1. Kenyan MPs Vote Themselves Huge Bonuses
Kenyan lawmakers have voted to give themselves send-off bonuses of nearly $110,000 each – a payment that would take an average Kenyan worker more than 60 years to earn.
2. Google Creates Link For Tracking Polls Debate
Google Kenya has launched an online portal where voters, journalists and campaigners can track news, trends and information related to the elections.
The creation of Kenya Elections Hub has been informed by changes including new boundaries, elective seats and voter register which electors should verify and understand, Google says.
3. Schools May be Shut Thursday for Party Polls
Education Minister Mutula Kilonzo now says that the government may have to postpone school activities next Thursday to allow political parties conduct nominations. He says it will be inevitable to cancel school activities on the nomination day unless the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission agrees to extend the January 18 nomination deadline.
4. Kenya Plans to Curb Poaching
Kenya’s Forestry and Wildlife Minister Noah Wekesa on Thursday said the government plans to restructure Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to check the emerging poaching trends in local conservation areas.
Wekesa while condemning the recent killing of 11 elephants at Tsavo National Park said reforms at the institution will help combat the vice threatening the country’s biggest foreigner income earner.
5. Residents in Rage as Aspirant Goes Missing
Police have launched investigations into an incident where a parliamentary aspirant disappeared under mysterious circumstances and his car abandoned along the road leading to his home in Nkaimurunya, Ongata Rongai, Kajiado County.
Mr. Maina Muthiga who is a sitting Councilor for Nkaimurunya ward has been missing since Tuesday night; reports indicate that the aspirant had received threat messages to step down from Kajiado North parliamentary race.
6. Banks Adopt New Technology to Tackle Rising Cases of ATM Fraud
After the Standard Chartered incidence last month, a debate that had faded out of the public glare, once again picked up. The banks saw the need of adding voice to a campaign on security chip and PIN card technology rooted by payment service providers and money printing firm De La Rue.
“Definitely in certain ways, the chip technology is secure,” said I&M’s General Manager Suprio Sengupta.
7. Nairobi Java House to Open A Branch in Homa Bay
Nairobi Java House plans to open up a new outlet in Homa Bay later this year. The self proclaimed country’s finest hand-roasted coffee supplier has announced that it will be extending its branch network to the lake side town.
Speaking to Pesatalk during an interview on Thursday morning, sources from the Java Sales and Marketing Team said that plans were underway but an actual date for the establishment had not yet been confirmed.
In a twist of events, motorists could be spared unfair charges at the pump, from next week, after the energy regulator (ERC) said it would not load storage costs for illegal imports onto fuel prices. As posted in the Business Daily, ERC said penalties slapped by shipping lines on fuel imports outside the Open Tender System (OTS) would not be factored in during the monthly price review.