Author: staff reporter

by Tum David

The Nile Basin Initiative forum on the Angololo Water Resource Development Project (AWDP) aimed at benefiting the People of the two countries of Kenya and Uganda concluded in Nairobi.

The project is located on the transboubdary of Malaba River that’s between Kenya and Uganda and it falls within the Sio-Malaba Makakisi (SMM) River Basin within the L. Victoria Sub-basin.
The Kenyan CS for Water and Sanitation led a team of Kenyan delegation to the forum comprising three crucial ministries of Energy, Environment and Water, to the co-hosted forum by Kenya and Uganda.
The CS for Water ministry in Kenya assured her Ugandan counterpart of Kenya’s commitment towards the success of the project.

The Nile Basin Project is a transboundary multi- purpose project which has three major components; water for domestic use, it will also reach out to at least 270,000 households between the two countries and it’s also a shared project between Kenya and Uganda.

The project is a donor-partner-roundtable that enables the two minister of the two countries to pitch for support for funding and investment for the project.

” It’s a co-hosted forum by Kenya and Uganda because we’ve completed the preliminary investigations, research and documentation studies are all ready the environmental impact to be able to go to the next stage of the Angololo Water supply project”
CS Wahome said when she addressed the media.

She said the project will deal with the water, power and irrigation whereby it will help irrigate about 4000 hectares meaning 2500 hactres in Kenya and 2500 hectares in Uganda.

The final MOU agreement is being worked out which will see the project is being shared fairly and equally between the two countries.

” So there is a lot of cooperation discussion and therefore, we particularly commend this project because of the capacity of the rich area of the Nile Basin region in terms of coverage” She added.

The total cost of the project is estimated to be USD 132 million which is equivalent to Ksh16 bilion money that will be shared equally.

While briefing the press at a Nairobi hotel after the consultative forum, the CS said the project consists of a proposed 40 metre high dam with a reservoir capacity of 31.6 metre cubic that will supply potable water to 270,000 people of Kenya and Uganda and irrigate 4000 hactres and also generate 1.3 MegawAtts of hydro power.

The project is proved to be viable and partners are called upon to join in to push for its speedy implementation.

By James Mutua

Speaking in Nairobi on Saturday led by the organizations Chairperson Bishop Elizabeth Thuiya, they said that the ruling is not only an affront to Kenya’s deeply held religious beliefs, but also creates a dangerous precedence that could lead to further erosion of the moral fabric in society.

They added that by allowing the registration of such organizations, the court has given green light to the LGBTQ community to continue with its insidious agenda of corrupting the youth and undermine the traditional values of the country.

“We call on His Excellency President William Ruto, to take a strong stance against this ruling and publicly denounce it for what it is. As a leader of our great nation, it is your duty to protect our values and uphold the laws that govern us.” Bishop Thuiya said.

Moreover , they demanded the parliament to take Immediate action and reverse the ruling and prevent further attempts to promote the LGBTQ agenda in the society.

The group said that they will keep being committed in defending the moral values of the society.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that
the country’s NGO board was wrong to stop the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) from registering their organization.

By Nicholas Manduku

The new office will serve as the company’s headquarters for Sub-Saharan Africa region and is poised to expand the company’s global presence in the region.

Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies expansion is set to increase Boehringer Ingelheim’s global footprint in the region while strengthening the company’s commitment to improving human and animal health in Africa.

The company is a leading research-driven biopharmaceutical company.

Speaking during the event in Nairobi Mr. Mohammed Tawil Regional Managing Director and Head of Himan Pharma for IMETA region said,” Our thoughts is to expand the health care in this region by providing families with good healthier as well as those with loved ones across the impacted regions who are just starting a long journey.

Boehringer Ingelheim leads by value through innovation, and caring for patients, and customers.

Marianne Abouelkheir General Manager and Head of Himan Pharma for LINEA,says the company explore emerging science and technology for but also beyond the Discovery Research Therapeutic Areas in order to prepare a timely and efficient entry into emerging new medical and scientific fields and technologies.

Dr.Joseph Lenai the acting Director of the Intergovernmental and International health relations said Kenya will work with Boehringer Ingelheim to strengthen the Research & Development by focusing on core diseases for which we have built expertise over time and are actively investing from countries like Germany.

In attendance including Embassy of Federal Republic of Germany the Deputy Ambassador Thomas Wimmer among other dignitaries.

By Tum David

While addressing the press at the KISM Head Office in Nairobi after touring and meeting management and staff of the Supply Chain agency, the Chief of Staff, who is also the head of the public service Mr Felix Kosgei affirmed the government’s commitment to work closely with KISM. He went on to say that the supply chain agency need to revert to professionalism by seeing to it that their operations were run by professionals.

Mr Kosgei further said that KISM should put more emphasis on capacity building and hire professionals in their operations of work which he said is key for all respective sectors in the supply chain be kept in the know if what’s happening within KISM.

” For the profession to be upheld in the highest esteem that it deserves, we humbly ask KISM has to see that its operations were run by professionals” The Chief of Staff said. He also advised the supply chain body to collaborate with other institutions and or agencies like EACC, etc, to promote integrity and dicipline in the profession. He advised the need for the agency to emphasize vetting even for the professionals which they hire for integrity.
” Vetting is advised because not all professionals hired are of good character” He added.

By Jeff Kizzilah

The government is setting aside 2% of the GDP to the Biosafety research.

With the theme:Harnessing Agricultural Biotethrough Effective Biosafety Management Systems “how to advance the Biosafety.

Speaking during the opening conference,Dr. Roy Mugira,Chief Executive Director has said rhe authority wii carry our public awareness to create confidence to the genetically modified organic.

He said lack of accurate information on GMO has led to panic and mistrust to governance actoss the country.

The GMo has been approved by UN convention and the law also approves it.

Last year,President Ruro gave an executive order No.1 of 2022 that the National Biosafety Authority which made it easy for the ministry to push the implementation.

He said all researchers are ready to creat a good platform and therefore as the Authority we will ensure every kenyans understands the meaning and how its helpful to their lives.

“The fear of the unknown is a natural reaction,and we will ensure we have a packaged information to the public,”he added

Remember in 2008 , the then ministrer was Hon Ruto currently the president of Kenya was the one who launched the agenda to kenyans.

“We are going to patner with all leaders including MPs,MCA and County governments for effective dissemination of the GMos.”he said

At the moment he said,they are working with the parliamentary committee on agriculture to take the issue about GMO policy review to the people.

By Jeff Kizzilah

Smart Aftica a tech driven company has launched its latest Rifaly Mobile App platform to help individual and organisations discover information and knowledge that matters from the Africa content.

The M-Paper App has recently been rebranded to Rifaly, an innovative new content platform that aggregates newspapers, magazines, audio stories, and more.

Speaking during the launch evengvin Kenya Mr. Johannes Julius Lutainulwa ,Head of Business Development said, “We are excited. We feel like the time is now. We expect to get support across the ecosystem and tell African stories through technology and partnerships.”he adds.

Smart Foundry, a subsidiary of Smart Africa Group (SAG), is the driving force behind the transformation of M-Paper, providing strategic alliances to build and launch digital products that address African challenges.

The rebranded Rifaly platform also offers users unlimited access to African newspapers, books, magazines, articles, and stories.

With cover-to-cover readings for the best prices, users can explore and build their collections with all of the content that matters.

by Bruno Aero

Drivers and car owners under the umbrella body Ridehail transport association has asked the National Transport and Licensing Authority to cancel and sanction licenses issued to non compliance companies. The companies they mentioned include Uber, Farasi, Little and Hava.

They cited exploitation and mistreatment they are undergoing in the hands of the digital taxis application companies especially Bolt.
They singled out Bolt because it doesn’t have a Kenyan office

The drivers also petitioned Nairobi Governor to revoke business licenses to the said companies and asked for an urgent meeting with him to iron out the matter.

The drivers claimed Uber and Bolt have failed to implement the National Transport and Safety Authority (Transport Network Companies, Owners, Drivers and Passengers) Regulations, 2022 that cap the commissions charged by the firms at 18 per cent per trip.

The drivers said that upon the expiry of the 7 days notice, they will hold countrywide demonstrations in protest.

By Jeff Kizzilah

Joint Health Unions (JHU) has come out to call on government of the day to honor their agreement they made during election pledges.

Speaking during the event led by Dr. Peterson Wachira Chairperson of Kenya Union of Clinical Officers and other Medical Unions as well as Kenya Health Union has said they demand urgent permanent payable employment,the said that they dont understand why health has never been a priority.

Government must honor the agreement rhey made during rhe companies.

The doctors said the Kenya Kwanza promised to employ 20,000 health workers to be absorbed in the permanent and pensionable terms this has been reapeated in every electioneering peiod.

“It high time the health workers are treated as lesser people whom than anyone and should not given a priority”,he said.

“As good we should follow the law as citizens, section of different articles 45 or 41 on health of the constitution says a health worker should be treated equal pay for work done,the workers we are talking about are earning less ,however this people are working the same as othsr public servants and then the same government instead of promoting rhis people,” Chairman said

The health workers must be respected and put under permanent payable on a monthly basis,”Wachira reiterated.

The Union said its the heath workers who died during the Covid days but still nothing has been done.

“If nothing is done we will go for demonstration and the issue of health care Kenyans by the name hustlers should come out and strike to support the health workers”, Unions say

“They said KK and COG need to come out and tell Kenyans who are the hustlers they promised to take care,’Unions said

They said that government should walk the talk,the union said the sector has got the power to employ more.

Bungoma and Kitui are some of the counties who has extended the goodwill to absorb other workers under PMP currently.

By Tum David

The government Chief of Staff Mr. Felix Kosgei has said that Kenya has come of age in the handling of procurement services saying it’s time to upgrade its procurement operations for proper accountability, integrity and efficiency.

” Kenya now needs to go in the direction of e-procurement or the digital procurement and it’s the government’s position that PPRA becomes accountable and when this is fully implemented it will make procurement matters easier even for auditors as they’ll not be forced to leave their offices to go out there for audit work “. Kosgei said.
He was speaking at the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority offices at KISM Towers in Nairobi while on a working tour.

By Nicholas Manduku

Mabati Rolling Mills has made a big step to announce the launch of its product warranty which is going to addressing the growing issue of substandard goods and counterfeit products in the Kenyan market and beyond.

This product warranty,to be rolled out across the country, aimed at providing customers with peace of mind when purchasing Mabati products and other building solutions while reassuring them of the quality and authenticity of our products.

Addressing media during the launch ceremony, MRM CEO Mr. Manish Mehra, said, “At Mabati Rolling Mills, we take pride in providing high-quality steel products to our customers. We are committed to maintaining our reputation for excellence, and this warranty initiative is just one of the ways we are demonstrating that commitment. We want our customers to have full trust and confidence when purchasing our building solutions, and this warranty is our assurance of the quality and authenticity of our brand.”

The warranty initiative is a major step forward for MRM in its efforts to combat substandard and counterfeit products and raising the bar when it comes to quality.

MRM is also working closely with the government, law enforcement agencies and regulatory bodies to mitigate the challenges that customers continue face while grappling with unscrupulous traders in the market.

“We get very concerned when we hear that customers are duped when purchasing roofing products and building solutions material because we know the dangers that these low-quality products pose to the customers in the long term. As a company, we aim to always champion the quality and durability of our products, and our warranty initiative is a testament to our commitment to providing exceptional value to our consumers,” he added.

The proliferation of substandard goods and counterfeit products has become a major concern for consumers in Kenya, and Mabati Rolling Mills is determined to tackle this issue head-on.

The issue of quality cuts across all industries and is just not specific to the manufacturing and construction sector. For many years now, the industry has been tackling the prevalence of sub-standard products in the market which compromise on quality for the end consumer.

MRM has been at the forefront of providing high-quality steel products for over 60 years and is committed to maintaining its reputation for excellence.

However, the company has become increasingly concerned about the growing prevalence of substandard and counterfeit products and this is unfortunately affecting all sectors and societies in Kenya. These products also pose a serious risk to the health and safety of consumers.

To address this issue and within its sector, MRM has launched a warranty on all its manufactured products.

This warranty covers manufacturing defects that can affect the performance of the products. The warranty will be honored by the company’s authorized dealers and distributors. In addition, customers can verify the authenticity of MRM products by checking the unique features appearing on the products such as – the inkjet print, the MRM Embossing mark and the brand logo.

MRM is encouraging all customers to take advantage of the warranty and to verify the authenticity of Mabati products before purchasing. In the recent past, the company has set up dedicated customer service centers across major towns in the country to assist customers with any questions or concerns they may have regarding the warranty and the quality of products.

The Principal Secretary State Department of Industry, Dr. Juma Mukhwana commended the effort by Mabati Rolling Mills in bringing this conversation to the fore and urged other key stakeholders and regulatory bodies present at the event to be more vigilant in their efforts to mitigate this industry-large challenge and further enforce stringent control measures in combating this fight.

“All industry players must come together to address this issue that brings about the critical challenge that the industry continues to face. We definitely have a standard for what we are producing and the solution to this problem lies with each one of us. The government has put together a team that will look into the ease of manufacturing in an effort to make it seamless for the manufacturers to conduct business in the Kenyan market,” he said.