Taifa Gas Secures EPRA License
27 February 2023
Happy New Week !
Taifa Gas Secures EPRA License to Establish Cooking Gas Plant and Storage at Mombasa Port
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) granted Taifa Gas the licence to set up a cooking gas plant and storage facilities at the Mombasa port.
Taifa Gas is the largest LPG supply company in Tanzania and has been feeding the Kenyan retail market via road.
The entry of Taifa Gas into Kenya is part of a trade deal agreed upon by Kenya’s former President Uhuru Kenyatta and Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu in 2021.
Taifa Gas is the largest LPG supply company in Tanzania and has been feeding the Kenyan retail market via road.
The company is expected to build a 30,000-tonne Kenya facility at the Special Economic Zone in Dongo Kundu, near the port of Mombasa.
Looking forward
The construction of the facility near the port is expected to cut the cost of handling and evacuating cooking gas from the ships to the mainland, allowing dealers to transfer the cost reliefs to consumers.
The entry of Taifa Gas is also expected to trigger price wars for handling and evacuating cooking gas from the ships to the mainland, allowing dealers to transfer the cost relief to consumers.
COMPANIES
Airtel Kenya seeks Kenyan investors for 30% stake sale
Airtel Kenya is seeking Kenyan investors to buy a 30% stake in the company ahead of the March 2024 deadline of complying with revised ownership rules that are meant to encourage local ownership of ICT firms.
Background: In April 2022, Kenya unveiled a licensing policy that gave telecoms firms up to March 2024 to ensure local ownership of at least 30%. ( This is an increase from the previous local ownership threshold of a minimum 20%.)
According to a statement by Airtel Africa’s CEO, Segun Ogunsanya, the company is in discussions with the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) and the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) about selling the local unit, with the possibility of:
a) Bringing in a strategic investor or;
b) listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
INSOLVENCY
Invesco Assurance Company Ltd was placed under liquidation
Invesco Assurance Company was placed under liquidation through a decree dated 6th February 2023 issued in the High Court in Insolvency Petition No. E155 of 2019. The High Court appointed the official receiver as the provisional liquidator.
In a notice on Friday, the Insurance Regulatory Authority directed the insurer to cease entering into new insurance contracts following the High Court ruling.
Background:
In July 2019, Kinyanjui & Company Advocates filed an Insolvency Petition against Invesco seeking, among other orders, that the insurer be liquidated to settle debts of more than Ksh 29 million.
The High Court has been deferring its final orders in the judgment on the application of the insurer, but little progress has been realised in paying the debts.
History of Invesco
Invesco Assurance was incorporated in 1997 and has been the oldest operating PSV underwriter in Kenya.
In 2008, The insurer was placed under statutory management but emerged from it in 2010 after the Matatu Owners Association proposed reviving the company.
The Insurance Regulator (IRA) has since 2019 rejected the company’s financial performance reports, citing “data inconsistency and non-compliance with submission requirements”.
What next for the policy holders?
Policyholders of insolvent insurers who have unsettled claims are entitled to compensation by The Policyholders Compensation Fund (PCF) (section 179 of the Insurance Act)
However, The maximum compensation payable by the Fund on any one claim lodged by a claimant is Ksh 250,000.
LAW
County Pensioners Association appealed against Court of Appeal decision that allowed increase in NSSF contributions
The County Pensioners Association have appealed to the Supreme Court challenging the Court of Appeal decision that allowed an increase in NSSF contributions.
Access insights into the Court of Appeal decision here
The major argument by the County Pensioners Association is that the Implementation of the new National Social Security Fund Act will turn NSSF into a monopoly, killing the pensions industry.
According to the Pensioners association, the increase in contributions will force employers to transfer employees to NSSF from other schemes in a bid to cut costs.
looking forward:
On Wednesday, the parties appeared before the Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court and were directed to file and serve their submissions within seven days, ahead of the hearing of an application seeking to suspend the decision pending determination of the case.
The case will be mentioned on March 6 to confirm whether the parties have complied with the directives.
The Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) launched its Hub in Nairobi
The Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) launched its East and Central Africa Hub in Nairobi with Equity Group as its partner.
CWEIC which is the Commonwealth’s business network, will promote trade and investment by positioning the region strategically.With Equity Group as a partner, The Council will work closely with Equity Group to put in place initiatives that will encourage international investors and partners to capitalize on the opportunities arising from the Africa Continental Free Trade Area agreement within the region.
“Commonwealth has 56 member nations and the launch of the East and Central Africa Hub will allow MSMEs and other entrepreneurs to benefit from the commonwealth and capital capacity of partners from the different member nations,’’ Equity Group CEO James Mwangi.
WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
KRA Commissioner General resigned
Githii Mburu, the Commissioner General of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) resigned after serving for three years and seven months. The KRA board appointed Risper Simiyu, the Commissioner of Domestic Taxes, to act as the new boss effective from Thursday, February 23.
Starbucks Coffee Halts purchasing tea from Kenya’s James Finlay &Company after the BBC expose “Sex for Work”
In the Expose by BBC, over 70 women working at farms operated by James Finlay and Lipton Teas and Infusions (successor of Unilever) state that they have been sexually abused by their supervisors.
Starbucks later issued a statement stating that it had immediately suspended buying from James Finlay and Company in Kenya.
The Kenya China Chamber of Commerce (KCCC) called for a healthy environment to do business and trade in peace with Kenyan traders.
The group’s statement was a response to the Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade, and Industry, Moses Kuria, who advised the Vice Chancellor of Kenyatta University to buy out the lease for China Square (a shopping mall in Nairobi that houses Chinese vendors)
The Chinese Nationals stressed that they are not in Kenya to compete with Kenyan traders, but rather to develop their economies and contribute to Kenya’s growth and development by creating jobs and paying taxes.
Government Rejected Ksh 41.6 Billion Funding Requests from Public Universities
Public universities and Helb had demanded a total of Ksh 144.6 billion in the upcoming financial year starting July from the National Treasury but were allocated Sh 103 billion.
This has left public universities with a deficit of Sh41.6 billion, which will force them to eliminate expenses (this could include the scrapping of some courses, which will in turn lead to staff layoffs).
The Kenyan shilling is now at Ksh 126 against the US dollar
This means that there will be significant increase in the prices of imported goods such as petroleum and crude palm oil alongside other capital goods.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary proposed an increase in budget to the Office of the President by Ksh 5 billion to Ksh 13.8 billion.
The new budget will be 60% more than the original budget of Ksh 8.6 billion.