Author: Nairobi Business Monthly Reporter

USA top, Asia grows in strength in IMD World Digital Competitiveness ranking A report by US-based democracy watchdog Freedom House says many Africans are unknowingly under surveillance by their own states via social media platforms. Zimbabwe and Sudan are among the countries to be singled out Zimbabwean blogger Munya Bloggo saw it coming — the gradual deterioration of Internet freedom in the southern African country. “It started off with the Internet shutdown in January for a few days,” Bloggo told DW in an interview. “Then the method changed to trying to silence different voices online, from activists to even comedians,” said…

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BY GAD WESONGA In recent times, there has been an upsurge in the use of CCTV systems around the world. Kenya has not been left behind in this technological evolution and revolution. Over time, the country has experienced an increase in installation of CCTV systems whose use range from domestic, industrial, public and private not only to enhance security but also as invaluable tool for data and information gathering; making it a reliable source for mining of business intelligence. This realization continues to motivate more CCTV system installations and use among the conscious many. Like any other inventions whose use…

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Developers are now offering 10 years installments with 0% interest rate and landlords six months free rent or more as they come under pressure to attract new tenants and retain existing occupiers BY KOSTA KIOLEOGLOU This has been the year that optimistic analysts expected the property market would finally bounce back and start producing profits again. For more than two years now, property owners and developers have counted losses as the property market seemed unsustainable and faced a lot of pressure due to an oversupply of both residential and commercial housing units. This is coupled with the credit crunch as…

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It is not obvious that banks will go to the same heights they were at before the interest capping law because in the period during which the law was effective, there was a paradigm shift to algorithm lending, in which lenders appraise their clients BY MUTAVI MULEI I am brandishing my pen ready to play the devil’s advocate. It could have been much better if I was sipping on a cold drink, but I will tell you that even with the low interest rates, I have not found one shop that gives cool drinks on credit. I know it is a…

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Understanding rosy economy that has left many Kenyans broke It is said you are the average of your friends. And, at the Nairobi Security Exchange, the financial well-being of most companies can as well be used to gauge the health of its peers. The prognosis is not exactly good, according to figures from their books. More than 15 companies have issued profit warnings over the past one year, a sign of something seriously wrong. For one or two companies, it can be management issues, but when more than a dozen companies find themselves shedding revenues, eyes begin to turn to…

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BY TITUS BARIO AND EKESA AUSTIN The drafters of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 envisioned a state of affairs where the three arms of Government; Executive, Legislature and Judiciary will exist structurally independent of each other but function in a mutually, complementary manner. The former state is what is referred to as separation of powers and the latter as a system of checks and balances. The doctrine of separation of powers was advanced by French theorist and philosopher Montesquieu. There is, however, nothing like absolute separation of powers. This is what led to the system of checks and balances, advanced…

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BY DENNIS NDIRITU There has been a lot of hue and cry over local sports management in recent times, coming amid the backdrop of neglect of both our teams, across the board but notably basketball, netball and volleyball, and our individual athletes. It is such treatment that prompts the call for professionalization of sports in the local scene. This would enable our sportsmen to make a living entirely from their respective sporting ventures. Just like European football and basketball players, Kenyan sportsmen ought to be approached by companies, sign big sponsorship packages and negotiate lucrative television deals.If correctly implemented, sportsmen…

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South Africa’s opposition party appears to be falling apart following a period of gradual growth. Does this mean even greater ANC dominance? And what might a new opposition look like? BY JASON ROBINSON The first black leader of South Africa’s main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), Mmusi Maimane, resigned late last month. This follows the party’s disappointing May 2019 General Election showing, in which the DA suffered its first national loss of support since its inception. Since then, a series of poor by-election showings, several personal scandals and internal ideological ruptures have heaped additional pressure on Maimane. Eyes on the prize…

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BY VICTOR ADAR With ever growing competition among organizations to hire and retain top talent and worrying skills mismatch in the workplace, institutions have not put in place requisite learning and development systems to bridge skills gap, cultivate relationships, ensure employee satisfaction and grow bottom lines, experts have said. A document by City & Guilds Group business Kineo, a global skills organization, indicates that while employees around the world have a strong appetite for learning, they are inhibited by a lack of accessible, appropriate and engaging training opportunities. The study that surveyed 6,500 employees and 1,300 employers across 13 markets…

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Savannah Cement head, Ronald Ndegwa was named the Overall CEO of the Year at Kenya Institute of Management (KIM) Company of the Year Awards (COYA) gala ceremony held at a Nairobi hotel. Now on its 20th year, the KIM Company of the Year Awards (COYA) which also incorporates the SME of the Year Awards (SMOYA) seek to promote and encourage best practices in Corporate Performance, Leadership, People Management, Customer Focus, Financial Management, Innovation, Corporate Citizenship and Productivity in Kenya. The Awards are based on a global Business Excellence Model – Organizational Performance Index (OPI). The OPI process assesses organisations on…

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