Author: David Indeje

Kenya’s economy is expected to contract in the second quarter, due to the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the central bank said on Friday. In its weekly bulletin, the CBK said the economy remained resilient in the first quarter of 2020, and grew by 4.9 percent compared to 5.5 percent in the first quarter of 2019. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics had attributed the growth to significant improvement in agricultural production arising from favorable weather conditions and the resilient services sector. However, KNBS said, “The economy was affected by the resultant uncertainty that was already slowing economic activity…

Kenyan service providers signaled a moderate rebound in business activity in June, but output and new orders deteriorated further a private survey showed on Friday. The rebound was attributed to a reduction in curfew hours that helped many businesses to increase operating hours and reopen premises. In addition, the relaxed measures in Europe led to a slight improvement in export demand that was the first since February.  According to the Markit Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) stood at 46.6 in June, rebounding from May’s 36.7 but staying below the 50 mark separating expansion from contraction. The report also…

Debts that have been bedevilling Kenya’s sugar sub-sector worth KSh62.5 billion will be waived by the Government under a plan to support its recovery. The Government through Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya on Wednesday said “To make factories attractive to leaseholders, the Cabinet has approved debt write-off.” The KSh 62.5 billion has been categorised as KSh58 billion loans and KSh4 billion as interests and taxes accumulated as at June 30, 2009, and any additional interest and penalties that have accrued since then. “Sugar industry has been recording dismal performance over the years owing to perennial challenges that include high debt…

The Child Online Protection (COP) Initiative is a multi-stakeholder network launched by the ITU to promote awareness of child safety in the online world. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)  has launched  2020 guidelines on Child Online Protection (COP) on how to contribute to the development of a safe and empowering online environment for children. The guidelines provide a set of concrete recommendations for children, parents and educators, industry and policy-makers serving as a blueprint that can be adapted to national or local customs and laws. “The question of how to ensure children’s online safety in the age of COVID-19 is now…

Kenya Airways (KQ) expects to lose a staggering KSh40 billion in revenues in 2020 from the 13 billion shillings last year according to chief executive Allan Kilavuka. The projection comes as the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing lockdowns have crippled the tourism and hospitality sectors. Speaking virtually to investors during the release of the airline’s 2019 financial results, Kilavuka said as of May, they had already lost Ksh 15 billion in revenue. He noted that KQ’s passengers carrying capacity will decline to 65 percent post the pandemic. “We will not operate at capacity since the numbers will drop by 65 percent,”…

Sameer Africa PLC, ( SAMR.NR) says it will witness a sharp plunge in  Groups revenues by Ksh 1.49 billion with the closure of its tyre manufacturing plant in East Africa in Financial Year 2019. The firm whose principal business is the importation and sale of tyres, said this is intended to ring-fence the key profit units and shift focus away from “the loss-making business units, grow the revenue base and capitalize rental segment of the business.” This has impacted 73 employees. In a cautionary statement announcing the exit from the tyre business, says “…despite the implementation of several changes in…