FINANCE EA DAILY BUSINESS NEW SUMMARY
Fresh produce export volumes at Eldoret airport rise ten-fold.
Direct export of fresh produce from Eldoret International Airport to European markets has increased ten-fold, eight months after it was launched. Freight volumes of exports to Belgium and the Netherlands have increased to an average between 40 tonnes and 50 tonnes per week, from about five tonnes in November last year, when the airport started the exports.
The airport’s manager Walter Agong’ said the facility can export up to 150 tonnes of fresh produce….The Standard
IMF: World Uncertainty Index not ours
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has dissociated itself from the World Uncertainty Index (WUI) report that put Kenya’s investment environment as the second most uncertain in the world. In a statement posted on its website, the IMF said that while the WUI has been generated by two of its employees, it is not part of its publications.
“The IMF fully dissociates itself with the content of the article. Please be aware that the World Uncertainty Index that is cited in the article, developed independently by researchers, is not an official IMF output,” said the IMF in a statement in an article carried by The Standard….The Standard
SRC, governors fight over Sh2.3bn exit pay
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has opposed in court a bid by outgoing county governors and their deputies to pay themselves up to Sh2.3 billion annually in retirement perks. The SRC, which advises the government on the wages of public sector officials, says the payout is not sustainable and is an additional burden to taxpayers.
Governors and their deputies are seeking a lifetime monthly pension of Sh739,200 and Sh700,000 respectively in line with the payouts offered to retired presidents, deputy presidents, chief justices and parliamentary speakers….BusinessDaily
Projects spending hits lowest level in Uhuru presidency.
Government ministries, departments and agencies spent the smallest share of their budget on development projects in 11 months of the recently ended financial year, the lowest portion under the Jubilee administration. The latest Treasury statistics show that development projects accounted for Sh283.12 billion of the Sh2.35 trillion spent at the national level.
The amount, which excludes the foreign funding portion of the development projects, is equivalent to a modest 12.05 percent of the expenditure at the national level at a time Kenya struggled to tap loans from external commercial lenders….BusinessDaily
Unmasked: Kenya’s oil barons minting millions in the now lucrative trade
When the Narc administration of President Mwai Kibaki assumed power in 2002, the petroleum industry was a war zone, an illustration of Charles Darwin’s concept of survival of the fittest. Oil dealers were free to import petroleum products from anywhere, and sell them at whatever price.
The obvious result was that companies would look to have the lowest pump prices by importing from the cheapest possible source, at times disregarding quality…Daily Nation
Kenya’s debt to China hits Sh797bn in May
Kenya’s debt stock to China shot up by Sh10.8 billion in May, the fastest month-on-month growth since January on the back of increased clearance of principal sums. Data from the National Treasury shows the loans increased to Sh796.5 billion in May from Sh785.6 billion in April.
The jump is equivalent to more than half of the overall Sh18.88 billion increase in Kenya’s debt stock to China over the five months to May…Daily Nation