Author: Ronald Owili

The government has appointed a new board of directors to oversee recovery of troubled Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (KUSCCO). The board which will be chaired by Kenya National Police DT Sacco chairman David Mategwa is expected to restructure KUSCCO to enhance its efficiency and governance, recover assets and safeguard interests of Saccos and prepare the organisation for its transition into a federation. “The appointment of the new board marks a crucial step in revitalising KUSCCO and ensuring its stability and growth in alignment with the government’s cooperative sector reforms,” said Cooperatives and MSMEs Development Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe…

The government has appointed a new board of directors to oversee recovery of troubled Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (KUSCCO). The board which will be chaired by Kenya National Police DT Sacco chairman David Mategwa is expected to restructure KUSCCO to enhance its efficiency and governance, recover assets and safeguard interests of Saccos and prepare the organisation for its transition into a federation. “The appointment of the new board marks a crucial step in revitalising KUSCCO and ensuring its stability and growth in alignment with the government’s cooperative sector reforms,” said Cooperatives and MSMEs Development Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe…

The government is planning to spend a total of Ksh 799.2 million to complete 137 energy projects in South Nyanza. Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi said the projects which are being undertaken by the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (REREC) and KenGen are expected to connect 18,022 new customers to the national grid upon completion. “This will be a significant move towards providing clean, efficient, reliable, and affordable energy to the citizenry,” said Wandayi. Among targeted projects include the upgrade of Gogo Falls in Migori County by KenGen, from the current capacity of 2MW to 8.6MW. Wandayi…

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) will begin licensing new commercial banks from July 1, 2025. This follows the lifting of a nine year moratorium which was effected on November 17, 2015. According to CBK the moratorium was meant to strengthen the banking sector after a series of governance, risk management and operational challenges. “Since then, significant strides have been made in strengthening the legal and regulatory framework for Kenya’s banking sector. Notably there have been mergers and acquisitions by existing players and entry of new domestic and foreign strategic investors into the sector,” said CBK. However CBK says new…

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) says tax waiver under it’s amnesty programme has hit Ksh 158 billion. The Tax Amnesty Programme which begun in December 27, 2024 has so far benefited 2.9 million taxpayers whose tax penalties, fines and interests have been forgiven. “The Tax Amnesty Programme provides an opportunity for taxpayers to clean their tax records through offering a waiver on penalties, interest and fines for tax debts accrued up to 31st December 2023,” said Rispah Simiyu, Commissioner, Large and Medium Taxpayers. According to Simiyu, since the rollout of the programme KRA has also collected Ksh 10.9 billion in…

Tullow Oil Plc has reached a deal for the sale of its entire interest in Tullow Oil Kenya BV for Ksh 15.5 billion ($120m) to Gulf Energy. The two firms have signed a heads of terms agreement which will split the payment into three tranches until 2028. Tullow says the consideration will be split into a $40m payment due on completion, $40m payable at the earlier of Field Development Plan (FDP) approval or 30 June 2026, and $40m payable over five years from the third quarter of 2028 onwards “Today’s announcement marks another step forward in Tullow’s accelerated deleveraging journey…

Nigeria’s Access Bank Plc has acquired 100pc stake in National Bank of Kenya from KCB Group with the two parties now expected to finalize the transaction. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) which approved the transaction on Friday last week expects the transaction to continue enhancing the stability and the resilience of the local banking sector. “As part of the transaction, CBK On April 4, 2025 further approved the transfer of certain assets and liabilities  on the National Bank ok Kenya Limited to KCB Bank Kenya Limited pursuant to section 9 of the Banking Act. Additionally, the Cabinet Secretary for…

African countries especially those highly dependent on fossil fuels could experience rise in inequality due to job losses resulting from green transition. In a bid to secure the continent’s labour market, experts at the Eleventh Session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD) meeting in Kampala, Uganda organized by the United Nations Economic Commission (ECA) are now calling for strategic investments in reskilling and upskilling initiatives tailored for youth and informal sector workers to meet industry requirements. “The tangible effects of climate change – rising temperatures, extreme weather, and environmental degradation – are already destabilizing job security, forcing…

Kenya has been selected to host an Open Source Programme Office (OSPO) which will support sharing and use of open source software in Africa. The office will be second of its kind under the pilot Open Source Ecosystem Enabler (OSEE) project supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the European Union. According to UNDP, OSPOs which are designed to help institutions adopt open-source tools, manage software licensing and build the digital skills needed to work with open-source software systems and digital communities will further facilitate digital transformation in Arica. The announcement which was made during Fifth Regional Preparatory Meeting…

Chinese technology giant Tencent has made a €1.2bn ($1.25bn) investment in a spin-off from Ubisoft, the maker of the Assassin’s Creed video games. Shenzhen-based Tencent will own about a quarter of the new business, with Ubisoft holding the rest of the new subsidiary, which is valued at around €4bn. The unit will run some of the French firm’s biggest franchises, including Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six. Tencent, which is one of the world’s biggest video games developers, is also known for its internet-based services, including the hugely popular messaging app WeChat. “Today Ubisoft is opening a…

Kenya Airways has reported a record Ksh 5.4 billion profit after tax for the full year period ending December 31, 2024. The airline says net profit which has risen by 124pc from a loss of Ksh 22.7 billion reported last year is attributed to the higher passenger numbers and an increase in operating profit during the period. “This achievement marks a major turnaround of the performance of the airline, which emphasizes on customer obsession, operational excellence, financial discipline, culture transformation innovation and sustainability,” said Michael Joseph, KQ Chairman. The flag carrier also recorded a 58pc surge in operating profit which…