Government to determine prices for medical services
6 September 2021
Good morning.
As you have your morning coffee/tea , it is interesting to note that Kenya has cut its importation of sugar from Uganda by 79%. (or maybe you don’t take sugar but you are still interested).
The Sugar Directorate in Nairobi gave orders to import only 18,923 tonnes of sugar from Uganda, down from 90,000 tonnes.
HEALTHCARE
Should the State control medical bills and doctors’ fees ?
In what seems like a reaction to 'a surge of hospital expenses’, The state might be granted regulatory power over medical bills and doctors’ fees if Parliament approves the proposed amendments to the Health act.
What are the proposed amendments?
The Kenya Health Human Resource Advisory Council (KHHRAC) will have power to regulate charges hospitals and doctors give for medical services.
The council will constitute 11 members: including Principal Secretary for Health, the Attorney General & official from the Council of Governors.
It shall be a crime for private and public health facilities to demand down payment as a condition to providing emergency medical services.
the proposed amendments await Parliamentary approval before it can be presented to the President for assent.
TRADE
Gikomba Traders seek Compensation from county government for frequent fires
FACT : Gikomba is the largest second-hand marketplace in Kenya
900 traders have sued the county government and are demanding ksh 20 billion in compensation for the frequent fires at the Gikomba market that have led to loss of lives, goods and property.
Fact: There has been 15 fire incidences in the market since 2015. Many believe that the fires are planned by individuals who are keen on developing the land for private use.
The traders accuse the county government of a breach of duty and obligation to set up a suitable business environment at Gikomba Market despite payment of levies to the county government for this purpose.
ENERGY
More companies in Kenya choosing solar energy
While this should be commendable because of it is environmentally friendly, the hard truth is that most companies have resorted to solar energy because of the inefficient & costly services of Kenya Power and Lightning company (KPLC).
recent example of this: - GlaxoSmithKline has installed a Kshs 108m solar plant at its Nairobi factory.
Also, a Steel billionaire in Kenya revealed how KPLC gave him a Kshs 2.8B quote to connect electricity to one of his factories in Emali. He decided to build his own power plant as it would be cheaper to generate his own electricity by almost half the quote given to him by KPLC!
CAPITAL MARKETS
1. New Regulations to increase CMA’s (Capital Markets Authority) power over investment funds
There are new regulations in place that extend CMA’s power to manage all investment funds (both private and public). The CMA will now regulate both collective investment schemes and alternative investment funds for private entities.
(Before the regulations, private placement was not regulated by the CMA because the requirement for this was only - notifying the CMA- )
2. Kenya & Pakistan agree on removal of non-tariff barriers
The two countries announced the end of the 'Attestation Fee' charged by the Pakistan High Commission in Nairobi.
History of the trade tariffs - in 2007, Kenya initiated a 75% taxation on Pakistan rice. Pakistan responded by levying the ‘attestation fee’ (0.5% of the entire export volume for the tea export from Kenya) which made tea from Kenya very expensive in Pakistan.
Benefit of the removal of barriers:- Pakistan imports about 40% of all tea exports from Kenya hence Kenya will profit from potentially more exports for tea.
In 2020, Kenyan exports to Pakistan were valued at about Sh55.6 billion against imports worth Sh21.9 billion.
The removal of barriers is expected to boost trade between the 2 countries.
SACCOS
SACCO’S to be trained on Cyber security and taxation
A team of cybersecurity experts and PWC (price Waterhouse coopers) have been hired by the Co-operative Alliance of Kenya to train SACCO’s in cybercrime and tax matters.
The training targets Board members, internal auditors, accountants and IT officers among others.
PWC will train the SACCO members on: the Finance Bill 2021, tax changes in Kenya and the Legal framework on taxation of SACCO’s.
The training sessions are set to begin from the 14th to 17th September 2021 at Maanzoni Lodge.
HELB
Members of Parliament have rejected bid on lower interest on HELB loans
A National Assembly committee has rejected changes to the higher education bill which would lower interest rates on HELB loans for students.
This means that the proposed slashing of interest rates to 3% and the extension of the grace period to 5 years has been rejected.
The reason for the rejection is that HELB would lose Ksh 639 million every year if the interest rates were reduced and grace period increased.
Why you might pay for parking in your residential estate
A new policy which might be adopted by Nairobi city hall could mean that you could be charged parking fees for parking your car in some residential areas in Nairobi.
However, a residents' lobby group has opposed the plan and Nairobi Senator promised to battle the proposal in the senate.
other details of the proposed policy-
Parking in CBD Nairobi will be charged from Ksh 75 to Ksh 100 . (parking is currently at ksh 200)
Parking hubs outside the city will be charged ksh 50.
City Hall will establish charging points for electric vehicles.
MUST KNOW CONVERSATION STARTERS
This week
Covid-19 update- Health Principal Secretary admitted that Covid-19 deaths data is inaccurate. She announced that the inaccuracy is due to lack of pathologists in the counties.
Mental health awareness - NMS (Nairobi Metropolitan Services) will offer mental health services in 32 city hospitals. Among the services offered will be mental health assessments, psychiatry, counselling and psychotherapy.
Auction of Unclaimed items at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport - An auction of personal items seized at JKIA will be held on 29 September if its owners fail to pay the required taxes for them.
undeclared personal items were seized from Kenyans re-entering the country by KRA because taxes were not paid for them.
Update on KRA - Kenya Revenue Authority has deactivated VAT accounts of 66,000 businesses after their failure to file returns.