Zoho has opened it’s first physical office in Westlands, Nairobi to cater for to its growing customer base in Kenya.
The annoucement was made to the press today on the sidelines of Zoholics Kenya, the company’s annual user conference.
Over the past year, Zoho has experienced substantial growth in Kenya, with a 48 percent increase in revenue and a rapid rise in the number of employees.
“We are thrilled to open our new office in Kenya and we believe that our on-ground presence in Kenya will help us serve our customers in the country better,” said Veerakumar Natarajan.
Zoho is committed to investing in local talent to provide the best possible service to its customers and this also reflects the company strategy for business growth and expansion.
Zoho growth in Kenya can be attributed to the popularity of its flagship products which include Zoho One, Zoho CRM, Zoho Workplace, Zoho Desk and it’s VAT and TIMS- compliant applications eg Zoho books, Zoho invoice and Zoho inventory.
These products have helped businesses of all sizes in Kenya to increase their productivity and streamline their operations.
A loser in the Wajir gubernatorial election petition has said he will appeal against the High Court decision which dismissed his petition.
Dr Adan Mohamed Hassan of Jubilee Party, who lost twice at both the ballot and at the High Court, has said he will move to court on Monday.
High Court Judge George Dulu upheld the win of Orange Democratic Movement’s Ahmed Abdullahi and ordered him to pay Sh10 million as costs of the suit.
He said the petitioner was not able to prove that the current governor was not elected validly.
The Judge also ruled that the elections were not marred with irregularities and illegalities that benefited Abdullahi.
‘‘The courts upheld the declaration of the governor by the Independent Election and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) but we are very dissatisfied with the decision and I want to take this opportunity to announce that we shall move to the Appeal Court to challenge this decision,’’ said Dr Hassan.
He added: ‘‘There were unlawful electoral practices and many numerous irregularities that were recorded in the constituencies that make this particular decision by IEBC null and void.’’
He cited Wajir West, East and Eldas as areas marred by malpractices.
The 2nd International Conference for recreating sustainable savings solutions for the pensions and social security sector held in Kenya comes as pensioners are crying for mortgage loans to buy houses.
The pensioner top players has said that the fund investment mostly in kenya is in unaffordable.
For more than a decade, Kenyans have had the leeway to use up to 60 percent of their accrued retirement benefits as a guarantee for mortgage loans.
Using a huge chunk of the pension while out of work to buy a house has sunk many individuals into misery partly because of the steep cost of construction.
However, a study by the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) shows that less than 0.1 percent of members of retirement benefits schemes have taken advantage of the provision.
Speaking during the 2nd Annual and International Conference in recreating sustainable pension plan in Kenya ,Mr.Hosea Kilii the chairman of Association for Pensions Trustees and Administrators of Kenya (APTAK) said that there is elicited excitement from pensioners where 68 percent of the respondents in the same survey by the RBA indicated a willingness to take advantage of the pension trustees.
At the moment Kenya has registed over 7milion pensioners but the worry is only 3 million are active basis,whereous the remaining numbers are not active.
Mr. Killi said that means that there is a need to public participation and sensitisation and recreating better practices to achieve the sustainable goals.
The conference was attended by different secorts including Banks,private entities,Technology companies as well as consultancy companies.
Pension schemes work by a contribution of funds daily, monthly, or even once and upon maturity, you are paid a lump sum or on a monthly basis.
Kenya’s best pension schemes include those for KCB, Jubilee Insurance, Britam, and Boresha.
APTAK has promise to ensure trustees get the liquid-money for short and long investment and anybody withdrawing from the pool ought to have documentation that the money is enough to buy a ready-to-occupy house.
There is a need to insist that the money deliver a habitable structure.
Support Inclusive Resource Development (SIRD)’s six year intervention has empowered dozens of women within Kwale county ,Gaita Region in Tanzania and Buliisa district in Uganda.
The over 8176 women were empowered economically and advanced in property rights on land as compared enlighting them to receive land compensation since they take care of the kids and are vulnerable in the community.
Of this 4615 were female,3561 were males,majority were 56% and Canadian volunteers who participated technically.
The project’s inception long in 2017.
Kwale county boasts as the largest mines in kenya,hence of the project in the county.
The SIRD health was to improve outcomes for EA citizens from the operations of industries in the region.
The SIRD had two major components.The first component worked through the patner law societies on law and policy advocacy relating to extractive industries with national and regional governments.
Speaking to journalists during the SiRD conference in Mombasa, Hon. Dr.Fauz Twaib, President,East Africa Law Society has asked for the safety standards in the Mining to protect workers and communities,respect and environmental laws as well as the need for partnership and NGOs, since mining impacts health and environment,thereafter calls for inclusive mining involving all partners.
He said that, if this three society can join hands to work together,the women of this region will thrive well in the mining sector and do somethingthat can create various opportunities.
The Regional Conference brought together legal profession from across EAC countries including Kenya,Tanzania and Uganda the fastest growing block in Africa.
Countries like Somalia ans Ethiopia have also expressed interest for joining the block to promote rule of law and human rights.
The successes of the project also focus on Climate change in extractive industry directly affects the climate.
He said the Kenyan government is ready to work with and support the vulnerable groups including women to realize their achievements in the property management as well as land ownership.
The event which was to be opened by President William Ruto, was attended by LSK President Erick Theuri among other dignitaries.
Women leaders on Tuesday launched an anti cyber bullying campaign.
Kirinyaga governor Anne Waiguru called out cyber bullying for the crime that it is and urged Kenyans play a role in eliminating it. “From a true human perspective, the words Cyber bullying do not come close to capturing the severity and lasting impacts for the victims and survivors or convey the links between online and offline experiences of violence,” Waiguru said.
She noted that a study commissioned by the African Development Bank suggests that up to 70 per cent of women have endured cyberviolence and that women are 27 times more likely than men to be harassed online.
“More than one in every five women in Kenya have experienced cyber bullying. You and I know that cyberbullying will hinder how we women participate in public discourses and processes as many of us will cower, self-censor, and in some instances, totally withdraw from public, civic and social media spaces, ” said the county chief.
Photo taken on April 1, 2022 shows the shelf of a supermarket in Brussels, Belgium. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
PARIS, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) — One year into the Russia-Ukraine conflict, France and the rest of Europe are finding themselves in a delicate position, teetering under the impact of inflation, an energy crisis, and slowing economic growth.
INFLATION, ENERGY CRISIS
The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has pushed up inflation in France. Price hikes have reached record level in the country since February last year.
Data from the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) show that France’s annual inflation rate stood at 5.2 percent for 2022, after 1.6 percent in 2021 and 0.5 percent in 2020.
Energy prices alone have increased by 23.1 percent yearly, followed by 6.8 percent for food and 3 percent for manufactured goods and services.
Energy prices in the country reached record high in 2022, with natural gas traded at 340 euros (364 U.S. dollars) per megawatt-hour (MWh) on Aug. 26 last year, against under 30 euros (32 dollars) per MWh at the same time in 2021.
Faced with soaring energy prices, the tariff shield introduced in 2021 by the French government has been extended, particularly for small businesses. An Energy Sobriety Plan was officially unveiled on Oct. 6, 2022, aiming to reduce the country’s overall energy consumption by 10 percent within the next two years and by 40 percent by 2050.
Diesel and gasoline prices are seen on a board at a gas station in Brussels, Belgium, March 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
France’s energy sobriety plan will cost 800 million euros (785 million dollars) to the country, Minister for Energy Transition Agnes Pannier-Runacher said.
Public lighting in the streets are on for less time and less intensively, companies must commit to switching off the lights in unoccupied buildings, and working from home is encouraged in public administrations.
The plan also requires that heating should be lowered in offices, swimming pools and gyms, and the use of hot water must be reduced in offices.
IMPACT ON LIVING
Baguette, essential for the French, is an indicator of the cost of living in France. In 2022, its price surged several times, passing the threshold of 1 euro (1.07 dollars) per baguette in many bakeries.
At the same time, the price of wheat fluctuated from 180 euros (193 dollars) to 460 euros (492 dollars) per tonne at the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, to stabilize at around 360 euros (385 dollars) per tonne. This surge in prices has directly affected consumers’ wallets.
“Before, I didn’t pay much attention to the prices when I was shopping, but with inflation, I watch more carefully,” a woman named Helene told Xinhua.
Customers shop at a supermarket in Frankfurt, Germany, April 22, 2022. (Xinhua/Lu Yang)
Many French people have chosen to lower the temperature of their houses to reduce expenditure. Daphnee, who lives in an old house covering an area of 130 square meters, has drastically lowered the temperature at her house in fear of a high energy bill.
“I feel cold, so it was a sacrifice, but in the end, I realized that we were fine at home with 18 degrees Celsius, all you need is a hot water bottle for the night,” she said.
French companies are also hit hard by the soaring energy prices.
Last October, over 300 companies alerted the French government to the negative effect of the surging energy prices.
More than one out of two French industrial companies said they had suffered consequences from the energy crisis and their production bottlenecks had affected business profitability.
A survey conducted in October last year showed that 80 percent of the country’s small and medium-sized enterprises worry about their survival.
And the trend continues. According to a study on corporate insolvencies, the rebound in bankruptcies that began in 2022 is not over and companies face a triple threat of weaker growth, reduced margins and deteriorating financing conditions in 2023.
SPILLOVER EFFECT
The European Commission forecasted that the French economy would grow by 0.6 percent and 1.4 percent respectively for 2023 and 2024, and the German economy would grow even lower, by 0.2 percent and 1.3 percent respectively.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, six of eurozone countries showed negative economic growth, including Germany and Italy, whose growth declined by 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent respectively.
The two countries were hardest hit by the Ukraine crisis, as both have export-driven economies and depend heavily on natural gas from Russia, which has been disrupted following sanctions against Russia.
With access to Russian gas becoming increasingly difficult as a result of the crisis, European countries had to switch to much expensive American liquefied natural gas (LNG).
People are seen outside the building of the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium, Oct. 18, 2022.(Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
However, the United States sells its LNG to Europe at “four times” the price at which it sells to American suppliers, said French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire last year, who feared that the United States could benefit from the situation to the detriment of European interests.
He insisted on the need to build “economic relations that are more balanced on the energy issue between our American allies and the European continent.”
Le Maire’s remarks came just days after French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his dissatisfaction over LNG imported from the United States and Norway.
“We are going to say with great friendship towards our American friends, our Norwegian friends, that ‘you are great, you provide us with gas.’ But there is one thing that can’t work for a very long time, that is we can’t pay for gas that is four times more expensive,” he said.
According to data and analytics firm Kpler, the EU imported a total of 94.73 million tonnes of LNG in 2022, and the United States accounts for roughly 41 percent of the imports, becoming the EU’s top LNG supplier.
Besides, the consequences of the Inflation Reduction Act, a massive U.S. plan of 369 billion dollars of industrial subsidies announced in the summer of 2022, poses a new trade threat for Europe. ■
BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) — China on Wednesday urged NATO to quit groundless speculation and smears against it on the Ukraine issue, grow out of the Cold War mentality of zero-sum game and bloc confrontation, and actually do something conducive to European and global peace and stability.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the comment in response to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s recent remarks that NATO members “are also increasingly concerned that China may be planning to provide lethal support for Russia’s war.”
Wang said on the Ukraine issue, China always stands on the side of peace. China has taken an objective and just position, and worked actively to promote peace talks.
It is a known fact that NATO countries including the United States are the biggest source of weaponry for the battlefield in Ukraine, yet they keep claiming that China may be supplying weapons to Russia. This is a familiar trick used and exposed soon after the Ukraine crisis broke out, Wang noted.
Wang said while claiming itself to be a regional defensive alliance, NATO has ignored others’ security concerns, and constantly sought to reach beyond its traditional defense zone and scope, and stoke division and tension. “What role has NATO played in the Ukraine crisis? The rest of the world surely has its answer.”
“We urge NATO to quit groundless speculation and smears against China on the Ukraine issue, grow out of the Cold War mentality of zero-sum game and bloc confrontation, stop instigating antagonism and fanning the flames, and actually do something conducive to European and global peace and stability,” he said. ■
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to reporters at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Xie E)
“Meanwhile, we have heard implicit threats to use nuclear weapons. The so-called tactical use of nuclear weapons is utterly unacceptable. It is high time to step back from the brink,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) — UN Secretary-General warned Wednesday that an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine is “a clear and present danger.”
“Over the past year, not only have we seen suffering and devastation grow, it is also becoming more evident just how much worse it could all still become. The possible consequences of a spiraling conflict are a clear and present danger,” he told a resumed emergency special session of the UN General Assembly.
The conflict in Ukraine is also fanning regional instability and fueling global tensions and divisions, while diverting attention and resources from other crises and pressing global issues, he said.
“Meanwhile, we have heard implicit threats to use nuclear weapons. The so-called tactical use of nuclear weapons is utterly unacceptable. It is high time to step back from the brink,” he said.
Guterres called for peace.
People in Ukraine are suffering enormously. Ukrainians, Russians and people far beyond need peace, he said. “While prospects may look bleak today, we must all work, knowing that genuine, lasting peace must be based on the UN Charter and international law.”
A damaged building is in demolition process in Mariupol, Aug. 23, 2022. (Photo by Victor/Xinhua)
The longer the fighting continues, the more difficult this work will be, he warned. “We don’t have a moment to lose.”
The 11th emergency special session of the General Assembly resumed on Wednesday as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is approaching its first anniversary. ■
* While Russia and Ukraine appear to have reached a deadlock on the battlefield and at the negotiating table, the United States continues to agitate the conflict and profit from it.
* Western countries have imposed sanctions on Russia in hopes of choking its energy export channels and destroying its economy. However, those sanctions have backfired, hurt U.S. allies and triggered a worldwide energy crisis.
* Official data showed that Russia’s GDP declined by 2.1 percent in 2022, and the Ukrainian economy nosedived by 30.4 percent. The World Bank estimated last year that the cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine is at least 349 billion dollars.
by Xinhua writers Shi Hao, Li Dongxu
MOSCOW/KIEV, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) — Russia and Ukraine traded a fresh round of strikes as the world is set to mark the first anniversary of the armed conflict on Friday.
The crisis has caused many casualties, displaced numerous people, aggravated geopolitical confrontation in Europe, intensified global energy and food shortages, and undermined regional and international security.
While Russia and Ukraine appear to have reached a deadlock on the battlefield and at the negotiating table, the United States continues to agitate the conflict and profit from it.
People inspect the aftermath of shelling of the city market in Donetsk, Dec. 12, 2022. (Photo by Victor/Xinhua)
GLOBAL IMPACT
“Over the past year, from work to my personal life, from my well-being to what I do every day, everything has completely changed,” said a volunteer worker at a children’s hospital in Kiev, who gave her name as Olha.
“I lost my job … I have outstanding loans … My friends have died,” the 34-year-old told Xinhua.
Since the conflict flared up on Feb. 24 last year, tens of thousands of troops on both sides have been killed, and millions of others were forced to flee their homes.
The echoes of the conflict are heard far beyond Ukraine’s borders. Its heavy toll on the world has manifested through food supply chain disruptions, skyrocketing energy prices and soaring inflation.
Western countries have imposed sanctions on Russia in hopes of choking its energy export channels and destroying its economy. However, those sanctions have backfired, hurt U.S. allies and triggered a worldwide energy crisis.
Furthermore, Ukraine and Russia jointly produce around 30 percent of the world’s wheat exports. Russia is also one of the world’s biggest exporters of fertilizers. The impact of the conflict on food supply chains has contributed to rising food prices, making it harder for people in lower and middle-income economies to feed their families.
As the conflict disrupts trade and aggravates inflation for essential goods, several economies teeter on the brink of recession.
People bid goodbye to each other with a hug in Irpin, Ukraine, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Diego Herrera/Xinhua)
In a blog released in late January, IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas reckoned the global economy is poised to slow this year, while growth will remain weak by historical standards as the fight against inflation and the Ukraine crisis weigh on activity.
The economic pain has been quite intense for emerging economies. The UN warned on Jan. 1 that the Russia-Ukraine conflict unleashed a new crisis, disrupting food and energy markets and exacerbating food insecurity and malnutrition in many developing countries.
People walk past a screen of a currency exchange office displaying the exchange rates of U.S. Dollar and Euro to Russian Rubles in Moscow, Russia, March 1, 2022. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr/Xinhua)
During the Munich Security Conference concluded on Sunday, there was “palpable frustration among some leaders from African and South American nations” over the protracted conflict, which “was consuming the time, money and attention of the West at the expense of other pressing problems,” the Financial Times observed.
“We don’t want to go on discussing who will be the winner or the loser of a war,” said Colombia’s Vice President Francia Marquez. “We are all losers and, in the end, it is humankind that loses everything.”
BACKSTAGE MANIPULATOR
The deep cause of the Russia-Ukraine conflict is the expansion of NATO, and “the Russians are reacting to the West’s attempt to make Ukraine a western bulwark on Russia’s border,” John Mearsheimer, political science professor at the University of Chicago, told Xinhua.
Breaking a promise made at the end of the Cold War that NATO would not expand to the east, the U.S.-led bloc has expanded eastward five times since 1999, advancing more than 1,000 km to the Russian border. Its membership has increased from 16 to 30 countries.
Since the flare-up, the United States and its allies have sent more weapons to Ukraine, worsening the situation.
The United States has promised nearly 30 billion U.S. dollars in military assistance to Ukraine. After the United States and Germany pledged tanks to Ukraine in late January, the Pentagon announced a new tranche of military aid for Ukraine days later, including long-range precision rockets for the first time.
People walk past a damaged building in Mariupol, Feb. 18, 2023. (Photo by Victor/Xinhua)
During his surprise trip to Kiev on Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced hundreds of millions of dollars in additional military aid for Ukraine, a move widely expected to escalate the crisis further.
Washington’s latest move bears out what former U.S. senator Richard Black said last year — “We don’t care how many Ukrainians die. How many women, children, civilians, military will die. We do not care. It’s like a great football game, and we want to win.”
In his address to the Federal Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the West sparked a war in Europe to “eliminate competitors by using a proxy force,” and the responsibility for inciting and escalating the Ukraine crisis lies entirely with the Western elites.
“They plan to grow a local conflict into a global confrontation … But it is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield,” he said.
Simultaneously, Washington’s “football game” on the bloody battlefield in Ukraine brings fortunes to U.S. war and energy businesses.
Replacing the military equipment transferred to Ukraine by Washington’s NATO allies could lead to roughly 21.7 billion dollars in foreign military sales or direct commercial sales for American industry, the U.S. Foundation for Defense of Democracies said in a report last month.
As for the energy industry, “Big Oil just reported its profits. Record profits. Last year, they made 200 billion dollars in the midst of a global energy crisis,” Biden admitted in his State of the Union Address on Feb. 7.
POLITICAL SETTLEMENT
The prolonged crisis has created economic and social woes in both countries and significantly retarded the world’s post-pandemic recovery.
Official data showed that Russia’s GDP declined by 2.1 percent in 2022, and the Ukrainian economy nosedived by 30.4 percent. The World Bank estimated last year that the cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine is at least 349 billion dollars.
However, the vast difference in positions between Russia and Ukraine seems unbridgeable for the time being, making possible dialogue difficult.
When meeting senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in Munich on Saturday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said no other countries want to realize peace more than Ukraine.
For the sake of peace, Gulru Gezer, a foreign policy analyst and former diplomat for Türkiye, believes all responsible countries that do not want to prolong the crisis should help keep the channels of dialogue open rather than exacerbate tensions.
This photo taken on Feb. 24, 2022 shows the street view of Kiev, capital of Ukraine. (Xinhua/Li Dongxu)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the one-year mark is a “grim milestone” with an impact far beyond Ukraine. “While prospects may look bleak today, we know that genuine, lasting peace must be based on the UN Charter and international law,” he said.
Among the countries standing on the side of peace and dialogue is China, which plans to publish a document on finding a political settlement to the crisis.
In The Global Security Initiative Concept Paper released on Tuesday, China pledges to promote a political settlement to international and regional hotspot issues, including in Ukraine.
Leaders of some countries have made clear their neutrality on the issue, criticizing the West for leveraging the Ukraine issue as “a loyalty test” and calling for a political settlement.
In Munich, when asked why Namibia abstained from a UN resolution on the Ukraine situation in October, Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said her country focused on “resolving the problem, not on shifting blame.”
“The bottom line is that money used to buy weapons would be better used to promote development in Ukraine, in Africa, in Asia, in the EU itself, where many people are facing hardships,” Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said.
(Video reporters: Meng Jing, Li Dongxu, Kang Wenjun, Zhu Wanjun, Jiang Chao, Wang Huan, Ali Jaswal, Tariq Hameed, Sun Xinjing, Liu Chang, James Asande, Duncan, Yu Fuqing, Yang Yiran, Yao Bing, Msrwa, Huang Yan, Shi Zhongyu, Nemanja Cabric, Chen Hao, Geza Molnar, Attila Volgyi, Hu Yousong, Sun Ding, Yu Shuaishuai; video editors: Ma Ruxuan, Zhang Yuhong, Zhang Zhihuan)■
