Government To Construct Modern Markets In Narok

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January 20, 2023

Traders in Narok County are set to benefit from multi-million modern market projects that are expected to accommodate more traders and improve their business premises.

This was revealed by Narok County Governor, Patrick Ntutu, when he led the Secretary, Urban and Metropolitan Development, Engineer BK Njenga and the Narok County Commissioner, Isaac Masinde, in inspecting major trading centers in the County where modern markets are expected to be put up.

Among the markets visited included Muthurwa and Uhuru markets both at Majengo Estate, Ewaso Nyiro market in Narok Central Sub-county and Ololunga market in Narok South Sub-county.

Governor Ntutu said the move is as a result of the Kenya Kwanza Administration Agenda, where they had promised to empower low earning class first, in their economic model of ‘Bottom Up’.

“I will sponsor the committee in charge of the markets to go for benchmarking in towns with modern markets so that they can advise me on the best market design,” he said.

Other projects the County government in collaboration with the National government are taking to facelift Narok town include upgrading the drainages in town to stop flooding and building a footbridge along the Enkare Narok River to enable smooth traffic and human movement.

The Governor said he will be commissioning the Shs. 100 million bus stop in Narok town soon to dis-congest the town as currently the matatu vehicles drop and pick passengers along the road.

After the commissioning the bus stop, he said, any vehicle found picking or dropping a passenger along the road will be fined by our law enforcing officers.

The Governor said that plans are underway to beautify the town by planting flowers, trees and upgrading the footpaths to carpool tiles to reduce dust in town.

Engineer Njenga expressed satisfaction on the already available land to upgrade the markets and put up a housing project, saying he will send his officers on the ground to design the markets and advise the governor.

He said once the design is agreed upon, they will come up with a budget that will be sponsored by the two levels of government.

The Engineer advised the market committees to visit Gikomba, Githurai, and Chaka among others with modern markets so as to choose the most appropriate design they preferred.

Commissioner Masinde who led the security team expressed gratitude with the new initiative, saying it will boost security in the town as some of the open spaces were hideout points for criminals.

“The Government wants the traders to operate in a clean environment. I ask you to support the projects so that they can be completed within the stipulated time,” said Masinde.

John Kaari, the Chairman of Muthurwa market lauded the government for the great support, saying he has over 600 traders squeezed in temporary stalls.

“We are happy that the government has us in mind. The projects will be of great benefit to us once they are completed,” he said.

Andy Murray Left Fuming As He’s Not Allowed To Use Toilet During Five-Set Marathon At Australian Open

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John Mutiso

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January 20, 2023

Andy Murray was left fuming after he was denied a chance to go to the toilet in the middle of his five-set marathon against Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Australian Open.

The former world No. 1 had battled back from a two-set deficit against Kokkinakis to leave a deciding fifth set between him and victory.

In the break before the final frame, Murray requested to use the bathroom, only to be told by the chair umpire that he wasn’t allowed to as he’d already been once in the match.

“Do you know something? I respect the rules. It’s a joke, it is a joke and you know it as well,” the 35-year-old said to the umpire.

“It’s so disrespectful that the tournament has us out here until three, f***ing four in the morning and we’re not allowed to take a piss.

“It’s disrespectful to you, it’s disrespectful to the ball children, disrespectful to the players and we’re not allowed to go to the toilet. It’s ridiculous.”

2003 US Open winner Andy Roddick agreed with Murray’s complaints, writing on Twitter: “Correct. This is just so dumb.”

It isn’t the first time during this grand slam that restrictions over players using the toilet have made the headlines after Novak Djokovic appeared to take matters into his own hands to take an early toilet break in his first-round victory.

The Serbian asked to go to the bathroom just five games into his match against Roberto Carballés Baena on Tuesday, but the umpire appeared to not hear Djokovic so could be heard saying “hello” three times to get her attention before Djokovic said: “I’m going to the toilet.”

The 21-time grand slam winner ran off the court with the umpire shouting “Novak” after him.

Although the umpire could be heard saying he had 30 seconds to return, Djokovic was back on court before the timer ran out, winning the following game comfortably.

Afterwards, Djokovic denied that he had defied the umpire’s orders as he went to the toilet.

“So she told me (you didn’t capture that with a camera), I had to hurry up. When I almost exited the court, she called me (I didn’t hear) and it was to tell me toilet was on the opposite side of the court,” Djokovic wrote on Instagram.

“I found one where I went also, and I had to be quick because of the time. I didn’t ‘defy’ her or the rules. She gave me permission and told me to be quick.”

The outburst or the inability to go to the toilet didn’t hinder Murray though in the final set as he clinched a famous victory which took five hours and 45 minutes in total – the longest match of Murray’s illustrious career.

The match, which went on past 4 a.m. in Melbourne, was another reminder of the qualities we’ve come to know Murray for: grit, determination and that ‘never give up’ attitude.

Murray will now play the No. 24 seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round.

Google Announces Nearly 12,000 Job Cuts Worldwide

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John Mutiso

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January 20, 2023

Google’s parent company Alphabet announced about 12,000 job cuts globally on Friday, becoming the latest US tech giant to enact large-scale restructuring.

“We’ve decided to reduce our workforce by approximately 12,000 roles,” Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said in an email to employees, adding that the cuts were in response to a changing “economic reality”.

The move comes a day after Microsoft said it would reduce staff numbers by 10,000 in the coming months, following similar layoffs by Facebook owner Meta, Amazon and Twitter as the previously unassailable tech sector faces a major economic downturn.

“We’ve undertaken a rigorous review across product areas and functions to ensure that our people and roles are aligned with our highest priorities as a company,” Pichai wrote.

“The roles we’re eliminating reflect the outcome of that review.

“The fact that these changes will impact the lives of Googlers weighs heavily on me, and I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here.”

Brazil Defender Dani Alves Detained On Suspicion Of Sexual Assault

By

John Mutiso

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January 20, 2023

Brazil defender Dani Alves was taken into custody on Friday in Spain over allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman at a Barcelona nightclub in December, police said.

The 39-year-old player was summoned to a Barcelona police station where he was “taken into custody” and will now be questioned by a judge, said a spokesperson for Catalonia’s regional police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra.

Catalan police received a complaint on January 2 from a woman who said Alves had touched her inappropriately, police said.

The alleged sexual assault took place at a popular Barcelona nightclub overnight December 30-31, according to Spanish media reports.

The player was accused of putting his hands down the woman’s pants, according to the reports.

Alves, 39, has confirmed he was at the night club at the time but has denied any wrongdoing, telling private Spanish television Antena 3 earlier this month that he has “never seen” the woman before.

“I was there, at that place, with more people having fun. Everybody knows I love to dance. Having a good time but without invading the space of others,” the former Barcelona and Juventus player added.

Alves, who now plays for Mexican side Pumas UNAM, was in Barcelona on holiday following his participation at the World Cup with Brazil in Qatar.

A Barcelona court said earlier this month it had opened a probe “into an alleged crime of sexual assault as a result of a complaint filed by a woman against a footballer”.

COTU Boss Francis Atwoli Warns Government Over Tax Hikes

By

John Mutiso

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January 20, 2023

The Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) has advised the government to exercise caution when considering tax increases, claiming that they can be counterproductive.

COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli issued a statement on Friday urging the government not to pass the Tax Laws (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill of 2020, which would repeal safeguards put in place by the government for salaried workers during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

“With only 2.5% of salaried Kenyans earning above 100,000 and a majority of about 80.5% earning below 50,000, it was insensitive for the Kenyan Government to introduce punitive tax measures at a time when many workers had lost employment as a result of the Pandemic,” Atwoli said.

“We called on KRA to embark on a radical exercise of collecting taxes from those Kenyans who have mastered the art of tax evasion and tax avoidance,” he added.

In the 2023 Budget Policy Statement, the government has suggested that it have access to and investigate MPESA-type mobile money transactions.

“The move by the current government is ill-advised and counterproductive. First, a majority of users of mobile banking are hustlers and the poor who overwhelmingly voted for this government. Second, this move will ultimately make Kenyans avoid using mobile money platforms and as a result, destroy a great innovation that has since helped ease the movement of money, especially from the urban to rural areas,” Atwoli said.

Instead of monitoring and investigating MPESA transactions, Atwoli urged the government to crack down on outsourcing companies and formalise many jobs in the informal sector.

“Very soon, Kenyans will start avoiding the use of mobile money platforms and, maybe, start using other platforms to send money like courier and parcel services. Instead. COTU (K) would like to invite the government to crack down on outsourcing companies whilst formalizing many jobs in the informal sector,’ Atwoli said.

He stated that the government should ensure that the more than 5,000 outsourcing companies regularise their employees’ employment terms and conditions of work by ensuring that all statutory deductions, such as PAYE, NSSF, and NHIF, are paid.

Algeria Sentences Ex-Energy Minister To 20 Years In Prison

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John Mutiso

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January 20, 2023

A former Algerian energy minister was sentenced in absentia Thursday to 20 years in prison for corruption, the latest ruling against a top ally of late president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, local media reported.

Chakib Khelil headed the energy ministry of Africa’s top gas exporter for a decade under Bouteflika, who stepped down in 2019 following mass protests against his 20-year rule.

Algeria’s judiciary has pursued various graft allegations against the 82-year-old since 2013, with another 20-year jail term already upheld last June for a separate case.

The Sidi M’Hamed court in Algiers also issued on Thursday prison terms of between five and 10 years to former ministers Amar Ghoul and Mohamed Bedjaoui, along with two former heads of state energy firm Sonatrach, Noureddine Bouterfa and Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour, the APS news agency reported.

All of the accused were found guilty of “squandering public funds when concluding contracts with foreign companies”, the report added.

The court also confirmed an international arrest warrant against Khelil, who quit his post in 2010 and moved to the United States after being implicated in a scandal involving high-ranking Sonatrach officials who were later jailed for corruption.

In 2013, the North African country issued an international arrest warrant for Khelil over a case involving contracts between Sonatrach and foreign companies, including Saipem, a former subsidiary of Italian energy giant Eni.

He returned to Algeria in 2016 after the charges were dropped, only to flee again after Bouteflika’s 2019 resignation, which sparked a string of investigations into official corruption during his time in power.

Africa Inflation To Ease In 2023 After Worst Figures In A Decade

By

John Mutiso

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January 20, 2023

Despite slowing growth and the worst inflation figures in a decade in 2022, African economies remain “resilient,” and double-digit price hikes are expected to ease, an African Development Bank report said Thursday.

Economies across Africa’s 54 nations were hard-hit by the global economic fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as the impacts of climate change and aftershocks of the Covid pandemic.

A stronger dollar, inflation, and slowdown in demand for exports to major trading partners in Europe and China, had “dire consequences” for the continent’s economies, said the ADB report.

“An estimated 15 million additional people were driven into extreme poverty in Africa due to higher global energy and food prices in 2022, exacerbating the increase in extreme poverty induced by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the ADB.

Economic growth dropped from 4.8 percent in 2021 to 3.8 percent in 2022.

The biggest slowdown was in southern Africa, dragged down by economic powerhouse South Africa’s energy crisis, and weak domestic demand.

China’s re-opening after strict Covid policies is expected to boost growth across the continent, estimated at around four percent this year and in 2024.

Central Africa is forecast to see the fastest growth, bolstered by favourable commodity prices.

Inflation in Africa increased from 12.9 percent in 2012 to 13.8 percent in 2022, “the highest in more than a decade.”

Price hikes were most brutal in East Africa, which experienced 25.3 percent inflation.

The country with the worst numbers was Zimbabwe, where inflation hit 285 percent up from 98.5 percent the previous year.

Across the continent, the tightening of monetary policy and an improvement in food supply will see inflation slowly ease to 13.5 percent in 2023.

A further drop to 8.8 percent is forecast for 2024, lower than pre-Covid levels.

The ADB said African economies “remain resilient with a stable outlook,” however “cautious optimism” was needed.

Senegal Opposition Leader To Run For President Despite Rape Trial

By

John Mutiso

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January 20, 2023

SENEGAL-POLITICS-OPPOSITION-UNREST — Senegalese's opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, charged with rape, talks to media at his party's headquarters in Dakar on March 8, 2021 after being freed from detention. - Senegal's main opposition leader called for "much larger" protests, but urged non-violence after days of deadly clashes in the West African state sparked by his recent arrest. (Photo by Seyllou / AFP)

Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko vowed on Thursday he would run for president next year despite facing a trial for rape charges.

Sonko — who came third in Senegal’s presidential election in 2019 — has enjoyed a rapid political rise and is popular with young people.

“No one can stop me, if it pleases God, from being a candidate in 2024,” the 48-year-old former tax inspector told a press conference.

“I can’t see any judge sentencing me to five years in jail,” Sonko said.

He has been charged with raping and sending death threats to an employee of a beauty salon where he went for a massage.

Sonko has denied the accusation and repeatedly said he is the victim of a “plot” by President Macky Sall.

An investigative judge on Tuesday ordered Sonko to stand trial on the charges in a criminal court.

Sonko’s lawyer Cheikh Khoureyssi Ba has said he would appeal the ruling.

Sonko said it was “a real fake legal affair, a strictly political affair, orchestrated by Macky Sall’s government, with the sole aim of pushing aside a candidate who appears by far one of the best placed to win the next presidential election.”

Sonko’s supporters hail his efforts to speak up against corruption and social elitism, as well as the economic and political grip of multinational firms and former colonial power France.

His indictment in March 2021 triggered violence in which around a dozen people were killed.

In recent years, several other prominent opponents of the president have had their political careers cut short by legal cases.

Authorities have denied any misuse of state institutions in the legal proceedings against Sonko.

Sall, who has denied any role in the Sonko affair, has won the last two presidential elections.

But he has remained vague on whether or not he intends to seek a third mandate, which would require changes to the current constitution under which a president cannot serve more than two consecutive terms.

Rwanda Accuses DR Congo Of Abandoning Peace Deal

By

John Mutiso

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January 20, 2023

Rwanda on Thursday accused Kinshasa of abandoning a deal aimed at bringing peace to DR Congo’s volatile east as tensions spiral between the neighbours.

Fighting persists in eastern DRC between Congolese troops and rebels from the M23 group, despite declarations of a ceasefire and troop withdrawals.

The DRC — along with the United States and several European countries — has repeatedly accused Rwanda of backing the Tutsi-led rebels, although Kigali denies the charge.

Talks between the DRC and Rwanda in the Angolan capital Luanda unlocked a truce agreement in November.

But, citing ongoing violence, DRC Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula on Wednesday accused the M23 and the Rwandan government of “once more failing to uphold their commitments”.

He vowed that DRC would “safeguard its territorial integrity” and warned “all means” would be deployed to that end.

Rwanda on Thursday said the statement amounted to a threat and accused DRC of seeking “to exit” the agreements made in Luanda and also Nairobi.

“Attempts by the DRC to sabotage or abandon these regional agreements can only be seen as a choice to perpetuate conflict and insecurity,” Kigali said in a statement.

Kigali has repeatedly accused Kinshasa of colluding with the FDLR — a former Rwandan Hutu rebel group based in the DRC.

Scores of armed groups roam the east of the mineral-rich DRC, many of them a legacy of two regional wars at the end of the 20th century that claimed millions of lives.

The M23 first rose to prominence in 2012 and resumed fighting in late 2021 — claiming that the DRC had failed to honour a pledge to integrate them into the army, among other grievances.

Uber Resumes In Tanzania After Nine-Month Suspension

By

John Mutiso

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January 20, 2023

Ride-hailing giant Uber has resumed its services in Tanzania after a nine-month suspension that was caused by government’s regulatory changes.

It suspended services in the country last April after the regulator capped commissions that Uber charges its drivers at 15% from the previous 33%.

Uber had argued that the changes would dent its earnings.

Talks held in December saw the regulator increase the commissions to 25%.

“We are excited to kick-off the year on such a positive note by re-entering the Tanzanian market,” Uber said in a statement.

One Uber driver told the BBC that the new rates would lead to an increase in their income.

Users in the commercial city of Dar es Salaam said the return of Uber will give them more options.