Category: East Africa
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Kenya:CA sparks storm with plan to spy on users of mobile telephones
The acquisition of a snooping device by the telecoms sector regulator, the CA, has sparked an industry storm that is expected to persist in coming months as the country goes to the polls. The device, which can collect text, voice and identity data from devices is facing strong opposition from consumer rights protection groups and…
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Ethiopian is 11th best airline in the world that keeps to time
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Africa’s largest airline group, Ethiopian Airlines, has been ranked the 11th airline company in the world to have been on time for its flights in the month of January 2017. This is according to FlightStats, the leading provider of real-time global flight data to companies and individuals across the travel ecosystem. Of the almost 8,000…
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Kenya:Weak control puts billions of Sacco cash at risk of loss
Kenya’s savings and credit co-operatives (saccos) are operating without effective accounting and control systems, putting billions of savers’ funds at risk, the Financial Sector Development Trust (FSD Kenya) has warned. FSD in a new study, whose outcome has just been released, questions the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority’s (Sasra) role in ensuring compliance with prudential guidelines…
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Kenya:Coffee price falls 5.3 per cent in first drop since start of the year
Coffee prices at the Nairobi auction this week dipped by 5.3 per cent, marking the first decline since the beginning of the year. The weekly market report from Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) indicates that the price of a 50 kilogramme bag of coffee dropped from Sh31,000 last week to Sh29,355 on sales that were held…
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Kenya:Investors get relief as advance capital gains tax stopped
The High Court has stopped the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) from implementing laws that will see capital gains tax paid before transactions are completed following a lawsuit by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK). Justice John Mativo has ordered the KRA to suspend implementation of paragraph 11A of the eighth schedule to the Income Tax…
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Kenya:Higher tax burden looms in Rotich’s Sh2.6 trillion budget
Kenyan taxpayers are headed for tough times following Wednesday’s release of official documents showing they will be required to contribute Sh188 billion more in tax revenues to finance a Sh2.62 trillion budget. Treasury secretary Henry Rotich submitted to Parliament an expenditure plan that is significantly higher than this year’s Sh2.48 trillion and which comes with…
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Kenya:Transmara Sugar owner reports 88pc jump in profit
Mauritius sugar producer Alteo’s pretax profit rose 116 per cent to Sh3.97 billion (1.36 billion rupees) ($38.42 million) in the six months to December 31 helped by higher sales and favourable prices, the firm said on Tuesday. Alteo is the largest sugar miller on the Indian Ocean island. It also has interests in property development…
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Kenya:Blow to accountants as bid to fix professional fees flops
The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has rejected accountants’ proposal to fix prices, arguing that such a move would kill competition and innovation in the sector. The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) had in 2015 requested to be exempted from competition rules – a move that would allow it to set minimum…
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Nairobi:Big slums cut valuation of real estate wealth
Cash-hungry slumlords and politicians have blocked modernisation of Nairobi’s Kibera slum, robbing the economy of Sh103 billion, the World Bank says in a report that unmasks Kenya’s lords of poverty. The data, which is contained in a real estate report that was made public last week, is the clearest revelation of how a clique of…
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Kenya Re’s outlook drops to negative over tight capital
Ratings agency A.M. Best has revised Kenya Re’s outlook to negative from stable citing requirement for more capital and dependence on investment earnings. However, the New Jersey-based credit rating firm affirmed Kenya Re’s financial strength at B+ which means the reinsurer can meet ongoing obligations. It was also accorded a long-term issuer credit rating of…