The Credit Reference Bureaus (CRBs) in Kenya have proposed a vetting tool intended for digital lenders before their plan to return to sharing data on customer loans is implemented. The Credit Reference Bureaus (CRBs) made it known that their lobby, the Credit Information Sharing (CIS) and the Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) which is an independent trust with a focus on creating a financial system that is inclusive had presented a criterion for screening all digital lenders before granting them admission or permission to share any information on loan defaults and loan payments. The presentation was made to the Central Bank…
Author: Tobey
The Kenyan Government has reportedly placed a value of 3.5 Trillion Kenyan Shillings on its roads. The news is coming before a major audit that will help with the maintenance of the large road network and also point towards the impact of major spending on public infrastructure over the past eight (8) years with the President Uhuru Kenyatta administration. The agency which is in charge of overseeing the repair and development of roads; the Kenya Roads Board (KRB), made known the valuation in the tender seeking consultancy to conduct a two (2) year survey on the condition of roads in…
Petrol prices in Kenya will from midnight of Thursday the 15th of July 2021 increase to the highest they have ever been in the history of Kenya. That is if the Government of Kenya does not subsidize the increasing costs of Crude Oil in what observers fear might further fan the flames of public outrage as the cost of living in the country is already significantly higher. Estimates from the Ministry of energy point towards the likelihood that the price of petrol will increase by not less than 3 Kenyan Shillings per litre if no subsidy is put in place.…
Kenya has been unable to finalize a monetary deal for the construction of a railway line which will connect the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to the city centre of Nairobi. The deal was intended to be completed during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s most recent visit to France. The deal not getting finalized, has now put a significant delay on the 128 million Euros (around 16.3 billion Kenyan Shillings) infrastructure plan. It had been the expectation that when the President would embark on the two day visit to the French capital of Paris, that the 16.8 billion Kenyan Shilling deal would…
Telecommunications giant; Safaricom has changed the prices for a number of its services and products. The move is aimed at reflecting the corresponding new change in how internet data services and telephone services are taxed. The tax changes came into effect on Wednesday the 7th of July 2021. Said tax changes will have an affect on every out of bundle voice call, SMS, internet data, along with integrated plans. The tax changes will also have a similar effect on the price of international SMS, roaming calls, international calls, as well as the Fibre To The Business (FTTB) and Fibre To…
According to reports users of Safaricom have so far accumulated 5.7 billion Kenyan Shillings worth of data, SMS and airtime that was not used in the year which ended in March of 2021, after the telecommunications giant removed expiry dates on all its services. This news signifies a 24 percent jump from the prior figure of 4.6 billion Kenyan Shillings worth of unused services from the telecommunications company which it recorded in the previous year. According to Safaricom the value of unused airtime increased from 2.5 billion Kenyan Shillings to 2.6 billion Kenyan Shillings. As for resources like data, SMS,…
Users of digital loans in Kenya will now feel the full heat of the 20 percent tax placed on fees and commissions earned earned on bank credit. The 20 percent tax was implemented on the 1st of July 2021. All or a substantial portion of the fee charges placed on mobile loans being provided by Absa Kenya, NCBA (M-Shwari), the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), Equity Bank, and Co-operative Bank have been looked at as facilitation fees. What this means is that the entire loan or a huge portion of the loan, would come with a 20 percent fee. This will…
According to recent reports private firms in Kenya increased the June pay for their workers, making it the highest rate in 21 months. The move is being seen as an attempt to encourage more productivity and also an added indicator that Kenya has begun the process of recovering from the negative impacts that the still ongoing Coronavirus pandemic had on its economy. The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for Stanbic Bank Kenya which weighs the month by month changes in the activity output of the private sector along with employment and new orders, revealed that the pay growth for the month…
The People’s Republic of China has halted all further paying out of active loans to and for projects in Kenya. The decision is as a result of the Kenyan government’s attempt to extend its debt repayment reprieve to up to December of the year; 2021. According to Business Daily Africa projects which are being funded by China, are experiencing financial slowdowns with a number of contractors making reports with regards to delayed payments from banks like the Exim Bank of China. Executives at state owned establishments state that the affected projects might experience delays as a result of the present…
Telecommunications giant; Airtel, has raised the cost of making calls on its network by up to 0.78 Kenyan Shillings. This is in response to the corresponding increase in the excise duty placed on Data and Airtime. The telecommunications company informed its subscribers via its Short Message Service (SMS) that calls to other networks will now cost 2.78 Kenyan Shillings per minutes as opposed to the previous 2 Kenyan Shillings cost, effective from yesterday; Friday the 2nd of July 2021. The change in costs will most likely have a negative effect of Airtel subscribers who are still actively combating the reality…
Employers in Kenya have opposed proposals in a Bill. Said proposals that will make it compulsory for them to match the monthly contributions of its workers to the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF). The Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) has warned that compelling employers to match the contributions to the public health insurer would essentially damage private medical insurance while also forcing firms to carry out further job cuts. Among the list of proposed changes to the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) Act that is set to be introduced to Parliament on Wednesday the 7th of July 2021, is the…
A university student who was accused of hacking into NCBA and illegally obtaining millions of Kenyan Shillings using M-Pesa accounts has lost his attempt to convince telecommunications giant; Safaricom, to restore his blocked mobile phone number and M-Pesa Till number. Safaricom blocked said numbers after the Till number had been used to execute money stolen from NCBA via a hacking scheme. Justice James Makau via his ruling made it known that the dispute between Anthony Mwangi Ngigge and the telecommunications company was contractual and should as a result be referred to dispute resolution mechanisms before making its way to court.…
On Thursday the prices for Oil moved even higher aided by lower United States inventories as numerous investors decided to wait for key producers to make a decision on whether they would reduce or maintain the supply cuts in the second half for this year; 2021. Brent Crude for September gained 0.2 percent or 15 cents to 74.77 United States Dollars(8,071.42 Kenyan Shillings) per barrel while the United States West Texas intermediate crude for August gained 0.3 percent or 22 cents to stand at 73.69 United States Dollars (7,954.84 Kenyan Shillings) per barrel. WTI grew by more than 10 percent…
The prices of cooking gas in Kenya will hit a six (6) year high today. The development is as a result of the Treasury reintroducing a 16 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on the commodity a decision which is being seen as an added inconvenience on expensive energy like electricity and fuel. Households in Kenya will now pay not less than 350 Kenyan Shillings more for the 13 Kilogram (KG) cooking gas that is expected to start retailing at an average of 2,600 Kenyan Shillings. Said price level was last experienced in March of 2015. The decision is in line…
