Remittance costs squeeze Africa’s poor.

According to the Africa development bank- ADB, the official remittance flows to the continent grew to a record $60.4 billion in 2012 — overtaking foreign direct investment and official development assistance as the largest external financial source for the first time.
Africa is the most expensive continent to send money to, with transfers costing an average of 11.67 percent of the amount being sent, compared with about 8.35 percent for Asia. The global average cost is slightly more than 9 percent.

An average transaction cost of 11.6 percent would have deprived some of the world’s poorest people

Read More

Narc disowns Mutula's widow.

Narc has disowned Mutula Kilonzo's widow, Nduta Kilonzo, party official Kiema Kilonzo told Easy Fm in an interview.On Sunday, Nduta had announced that she would vie for the senate seat against her step daughter, Kethi Kilonzo, who is expected to vie on a Wiper ticket, a move that is likely to further divide the Kilonzo family.

Read More

KenGen, Kenya Power, Pipeline in hunt for CEOs.

Kengen, Kenya Power, and Kenya Pipeline are in hunt for new CEOs. Eddy Njoroge (Kengen) is expected to resign, Joseph Njoroge (Kenya Power) has been nominated as Principal secretary in the energy docket, and while the contract for Selest Kilinda of Kenya Pipeline came to an end last month.  The cash rich parastatals control billions of shillings directly, and indirectly through the contracts for the many infrastructure projects they undertake.

Read More

Budget to be read on Thursday.

The budget will be read on Thursday. The cabinet secretary for Treasury, Henry Rotich, is expected to unveil the government's fiscal policy for the 2013/2014 financial year. Of key concern will be to watch the government's commitment to devolution, with many analysts keen to see how much will be allocated to the counties. Currently, the senate and national assembly members are embroiled in a dispute over who has the final say on the county budgetary affairs. Analysts will also be watching to see whether there will be an increase in taxes of essential goods such as milk and bread to finance MPs salaries, and the two tiers of government.

Read More

Opinion: Why President Kagame runs Rwanda like a business.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

In some circles, President Kagame is regarded as a hero, who has transformed the Rwandan economy. In other circles, he is regarded as an authoritarian leader who has suffocated dissenting voices. Here is an edited interview conducted by Harvard Business Review about his leadership style in Rwanda.

Clearly you've been very interested in getting outside input from the business community. And yet you bristle at getting it from the multilateral community.

President Paul Kagame: If you want to learn anything about a country, I think you need to ask the one who wants to make investment in that country. The one who is thinking about the risks involved. They're thinking about the return. If somebody comes to your country and says, "You know, this is a place to invest," actually that is a good place. You see?

But if you send someone and say, "Go on, look and find for me something that is at fault," in any place

Read More

Jobless college graduates losing out to married men.

When Edgar shared a table at his local with a woman who was older, he thought it was just another evening of banter over drinks. 

However, as the night progressed, she opened up and revealed that she had been eyeing him for long. He dismissed it at first, thinking it was just the booze talking.

But to prove she wasn’t kidding, she went as far as giving him details about his family.
“She already knew my wife by name as well as my three children,” recalls Edgar.

Initially, he found this unsettling but as the night progressed and the drinks flowed — all courtesy of

Read More

Nakumatt to introduce moving supermarket.

Nakumatt will introduce a moving supermarket, which will be housed in a container. The moving supermarket (dubbed NoW) will serve areas that are far away from major towns where Nakumatt does not have a presence. It will particularly serve areas that are close to mining towns and areas where there are

Read More

Japan sees Africa as next growth hub.

Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has described Africa as the next growth frontier. In a conference which ended in Tokyo on Monday, Mr. Abe reiterated Japan’s commitment to African progress, and said the relation would shift from aid to trade and investment. Japan has pledged commitment to help Africa fight

Read More

Willy Paul: No hard feelings for Gloria.

Willy Paul says he has no 'hard feelings' with his 'mum', referring to Gloria Muliro. The two were named The Groove awards Male Gospel of the Year and Female Gospel of the Year respectively. The two were embroiled in a bitter dispute over who actually owned the hit song, 'sitolia', with Willy Paul saying that

Read More

Huddah: People don’t understand me.

After being evicted from big brother chase together with Denzel, Huddah Monroe, aka, Alhuddah Njoroge, says that ‘people don’t understand her’, and she would understand why they voted her out. MC IK had asked her why she thinks she was voted out. She continued that ‘It’s God’s plan and some new

Read More

Denzel: I have no hard feelings after eviction.

After being evicted from the show, Denzel from Uganda says he does not bear any regrets, and played the game well. He says that he didn’t have any strategy on how to win, but instead chose to ‘go with

Read More

Ezekiel Kemboi back with more drama.

Ezekiel Kemboi, the Olympic 3000m steeplechase champion found himself in trouble yet again, after he pushed a Kenyan colleague, Kipruto, just as the race was in the last 50 meters or so. It seems Kemboi was prepared to use all means to prevent Kipruto from beating him. Kemboi has been in other dramas. He was

Read More

Opinion: Kenya’s university double-intake a complete mess.

By Mutai Eric: Standard newspaper:

The move by the Ministry of Higher Education and the Joint Admissions Board to admit to university two groups of candidates in the year 2011 was initially plausible, but just two years down the line; it has proved to a worse experiment on the 8-4-4 system.

What is the need of joining university a year earlier for only one academic year then go for more than one-year break?
This is exactly what is happening in our public universities, forcing one to take more than the stipulated years to clear their studies.

Needless to say, this has also led to overstretching of already limited resources.

Read More

The 1997 Harambee stars Players-Where are they?

It’s just a few days to the highly fancied World cup qualifying match with Nigeria. We look at the fortunes of some of the former Harambee Stars players, who played a key role in the famous 1-1 draw with the Nigeria Super Eagles in 1997.

The team then was coached by the late German tactician Reinhardt Fabisch. Ken Simiyu- now deceased, scored for Kenya, with Jonathan Akpoborie equalizing for Nigeria in the 50th minute.

Francis Onyiso- Goalkeeper.
After that stunning performance against Nigeria, Onyiso played for a long time for Ulinzi Stars and the national team before retiring. He is currently working as a goalkeeper trainer for the army side. Furthermore, he is a driver in the Kenya Defence Force (KDF), where he holds the rank of sergeant in the Kenyan military.

Read More

Victor Wanyama to captain Kenyan team.

Celtic midfielder Victor Wanyama will captain Kenya's Harambee Stars when they take on Nigeria 'Super Eagles' in a 2014 World Cup qualifier at Kasarani on Wednesday (June 5).

In an interview with Goal.com, Harambee Stars coach Adel Amrouche said that the powerful midfield star,

Read More

Ahmednasir: Kenyan Lawyers are half baked.

Adapted from Saturday Nation: 
Combative lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi once declared that Kenyan judges don’t read. Now he believes things have changed, though he thinks the problem has now shifted from the bench to the bar.

The father of five and an avid reader thinks President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto must read three important books. He also suggests a book for former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Q: You have suggested before that Kenyan judges don’t read. Do you still hold the view?
A: Previously, judges were pedestrian, barely literate. A nondescript lawyer could contest elections on a Kanu ticket and lose, and then he is appointed High Court judge.

That is how Kanu branch chairmen found their way into the High Court. But now things have changed

Read More

Kenya’s Annabelle Caught in love triangle.

After going under the sheets with Ethiopia’s Betty and exchanging romantic kisses with her barely hours after entering the BBA house, Sierra Leone’s hunk Bolt, now has his eyes set on Kenya’s Annabel whom he offered an exclusive attention in the form of a backrub, some hours ago.

Read More

BBA Chase nominations: Five in danger including Kenya's Huddah.

After an emotional rollercoaster of a day, some Housemates can definitely rest easy, while others can look forward to a horrid week, which could inadvertently be their last, in the Big Brother House.

After only 24 hours in the game, some Housemates are faced with the very real possibly of being sent packing, this early in the game.

You could cut the tension with a knife as the Housemates gathered in the lounges of both Houses, waiting for Big Brother's collosal Nominations announcement. When Biggie finally put the Rubies out of their misery, Selly, couldn't contain herself.

The Ghanaian hottie looked like someone had knocked the air out of her. She sat in stunned silence as her

Read More

Kenya's Huddah up for eviction.

After the first nomination session Monday, Kenyan representative, Huddah, could be up for eviction, unless Kenyans save her this Sunday. She received seven nominations.

After the session, Selly and Bessey were up for possible eviction in the Rubies House after they received six nominations each.

In the Diamond House, Denzel, Elikem and Huddah got the highest nominations. They got six, four and seven nominations respectively.

As it is done every year, the Head of House always saves one nominated housemate from possible eviction

Read More

Bob Collymore on Why Kenyan Companies are still a boys club.

Kenyan business leaders have weighed in on why there are very few women at the top of Kenyan companies. Here are some of their views.

Bob Collymore: CEO Safaricom.

We have three problems on this. One is culture. However, most times I think culture is an excuse for male chauvinism. Two, women do not have the support networks provided by the old boys’ clubs. The third is

Read More