🌊🌊 Kenya & Somalia's maritime dispute
27 September 2021
Good morning,
Did you know that the 27th of September is the 270th day of the year (271 in leap years).
Quiz: What is so special about this date? (answer is at the end)
Date to determine the Kenya-Somalia maritime dispute is set
As from 2014, Kenya and Somalia have had tensions over maritime boundary delimination. Both countries interpret the border lines differently and hence the conflict. below is a pictorial representation:
The verdict on the maritime delimitation case is set to be delivered by the International Court of Justice next month (October 12, 2021).
details of the dispute
- The adjudication affects more than 100,000 sq KM of sea in the Indian Ocean which is crucial for shipping.
- The disputed area hosts oil and gas reserves.
- Somalia has rejected pressure from the African Union and Kenya for a diplomatic resolution of the matter.
NATIONAL HEALTH
NHIF cuts down on benefits
In further efforts to try salvage the fund from a cash crunch, The National Hospital Insurance Fund announced plans to cut some benefits which it covers.
NHIF had announced in August that 5.1 million Kenyans (roughly 50% of its members) had defaulted in paying their monthly contributions.
Details of the cut
Maximum cover for an MRI scan will be: ksh 9,600 (was Ksh 15,000).
Maximum Settlement for CT scans is ksh 6000 (was ksh 8,000).
Payment for Renal dialysis now at Ksh 6,000 from Ksh 9,500.
Note: Despite the cut, benefits for cancer patients have been increased:
Payouts for basic chemotherapy cover will now be at ksh 25,000 (up from 17,000).
Payouts for Complex chemotherapy now capped at 100,000 (from 72,000).
PRICE CHECKER
Cost of sugar to increase by 30% per kg
This increase in the price of sugar is attributed to production hitches due to the breakdown of machines and industries for routine maintenance.
A kilo of sugar is now retailing at about ksh 240, up from ksh 200.
However, the issue cannot be mitigated by sugar imports because the government limited cheap imports from Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) to protect local growers from competition.
KENYA REVENUE AUTHORITY
1. High Court rules out implementing minimum tax
Kenya’s High Court issued an order restraining the Kenya Revenue Authority from levying the 1% minimum tax on total sales.
The court stated that:
The tax results in diminishing capital for those making losses, while the capital base for those making profits is unaffected’.
The ruling declared the minimum tax as unconstitutional and against the principle of equity.
KRA have announced plans to appeal the decision.
2. Two weeks notice for sellers in Nairobi Markets
If you own a stall at a market in Nairobi,
You have a 2 week deadline to provide personal and business transaction details to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).
why the deadline?
KRA is making improvements inorder to seal revenue leakages in city markets and residential properties that are owned by the county government.
Wondering why KRA is undertaking the county governments’ operations? - well, KRA was appointed by the Nairobi City County Government in march last year as its principal agent for overall revenue collection.
DATA PROTECTION & RIGHT TO PRIVACY
Rubis V Gulf Energy buyout dispute
Legal Question: If you recover deleted data on a computer you purchased. Do you own that information ? Can you present that data as evidence in court without having violated privacy rules?
These legal questions arise in the case of Rubis v Gulf Energy buyout.
Facts: Rubis acquired Gulf energy in 2019 to become the biggest retail oil marketer in Kenya.
Before the handover of physical assets to Rubis, Gulf energy erased all data from computers & other devices. However, Rubis recently conducted data recovery & data mining procedures which revealed that Gulf energy had overstated the value of their assets before the sale.
Rubis now claim a refund of Ksh 4.1 billion From Gulf energy and are accusing Rubis of Fraud.
Gulf energy is of the opinion that Rubis cannot use the recovered data as evidence in court.
legal questions:
Who owns the recovered data ?
Did Rubis violate Gulf energy’ privacy by recovering data?
—> Gulf energy has filed a case in court seeking to bar Rubis from using the data it recovered. However, Rubis claim that the matter is to be determined by Arbitration.
It will be interesting to see the courts’ interpretation of the above legal issues.
DIGITAL CURRENCY
Nigeria and Ghana invest in Central bank digital currencies
The Bank of Ghana has partnered with German firm Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) to pilot the e-Cedi (Ghana’s digital currency) while Nigeria has partnered with Bitt Inc. company to pilot their digital currency.
Ghana will launch e-cedi this month and Nigeria is expected to launch eNaira digital currency on 1st October 2021
The digital currencies will be issued as a legal tender by the governments.
Note: A central bank digital currency (CBDC) is the virtual format of a fiat currency for a particular nation or region. It is an electronic record or digital token of the official currency and is issued and is regulated by its monetary authority.
ENVIRONMENT
Kenya Breweries to modernise its production plants in Nairobi and Kisumu
The company has set aside ksh 2 billion for the modernisation project which will help the company meet the set environmental standards.
a breakdown of the plan:
To become an independent power producer by fully relying on solar power for its operations.
To generate at least 9.3 megawatts at the Ruaraka plant and 2.4 megawatts from solar power in Kisumu.
What else Happened during the week?
Domestic workers in Saudi Arabia - Kenya’s ministry of Foreign affairs has recommended a ban on exportation of domestic workers to Saudi Arabia until adequate security measures are put in place.
(Note : Distress cases from Kenyans in Saudi rose from 88 in 2019/20 and 1,025 in 2020/21.)
Upgrading to 5G network - Safaricom has announced plans to increase 5G sites to 200 by end of the year in order to use them for testing the upgraded network. Safaricom is expected to roll out the upgraded network next year.
Safaricom’s solution to reduce KPLC’s (Kenya Power Lighting Company) system losses - Safaricom has proposed the introduction of smart electricity meters which will monitor electricity flows from the point of generation to the point of consumption.
The smart metres will drastically reduce system losses (currently at Ksh18 billion a year).
Incentive for Airtel Money users - Airtel signed a deal with London based fintech company (World remit) that will allow its subscribers to receive money from 129 countries. (Among these countries are: the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and South Africa).
Answer: The Google internet search engine retroactively claims this date as its birthday.
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On the issue of Rubis vs Gulf, I’m no expert but I think since they bought gulf they own everything that came with it, hence the right to do what they want with the computers. That’s my take.
Very insightful, thank you for the updates 💯💯