1. Court Extends Order Halting New NHIF Rates

The push by the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) to effect new medical care rates suffered a fresh blow after a court extended an order stopping its implementation. The High Court has extended an order granted to the Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (Kudheiha) blocking a directive by the national insurer requiring employers to start remitting the revised rates this month.

2. Cash Squabble Delay Voter Registration Kit

Voter registration has been postponed by two weeks after the French company contracted to supply 15,000 biometric registration kits demanded to be paid a balance of Sh3.6 billion before it can deliver them for the March 4 election. The registration was scheduled for November 1 to 30, but will now take place between November 12 and December 11, according to a circular seen by the Nation.

3. Uchumi Gets Independent Chairman as State Quits Post

THE government has finally quit chairing the Uchumi Supermarkets board six years after it successfully steered the retailer from receivership. Ministry of trade PS Abdulrazaq Ali who was the chairman of the board quit the position on Tuesday leaving the supermarket chain to chart its course after surviving the 2006 temporary closure. Ali was representing the government which is the biggest shareholder with a 13.4 per cent stake in the company. The new chairman for the board is now Khadija Mire who was among three independent directors appointed last year.

4. NEMA to Issue Electronic Waste Disposal Rules

THE National Environmental Management Authority plans to introduce new rules to control electronic waste in the country. The regulations will compel all electronic gadgets importers including mobile operators and phone manufacturers to follow up on the life cycle of the devices from point of entry up to their appropriate disposal. The draft regulations are expected be finalised by the end of this year. Ayub Macharia, director of Environmental education and information at Nema said institutions will also be monitored to ensure  electronic goods repair maintenance is given priority over disposal especially in institutions.

5. Shilling Weakens as Businesses Start Accumulating Dollars

The shilling weakened for the first time in a week as businesses started to accumulate dollars to meet month-end obligations.

The currency weakened as much as 0.2 percent to 85.25 per dollar and was trading 0.1 percent lower at 85.15 a dollar by 3:01 p.m., in Nairobi. “The shilling is oscillating within a narrow band with businesses trying to accumulate at favorable levels as we head toward the month-end where demand for dollars is expected to pick up,” Jeremiah Kendagor, head of trading at Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd. (KNCB), said by phone.

6. Second Diaspora SACCO Launched

The Kenya USA Diaspora SACCO was officially launched last evening at the ongoing 2012 Kenya Diaspora Conference – USA in Arlington, Virginia.This is the second Diaspora SACCO established after the Co-operative Development ministry registered Kenya Diaspora SACCO in April this year. Kenya Diaspora SACCO is the first Sacco for Kenyans in the Diaspora.

Speaking at the launch of Kenya USA Diaspora SACCO, Chairman Frank Kioko, said the SACCO will enable Kenyans living in the United States to have access to capital and fully participate in emerging markets in Kenya as well as the re-configured East African community.

7. MRC Backing Lawmaker Charged

Sheikh Mohammed Dor was charged with "incitement to violence" and uttering words that "indicated or implied that it was or might be desirable to disobey the lawful authority of the government of Kenya". Police arrested the leader of the Mombasa Republican Council Omar Mwamnuadzi on Monday, as part of a drive to eliminate the separatist group from the tourist hotspot and trade hub.

8. Ending Too Big to Fail by Putting Large Banks on Debt Diet

So we read with interest about a new idea that has entered the mainstream, one that wouldn’t break up the big banks, which we’ve argued against, and instead would cap the size of their non-deposit liabilities. Such liabilities consist of borrowings from the Federal Reserve (FDFD), commercial paper and -- perhaps riskiest of all -- overnight repurchase agreements, or repos, in which banks pledge their securities as collateral for overnight loans.