Delegates during the KUSSCO Limited’s 8th Annual Sacco Leaders Convention at Sarova Whitesands in Mombasa, on February 21, 2023. [File, Standard] The role of the Commissioner for Cooperative Development in the Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (Kuscco) scandal has been questioned as affiliated societies’ officials fight a directive to dismiss them from office. A directive from the Commissioner for Cooperative Development that roped in the courts in December 2024 sought to have former Kuscco board officials be barred from holding any position in the Sacco societies due to their dismissal from the union. This followed the disbandment of…
Author: By Graham Kajilwa
President William Ruto and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during the high-level meeting on the Belt and Road Initiative that he co-chaired at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit in Beijing President Ruto commended China for its determination to strengthen cooperation with Africa. [PHOTO EDWARD ALUSA/PCS. 5/9/2024] The United States (US) administration is unfazed by African countries looking East following the announcement of tariffs on imports, even as President William Ruto embarks on a four-day State visit to China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping. The two leaders also had a meeting in September 2024 during the Beijing Summit…
National Treasury PS Dr Chris Kiptoo addressing the media outside Treasury Building in Nairobi on February 13, 2025. [Boniface Okendo, Standard] The National Treasury has linked the country’s ballooning debt over the years to the pricey cost of upholding the 2010 constitution, even as Kenyans await the submission of budget estimates and the Finance Bill 2025, this month. National Treasury Principal Secretary Dr Chris Kiptoo said the country’s budget deficits have been widening since the adoption of the new constitution, which necessitated more borrowing. While responding to requests from players in the pension sector on possible exemptions to enable growth,…
Cooperatives and MSME Development CS Wycliffe Oparanya during a meeting with the National Assembly’s Committee on Trade, Cooperatives and Industry over the 2025 Budget Policy Statement at Bunge Towers, Parliament. February 24th, 2025. (Elvis Ogina, Standard) The government has enlisted the expertise of foreign SACCO executives to sanitise the local sector, following financial improprieties that have plagued the Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Co-operatives Ltd (KUSCCO). Cabinet Secretary for Co-operatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMEs), Wycliffe Oparanya, announced in a statement that he has appointed a committee of experts tasked with reviewing the laws governing the…
Nelson Havi(Left)chairman board of directors Retirement Benefits Authority(RBA) and Dr.Chris Kiptoo principal secretary national treasury,during retirement benefits Authority(RBA)consultative forum,on 16th April 2025 at Sarova Panafric hotel in Nairobi county. [Edward Kiplimo,Standard] The push to consolidate small pension schemes is gaining momentum as industry players seek regulations specifying the least amount a retirement plan can hold. Stakeholders said yesterday the sector is currently too fragmented for the pension assets under management to make meaningful contributions to the needy segments of the economy. This is despite the industry recording growth, with pension assets under management surpassing Sh2.3 trillion as of the end…
Rental houses in Pipeline Estate in Nairobi’s Embakasi area. A majority of tenants do not have tenancy agreements with their landlords. [File, Standard] It is still unclear how the government plans to collect Sh86 billion more from landlords, even as it unveiled a new digital tax system targeting the segment. The lack of data on the number of landlords and rental properties in the country has been cited as a major hindrance to bringing them into the tax net. The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) collected Sh14.4 billion from rental income tax in the financial year 2023-2024. This is a year-on-year growth…
Manufacturers want the State-funded credit guarantee scheme (CGS) for small businesses to be increased by Sh15 million and the repayment period extended to eight years. This proposition aims to improve capital access among micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which are the beneficiaries of this scheme. Apart from providing a five-year tax moratorium for MSMEs to enhance their cash flow, the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) also wants 20 per cent of the allocations under the scheme to be ring-fenced for businesses in manufacturing. These proposals are contained in the newly launched Manufacturing Priority Agenda 2025 by KAM, which details…
Rental houses in Pipeline Estate in Nairobi’s Embakasi area. A majority of tenants do not have tenancy agreements with their landlords. [File, Standard] It is still unclear how the government plans to collect Sh86 billion more from landlords, even as it unveiled a new digital tax system targeting the segment. The lack of data on the number of landlords and rental properties in the country has been cited as a major hindrance to bringing them into the tax net. The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) collected Sh14.4 billion from rental income tax in the financial year 2023-2024. This is a year-on-year growth…
Pension regulator, the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) has set its eyes on the informal sector as it seeks policy reforms to increase contributions, amid an improved pension assets to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio. Latest numbers show the pension assets to GDP ratio slightly went up to 14.6 per cent in the year ended December 2024, from 12.2 per cent for the year ended December 2023. Amid the increase, which can largely be attributed to enhanced National Social Security Fund (NSSF) contributions that came into force in 2023, RBA notes this ratio is still low. “Kenya’s ratio is still lower…
The recovery of the stock market last year was a shot in the arm for the pension sector. [Courtesy] The recovery of the stock market last year was a shot in the arm for the pension sector. The season saw fund managers find confidence to invest in quoted equities, causing assets under management to surpass the Sh2 trillion mark. As the shilling strengthened, the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) witnessed more investors, including foreign ones. They flocked back to the bourse, seizing the opportunity as the window for high returns from government paper was closing. “Investments in government securities saw a…
Only one in five tenants is willing to purchase the units they are currently living in, pointing to a possible mismatch between housing supply and what prospective home owners would want. Analysis of data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Housing Survey Basic Report 2023/2024 details these complexities around meeting the demands of prospective home owners. The report notes that a majority of tenants would rather build their units – a bungalow or maisonnette – rather than purchase the unit they are renting at the moment. However, a majority of them also have no plan in place towards…
Only one in five tenants is willing to purchase the units they are currently living in, pointing to a possible mismatch between housing supply and what prospective home owners would want. Analysis of data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Housing Survey Basic Report 2023/2024 details these complexities around meeting the demands of prospective home owners. The report notes that a majority of tenants would rather build their units – a bungalow or maisonnette – rather than purchase the unit they are renting at the moment. However, a majority of them also have no plan in place towards…
Only one in five tenants is willing to purchase the units they are currently living in, pointing to a possible mismatch between housing supply and what prospective home owners would want. Analysis of data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Housing Survey Basic Report 2023/2024 details these complexities around meeting the demands of prospective home owners. The report notes that a majority of tenants would rather build their units – a bungalow or maisonnette – rather than purchase the unit they are renting at the moment. However, a majority of them also have no plan in place towards…
Only one in five tenants is willing to purchase the units they are currently living in, pointing to a possible mismatch between housing supply and what prospective home owners would want. Analysis of data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Housing Survey Basic Report 2023/2024 details these complexities around meeting the demands of prospective home owners. The report notes that a majority of tenants would rather build their units – a bungalow or maisonnette – rather than purchase the unit they are renting at the moment. However, a majority of them also have no plan in place towards…
Only one in five tenants is willing to purchase the units they are currently living in, pointing to a possible mismatch between housing supply and what prospective home owners would want. Analysis of data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Housing Survey Basic Report 2023/2024 details these complexities around meeting the demands of prospective home owners. The report notes that a majority of tenants would rather build their units – a bungalow or maisonnette – rather than purchase the unit they are renting at the moment. However, a majority of them also have no plan in place towards…
President William Ruto (second right), World Chambers Federation Chairman Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu (second left), Cooperatives CS Wycliffe Oparanya (right) and KNCCI President Erick Ruto arrive for the official opening of the World Chambers Federation Africa Summit 2025 in Nairobi, on April 9, 2025. [PCS] President William Ruto has broken his silence on the 10 per cent tariff imposed on Kenyan exports to the US, asserting that Kenya will safeguard its interests amid the global trade war, which has prompted retaliatory import tariffs from other nations. In what appears to be a pushback following US President Donald Trump’s blitz of protectionist tariffs,…
Only one in five tenants is willing to purchase the units they are currently living in, pointing to a possible mismatch between housing supply and what prospective home owners would want. Analysis of data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Housing Survey Basic Report 2023/2024 details these complexities around meeting the demands of prospective home owners. The report notes that a majority of tenants would rather build their units – a bungalow or maisonnette – rather than purchase the unit they are renting at the moment. However, a majority of them also have no plan in place towards…
Members of parliamentary energy committee during a tour of a mini hydroelectricity plant at Mathioya River. [Photo/Boniface Gikandi] KTDA Power Company Ltd, a subsidiary of Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), has reported a 32 per cent surge in electricity production from its operational hydropower projects. Currently, Imenti, Lower Nyamindi, Gura, North Mathioya, Chania, and Nyambunde hydro-projects are fully operational. A statement from KTDA said these six operational power plants generated 3.28 MKWhrs in February 2025, and 4.33 MKWhrs in March 2025. “The increase is attributed to the ongoing heavy rains, which have significantly boosted river flow and output. These hydro-power…
Co-operatives PS Patrick Kilemi before the National Assembly’s Trade Committee at Bunge Towers,Nairobi.August 22nd,2024. [Elvis Ogina,Standard The government is facing a challenge in dealing with non-remittances of Sacco contributions, even as the law allows the Commissioner of Co-operative Development to reprimand culpable employers. Principal Secretary in the State Department for Co-operatives Patrick Kilemi says while the law has bestowed powers to the Commissioner of Co-operative Development, the recent business environment and symbiotic relationship between the National Treasury and public institutions make applying this law a challenge. He says in cases where the business environment has been understandably a challenge, such cases can…
A livestock officer shows butchers how to remove skin from an animal while at the slaughter house.Skins and hides bring about Sh 128 million revenue. [FILE] Poorly equipped tanneries in countries like Kenya are among the reasons behind the slow growth of the leather and leather products sector, which has led to an influx of imports from China, a regional trading bloc says. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) has listed the challenges affecting the leather sector, citing the lack of chemical industries in the region, finances, qualified personnel, and flaying techniques that result in poor quality…
Kakuzi Plc Managing Director Chris Flowers at the Kakuzi PLC in Avocado farming in Thika 19th May 2022. [David Gichuru,Standard] The Kakuzi board of directors has recommended a Sh8 dividend per share after the agricultural firm reported a loss of Sh130.4 million for the year ended December 2024. The firm attributed the performance to challenges in shipping routes, strengthening of the shilling against the US dollar, drop in avocado exports, and adverse weather conditions. In the year ended December 2023, the firm reported a profit of Sh455.6 million. In the released financial statements, Kakuzi, however, notes improvements in its macadamia,…
Retirements Benefits Authority wants pension funds for public entities not to be categorised as public funds. [Courtesy] An ageing workforce in the public sector has been cited as one of the key reasons why investment firms concentrate their assets under management in government paper, even as the regulator is pushing for diversification. According to the Retirements Benefits Authority (RBA), Treasury bills or T-bills and bonds are among the top five preferred asset classes for investment firms, yet the regulator has a broad list of 15. An industry report from RBA shows that as of June 2023, 47.79 per cent of pension…
Delegates during the 9th Sacco Leaders’ Convention hosted by Kuscco Ltd at Sarova Whitesands in Mombasa County, on February 21, 2024. [File, Standard] The financial troubles bedevilling the Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Co-operatives (Kuscco) have sent Saccos back to the drawing board as they seek to regain the trust of the industry responsible for close to Sh1 trillion of Kenyans’ savings. Players in the sector maintain that Saccos are still the best bet for those keen on growing their wealth and safeguarding their future, despite the panic elicited by the corruption scandal at the umbrella organisation for cooperatives,…