Mumias resumes sugar production after a two-month break

Sugar miller Mumias has resumed operations after a two-month break in a move that is expected to raise the depleted national stock of sugar. The miller says it is producing up to 500 tonnes of the sweetener in a day from a low of 200 tonnes before breaking for maintenance. It has a daily production capacity of about 800 tonnes, making it the largest sugar factory in the country. Mumias corporate communications manager Moses Owino said production of other products such as ethanol and electricity had also resumed…[...]

Wamwangi clashes with privatisation team over sugar mills sale

The planned sale of five State-owned sugar companies has run into legal headwinds after the Transition Authority (TA) said it was not consulted as demanded by the Constitution. Kinuthia Wamwangi, the TA chairman, reckons that the Privatisation Commission overlooked the input of the authority in the plan to dispose of the millers, adding that it is in breach of the law. The government will this month ask investors to show interest in buying a 51 per cent stake in Sony, Chemelil, Nzoia, Muhoroni and Miwani milling companies to strategic investors…[...]

Ex-KCB cashier cleared in Sh61m theft case that failed to take off

A former Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) employee has been cleared of a Sh61 million theft charge after the hearing of his case failed to take off for three years. Resident Magistrate Pamela Mugure acquitted ex-KCB bulk cashier Timothy Yatich Rotich after prosecutors failed to tender any evidence against him and three others accused of defrauding the lender of Sh61million…[...]

Petitioner wants all property deals to go through banks

All property transactions will have to be conducted through banks if Parliament enacts a new law on registration of property as requested by a petitioner. Mr Gitonga Wathanga has petitioned the National Assembly to enact a law that will also make it mandatory for names of bank account holders in such transactions to be those of the buyers and sellers…[...]

Airtel in a stalemate with CA over Sh2.1 billion licence fee

Airtel Kenya is in a stalemate with regulators over the renewal of its operating licence, with the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) insisting that the telecommunications operator must pay a fee of Sh2.1 billion to stay in business. The mobile firm, which says the fee is too high for a small operator like itself, has been seeking a review for over a year now without luck…[...]

Excise duty changes signal relief for bottled water, fruit juices’ consumers

Consumers have been spared a rise in cost of bottled water after Parliament halved the excise levy of Sh10 per litre imposed under the Excise Bill 2015 to Sh5. MPs also completely scrapped similar tax on fruit and vegetable juices. The amendments were made during the third and final reading of the Bill on Thursday…[...]

Uchumi Supermarkets expects profits to fall by more than a quarter

Uchumi Supermarkets has issued a profit warning for the year ended June with the struggling retailer projecting a 25 per cent drop in earnings. The retailer booked a net profit of Sh536 million last year, a figure that has been contested by some directors as having been padded by past management including its fired chief executive Jonathan Ciano…[...]

August inflation eases, offering Kenya’s economy much-needed kick

The cost of living dropped in August despite a significant rise in fuel prices mid last month, the latest government data has shown. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) says overall inflation rate slowed down to 5.84 per cent in August, down from 6.62 per cent a month earlier. This now becomes the lowest inflation since February…[...]