Essential goods price jump
19 July 2021
Good Morning,
Last week, Kenya’s Olympic kit was unveiled and honestly, like most Kenyans, I don’t know what I think about it. Haven’t seen them ? (here’s a picture)
Essential Goods’ Prices
The first week of this month has been an analysis of the effects of the Finance Act 2021 on the price of goods in the country.
here is a list of the new prices of commodities (Daily Nation):
2kg Wheat flour - Ksh 130 from ksh 115.
Petrol (per litre) - Ksh 121.14 from Ksh 106.9 in January.
Diesel (per litre)- ksh 107.66 from ksh 96.4 in January.
Cooking gas 6kg - ksh 1250 from Ksh 950.
Cooking oil (Litre) - Ksh 240 from ksh 180
BUSINESS
Time to set up shop in Dubai ?
As part of promotion for the Expo 2020 Dubai that begins in October 2021, Kenyan Small & Medium sized (SME’s) businesses with good track records will have the opportunity to open shops in Dubai - The Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency-
Dubai will provide the following incentives to such businesses setting up shop :
a. A two -year rent free workspace
b. A two-year Visa
c. Subsidised urban living
d. Special rates
Noteworthy
It is unclear what ‘good track record’ means although this is a great opportunity for businesses. Maybe The Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency will provide more information in the coming days.
This incentive targets travel, tourism, construction, real estate, education and logistics businesses.
Cartels
How much Nairobi loses to Water Cartels
The Water Services Regulatory Board (Wasreb) report revealed that 47% of water placed in the distribution system last year was not billed. The report also indicated that 21 counties lost more than 50 percent of the water they produced, contributing to an average increase of Sh6 per unit cost of water billed.
According to Business daily, about Ksh 11.6 billion is lost by water firms due to leakages, unmetered consumption and theft. The ripple effect of is the increase in the prices of water.
A major hindrance to efficient water supply in Nairobi is the presence of rogue commercial water sellers who damage water supply lines, collect water from these lines and resell to desperate city residents.
Law
Law Suit filed seeking to block 16% VAT on LPG gas
The Energy Dealers Association (EDA) has filed a suit in the high court seeking block the implementation of 16% VAT on LPG.
The argument is that introduction of the tax on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will directly increase the cost of living, as it is a basic commodity required daily. The effect of this is that consumers will resort to unclean fuels such as firewood, charcoal and kerosene which is against Kenya’s climate change policy.
Universities
University of Nairobi institutes changes in Governance Structure
The University of Nairobi announced a new governance structure that took effect on the 1st July 2021. In the new structure, 8 colleges have been scrapped and faculty functions have been reduced from 35 to 11.
The Vice chancellor explained that the changes were necessary in order to save costs, eliminate bureaucracy in decision making and boost efficiency of operations.
Abit more specifics
Five offices of the Deputy Vice-Chancellors will now be replaced by Two positions of Associate Vice Chancellors.
The positions of Principals and Deputy Principals ( including their roles) have been reorganized under new positions of Executive and Associate Deans.
14 research institutes including have been retained.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Ethiopia announces closure of several embassies
On Monday, Ethiopia’s Prime minister announced that the country would cut the number of its embassies by half to manage costs. Most diplomats would then work as non-resident ambassadors to their countries of accreditation.
This measure comes at a time when Ethiopia announced that it lost about $2.3 billion in infrastructure damage in Tigray where an armed conflict had been ongoing. Ethiopia finally decided to halt the offensive on Tigray People’s Liberation Front.
The Ethiopian ambassador to Kenya assured Kenya that the embassy in Kenya would not be closed because Kenya (being its neighbour) is a priority in its Foreign policy.
Space Tourism
Given a choice of places to visit, I would pick Marrakech, Bali or even a yacht in Dubai…. but maybe that’s the difference between me and the richest people in the world.
Last week, Virgin Galactic completed a successful trip to space with CEO Richard Branson onboard. The flight reached an altitude of 89.2 km from the earths surface. This is just days before Jack Bezos takes a trip to space as well.
The success signifies that Virgin Atlantic is closer to its goal of offering commercial space flight in 2022.
Are you a billionaire, tired of travelling to different countries and is willing to travel to space and look down onto earth ?
Other ConversationStarters
The Kenya Revenue Authority announced that they surpassed the revenue target set for the year 2020/2021. The target set was Ksh 1.652 Trillion and the amount collected was Ksh 1.669 Trillion.
Treasury will now require clearance from the National Assembly for any borrowings that exceed KSh 1 Billion. This was a recommendation by the Public Accounts Committee and was approved in parliament.
A financing deal between Kenya and France that would see the construction of a 17 Kilometre light rail from JKIA (Jomo Kenyatta International Airport) to the city centre will face further delay after the agreement was not signed.
Kenya has received Ksh.48 billion grant to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis from Global Fund.