Author: Otiato Guguyu

James Osogo
Arts and CultureNews
Otiato Guguyu

Subsidy lessons from James Osogo, the last of Kenyatta-era cabinet ministers

The Abanyala are mourning the death of Orada, Sirinda Bukwe, Sikalausi James Nakhwanga Osogo (the Guardian of the South, the tempest of the lake), the last living Kenyatta-era minister, who died last week. In Kenya’s Capital, the Abanyala may not be distinguishable from the many sub groups that make up the Luhya community, but we often punch above our weight. Under Mr Osogo’s stewardship, streets in Nairobi took the names of our villages, including Hakati road in the Central Business District, Bunyala Road and Busia Road in Nairobi West, Rugunga Close in South C, John Osogo Road in Dandora, Wang’apala Road in Woodley, Ndekwe Road…

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UN conference
NewsTravel
Otiato Guguyu

Conference tourism drives back dollars to Nairobi

Rise in conference tourism and high flying events are helping Kenya recover from the slump in tourism even as players’ caution the government’s push to double park fees. The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) data shows that the sector booked Kes152.6 billion in the six months to June, up from Kes116.2 billion in 2022. The earnings improved as visitor arrivals grew to 847,810 from 642,861 arrivals in a similar period in 2022, representing a 32 percent increase. But even as tourist numbers increase, sector players are raising an alarm over the doubling of park fees saying Kenya is pricing itself out of the market. Kenya has…

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Equity Group
MarketsNews
Otiato Guguyu

Equity turned to region as dollar sales flattened under ex-CBK Governor’s last months

Equity Bank Group made thrice the amount of money trading dollars in the regional market than what the bank made in forex trades in Kenya, lifting subsidiaries contribution to the bottom line to almost half. Half year results show that Equity made Kes8.4 billion in the period trading forex in East Africa up from Kes5 billion in a similar period last year of which the Kenyan unit’s contribution stayed flat at Kes2.8 billion. The first half of the year were the last for former Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor Patrick Njoroge, who was accused by market players for aggressive policing of the forex market that collapsed…

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MarketsNews
Otiato Guguyu

CBK announces end of bank interest rate party

The Central Bank of Kenya may begin to reject expensive short-term bids at the domestic market after receiving a notice from the Treasury on plans to cut the domestic borrowing target from Kes586.5 billion to Kes316 billion. Banks have been pricing loans to the government expensively given the pressure to repay maturing loans and slow tax receipts that have sent bond rates approaching 17 percent while short-term treasury bills are rising above  consumer lending rates. Oversubscribed Treasury Bills At the latest auction, investors oversubscribed the three-month Treasury Bills by 1,044 percent. They were demanding 13.1 percent only for CBK to accept Kes41.6 billion overpriced bids against a target…

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Joshua Oigara
MarketsNews
Otiato Guguyu

Stanbic doubles loan loss provision in anticipation of defaults

Stanbic Bank is anticipating a surge in defaults through the course of the year prompting the lender to increase insurance cover for bad debts at a time its non-performing loans are on a decline. The Pan African lender set aside Kes2 billion from its profits as loan loss provisioning up from Kes998 million at a time its gross NPLs declined from Kes24 billion to Kes23.7 billion. As the regulator increases interest rates to counter inflation and dollar outflows, banks are anticipating borrowers will struggle to meet their repayments even as businesses sales tumble amid high cost of goods and a raft of new taxes. Already…

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El Nino
ClimateNews
Otiato Guguyu

Met confirms El Nino rains expected in October through 2024

Kenyans have two months to ensure harvest are dried and stored before El Nino rains start pounding the country from October. Communities living in areas that are vulnerable to mudslide will also need to move even as the government steps up cholera vaccinations as well as stock up on malaria drugs to beat torrential rains that will pound the country starting October through to next year. Chance of El Nino at 90 percent The state and multilateral bodies have confirmed that the chances of the country experiencing El Nino rains are almost 90 percent. The heavy rains will start in October and extend into early…

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Chapa Dimba AI
BrandsSports
Otiato Guguyu

A football commercial that will usher Safaricom’s new AI age

Kenyans’ love for football can only be dwarfed by their tribal politics and when Shabana kicked back into the league you could feel the tremor that probably rouses politicians, and understand their obsession. Our money knows this too, innumerable football bets on our mobile wallets show Kenyans following the game to nondescript leagues across the world looking for fancy odds but learning the basics of football nonetheless. So when Safaricom brought back Chapa Dimba after a two-year hiatus, it almost felt like they were reconnecting with crowds bringing the game back to the centre of our focus, cultivating grassroots champions to national acclaim and, international

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James Finlay
NewsPolitics
Otiato Guguyu

James Finlay sweetens exit deal with locals shareholding

Multinational tea firm James Finlay Kenya has offered a 15 per cent share of its estates worth Kes560 million to locals in Bomet and Kericho counties where it operates as part of a deal to sell its stake to a private equity firm. Reports indicate that Kipsigis Highlands Multipurpose Cooperative Society (KHMCS) has formally started helping its members to buy the shares in a deal expected to be completed within six months. Sri Lanka-based Browns Investments PLC is finalising a deal with James Finlay to take over the estates for an undisclosed sum, with the 15 per cent stake set to be retained for the…

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Ukranian grain
NewsPolitics
Otiato Guguyu

Kenya unga chapo prices to rise for choosing sides on Russia war

Nairobi plans to cap the price of local wheat at Kes5200 a bag and curb exports to contain the cost of wheat based products like bread and chapati in the country after Kenya lost access to Ukraine and Russian grain on end of the Black sea deal. Crop Production PS Kello Harsama has said the government has agreed with millers to buy all local produce before they can start importing 2 million bags to plug the deficit at a lower duty of 10 percent through a 2010 rule. Kenya misses Russian grain Kenya foreign policy leanings with the West while skipping Russia Africa Summit has…

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DDoS attack on Kenya
NewsPolitics
Otiato Guguyu

Kenya’s financial system crashed by Russia-linked Anonymous Sudan

Kenya has been hit by a major cyber-attack by Anonymous Sudan, a Russian affiliated hackers group at a time President William Ruto skipped the Russia African summit amid heightened geopolitical realignment over the war in Europe. The attack caused an outage of more than 5,000 public services in Kenya for more than 48 hours while disabling Internet-based and mobile payment platforms for several banks. The attack also froze activities on the ubiquitous M-PESA through the internet bases mobile application. Anonymous Sudan launched the distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) cyber-attack that jams networks, in retaliation for involvement in the Sudan Peace process as head of the IGAD quartet….

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