Good morning,
Today marks the 1st day of what will be a rigorous nation-wide voter registration drive mostly targeting the youth.
A few facts: The number of youth that have turned 18 years since the last election are approximately 5 million!
- Coincidentally, today’s main ConversationStarter relates to the 5 million ( or a large portion of it)-
Breaking down the unemployment rate in Kenya
Data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics revealed that 1.23 million Kenyans have given up searching for employment. Majority of this number are fresh graduates aged 20-24 who are disadvantaged because of inexperience or inadequate skills in the required employment fields.
More of the data
A total of 2.49 million Kenyans who qualify for formal employment are unemployed.
Approximately 730,000 jobs were lost in 2020.
232,146 Kenyans aged 25-29 have given up on employment.
Most businesses are still unable to hire more workers because of the economic downfall resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.
CAPITAL MARKETS
1. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) retains the interest rate at 7%
The CBK announced during its September monetary policy meeting, that the bank’s interest rate will remain at 7%.
The decision was influenced by the rise of inflation in Kenya (up from 6.5% to 6.9%), the huge hike in fuel prices and the overall global inflation.
2. Nation Media group completes its Share buyback program
East Africa’s first share buyback program began on the 28th June 2021, closing on 24th September with a performance rate of 82.25%.
The company bought back shares worth more than 17.1 Million of its ordinary shares.
What is a share buyback: It is when a company buys back its shares from the existing shareholders. When it ‘buys back’, the number of shares outstanding in the market reduces while there is an increase in the proportion of shares owned by that company.
Why do companies buyback shares?: a) It prevents a decline in the value of a stock by reducing the supply of the stock. b) with the reduction in outstanding shares, the Earnings Per Share (EPS) of the company improves.
HEALTH COVER
NHIF cover a compulsory requirement for all adults
Last week, Kenyan legislators approved the NHIF (National Hospital Insurance Fund) bill which makes NHIF contributions mandatory for all adult Kenyans.
a look into the provisions of the bill
All adults will be compelled to pay Sh500 monthly or Sh6,000 annually in a remodelled Universal Health Coverage (UHC) scheme for outpatient and inpatient services.
Employers will be required to top up contributions of employees who pay less than Sh500 monthly to the fund & those earning less than Sh12,000 a month.
(However, the full matching of employee contributions by employers will be gradual - 50% in the 1st year, 75% in the second and 100% in the third year after the law takes effect)
Unfortunately: The legislators rejected proposals to have the county governments cover NHIF bills for ‘poor’ families.
AFRICA NEWS
Ethiopia expels 7 United Nation officials
The Ethiopian government declared 7 United Nations officials “persona non-grata” and gave them 72 hours to leave the country.
Why? - The ministry of Foreign affairs stated that the expulsion resulted from the officials meddling in Ethiopia’s internal affairs.
Side note: “Persona non-grata” means ‘unwanted’ (in layman terms). - This side note is also an assurance to my Humanitarian Law lecturer that I was paying attention in class.-
Backstory - The expulsion happened two days after a UN aid chief warned that the government’s blockade of aid had forced people in the Northern region of Tigray into famine.
What next ? - The conflict in Tigray region is coming under heavy criticism from the International community. The White House press secretary issued this statement;
‘The United States will not hesitate to use sanctions against those who obstruct humanitarian efforts”.
LEGAL DEBATE
TODAY’S FOCUS:
The Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes (Amendment) Bill 2021
The Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes amendment bill introduces the following provisions:
a.) It criminalises the possession, sharing and distributing of pornographic content by adults.
b.) It sets the penalty of distributing pornographic content to ksh 25 million and a jail term to 10 years
Arguments made against this provision
The Communications Authority of Kenya argues that these provisions violate the individual’s freedom of expression and right to privacy.
“The clause suppresses freedom of conscience and consumer rights on what adults may watch in the privacy of their homes” - Communications Authority of Kenya.
looking forward - The current law is silent on sharing and distributing pornographic content by adults. It only criminalises the production of pornographic content.
The Communication Authority’s arguments were rejected by the Parliamentary ICT committee and the amendment bill now awaits the second reading in parliament.
COMPETITION LAW
The COMESA Competition Authority to evaluate Safaricom’s operation in Ethiopia
Safaricom has made big steps in its expansion into Ethiopia. However, not everyone sees it that way. The COMESA Competition Commission has launched a formal inquiry into the joint venture between Safaricom and its parent firm Vodafone for the Ethiopia entry.
Main reason for the Inquiry? - To determine whether the merger of the two telecommunication companies will affect competition in the regional market.
‘Affecting competition’ means that the merger would “substantially prevent or lessen competition” in the region.
What will the commission most likely evaluate ?
A definition of what the ‘market’ really is (the definition of a market constitutes the product/service offered & the location).
Whether the merger between the two telcos would give them a Dominant position/ market power in the region.
Whether the merger would most likely lessen/ prevent competition.
IMMIGRATION
Pakistani nationals transiting through the country raises eyebrows
For the past few weeks, there have been videos circulating online showing crowds of Pakistani nationals residing in some residential areas (Ongata Rongai, Athi River, CBD and Kasarani)
Some speculations were that the groups were of Afghan refugees. However, The Interior principal secretary stated that they were Pakistani nationals and that they had valid transit visas to Saudi Arabia.
However, The government has since ordered the suspension of its visa-free transit agreement with Pakistan for national security reasons.
More ConversationStarters
Deal with containerised cargo at the Mombasa port? - The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) announced that the deadline to shift to the Kenya Revenue Authority’s new customs monitor (The iCMS system) is fast approaching. The full use of the system will be implemented on the 22nd October.
KRA also stated that Desks at different custom points have been set up to assist in registering. (This includes at the port of Mombasa, at Malaba border and at Long House (KRA headquarters Mombasa).
Reduction of electricity costs - The presidential directive last week ordered the reduction of power tariffs by 33% to an average of ksh 16 per kilowatt hour by December of this year.
High court suspends the Increase in excise duty - The High Court suspended the increase of excise duty on petroleum products that was to be effected on October 1. The taxman planned to increase excise duty on petroleum products by 4.97% in line with the average annual inflation.
Should we have universal standardized chargers ? - The European Union voted for the proposal to have standardised chargers ( type c) for all phones, tablets & headphones in order to reduce environmental damage caused by various types of chargers.
And of course apple took that personally.
Data on road accidents in Kenya -
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