Effective 1st of October 2022, the Commissioner General of the Kenya Revenue Authority(KRA), published Legal Notice 176 of 2022, on 3rd of October 2022, further to his powers under the Excise Duty Act, 2015. The notice adjusts excise duty rate of a number of items by 6.3% in light of the inflation rate for the…

Debt distress and default was a recurring concern raised by leaders at the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, this week. At $70.7 Billion, constituting almost 70% of Kenya’s GDP, the current debt stock reigns over any development agenda in the country. The latest Treasury figures indicate that 60% of all tax…

The just concluded Kenyan general elections of August 9, 2022, saw a 65% voter turnout- about 14.2 Million voters, the lowest in 15 years. The low figures have been attributed to voter apathy, mostly, the youth’s.   This is concerning given that the 2019 census found that the youth- those aged 35 years and below,…

In one of his last acts as the head of the Executive arm of government, President Kenyatta signed into law on 7th of July 2022 six parliamentary bills. One of these laws is the Sustainable Waste Management Act, 2022. The Act is the first of its kind to comprehensively deal with waste management in Kenya…

The Kenya Energy Act, 2019, is coming alive. 2 weeks ago, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the Kenyan energy regulator, published the Energy (Net-metering) Regulations, 2022, that seek to implement net metering provisions in the Act, for public participation. Attached to the regulations is a regulatory impact assessment, as required by the Statutory Instruments…

On the eve of Eidul fitr this week, flash floods in Wajir west and south in Kenya led to the loss of dozens of livestock. Since the rains began in late March, Wajir county has experienced the loss of about 700 livestock, and displaced hundreds. In India, billions are experiencing a climate emergency where temperature…

Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter once again reminds us how much power billionaires have to change the course of the world. His intentions are supposedly noble- he wants to change twitter from a forum of hate, an accusation that most social media platforms have been unable to shake off, to “the digital town square where…

In December 2021, 8 miners were trapped in an artisanal gold mine in Abimbo, Siaya County, Kenya after the mine collapsed. 6 were rescued, one died and the fate of the last miner, Tom Okwach, is uncertain as he still has not been found almost 4 months later, with rescue efforts left to his family…

The long queues for fuel are back in Kenya, even after the government released KES 8.2 billion of the KES 13 Billion owed in subsidies to Kenyan oil marketers. (Oil marketers dispute this and claim back payments of over KES 20 Billion). The latest reports claim that marketers are uncertain which stocks the subsidy will…

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Europe does have far reaching effects, as it has affected global oil prices driving them to their highest levels in nearly a decade. This is because Russia is the world’s largest oil exporter to global markets, according to the International Energy Agency. While most western nations including the US and…

Kenya, more informally known as the “silicon savannah”, is a digital hub in Africa. By December 2020, it had an income penetration rate of about 87%. In comparison, the second highest African country, Libya, stood at 74%. The Communication Authority of Kenya attributed this growth in its 2020/2021 financial report to the Covid-19 pandemic, which…

We live in a society where the death of an asset holder is closely followed by bitter wrangles regarding their estate. It is especially painful when the deceased had spent their entire life toiling for their loved ones and dear causes, only to have these scuttled by those who did not participate in their making.…

We cannot tire or give up. We owe it to the present and future generations of all species to rise up and walk. These are the words of the late Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Professor Wangari Maathai, a pioneer of environmental justice in Kenya. Environmental justice is the linkage between environmental protection and human rights,…

Campaigns for Kenya’s General Elections on 9th of August 2022 are in full swing. And that means that some of us have had to deal with being inundated with politically charged messages, never mind that we already deal with unsolicited marketing messages and further, Kenyan conmen, some allegedly from Kamiti prison, trying to rob us…

So you’ve finally taken the plunge, opened a business, with a friend or relative perchance that you’ve known for years, and you’re full of trust and feel comfortable about your roles and responsibilities in the business. Then again, a 2016 survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics reveals that about 400,000 micro, small and…