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Take advantage of our special offer of KShs. 650,000 only to invest in Ngong Heritage
Greetings from Username Investments,
Take advantage of our special offer of Kshs. 650,000 only to invest in Ngong Heritage, a prime residential property located 10 minutes’ drive from Ngong town along the new Ngong-Suswa tarmac road.
Offer valid for the first 20 cash buyers. Thereafter, the price will be Kshs. 679,000. An installment option of up to 12 months is also available.
The area is fast developing with a good road network accessible by both public and private means. The project offers amazing views of Ngong hills in a blissful homely environment. Ngong has continued to register high land appreciation rates and the prices are set to increase further due to continued infrastructural growth in the area. This is therefore the right time to invest here and reap from the foreseen capital gains.
Value additions include graded access roads, perimeter fence and estate gate.
Take advantage of this opportunity to own land this year at highly subsidized prices.
For more information and free site visit booking, SMS ‘NGONG’ to 20321 / call 0725 000 222.
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A Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) station under construction along Thika Road at Safari Park footbridge by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) in this photo taken on June 4, 2021.
Private motorists on Thika Road will be barred from using the inner lane of the highway once the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system is launched.
Charles Hinga, the Principal Secretary (PS) in the State Department of Housing and Urban Development, says only electric passenger buses will be allowed on the lane, in the plan intended to decongest the busy highway.
The launch of an efficient public transport system is intended to incentivise private motorists to stop using personal cars, which contribute to congestion and traffic jams.
“We’re making good progress. The fabrication of stations is ongoing, and park ‘n’ ride facilities, bus depots, a command centre are all under construction. Electric buses will be procured via a public-private partnership (PPP),” said Mr Hinga in an interview. However, no date has been set yet for the launch of the Thika Road BRT system.
The Thika Road BRT will see the buses share the road with other vehicles but they will have a designated inner lane of the road and will not be separated physically from the other traffic lanes.
The high capacity electric buses, the PS noted, are expected to reduce the cost of public transport as they will be cheaper to operate, attract cheaper financing and reduce the country’s carbon footprint.
A spot check by Nation.Africa found that passenger pick-up and drop-off points are linked to footbridges that will serve as BRT stations along islands between the carriageways.
Thika road BRT station
A Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) station under construction along Thika Road at Safari Park footbridge by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) in this photo taken on June 4, 2021.
The stations have been designed in such a way that entry and exit from the stations are through the footbridge, which means passengers will not have to worry about crossing vehicle traffic lanes. The plan also leaves little room for commuters to slip or sneak through motorways.
“The stations have taken care of everyone. There is a ramp to get to the top of the footbridge and a special lift to take wheelchairs down or up the station. In other words, there is universal access,” said Mr Hinga.
A spot check by Nation.Africa found that pick-up and drop-off points are linked to footbridges and that will serve as BRT stations along islands between the carriageways.
The stations have been designed in such a way that entry and exit from the stations are through the footbridge, which means passengers will not have to worry about crossing lanes. The plan also leaves little room for commuters to slip or sneak through motorways.
“The stations have taken care of everyone. There is a ramp to get to the top of the footbridge and a special lift to take wheelchairs down or up the station. In other words, there is universal access,” said Mr Hinga.
He also confirmed that the BRT system will be operated by the private sector, not the government. It is however still not clear who will own the buses.
Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia in 2019 told Parliament that the government would spend Sh5.8 billion to construct a lane for high-capacity buses along Thika road in a bid to ease Nairobi’s traffic congestion.
The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) is overseeing the project, which is one of the five BRT system corridors planned in Nairobi.
“The design infrastructure is going on under KeNHA, which has estimated the cost to be Sh5.8 billion,” Mr Macharia told the National Assembly Committee on Transport.
Park and ride facilities
A park-and-ride facility is being constructed at Kasarani to allow motorists heading to the city centre to leave their vehicles and take BRT transport for the remainder of the journey.
The project is being carried out in two phases. The first phase is between Clayworks, through the CBD and then to KNH, while the second starts from Clayworks to Ruiru.
There shall also be a bus terminal at KNH, and depots in Kasarani and Ruiru as well as a transfer station at the Nairobi Railway Station. Along the corridor will be non-motorised transport.
So far, works on designated BRT stations are ongoing at Garden City, Safari Park, Roysambu, Clayworks, Kahawa Barracks and Kenyatta University.
In January, NaMATA released a schedule of the long-awaited BRT system, which contained the time and routes the BRT buses will ferry commuters to and from the CBD to Nairobi estates.
NaMATA said it will first deploy buses across five city routes that have been allocated lines – Ndovu, Simba, Chui, Kifaru and Nyati.
The authority has since pushed for the approval and gazettement of the five-node BRT network that will see commuters enjoy hourly bus services.
Bus schedule
NaMATA’s five routes will cover the CBD, Kenya’s financial hub of Upperhill and straight into various estates.
Ndovu line will open at 6am from Kangemi, and run through Westlands (6.15am), the town centre (6.30am) onwards to Nairobi West (6.45am), NextGen Mall (7am), and end its first journey at 7.15am.
A similar schedule is planned for a second BRT bus running in the opposite direction from Imara Daima (6am), arriving at Kangemi at 7.15am.
Ndovu line also has a second trip planned for the same route starting at Kangemi and Imara Daima at 7am through the same route until 8.30am.
For the morning trip, Simba line runs from Bomas of Kenya through Blue Sky/T-Mall and on to the Nairobi CBD, then through Thika road on its way to Ruiru township.
Chui line has been reserved for the Njiru-Showground route connecting the two nodes via the Nairobi CBD while Kifaru line is dedicated to the Mama Lucy-Dohnhom-CBD-T-Mall-Bomas-Karen-Kikuyu route, while Nyati line links Ridgeways (Kiambu road), Balozi (Allsops) to Imara Daima estate.
The BRT is to be complemented by the commuter rail network that will expand to include Limuru, Ngong, Ruai, Kenol-Murang’a, JKIA and Konza, and the newly introduced Athi River and JKIA nodes, in addition to the existing ones in Kiambu Town, Ruiru and Syokimau.
The five BRT and seven commuter rail corridors have been gazetted, with infrastructure being developed across Nairobi to accommodate buses and new trains acquired to help ‘move’ Nairobi.
This is part of an integrated public transport service linked to the Nairobi Commuter Rail Network (NCRN) that has commuter stations in Kikuyu, Embakasi Village, Pipeline, Donholm, Dandora, Kahawa, Ruiru, Athi River, Githurai and Mwiki.
According to the NaMATA, traffic gridlocks cost the capital’s economy almost Sh110 billion ($1 billion) a year in lost productivity. – nation.africa.
Savings and credit co-operative societies (saccos) lost Sh106 million in the 17 months to March to cyber theft amid increased mobile banking, pointing to increased need for reinforced systems and insurance covers to protect the billions of shillings they hold.
Latest financial sector stability report —prepared by financial regulators including Central Bank Kenya and Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority— shows that the losses came on the back of increased use of digital channels such as mobile banking.
The report says that the losses –an equivalent of Sh6.23 million per month or Sh208,000 daily— were through software vendors engaged by the saccos, underlining the vulnerabilities of a sector that holds over Sh800 billion customer deposits.
Saccos are now being asked to strengthen their control systems and review contracts signed with software vendors to compel such dealers to be compensating the co-operatives when losses occur.
“All saccos must now review and enhance their IT security including their service level agreements to ensure that affected saccos are compensated by the vendor in the event of an attack where the vendor is culpable. Saccos are also encouraged to undertake indemnity covers to safeguard against attacks,” says the report.
Saccos are under pressure to invest in strong control systems to boost their chances of joining the national payment system without becoming the weak link in cyberattack fight in Kenya’s financial services sector.
The disclosure comes on the back of cybersecurity consulting firm Serianu saying in a report released mid-August that 21 percent of saccos never carry out cybersecurity audits while 48 percent do so once a year, leaving them unaware of weaknesses on their network.
Increased mobile banking, expanding branch networks and increased connectivity to external IT networks are among the factors making financial firms more vulnerable to attacks.
“Our research indicates that there is increased targeted attacks on Sacco mobile transaction infrastructure. Additionally, weak IT infrastructure is exposing Saccos to attacks,” Serianu said in the report.
Some 22 percent of saccos do not conduct any due diligence on vendors before engaging them while 58 percent only do background checks on major vendors.
Many saccos are spending the vast majority of their limited IT budgets on acquiring and rolling out the technological infrastructure but leave little to secure and maintain the networks.
The number of saccos spending between Sh500,000 to Sh1 million on modernising IT systems had risen by 27 percent last year from 14 percent in 2019. – businessdailyafrica.com
Ripple adoption in India has been gaining momentum for the past year. Here’s why!
India ranks second in terms of crypto adoption globally behind Vietnam but ahead of UK, US, and China. Cryptocurrency adoption has gained rapid momentum in India, despite the future of the unregulated digital asset. Investments in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ripple have witnessed a massive rise over the past couple of years.
In India, cryptocurrency investments rose from approximately US$923 million in 2020 to a whopping US$6.6 billion by May 2021. Over the years, investments in gold have been considered a legitimate hedge in the economic downturn but the young citizens of the country have turned their attention towards cryptocurrency.
The Rise of Ripple in India
Ripple has become the new sensation in the digital market. XRP is also an open payment network under which different currencies are transferred. It is used as a real-time gross settlement that is transferred from one bank to another on a real-time and gross settlement.
Ripple system aims to free the people from limited ways of financial networks, like credit cards, banks, PayPal, and other institutions that restrict access with fees, charges for crypto exchanges, and processing delays.
Ripple started performing in India back in 2017. Since then, the company has had offices in Bangalore and Mumbai, and has several customers, like Yes Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, and Federal Bank. For the past couple of years, the price of Ripple, in India, is evolving and experiencing a fairly substantial increase against Bitcoin.
Recently, in 2020 Ripple showed keen interest in introducing the ODL (On-Demand Liquidity) solution to the Indian market to make remittances faster, easier, and cheaper through the use of digital assets. They launched their policy paper titled “The Path Forward for Digital Assets Adoption in India” which extensively mentioned how Indian policymakers can utilize different opportunities and optimize a regulatory framework for the digital asset ecosystem in India. XRP’s proposed framework was presented to the local legislators in an attempt to persuade them to determine a balanced approach for the cryptocurrency ecosystem in the country.
Indian investors find investing in Ripple lucrative for its various initiatives towards maintaining and trying to establish a balanced cryptocurrency landscape. The paper also outlined the taxonomy on digital assets, regulatory templates set by other countries, and how Ripple’s products could be adopted for widespread use in the country.
The Future of Ripple in India
Many crypto analysts and specialists agree that Ripple is the perfect investment for the new and future crypto enthusiasts. XRP is an appealing option considering all the advantages and new features it is bringing to India. It seems to have a bright future when more financial institutions and investors become aware of its advantages. Currently, it is one of the leading cryptocurrencies, globally, which is bringing exciting new opportunities to the market.
Thousands of Kenyans are playing a huge role in rebuilding Somalia despite the constant fear of Al-Shabaab attacks in the war-torn nation.
Civilians in towns liberated by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), such as Kismayo and Dhobley in Afmadow District, are doing well in the lower Juba region just across the border.
Mr Daniel Matifa, 21, is an artisan who makes about Sh12,000 a day in one of the secured regions, where KDF have neutralised Al-Shabaab threats under the African Union Mission (Amisom) in Somalia.
“I’ve never seen them (Al-Shabaab) and I hope things stay that way. I’ve been here for two months, earning about Sh12,000 on a good day in this busy town. I enjoy my stay here, spending time with other Kenyans,” he told the Nation.
Mr Matifa left his home in Nguni, Mwingi District, to work as a labourer in Dhobley against the advice of his peers. He crossed through the border at Liboi and has never regretted his move.
Good security
Mr Said Egal, 34, has been in Somalia for a decade and runs a cosmetic store in Dhobley, which is doing quite well despite the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. His main concern is not insecurity, but inability to move products from Somalia to Kenya.
“It’s challenging to sell the stock we purchase from Mogadishu to Kenya. Security is good; there is peace in Dhobley. Some people only fear that if Amisom troops pull out, things might take the shape of Afghanistan,” Mr Egal told the Nation.
Ms Jamila Ibrahim, 78, a Somali businesswoman who has been running a shop for more than 18 years, said business is good because Amisom troops carry out regular patrols.
“Amisom troops makes me happy because I know it means the threat of Al-Shabaab is diminished in Dhobley. My prayer to Amisom is to help us with more food,” she said.
Mr Taalil Mohammed, a Somali national who owns an electronics shop mostly stocked by goods from Kenya, offered. “We want authorities to tarmac the roads so the tow can grow. We have no fire engine; when a fire starts, we rely on the one in Garissa for assistance.”
Despite the challenge of clean drinking water and food, residents are slowly shaking off the effects of the war that has left their country poor, and for a long time, ungovernable.
Thriving trade
Dhobley is relatively peaceful with hotels, banks and other social economic activities thriving, boosted by trade between Garissa and Mogadishu. Of the six divisions of Amisom in Somalia, KDF troops are in Sector II and VI.
Sector II, which includes Dhobley, Ras Kamboni, Bilis Qooqaani, Afmadhow, Hoosingo and Tabta, among other smaller communities, is fully under KDF. Sector VI, which is in Kismayo town (Jubaland’s capital) is jointly patrolled by KDF, Burundian and Ethiopian troops.
Amisom Kenya commander in Sector II, Brigadier Jeff Nyagah, said when Kenya launched operation Linda Nchi, Dhobley town had a population of about 4,000 people, but it now has over 30,000.
With an airstrip, all weather roads linking the town to other parts of Somalia, a level two hospital and a police station, it’s poised to experience even more growth so long as the Al-Shabaab are kept at bay.
The semblance of calm is also evident in Kismayo port, Jubaland’s main source of revenue. It was a beehive of activities on Wednesday morning when the Nation visited as traders loaded their imports into waiting trucks for distribution to various parts of the country.
With less than 10 years since it was liberated from the militia who were using it to export charcoal to Qatar and Oman, the port is today helping Jubaland rebuild its liberated areas by acting as the main route for construction, textile and food imports and aid into Somalia.
Kismayo port managing director Ahmed Haji Adan said though the number of vessels docking had reduced since the pandemic hit the country, the town’s population since its liberation in 2012 has multiplied 50 times from about 10,000 to over half-a-million.
“This is all because of the peace that is being experienced here which can be attributed to three things; Allah, KDF troops and the people. We are seeing refugees returning home in Kismayo, which shows that something right is happening here that is attracting them,” said Mr Adan.
The port’s main access and exit points are manned by Jubaland forces, backed by KDF troops. Kenya Navy ships patrol the sea, supported by aerial surveillance that has reduced acts of piracy in the Indian Ocean.
Lieutenant Onesmus Katiwa, the Officer Commanding Special Boat Unit at Kismayo port, said KDF conducts maritime operations that include protecting vessels from terrorists, pirates and human traffickers.
“We also respond to signals from local fishermen in distress, conduct document verification and physical inspection of vessels, personnel and cargo,” he said.
Kismayo International Airport, also called Sayid Mohammed Abdille International Hassan Airport, which was previously in a shambles, has been refurbished and is now fully functional. From zero in 2014, it receives over 300 passengers weekly from local and international flights.
“We are back in business because of the security efforts by Amisom troops and Jubaland forces,” said Mr Abdi Sirad Ahmed, the managing director.
In the lower Juba region, about 35km east of the Kenya-Somali border, where one of KDF’s landmark battles with militia was witnessed on April 4 this year, the situation remains fluid.
Over 1,000 fighters attacked the KDF Hoosinga base but they were repelled. “Our troops had stocked enough ammo that sustained them until Kenya Air Force jets arrived on time to support the ground troops with air support,” said Major Shadrack Ng’etich, the base commander.
Over 300 Al-Shabaab militia were killed and their weapons captured in what KDF regards as one of their most successful defensive operations in Somalia to this day.
“The area is generally calm but the situation remains fluid due to the unpredictable nature of Al-Shabaab. We conduct day and night patrols to keep them away,” said Major Ng’etich.
Locals live in constant fear of attacks by the militia. “The situation is calm but at times they (militia) show up and attack those working with Amisom. If I speak on camera, my head will be cut off,” a local Imam said. – nation.africa.
JR Githere, the owner of Tamasha Restaurant located in Hurlingham, Nairobi, died on Saturday night, October 9 after being involved in a grisly road accident.
JR Githere, the proprietor of Tamasha Restaurant situated in Hurlingham, Nairobi, kicked the bucket on Saturday night, October 9 subsequent to being associated with a shocking street mishap.
The news was on Sunday, October 10 generally shared via web-based media and reported by previous Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko.
Sonko in his post uncovered that Githere’s vehicle, a Range Rover Sport, had slammed into the underside of a truck, killing him on the spot.
A photograph seen by Bounce Nation Kenya showed the impacts of the mishap, with the vehicle diminished to a ravaged wreck and its back excess flawless.
“JR Githere mwenye shamba ya Tamasha Hurlingham aliingia chini ya Lorry. Na hii ni evidensi yakuwa ametuacha. Post sana kwa Familia. Mungu awape nguvu. (JR Githere, who claims Tamasha Restaurant in Hurlingham, had slammed into the underside of the truck. This is the proof of him leaving us, my sympathies to the family, may God invigorate them),” he grieved.
Kameme FM moderator Muthee Kiengei grieved the deficiency of Githere as a companion. The pair had alluded to one another as Senior.
“I have lost a Friend, Jr Githere from Naivasha and furthermore the proprietor of Tamasha Hurlingham Has Gone to be with the Lord after a Tragic accident….. Rest Well Senior as we used to call one another,” he composed.
Head Secretary of State Department for ICT and Innovation Jerome Ochieng named Githere’s misfortune as awful while commending him as a liberal man who was brimming with humor.
“JR was, liberal and in every case brimming with humor. An excellent companion to be sure, I will miss you on the strolling tracks in Parklands,” he tweeted.
Insights by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) as of September 20, 2021, showed a 25% increment in street fatalities. Between January 2021 and September 20, 2021, 3,212 individuals had been killed in mishaps when contrasted with 2,560 who kicked the bucket comparative period last year, an increment of 652 individuals.
Of the people who have kicked the bucket this year, 1,111 are walkers, 311 drivers, 520 travelers, 318 pillion travelers, 61 pedal cyclists, and 891 motorcyclists.
Wild driving, perilous overwhelming, inebriated driving, tipsy strolling, plastered riding, inability to utilize protective caps among different issues have been credited to the expansion in crashes. – bouncenationkenya.com
Centum chief executive James Mworia.
Centum Investment Group has shut down its shared services division as part of its cost-cutting plan, which will see staff members sent home.
Centum chief executive James Mworia told the Business Daily via telephone on Friday afternoon that the affected workers would be fairly remunerated.
He said the layoffs came about after functions of its arm, Centum Business Solutions (CBS), were devolved to its subsidiaries, a move that would see the parent firm save up to Sh150 million in costs.
The firm said its business units have now attained full operational autonomy.
“As at 30 September 2021… the shared services division, the Centum Business Solutions Limited, that had been established will no longer be required,” Mr Mworia said in a statement released on Friday.
Centum listed finance, tax, legal, internal audit, risk management, information technology and company secretarial as some of the functions under CBS that were transferred to its other units.
“About five (staff will be affected),” Mr Mworia told Business Daily in the interview via telephone, without disclosing the cost of the separation.
“… staff who will transition out of the organisation will not only be provided with statutory separation packages but will, in addition, receive an ex gratia payment, extended medical support that appreciates the current global environment and bonuses in keeping with their performance,” he said.
Centum has been restructuring its operations to enable subsidiaries to borrow on their own without relying on the parent company to arrange or guarantee the obligations. – businessdailyafrica.com
The Bank of England warned on Friday that a sharp correction could be on the cards
The value of financial assets could be dealt a heavy blow if investors react harshly to signs that the economic recovery is weakening or that inflation is more persistent than expected, the Bank of England has warned.
Amid growing evidence of greater risk taking from investment banks, the BoE’s Financial Policy Committee said on Friday that ‘risky asset prices have increased’ and ‘asset valuations appear elevated relative to historical norms’.
Asset prices – including equities, corporate bonds and property – have been buoyed since the market shock of Covid-19 by central banks cutting interest rates and spending billions of dollars to shore-up economic activity.
An improved economic outlook globally has also contributed to market bullishness.
But the BoE warned that valuations ‘could correct sharply if, for example, market participants re‐evaluate the prospects for growth, inflation or interest rates’.
It added: ‘Any such correction could be amplified by vulnerabilities in market‐based finance that were exposed in March 2020.
‘This could have consequences for market functioning and financial conditions, and hence the real economy.’
Inflationary pressure on prices has continued for longer than the bank had first anticipated. It now expects the CPI rate to exceed 4 per cent by year-end – double its target rate.
The bank’s new chief economist Huw Pill told MPs yesterday: ‘The magnitude and duration of the transient inflation spike is proving greater than expected.
But he said the ‘inflationary pressures’ pushing prices higher ‘should subside’ as the economy recovers from the coronavirus crisis.
Economic growth has also been disappointing, with the BoE recently revising down its forecast for Q3 GDP growth to 2.1 per cent from 2.9 per cent.
These risks to financial markets, the BoE said, have been exacerbated by risks in leveraged loan markets, which ‘continue to build’ globally.
It added: ‘There are signs of continued loosening in underwriting standards and increased risk-taking in some investment banking businesses.
‘These risks can affect UK financial stability through the direct impact on banks and the indirect impact of losses spreading through other parts of the global financial system.’
