The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) is demanding for payment of the their allowances as agreed in the return to work formula signed on September 24th 2012 following a strike that paralyzed learning in public schools for three weeks. They want the Teachers service Commission to respect the ruling on the contentious legal notice 16 of 2003 as signed in the MOU.
More brokers get NSE’s approval to advise small firms
Four more stockbrokers have received approval from the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) to offer advisory services to SMEs intending to go public, increasing the number of approved firms to eight. The NSE announced Tuesday that CBA Capital, African Alliance Investment Bank, Kingdom Securities and Faida Investment Bank have joined the list of approved advisors who will help small and medium sized companies (SME’s) list their shares on a special board at the Nairobi bourse.
SA’s fashion chains Foschini and Edgars to open in Nairobi
South Africa luxury fashion houses will next year open shop in Kenya, offering consumers more choices and raising competition in the segment now dominated by Deacons. Actis, a private equity fund, has said that Edgars and Foschini are some of the retailers that have booked space in its Sh12.6 billion real estate development on the Nairobi’s Thika Superhighway that is billed as Kenya’s biggest mall at 50,000 square meters.
Kenya seeks payment for UN mission
Kenya has urged the United Nations Security Council to pay the country for its military contribution to the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom). Kenya’s ambassador to the UN Macharia Kamau urged the world organisation to make “timely and total reimbursement” as failure to do so was “unacceptable and unsustainable.” Speaking during a council debate on UN peacekeeping activities, Mr Kamau did not specify how much Kenya was owed but only said the country had received “a fraction of the millions of dollars committed by this council.”
I&M owners earn Sh29bn in City Trust shares deal
The merger of listed investment firm, City Trust with I&M Bank through a share swap transaction will be worth Sh29 billion in a deal that will see the private lender list on the Nairobi bourse. City Trust will become the holding company of I&M Bank in a transaction that will see the bank’s shareholders exchange their shares for those of City Trust in what has been described as a reverse takeover.
Konza City launch opens new frontier for investors
The Konza ICT City, one of the theme projects expected to make Kenya a newly industrialised economy in 17 years, breaks ground Wednesday with the promoters reporting that they have already attracted investors from around the world. The Director-General of Vision 2030 Delivery Secretariat, Mugo Kibati, said investors had responded positively to Konza which many attribute to the buzz created by innovation like Safaricom’s M-Pesa money transfer system on the global stage.
Low quality supplies hurt EAC food markets
East African food markets are grappling with challenges of low quality supplies as growers keep best produce for regions such as Europe. Lured by premium returns, farmers in eastern Africa are opting to ship out choice produce to overseas outlets, leaving buyers in the region disadvantaged.
New Mining Bill in Kenya – A Directive to Regulate the Sector
The recently announced mining bill and a nationwide aerial survey are likely to see Kenya’s prospects as a globally significant mining destination increase. The bill, named the Geology, Minerals and Mining Bill 2012, aims to establish institutional and legal reforms through the development of appropriate new policies and legal frameworks. This new mining bill, which is up for debate and subsequent approval by the Kenyan parliament by the end of 2012, proposes instituting the Kenya Mining Corporation and the Kenya Geology Minerals and Mining Authority.