Author: David Indeje

Kenya and South Sudan have waived visa and work permits for their citizens, showing their resolve to mend ties. This means South Sudanese travelling to Kenya will be able to enter for free, as long as they have a valid passport and meet other health conditions for travellers. “Premised on the principle of reciprocity, the Republic of South Sudan has also waived visa requirements for Kenyans wishing to visit their country,” Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement read in part. During the 21st ordinary summit of the heads of states of countries in the East African Community, President Uhuru Kenyatta…

South African firm City Lodge Group has sold its hotels in Kenya and Tanzania for around Ksh 2 billion to subsidiaries of the UK-based investment firm Actis. This is mainly to reduce its debts incurred from the loss-making hotels. The Kenyan hotels – the 127-room Fairview Hotel in Nairobi, the 171-room City Lodge Hotel at Two Rivers and the 84-room Town Lodge Upper Hill in Nairobi will be sold for an estimated KSh1 billion. The Tanzania unit, City Lodge Hotel Dar es Salaam at Ksh 7.3 million. “The losses attributable to the Kenya Assets and the Tanzania Assets including impairments…

Mobile operator Vodafone Group Plc in a trading update for its fiscal Q1 reported strong growth in Africa. This was driven by its financial platform M-Pesa which saw its transaction volumes increase 45 per cent year-on-year processing almost 4.5 billion transactions. “These are staggering numbers for a platform that’s number one in every market we’re in,” Vodafone CEO Nick Read said. Read hinted at the possibility of expanding M-Pesa both geographically and in terms of the product set. “There is an opportunity to take M-Pesa out of our footprint in Africa, while we’re also looking at the journey from feature…

Africa continent has witnessed a substantial drop in Covid-19 cases, ‘the first time in 8 weeks, data from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows. New case numbers in Africa fell by 1.7% to nearly 282 000 in the week ending 18 July. This was largely attributed to a sharp drop in South Africa which accounts for the bulk of the continent’s reported cases. “We must double down on prevention to build on these initial positive steps,” WHO’s regional director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, noted. “Twenty-one countries are experiencing a resurgence.” Besides, she also warns that “the gains in South…

Kenya’s forex reserves declined by $250 billion to stand at $9,371 billion in the week ended July 23, CBK data showed on Friday. This represents 5.73 months of import cover. “This meets the CBK’s statutory requirement to endeavour to maintain at least 4 months of import cover, and the EAC region’s convergence criteria of 4.5 months of import cover,“ the regulator said. The drop is attributed to a Ksh 35.2 billion payout to China by the National Treasury. This is the first repayment of the loan used to build the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Nairobi to Naivasha. Initially, it…

Kenya’s largest retailer by branches, Naivas, Friday announced the expansion of its retail sales network by adding its latest food market in Kisumu, taking its total count to74 in the country. As part of its expansion, Naivas Food Market Simba becomes the second Food Market and the third in Kisumu city strengthening its presence in western Kenya. “This is our biggest branch in the country. It is located in a spacious building with enough parking slots for customers,” chief commercial officer Willy Kimani said. https://twitter.com/naivas_kenya/status/1418479940547268608?s=20 On the other hand, Carrefour, owned and operated by Majid Al Futtaim, plans to open…