negotiated political declaration. 

The Aquaman actor, who has worked with Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii and rePurpose Global, described how humbled he felt to be entrusted with the responsibility to promote ocean health: “With this designation, I hope to continue my own journey to protect and conserve the ocean and all living things on our beautiful blue planet, for our generation and the generations to come.” 

The native Hawaiian with Polynesian roots, who has long championed the rights of people of island nations, described how growing up on one of the world’s most beautiful archipelagos ingrained in him a reverence for the ocean and nature that has only deepened over the years “For me, the ocean is an ancient teacher, a guide and a muse. It is also existential. Without a healthy ocean, life on our planet as we know it would not exist.” 

Momoa, who is the star of Aquaman and the upcoming sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, made remarks ahead of the Youth and Innovation Forum, where he arrived on a boat to receive the Nature Baton from the UN Special Envoy for the Ocean, Peter Thomson. Momoa then handed the baton to youth representatives before they, in turn, passed it to the UN Secretary-General. The Nature Baton, a global collaboration for the ocean’s wellbeing, has shone a spotlight on the need for action to save the world’s ocean, and is a metaphor for the journey ocean champions have taken this year from Brest to Nairobi for the UN Environment Assembly, to Palau for the Our Oceans Conference, and for World Environment Day in Stockholm, on the road to Lisbon.