Category: INTERNATIONAL
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Kenya’s housing problem still persists
Kenya needs to build two million affordable city homes to meet its housing deficit and stem the growth of its sprawling slums, already home to six out of 10 urban households, the World Bank said on Wednesday. Investment in housing would also create jobs, improve economic growth and strengthen the east African country’s financial sector,…
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South Africa:Financial Inclusion Remains a Work in Progress
On the surface, South Africa appears to be financially inclusive compared with other emerging markets: 70% of adults, for example, have a transaction account. However, it’s not nearly as inclusive as most mature markets, and serious and stubborn gaps remain, according to a new report by The Boston Consulting Group. Improving Financial Inclusion in South…
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East Africa:Review of super earners’ pay starts
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has started the review of salaries for State officers that could see top earners like MPs, governors and Cabinet secretaries take a pay cut. The commission yesterday said it was reviewing the pay and allowances structure for the State officers to cover the next five years after the August…
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South African tumult hinders Barclays’ exit from continent
Barclays’ plan to sell its African business and pull out of the continent are being hindered by South Africa’s political upheaval and credit-rating downgrades, according to banking sources and fund managers. The British bank gave itself 2-3 years to sell its controlling stake in Johannesburg-based Barclays Africa when it announced the plan in early 2016,…
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U.S:Uber’s communication head Rachel Whetstone to depart
Ride services company Uber Technologies Inc UBER.UL said on Tuesday its head of communications, Rachel Whetstone, will leave the company. Whetstone’s departure comes weeks after two of Uber’s high-level executives announced their plans to leave. Uber had recently faced calls for consumers to boycott the company and make changes in senior management following a series…
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Kenya:Regulator stopped from fixing prices of car insurance
Insurance industry regulator, the IRA, has been barred from setting minimum premium prices for motor vehicle insurance, leaving market forces to determine costs and promising consumers some pricing relief. In a decision delivered after months of hearing a petition filed by the Ombudsman, the High Court found that the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) does not…
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Nigeria: Niger Delta Indigenes to Get Oil Blocks to Douse Tension
To douse tension in the oil-rich Niger Delta, the Federal Government plans to award to indigenes of the region marginal fields’ oil blocks abandoned by the oil majors as being not commercially viable. The plan is in line with the government’s larger objective of reducing major incidents of restiveness to about 90 per cent by…
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Canada to tackle overbooking on flights
Canada has said it is taking steps to tackle airline overbooking, following an incident involving United Airlines. Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau said the government will put forward a passenger rights law this spring. It is expected to include compensation rules for those denied boarding due to factors within the carrier’s control. Mr. Garneau announced…
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U.K:Barclays security chief faces disciplinary action
The head of security at Barclays faces an internal disciplinary probe over his part in a whistleblowing inquiry, the BBC understands. UK financial regulators have opened an investigation into Barclays boss, Jes Staley, over the whistleblowing case. Mr. Staley asked the bank’s security chief, Troels Oerting, to find the author of an anonymous letter. The…
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Asia:Japanese snack giant Calbee hit by potato shortage
Japanese potato crisp-maker Calbee and its main rival Koike-Ya are facing a major crunch in their supply chain. Both firms are said to be suspending sales or discontinuing several crisp brands after Japan suffered its worst potato harvest in at least 34 years. Typhoons and floods in Hokkaido, its main potato-growing region, last year caused…