/blogs/-/446696/446696/-/12tvk6fz/-/index.html http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1411254/-/2ccumb/-/index.html This is confiscation by another name. How do you wake up one morning and order a foreign 2012-05-22T17:00:00Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1401970/-/2bqh9u/-/index.html I refuse to look at the current goings-on at the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) through the obsessive 2012-05-08T17:00:00Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1397536/-/1xbo9r/-/index.html The chief registrar of the Judiciary, Ms Gladys Shollei, makes a valid case when she 2012-05-01T17:00:00Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1393088/-/1x8s7a/-/index.html Parliament finally passed the Finance Bill. But Finance minister Njeru Githae had to literally 2012-04-24T17:06:31Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Privatisation+turning+many+Kenyans+into+destitutes/-/446696/1370178/-/hwk672/-/index.html There is a story on Telkom Kenya in the current issue of our sister paper, the EastAfrican, which anybody interested in the subject of privatisation should read. 2012-03-20T16:09:33Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1365608/-/1vfonc/-/index.html Until we get our politics right, this economy will not take off. We don’t even know when the elections will be held. Yet political temperatures are right now at fever point. 2012-03-13T15:19:50Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1360740/-/1vc8x9/-/index.html I confess that I was initially sceptical about the success of the Lamu Port corridor project.  2012-03-06T16:12:03Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Political+interference+does+not+augur+well+for+firms/-/446696/1327488/-/ddylvl/-/index.html Why is President Mwai Kibaki getting involved in the shenanigans surrounding the battle for the control of the East African Portland Cement company? 2012-02-14T17:00:00Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/NHIF+should+be+more+accountable/-/446696/1322052/-/ponl9/-/index.html The government has stopped paying medical allowance to civil servants and teachers. 2012-02-07T15:31:00Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Githae+has+a+highly+daunting+task+in+the+coming+months+/-/446696/1317650/-/4ine2d/-/index.html In my long career as a business journalist and regular commentator on economic issues, I have seen many Finance ministers come and go. 2012-01-31T17:39:19Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Resentment+against+Kenyan+Somalis+fed+by+myths+rising+very+fast+/-/446696/1313302/-/10593isz/-/index.html We will not admit it publicly. But this country is gripped by a new wave of resentment of the Kenyan Somali. 2012-01-24T16:27:10Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/+Govt+shenanigans+at+the+cement+firm/-/446696/1309092/-/2levohz/-/index.html We have our own version of Occupy Wall Street at East African Portland Cement Company. 2012-01-17T17:00:00Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Holding+the+Finance+Bill+hostage+defeatist+/-/446696/1299636/-/bci431/-/index.html With Parliament having gone on recess before passing the Finance Bill, pundits were predicting the situation would plunge government financial operations into a mess. 2012-01-03T15:17:27Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1289074/-/1dnog9/-/index.html The strike by doctors has not been called off after all. And, it is still too early to tell how negotiations for higher salaries between the government and university lecturers will pan out. 2011-12-13T19:51:54Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/High+interest+rates+will+stifle+growth+/-/446696/1277676/-/14lw7os/-/index.html These are the times when the National Economic Council should come in should come in, take leadership, and guide us through the current interest rates crisis. 2011-11-22T17:20:43Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/We+face+a+transition+like+Zambia/-/446696/1273676/-/nh4h4yz/-/index.html In October last year, I visited Lusaka in Zambia to gather information on a story about the privatisation of the energy sector in sub-Saharan Africa. 2011-11-15T14:54:16Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1269474/-/1cfosg/-/index.html Ask me what the acronym VAT stands for and I will not hesitate in telling you that it means “Very Annoying Tax”. 2011-11-08T14:57:05Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/The+intriguing+boardroom+battle+is+power+politics/-/446696/1265552/-/141hs0xz/-/index.html The boardroom tiff at the jewel in the crown of Kenya’s motor industry, the CMC Group, which is a listed company, is stirring stuff. 2011-11-01T14:20:11Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/We+engaged+in+too+much+conspicuous+consumption+/-/446696/1261642/-/naw0qpz/-/index.html Delegates from the International Monetary Fund are still in town holding discussions with the government. 2011-10-25T15:37:11Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1257668/-/1brssx/-/index.html The government should cancel and rethink plans to create a medical scheme for civil servants. 2011-10-18T15:23:26Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Why+minister+has+sent+the+right+signals+to+financial+markets+/-/446696/1255004/-/73j85n/-/index.html Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance emerges after a three hour meeting to announce what is so far the strongest pitch for the restoration of calm in the financial markets. 2011-10-13T17:56:39Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/With+the+state+shilling+austerity+is+required+/-/446696/1253748/-/i01ie9z/-/index.html The financial markets are in a state of panic. The instability of the shilling has nothing to do with some conspiracy theory. 2011-10-11T16:33:19Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Theres+need+to+get+to+the+root+of+our+problems+/-/446696/1248000/-/oad5p9z/-/index.html The statement last Thursday by President Kibaki about the government taking steps to stabilise the shilling was very timely. 2011-10-04T17:26:22Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1244000/-/1b423t/-/index.html The shilling has gone haywire. I am not worried about the level of the shilling per se but its volatility. 2011-09-27T15:35:31Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Flooding+market+with+dollars+to+save+shilling/-/446696/1239726/-/sgh152/-/index.html The shilling is badly undervalued. I do not want to shout fire in a crowded theatre. 2011-09-20T14:52:58Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1235716/-/1aid1x/-/index.html Oil is a dangerous business, perhaps more so to life and limb — more prone to fatalities — than nuclear power. 2011-09-13T15:53:18Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Stop+postponing+difficult+decisions/-/446696/1231508/-/dgyh3m/-/index.html This devolution thing is evolving into a veritable Tower of Babel. Clearly, part of the problem is that we did not cater for a transitional authority to midwife and steer the process of transferring specific functions to the grassroots. 2011-09-06T15:02:57Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Lumumba+is+gone+why+not+give+job+to+Githongo+/-/446696/1228000/-/15tnci1z/-/index.html The hypocrisy displayed by MPs last Thursday was sickening. Prof Patrick Lumumba’s most strident critics on the floor of the House were facing on-going investigations by the Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority. 2011-08-30T16:08:57Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Dispute+over+how+to+fund+counties+not+over/-/446696/1223994/-/q6a9wtz/-/index.html With the term of the task force on devolution having been supposed to end on Monday, their opponents over the vexed issue of the appropriate public financial management for a devolved system had hoped they would have their way. 2011-08-23T16:03:04Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1219978/-/19d49a/-/index.html It has been described as the battle of the deputy prime ministers fighting over the control of implementing the devolution chapter of the new Constitution. 2011-08-16T15:16:07Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1216216/-/19aun7/-/index.html Very big things are happening in the geothermal energy sector. Mega-projects and multi-million dollar contracts are in different stages of being rolled out. 2011-08-09T16:14:21Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Medical+insurance+proposal+for+civil+servants+bogged+down+/-/446696/1212296/-/d34l1o/-/index.html The government is in a tight spot over the proposed medical scheme for civil servants. 2011-08-02T15:11:29Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1208240/-/18ppgp/-/index.html Laisamis MP Joseph Lekuton is a little-known legislator without much of a national profile or recognition. 2011-07-26T16:43:13Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Delays+in+implementing+projects+to+blame+for+electricity+crisis+/-/446696/1207762/-/mgd4ce/-/index.html Kenya could be forced to hire more expensive emergency generators as the country plunges into crippling power shortages that have forced Kenya Power to resort to rationing. 2011-07-25T17:28:59Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Visit+wasnt+about+reviving+Nyayo+Car/-/446696/1204078/-/9q13cvz/-/index.html I was intrigued to see the Nyayo Pioneer Car again on television on Monday, during the visit by President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga to the Numerical Machining Complex. 2011-07-19T13:44:43Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Public+service+wages+out+stripping+govt/-/446696/1199700/-/k4ih42/-/index.html It does not matter to me whether it is Mr Charles Nyachae or Public Service head Francis Muthaura, who is right on the issue of salaries 2011-07-12T14:53:51Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Colonial+style+banking+is+stifling+growth+/-/446696/1195000/-/aq9xpqz/-/index.html In less than three months, President Kibaki has several times expressed concern about high interest rate spreads. 2011-07-05T13:26:49Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Failure+to+revive+union+means+farmers+cant+gain+/-/446696/1190898/-/2ifgkj/-/index.html Last week, I had the opportunity to tour some major coffee estates in the Thika-Ruiru area 2011-06-28T16:22:46Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Currency+speculators+are+not+the+problem/-/446696/1186558/-/9xsr9c/-/index.html On Tuesday, the shilling fell to a low of 91 to the US dollar. The Central Bank has reportedly commenced investigations. 2011-06-21T14:55:50Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1180918/-/tevqv/-/index.html There is this theory that a weak shilling is good for exporters. The theory is a complete fallacy. 2011-06-14T15:37:46Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Uhuru+must+seek+to+prepare+Kenyans+for+austerity+/-/446696/1176600/-/vbk3wy/-/index.html In his budget last year, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta announced that the government would no longer buy vehicles. 2011-06-07T13:48:56Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Why+we+must+allow+Uhuru+to+present+Budget+speech+/-/446696/1172682/-/hb61jaz/-/index.html I claim no authority in interpreting legal text. But as a seasoned journalist who has followed and covered the Budget-making process for more than 20 years, I have sufficient knowledge to appreciate when things are going wrong. 2011-05-31T16:21:28Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Budget+controversy+exposes+risks+/-/446696/1172122/-/lgknk8/-/index.html The controversy over the Budget has once again highlighted the difficulties and risks the government is likely to face 2011-05-30T17:00:13Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Chinese+one+stop+shop+deals+do+not+augur+well/-/446696/1168648/-/cc7wi1z/-/index.html The Chinese have perfected the art of winning large infrastructure projects in Kenya. First, they will offer you a free feasibility study to entice you. 2011-05-24T14:19:09Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/New+geothermal+well+heralds+cheap+power+era/-/446696/1164576/-/fg5s7g/-/index.html At last, some good news from the energy sector. The State-owned Geothermal Development Company (GDC) last week sank its first successful geothermal well in the Menengai fields. The well has the capacity to run a 10MW electricity plant. 2011-05-17T16:13:05Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1159934/-/rqj05/-/index.html Here are a few suggestions on what ought to be done to avoid a repeat of last week’s oil shortage. 2011-05-10T16:27:24Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1155734/-/rnp5j/-/index.html In the history of this country, no single group or class of businessmen has been used as scapegoats as the people politicians prefer to call “merchants”. 2011-05-03T15:59:27Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Idea+to+start+a+local+steel+mill+inspired/-/446696/1151282/-/jx4ij7z/-/index.html A team of government officials travelled to South Korea two months ago to explore potential for partnerships with the major steel mills there. 2011-04-26T16:58:26Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1147524/-/r3iar/-/index.html Two years ago, there was a public uproar when Mr Mwalimu Mati’s Mars Group blew the whistle over the Sh9.2 billion errors his group had uncovered in the accounts and budget documents. 2011-04-19T16:43:52Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Kibunjia+should+find+why+certain+tribes+dominate+specific+jobs+/-/446696/1143370/-/xpead/-/index.html Those criticising Dr Mzalendo Kibunjia for publishing the ethnic audit of the civil service workforce have completely missed the point. 2011-04-12T16:59:45Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Uncertainty+over+political+transition+still+the+greatest+worry/-/446696/1139440/-/sjo3lbz/-/index.html Last week, I was invited to speak to a group of Swedish fund managers and chief executives of private equity funds who have been visiting Kenya to explore investment opportunities. 2011-04-05T16:45:04Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1135290/-/qfikt/-/index.html The good news is that the shilling is beginning to stabilise. Just the other day, we were buying the dollar at Sh86. Lately, the exchange rate has come down to Sh83 per dollar. 2011-03-29T16:41:50Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/CBK+move+to+shore+up+the+shilling+timely/-/446696/1130968/-/3q34m0/-/index.html At last, the Central Bank of Kenya has acted on the shilling. Experience and theory teach us that when a currency depreciates, interest rates have to increase to ease pressure on the exchange rate. 2011-03-22T16:25:13Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Phantom+ships+and+crude+pricing/-/446696/1125548/-/yrkuir/-/index.html Very strange things are happening in the oil sector. 2011-03-15T15:58:06Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Weak+shilling+spells+doom+for+fight+against+inflation+/-/446696/1121292/-/13wetvm/-/index.html The danger signals are everywhere. The shilling has weakened steeply in a very short time, and the inflation rate is climbing steadily. 2011-03-08T16:07:22Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1117060/-/p8rry/-/index.html With the renewal of Prof Njuguna Ndung’u’s term as Central Bank governor, the Treasury must move quickly to appoint a new board. 2011-03-01T15:38:38Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Dont+allow+these+squabbles+to+derail+privatisation/-/446696/1108268/-/2owb9q/-/index.html I like the way the Dockworkers Union has managed to out-shrill the government over the vexed debate about plans to privatise the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA). 2011-02-15T16:37:58Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1103878/-/ojmwq/-/index.html The Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) is starting to think big. It wants to manufacture its own transformers. 2011-02-08T16:50:19Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1099774/-/b4wda/-/index.html It is tragic indeed that the political elite is treating the controversy over the recent constitutional appointments by President Mwai Kibaki as if they were a popularity contest between the Head of State and the Prime Minister. 2011-02-01T16:35:20Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Why+consumers+must+expect+to+pay+a+lot+more+for+electricity+/-/446696/1095760/-/12tyvgt/-/index.html Sooner or later, electricity consumers will start feeling the pinch as the impact of the current drought on power generation starts to bite. The reservoir levels in our dams are going down at a fast rate. 2011-01-25T16:43:19Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Mobile+phone+price+wars+may+hurt+Kenyans+/-/446696/1091836/-/7wxbwb/-/index.html As consumers, we must all enjoy the cheap mobile phone prices. They say the government will lose billions of shillings in tax revenue and may face difficulties raising money to fund relief operations. 2011-01-18T16:16:07Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Far+too+many+questions+about+devolved+governments+/-/446696/1087906/-/ihvfa6z/-/index.html I gather that a former Treasury mandarin, Dr Kamau Thugge, has been recalled from Washington where he has been working with the International Monetary Fund to assist the government craft a fiscal decentralisation strategy. 2011-01-11T15:48:39Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Hypocritical+multinationals+bribing+govt+officials+/-/446696/1083654/-/12huu4uz/-/index.html We all knew that European multinationals pay bribes to government officials to win large and lucrative infrastructure contracts. 2011-01-04T15:30:21Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1080026/-/abxyu/-/index.html If only we could address our politics in the new year! If only we could concentrate on implementing the new Constitution by establishing new institutions to make the task possible. If only we could pass the required laws within the stipulated time! 2010-12-28T15:22:15Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1076482/-/9toal/-/index.html I can’t wait to see how the new price control regime for petroleum prices plays out as we approach the New Year. 2010-12-21T15:47:41Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1072434/-/9qvvj/-/index.html Although my brief in this column is to comment on business and economic issues, I choose not to restrict myself to this narrow path when the whole country is about to go on fire. 2010-12-14T16:06:09Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1068150/-/99glj/-/index.html Sooner or later, the government was going to be forced to respond to the public outcry over high oil prices. Clearly, this society is becoming increasingly assertive in terms of pressing for the rights of the consumer and holding the government to account. 2010-12-07T17:22:27Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Political+intrigue+latest+threat+to+new+Constitution+/-/446696/1063124/-/10jpv12/-/index.html The other day, a friend who happens to be a Cabinet minister requested a meeting. 2010-11-30T15:30:29Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/+Enthusiasm+against+corruption+may+not+last++/-/446696/1059016/-/chedmdz/-/index.html Time will tell whether what we are witnessing right now is a true or genuine resolve to fight official corruption or just a temporary escalation of zealous scandal-mongering that will pass after a while. 2010-11-23T14:40:59Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1054852/-/8kaws/-/index.html I have received numerous queries about the implications of the new rules governing the payment of retirement benefits, in the wake of the new rules gazetted by Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta. 2010-11-16T16:43:50Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/1050190/-/8hd9e/-/index.html If you were retrenched after 2005 and was a member of a pension scheme, it is likely that the scheme retained a large part of your savings at the time you were parting company with your employer. 2010-11-09T16:31:58Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Who+is+looking+out+for+farmers+interests/-/446696/1031718/-/assufh/-/index.html "The saga has proved the ease with which powerful businessmen can still play government offices against one another." 2010-10-12T16:43:49Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/+Lets+talk+of+the+new+health+scheme/-/446696/1026640/-/62llje/-/index.html The public exchanges between Cotu secretary-general Francis Atwoli and the management board of the National Hospital Insurance Fund over the proposed health plan is slowly degenerating into a dialogue of the deaf. 2010-10-05T15:26:56Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Pensioners+deserve+more+humane+treatment/-/446696/1015446/-/lp3m4hz/-/index.html It is a pity indeed that policy makers take so little interest in the plight of pensioners. Old-age income security is not a big deal here. 2010-09-21T15:58:29Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/High+population+is+not+the+problem/-/446696/1005894/-/vsh2q6/-/index.html By cancelling the results of the census in parts of North East Province, the census bureau has shot itself in the foot. 2010-09-07T19:08:44Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Dont+bog+health+insurance+debate+with+mere+justifications+/-/446696/1000708/-/7rpwdz/-/index.html We need to move the discussion about the out-patient plan by the National Health Insurance Fund beyond the self-serving views of vested interests. 2010-08-31T16:35:57Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/NHIFs+new+offer+fairly+attractive/-/446696/996152/-/cwsa8/-/index.html Truth be told, what the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) is offering under the new plan is very attractive from the standpoint of a sick person looking for a competitive health insurance plan. 2010-08-24T16:31:11Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Commercial+banks+raking+in+wealth/-/446696/978566/-/v5trsk/-/index.html All top commercial banks in this country have reported huge half-year profits. The trend is bound to re-ignite the vexed debate about high interest rate spreads in Kenya. 2010-08-17T15:47:14Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/-/446696/970356/-/102ri6pz/-/index.html The greatest tragedy in this country is that our finest men and women — individuals with fresh ideas, knowledge and skills — are not in politics and stand no chance of getting elected to political office. 2010-08-03T17:16:05Z http://www.nation.co.ke/blogs/Insurance+firms+do+not+exist+for+charity+something+has+to+give+/-/446696/966008/-/3ckrbu/-/index.html Three insurance companies recently rushed to court where they secured temporary orders blocking thousands of road accident victims from making claims against their clients. 2010-07-27T17:11:13Z