Category: Business

The General Manager of the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), Franklin Ngoni Ikome Njie has debunked rumors circulating he is selling CDC land. Mr Ngoni said it is impossible to sell CDC land.

‘I don’t think it is possible for anyone to sell CDC land legally. Selling CDC land being it by the General Manager or whosoever, means that person must navigate on illegality. CDC land is a private state land on long-term lease to CDC be it in Fako Division or Moungo Division. No one can claim ownership of a parcel legally. Any individual activity on any of the lands is encroachment or illegality.’ Franklin Ngoni Ikome Njie, CDC General Manager explained.

The GM responded to this question following a new encroachment of close to four (4) hectares of land at the CDC palm plantation in Ombe by yet-to-be-identified individuals. As a result, about 500 palm trees ready to boost production were bulldozed.

‘Going by our findings, 3.9 is close to 4 hectares of land that has been encroached. According to a CDC estimate,
about 500 palm trees planted in 2015 have been destroyed. This means a lot to us because the trees are our capital. Our objective is to boost production and revive the CDC. This destruction is a big blow’. The CDC boss said.

The CDC General Manager said that he has filed a report to the Gendarmerie officials who are currently investigating the perpetrators and have them punished accordingly based on the roles each of them played whether they are from outside or inside the CDC.

Any CDC worker’s involvement he promised will not go unpunished.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

Kiambu County has managed to raised Sh517 million in own-source revenue during the first quarter for the financial year 2023-2024.

This is Sh261 million more compared to the previous fiscal year of 2022-2023 in which the devolved unit raised Sh301 million.

According to the County Government Budget Implementation Review Report from the Controller of Budget, Kiambu County has so far generated in this financial year a total of Sh830.53 million from its Own Source Revenue (OSR) which includes Facility Improvement Fund (FIF) and Appropriations in Aid (AIA).

The CoB report shows that revenue streams which contributed the OSR came from liquor licenses, Sh62.23 million, Public Health Services, Sh30.43 million, Public Health Operations, Sh313.12 million, Technical Service Fee Sh170.12 million, Vehicle Parking Fee Sh79.31 million and other sources at Sh175.32 million.

‘The highest revenue stream was Sh313.12 million the public health facilities, contributing to 38 percent of the total OSR receipts during the report
ing period,’ Dr Nyakang’o said in the report.

The total funds available for budget implementation for Kiambu County during the period thus amount to Sh4.43 billion.

At the same time, the report further says at the beginning of FY 2023-2024, the County reported a stock of pending bills amounting to Sh5.79 billion, comprising Sh3.48 billion for recurrent expenditure and Sh2.31 billion for development activities.

The pending bills in the first quarter amounting to Sh168.74 million were settled, consisting of Sh94.64 million for recurrent expenditure and Sh74.10 million for development programmes. As of 30 September 2023, the outstanding amount was Sh5.62 billion.

Additionally, the Controller of Budget in the report mentioned some of the challenges that hampered the implementation of the Budget namely underperformance, high level of pending bills, use of manual payroll and failure to budget cash balance brought forward.

‘The county has some challenges like the underperformance of own-source revenue at Sh830.
53 million against an annual projection of Sh7.98 billion, representing 10.4 percent of the annual target,’ she said in the report.

The Controller of Budget further stated that the County failed to budget for the cash balance brought forward from FY 2022/23 of Sh2.55 billion in the approved estimates for FY 2023/2024.

As for the manual payroll, Dr Nyakang’o explained that this is prone to abuse and may lead to the loss of public funds where there is a lack of proper controls.

She urged Kiambu County to address its own source revenue performance to ensure the approved budget is fully financed.

‘Let the county leadership address the pending bills situation to ensure genuine bills are paid promptly in the remaining financial year,’ she said.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The port of Mombasa is now a transshipment hub for the Messina shipping line which has now become a regular caller at the port.

A full-capacity container vessel, the Ignazio Messina line, MV Jolly Gaida docked at the port of Mombasa at berth number 16 and is expected to leave on Wednesday night.

The vessel was loaded with around 2000 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs).

Addressing a Press conference, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Managing Director Captain William Ruto said that it is an opportunity for KPA since Messina line has invested in complete full container vessels.

He said the shipping line was used to bring Ro-Ro vessels at the port of Mombasa, which they used to berth at berth number one.

The MD attributed the growth in business to the port’s efficiency saying new cranes are operating the ship hence new lines have changed their mode of delivery from Ro-Ro to full container vessels.

Captain Ruto added that the authority appreciates the Messina line for converting the port of Mombasa into a transs
hipment hub.

‘Of the containers discharged from the ship, more than 35 percent belong to other ports, mainly Dar es Salaam. The port of Mombasa is acting as a transshipment hub for the Messina line and all their cargo heading to Dar es Salaam will be transshipped from this port. This is building us an excellent business and we thank them for building confidence in us as a port,’ he added.

He said the port will commit to offering operational efficiency and reduction of ship waiting time so that the ship owner and the importer get value for money.

Cpt Ruto added that the ship is coming from Europe and its first call was Djibouti with Mombasa being its second port enroute to Durban and will come back to Mombasa to pick up export cargo and other transshipment cargo coming from other ports within the region.

He said the Lamu Port being a transshipment port will start its services to handle transshipment cargo as they expect to receive ship-to-shore crane equipment next month.

‘I hope the Lamu port will kick s
tart its operations soon. We are not worried since we expect shippers to adjust to the new port,’ he said.

Captain Tommaso Elmetto thanked the Mombasa Port management and requested for reinforcement of the agreement, and cooperation between the Messina line and the Port of Mombasa.

‘Our relations with KPA go way back; this is why we are using Mombasa as a transshipment hub. We are planning to improve our services,’ he said.

Messina line Regional Managing Director Captain Giuseppe Fedele said that MV Jolly Gaida is the fifth full container line vessel coming to the port and there are more vessels ready to come in in a bid to support each other.

‘We have now invested in a full container vessel; we have a normal line service with four calls in a month. Historically Messina has had services in Mombasa for the past 35 years and hopes to continue its operations here,’ he said.

Fedele said that due to the popularity and efficiency of the Mombasa port, they chose it as a transshipment hub.

Source: Kenya News A
gency

Nairobi has played host to the launch of the 2nd Round of the Egypt Business Bridge Forum, with Kenya in collaboration with USAID Trade project in a bid to support the Egyptian exports for the Export Council for Building Refractory and Metallurgy Industries and the Chemical and Fertilizers Export Council.

The CIB Bank which is the largest private sector Bank in Egypt with more than 300 correspondents over the world, was responsible for holding the event that brought together all its clients who are both stakeholders and entrepreneurs in the trade industry.

The event included different business discussion sessions between entrepreneurs and all potential customers, and the exhibition set-up had a variety of products that were free to sample by interactive buyers.

Speaking during the session, the Vice President (VP) of the CIB Bank African Desk, Ahmad Ahmud, said the forum along with many other forums the Bank is organizing with different export councils in Egypt focuses on trade finance between Egypt and Ken
ya.

‘As long as we are part of COMESA, it gives CIB Bank the privilege to exchange products between Kenya and Egypt,’ added Ahmud.

He also noted that Egypt is the second largest importer of Kenyan tea, and the two countries have a trade volume of between US$600 to US$700 per year.

CIB Bank being the only bank with a branch both in Kenya and Egypt, the VP revealed that they plan on taking advantage and capitalizing on the event’s discussions in terms of supporting Egyptian importers including coming- up with and inviting their clients and local clients.

Ahmud affirmed that Kenya can rely on the Bank to give credit terms to the local Kenyan companies, insisting that they should not worry of the payment as it will be secured through the Industrial Control System (ICS).

He termed this as value addition and sees it as giving an instrument of trade to finance itself.

The Assistant VP CIB Kenyan desk Sulman Lashar, stressed that all the instruments are to facilitate trade, thus, the event provides the opportun
ity for different suppliers and buyers to build trust and relationships hence increasing trade between the two countries.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Embu County Government is rolling out an automatic revenue collection system that is expected to seal all loopholes for revenue pilferage.

Governor Cecily Mbarire said the system developed in collaboration with the Ministry of ICT and Safaricom will make it possible to monitor revenue collected in real time.

She said her government’s revenue collection grew from Sh 350 to Sh 679 million in the last one year and automating the system is expected to grow it further to Sh 1 billion.

The governor was speaking at her boardroom Wednesday morning when she witnessed the swearing in of the first Embu County Revenue Authority (ECRA) Board members.

The board was established by the enactment of a law by the Embu County assembly four years ago but has never been constituted until now.

The Board will be headed by Eng Benson Kinga who will be chairman, while the members include the County Solicitor Kimani Karanja, Ms Jennifer Nyaga, Sophie Kaburu, James Ireri, Eric Njeru, Duncan Nyaga Muratia and Damiano Muthee, who is
the County Chief Officer for Finance.

Ms. Mbarire put the county’s revenue officers on notice that forthwith, any of them found collecting revenue in cash will be summarily dismissed, saying the time when the county government entertained cases was over.

She cited cess collection points, markets, bus and car parks as some of the notorious revenue loss risk areas and said officers in those departments will need to pull up their socks.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The Middle East Bank Kenya (MEBK) unveiled a new branch in Eldoret to meet the ever-growing demand for innovative financial solutions for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), access to credit for lower-income earners, and digital banking solutions in the region.

Since its Incorporation in 1980, as an established financial institution, with branches in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Eldoret, it has an asset base of Sh 12.96 billion as of December 31, 2022, which enables the Bank to leverage its expertise and resources to drive economic growth and prosperity in the country and beyond.

Speaking during the launch of the newest branch along Kenyatta Street, Eldoret town, Middle East Bank Kenya Limited (MEBK), Investment Secretary, Esther Koimett, said the event marks a significant milestone in the bank’s strategic expansion initiatives and commitment to serving the growing financial needs of communities across Kenya.

She noted that the institution embraces a customer-centric approach and commitment to delivering tailore
d financial solutions.

‘At Middle East Bank, we prioritize understanding and addressing the diverse needs of our customers,’ said Koimett during the launch occasion.

‘The launch of our Eldoret branch underscores our dedication to providing accessible, innovative banking products and services that empower individuals and businesses to achieve their financial goals,’ she added.

On his part, Uasin Gishu County Governor Dr. Jonathan Bii Chelilim expressed his enthusiasm for the launch, stating, ‘The opening of Middle East Bank’s Eldoret branch is a testament to the positive momentum in business activity within the county. We welcome this development as a sign of confidence in Eldoret’s potential as a thriving economic hub. I extend my gratitude to the Middle East Bank and encourage investors to explore the promising opportunities available in Uasin Gishu County.’

The ceremony featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by the County Governor, Moiben MP Phylis Bartoo, and the bank’s leadership.

Attendees had
the opportunity to tour the facilities of the bank and interact with Middle East Bank’s management, who are poised to deliver innovative banking experiences to customers in Eldoret and surrounding areas.

Middle East Bank Kenya Limited remains committed to fostering financial inclusion, driving economic development, building strong partnerships with communities across Kenya, and fuelling MSME’s growth by recognising their pivotal role in economic development through digital innovation, inclusivity, environmental sustainability, and trade.

Source: Kenya News Agency