Category: Business Daily

Across the country, farmers are reading the sky the way their grandparents did. Vuli now. Then the dry months of kiangazi. Then masika, the long rains, in March. No farmer asks whether the season is fair. He asks a better question: what is this season for?

Founders have forgotten how to ask it. We borrowed our sense of time from elsewhere. Roadmaps. Hockey-stick charts. Five-year plans that climb in a straight line toward an exit.

John Mbiti, the Kenyan philosopher, argued half a century ago that many African traditions never lived in that kind of time at all. Time was not a road to a distant future. It was the lived present, what he called sasa, flowing steadily into zamani, the deep past. You did not chase time.

You stood inside it and attended to it. There is a founder’s lesson buried in that idea. The line is a lie we tell investors. The season is the truth we live.

This month Quickmart opened its shares to the public, ahead of a Nairobi Securities Exchange listing on November 12. Read its story as a line and you see a supermarket that grew to 72 stores and Sh50.4 billion in revenue. Read it as seasons and you see something truer.

John Kinuthia and his wife Zipporah started small in Nakuru in 2006. He died in 2016. Private capital arrived in 2019, a merger with Tumaini in 2020, and now a public offer. Start, survival, loss, rebuilding, transition. Each season asked a different thing of the people inside it.

Now walk the same aisles a decade back. In 2015 Nakumatt ran 65 stores across four countries. By 2017 it could not pay rent or wages. Its last branches were sold in 2019. Its failure was not that it broke. Every enterprise breaks. Its failure was that it tried to live in one season forever, scaling through a drought that demanded pruning.

Ecclesiastes put it more than two thousand years ago: a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. The tragedy of most founders is not that they meet the wrong season. It is that they keep performing the last one.

Which brings us to the fourth season, the break. It is the one many founders never walk out of, and almost never because of the break itself. They die of stuckness.

Stillness and stuckness look alike from a distance. They are opposites. Stillness is chosen. It is the farmer resting the land so it can bear again. Stuckness is imposed by fear. It is the founder standing in the ruins of last year, waiting for the world to rewind. Stillness is presence. Stuckness is absence wearing a founder’s suit.

Albert Einstein wrote to his son in 1930 that life is like riding a bicycle: to keep your balance, you must keep moving. Founders take that to mean speed. It means presence. You can pedal slowly. You cannot stop pedalling and expect to stay upright.

Naivas tells the founder’s version. Peter Mukuha Kago started it in Rongai in 1990 and died in 2010.

Three years later his family was in court, divided over a proposal to sell control to a foreign retailer. It was the kind of break that ends family businesses. Instead the company kept moving. It walked into the spaces Nakumatt left behind, brought in new partners in 2020, and last October opened its 110th store. The break was real. So was the walking.

Every dimension of a founder’s life has to keep moving with the season.

The mind has to accept which season it is in, instead of insisting on the one it prefers. The heart has to grieve what the last season took, or the grief will make tomorrow’s decisions.

Strategy has to change its posture: plant in one season, prune in the next. The circle around you has to be renewed, because the people who carried you through the planting may not be the people who can carry you through the drought.

And the spirit has to hold the one question that survives every season: why did I begin, and is that reason still alive? The founder who can answer that does not need the season to be kind. Only to be faced.

Walk present. Walk slowly if you must. Rest when the land asks it. But do not stand still in the ruins and call it waiting. The season is not yours to choose. The walking is.

The listing of the first dollar denominated instruments on the Nairobi bourse and the boom in the equities and fixed income market have helped lift Kenya to fifth place in the ranking of how African countries easily raise and move capital.

The 2026 Africa Financial Markets Index, compiled by Absa bank and think tank OMFIF, moved Kenyan’s ranking from seventh behind South Africa, Mauritius, Namibia and Uganda.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) marked the first listings of dollar denominated instruments earlier this year, following the addition of real estate investment trusts from African Logistics Properties (ALP) and Centum’s TRIFIC property fund which improved the market’s currency diversification.

Falling interest rates on government bonds and rising prices for the securities at the NSE helped boost trading as share prices surged amid increased activity at the bourse.

‘The country’s first dollar-denominated security was listed and recorded its highest-ever bond trading volumes during a broad market rally,’ the index report noted.

The index measures how easily countries can raise and move capital, examining stock and bond markets, access to foreign currency, pension ?savings, economic conditions and regulation.

Developing these markets can help businesses access financing beyond traditional bank loans and channel savings into infrastructure and other long-term investments.

Now in its 10th year, the index introduced a revised methodology measuring countries against fixed benchmarks of good practice rather than against one another. Historical scores were recalculated to allow comparisons.

Kenya raked in the most points on market transparency, tax and regulatory environment, scoring 100 points to tie with South Africa.

The market however trailed in depth and pension fund development with scores of 43 and 30 respectively.

The high score in transparency was attributed to strengthened credit-rating coverage, financial, monetary, fiscal and macroeconomic openness.

‘Kenya’s strength is the institutionalisation of transparency. The Public Finance Management Act anchors a predictable fiscal calendar, including the budget policy statement, quarterly budget reviews and debt management publications,’ the report notes.

‘Kenya also maintains structured engagements with Moody’s, S and P and Fitch, helping ensure rating agencies receive consistent and current sovereign information. The impact is visible in Kenya’s capital market resurgence as market capitalisation rose 27.8 percent in the first half of 2026.’

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) listed the US denominated ALP Industrial real estate investment trust (Reit) on March 11.

The property fund raised Sh3.81 billion ($29.5 million) from a restricted offer in 2025 ahead of the listing.

Centum’s TRIFIC raised Sh3.87 billion ($29.83 million) for the construction of an environmentally friendly commercial property in its special economic zone and listed the vehicle on the NSE at the end of June.

The two listings are first foreign currency instruments on the NSE and will pay dividends to shareholders in US dollars.

Activity on the NSE has further solidified Kenya’s financial market standing with market capitalisation rising past the Sh4 trillion mark for the first time on the back of increased share purchases and additional listings.

The Nairobi bourse got its first initial public offering in more than a decade from the listing of Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) shares in March while additional listings have included the introduction of Family Bank.

Equity turnover in six months to June 2026 surpassed the entire 2025’s tally of Sh145.4 billion to stand at Sh322.2 billion on 9.5 billion shares traded.

Bonds market turnover has equally remained buoyant, having topped Sh1.7 trillion in June this year and is in line to surpass last year’s record of Sh2.71 trillion worth of trades.

Kenya’s scoring on the Absa Africa Financial Markets Index averaged 65 points out of 100, surpassing its mean score of 59 points from a decade earlier when the ranking started.

South Africa retained the top spot, followed by Mauritius and Namibia.

Cape Verde was the biggest mover, climbing six places to 13th on stronger foreign exchange reserves and new sustainable finance initiatives.

Ghana rose four places to sixth as falling inflation, stronger stock ?activity and improving economic conditions aided its recovery from a debt crisis.

Botswana and Nigeria each slipped two places to seventh and eighth respectively. Nigeria was hurt by weaker foreign exchange access and transparency scores, while Botswana suffered from rising inflation.

SBM Bank Kenya is eyeing new capital to sustain growth after doubling its net profit for the nine month period ended September 2026, riding on increased lending and higher transactional income.

The lender reported a net profit of Sh591.2 million for the first nine months of the year compared to Sh283.4 million posted in the corresponding period last year.

SBM’s loan book grew by 23.3 percent to Sh56.5 billion up from Sh45.8 billion in September last year. This saw the lender’s fees and commissions from loans and advances triple to Sh235 million.

The bank’s non-interest income, including transaction fees, increased by Sh484 million to Sh2.02 billion which management attributed to increased customer transactions.

‘What we did over the last two years is fix the fundamentals such as changing our old systems, introducing a lot more functionality on our mobile banking apps and new products. We also introduced attractive interest rates and all of that resulted in getting more customers who transacted more with us,’ said SBM’s Chief Executive Officer, Bhartesh Shah, in an interview with Business Daily.

Customer savings with the bank expanded 28.6 percent to Sh97.2 billion but its cost of deposits grew at a slower pace of 14.8 percent, to Sh4.2 billion, underlining the drop in interest rates in the Kenyan market.

SBM will have to inject additional capital in the lender to sustain the business growth following a thinning of its capital adequacy ratios.

The bank’s total capital to total risk weighted assets declined to 15.4 percent being 0.9 percentage points above the statutory minimum of 14.5 percent.

‘We’re actively looking at ways of increasing our capital … we’re looking at various options for tier two capital, as we’re hoping we can go into the next year with a much bigger capital base,’ said Mr Shah.

SBM Holdings, the Mauritius based parent company of the bank, has made several capital injections in the local subsidiary to support the growth with its paid up capital increasing by Sh1.2 billion in the last 12 months.

The bank, which entered the Kenyan market through the acquisition of Chase Bank and Fidelity Bank, reported a 40 percent drop in its non-performing loans to Sh9.9 billion which management attributed to closure of bad loans inherited from previous owners. The bank’s bad loans to total loan book ratio (NPL ratio) declined sharply to 16.9 percent from 32.3 percent 12 months ago.

‘A large part of that (32.3 percent) were loans we inherited from the previous Chase Bank and from Fidelity Bank as well… we took the approach of sitting down with the clients and negotiating for a settlement with them,’ said Mr Shah.

Management expects the NPL ratio to continue dropping as it books new quality loans.

Bad loans in the banking sector dropped to a 44 month low 13.9 percent in September mirroring improved loan repayments and credit affordability.

SBM becomes the first lender to publish its nine months financials with its performance giving indications of another season of huge profits for the banking sector.

Every evening, thousands of professionals sit trapped in gridlocked traffic, enduring grueling, multi-hour commutes from Nairobi’s central business district to their homes in satellite towns.

Driven by a severe shortage of reasonably priced urban housing, this uncontrolled outward expansion carries heavy, often invisible burdens for both households and municipal governments alike.

While families exhaust up to 40 percent of their disposable incomes and invaluable personal time on multi-hour journeys, historic downtowns suffer from declining business activity and shrinking tax revenues. Meanwhile, expanding residential suburbs consume vital rural farmland and overextend public utility networks.

The reality is that families rarely move to the city edges out of preference. Most Kenyans want to live close to their workplaces, schools, hospitals, local markets and other key amenities.

In fact, global urban planning data-including research by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute-confirms that when developers deliver high-quality, reasonably priced homes inside major city centres, urban workers eagerly embrace the opportunity to settle there.

To ensure the long-term economic and social health of major metropolises such as Nairobi and Mombasa, we must pivot away from peripheral sprawl and actively revitalise our historic downtowns.

Building inside congested, established urban centres is difficult, but public-private partnerships (PPPs) offer a viable path forward, as evidenced by urban renewal initiatives-such as the GulfCap model applied at Buxton Point in Mombasa and Starehe Point in Nairobi.

By strategically mixing low-cost, social housing with market-rate units, developers can leverage higher-end sales to cross-subsidise premium community infrastructure, including playgrounds, kindergartens, green spaces, and sports facilities.

This balanced approach creates diverse, well-integrated neighbourhoods where individuals from various financial backgrounds can comfortably coexist.

To ensure these projects are sustainable, developers must ensure that they actively benefit the surrounding neighbourhood from the very first day of construction.

True urban renewal goes beyond simply erecting buildings; it requires developers to hire local labour, source regional materials, and directly upgrade neighbouring roads, drainage systems, and water lines.

By improving the broader precinct’s infrastructure, these developments earn genuine community buy-in and generate immense market demand from buyers looking to eliminate heavy commute overheads.

Over the next decade, these coordinated efforts can entirely reshape the fabric of Kenyan cities, turning crowded business centers into lively, 24-hour residential neighbourhoods.

Moving out to the distant city edges should no longer be an enforced compromise for families seeking affordable homeownership, because the true future of Kenyan housing lies right in the heart of our downtowns.

Former KPMG Kenya senior partner Richard Boro Ndung’u has been allowed to amend his claim against KPMG International Cooperative over his removal from the accounting firm in January 2017.

The High Court granted Mr Ndung’u permission to revise his pleadings to clarify the relationship between KPMG International (KPMGI), the Swiss entity that coordinates the global network, and its member firms, as well as the duties arising from that relationship.

Mr Ndung’u was removed as a partner of the audit firm on January 13, 2017, on allegations that he had an inappropriate relationship with his former personal assistant.

He sued KPMG Kenya and was awarded Sh379 million in March 2019, but his former employer has appealed the decision.

Mr Ndung’u is now also separately seeking damages from KPMGI, arguing that the global firm failed to protect him and instead aided his removal as a partner from the regional firm.

KPMGI has opposed the claim, arguing that it is a foreign entity registered in Switzerland and has no office in Kenya.

The firm has also accused Mr Ndung’u of seeking double recovery by pursuing damages from the global entity after securing the Sh379 million award against the Kenyan partners.

The proposed amendments also seek to establish the links between Mr Ndung’u and the global firm, cite comparable cases involving its oversight of member firms, and strengthen his constitutional claims.

Mr Ndung’u cited the 2022 fines imposed by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) on three KPMG member firms and KPMGI’s takeover of KPMG South Africa as examples of the global firm’s oversight role.

KPMGI opposed the application, arguing that some of the proposed amendments introduced new causes of action, including tortious interference, an alleged automatic duty and implied fiduciary relationship, as well as failures in disciplinary action after arbitration.

The global firm argued that the claims did not arise from the same facts as the original suit and were time-barred under the three-year limitation period for tort claims.

It also accused Mr Ndung’u of introducing evidence, legal arguments and matters involving parties who were not part of the suit, contrary to procedural rules.

However in a ruling on October 8, the court rejected the objections at this stage, saying KPMGI would have an opportunity to respond to the amended claims in its defence.

‘Leave is granted to the Plaintiff to amend the plaint in terms of the draft Amended Plaint marked ‘RBN-1′, save that the following are excluded paragraphs,’ the court ruled.

Mr Ndung’u was directed to file and serve the amended plaint within 14 days of the ruling. KPMGI will then have 14 days after service to file its amended defence, including any objection based on limitation of time.

The dispute stems from a complaint Mr Ndung’u lodged in October 2016 against senior officials at KPMG East Africa Association and KPMG Kenya.

In May 2019, he sued KPMGI, alleging that the global firm failed to protect him after he raised concerns about the conduct of the regional and Kenyan leadership, instead facilitating his removal without notice, reasons or a hearing.

A Certified Public Accountant, Mr Ndung’u rose through the ranks to become senior partner and chief executive of KPMG Kenya.

He said he formally lodged the complaint on October 17, 2016, through the chairman of the Senior Partners Forum and KPMG South Africa chief executive Trevor Hoole. He added that KPMGI was also made aware of the allegations.

Three days later, on October 20, 2016, KPMG initiated internal investigations into the matter, and his then boss was notified of the complaint.

Mr Ndung’u accuses the global firm of acting as an accomplice in what he describes as machinations and deliberate actions by KPMG Kenya to deny him justice.

He argues that KPMGI failed to provide the support and protection required when he faced what he considers injustices by the Kenyan firm.

He further alleges that the global network applied double standards in handling complaints involving African partners compared with their European counterparts.

In his court filings, Mr Ndung’u argues that cases involving European partners facing comparable allegations were handled more favourably.

‘My treatment at KPMGI’s hands was therefore discriminatory and racially motivated, given the disdain they have for the citizens and the laws of Kenya in particular, and Africa in general,’ he said.

He also accuses KPMGI of violating assurances contained in its Global Code of Conduct, as well as obligations under the licence agreement governing its relationship with member firms and the Constitution and laws of Kenya.

His claim against the global firm cites alleged breaches of duty of care, the Global Code of Conduct and his constitutional rights under Articles 27, 28, 35 and 47, alongside the Fair Administrative Action Act.

Separately, Mr Ndung’u sued KPMG Kenya and was awarded Sh379 million in March 2019. The former employer has appealed against that decision.

In the case against KPMGI, he is seeking damages, arguing that the global firm failed to protect him and instead aided his removal as a partner from the regional firm.

KPMGI has opposed the claim, arguing that it is a foreign entity registered in Switzerland and has no office in Kenya.

The firm has also accused Mr Ndung’u of seeking double recovery by pursuing damages from the global entity after securing the Sh379 million award against the Kenyan partners.

West Africa spent an average Sh10,410 per day on accommodation in Kenya, outspending tourists from the richer nations in Europe and US.

Visitors from countries like Nigeria and Cameroon splashed more compared to their counterparts from Switzerland (Sh7, 779), United Kingdom (Sh7, 511) and Americans (7, 177), according to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) survey.

The Middle East nations like Qatar, Switzerland and the US are multiple time wealthier than the West Africa countries.

Nigeria and Cameroon have a GDP person of $1, 224 and $1, 972, respectively, compared with the US ($95, 212), Switzerland ($124, 478) and Ireland ($127, 837).

The accommodation spend of West Africans was followed by visitors from North Africa (Sh8,627) and East and Central Africa at Sh8,492, says the survey dubbed the Inbound Tourism Expenditure.

Inbound tourists survey is conducted at the end of the trip when travelers have completed their stay in the country, and they have spent on goods and services during their visit.

Notably, the spending gap between West African and EAC visitors stood at Sh6,529 per day, with West African visitors spending about 2.7 times as much on accommodation.

‘Residents of West and North Africa had the highest spending at Sh10,410 and Sh8,627 on accommodation, respectively and the least being those from EAC region at Sh3,881,’ the survey notes.

‘Tourist expenditure is a central component of inbound tourism as it reflects the actual economic impact of international visitors on the host country. It comprises spending on a wide range of goods and services, including accommodation, transport, food and drinks, shopping, entertainment, tour services, and other travel-related activities,’ the statistics agency said.

The survey also shows that spending varies considerably according to the purpose of travel, with visitors in transit and those attending meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) recording the highest daily accommodation expenditure.

Visitors in transit spent an average Sh8,233 per day, narrowly ahead of MICE travellers at Sh8,198.

Business and professional visitors followed at Sh6,565, while holidaymakers spent Sh5,630 daily.

Hotels remained the dominant accommodation facility, accounting for 52.1 percent in the survey’s visitor distribution breakdown.

Staying with friends or relatives accounted for 25.6 percent, while vacation rentals, including Airbnb properties, represented 9.6 percent.

Lodges accounted for 9.4 percent, apartments 5.4 percent and campsites 2.9 percent.

The prominence of hotels comes as demand for accommodation continues to expand. Kenya recorded 11.56 million hotel-bed nights in 2025, up from 10.26 million in 2024, a 12.7 percent increase.

Hotel-bed nights have more than doubled from 5.52 million in 2021, rising to 7.01 million in 2022 and 8.63 million in 2023 before reaching 11.56 million last year.

The accommodation and food service industry’s contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) also increased to 1.7 percent in 2025 from 1.6 percent in 2024 and 1.3 percent in 2023.

For tourism operators, the spending data offer a basis for refining market strategies around visitor origin, travel purpose and accommodation preferences.

The relatively high daily spending recorded among West African visitors, MICE travellers and visitors in transit provides a starting point for identifying customer segments with potentially higher accommodation yields.

The State dropped the fuel subsidy for the first time since August 2025 as prices of petrol and diesel rose Sh12.93 and Sh9.90 per litre, respectively in the wake of renewed conflict in the Middle East.

The subsidy withdrawals follow depletion of a kitty or the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) Fund, which the State has used to ease costly petroleum.

The levy is funded by consumers who pay Sh5.40 per litre of diesel and petrol and Sh0.40 for every litre of kerosene to kitty.

But its heavy use in the wake of the war in Iran, which broke in February, has exhausted the kitty as the state sought to cushion consumers from costly fuel.

For example, the State applied a record high subsidy of Sh34.07 per litre of diesel to prevent prices of the commodity from rising in the monthly cycle to July 14, this year.

‘The decision we have taken today (removing subsidy) is meant to ensure that we save enough money for the future. Europe is going into winter and this will trigger a surge in demand for diesel and kerosene, and thus lead to a sharp rise in global prices of the two products,’ said Edward Kinyua, the Director General of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) Wednesday evening.

‘The PDL kitty is under the National Treasury and it is on their advice and what we need for the future that we have taken this decision.’

A litre of diesel will retail at Sh227.85 from Sh217.86 in Nairobi, while petrol is up to Sh226.96 from Sh214.03 in Nairobi despite the State extending a reduction in Value Added Tax (VAT) on petroleum for another three months to mid-December.

The spike in pump prices reflects the impact of the renewed Middle East war that disrupted the global energy markets, pushing prices of refined fuel to the highest in over a decade last month.

Fuel prices have a big effect on inflation, which relies heavily on diesel for transport, power generation and agriculture, while kerosene is used in many households for cooking and lighting.

A litre of Kerosene rose by Sh28.49 to Sh219.87.

Costly fuel will spark fresh inflationary pressure given that farmers, goods producers and service providers factor the costs of fuel in the pricing of their goods and services.

Inflation-measure of cost of living- hit 6.8 percent last month which is the highest in recent times since the 6.9 percent recorded in January 2024.

Kenya in April cut VAT ?on petroleum products from 16 percent to 8 percent for three months, after crude oil prices surged because of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.

It has extended the lower VAT for the second time to cushion households and businesses from volatility in global energy prices.

Landed costs (cost of product plus transport costs) of refined fuel hit last month hit record highs in over a decade diesel jumped to $ per cubic metre setting the stage for steep pump prices locally.

The surge in prices of refined fuel underscore the impact of the renewed Middle East conflict that has seen global prices of Brent crude surge past the $100-per barrel mark since last month. The prices stood at $105.98 (Sh13,750.90) on Wednesday.

The US military destroyed multiple Iranian tankers last month following ballistic missile attacks by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) against US Navy warships as the Middle East conflict escalated.

Iran had directed attacks at US allies in the Gulf region, targeting critical infrastructure such as oil refineries and pipelines. This has disrupted supplies leading to steep prices of refined fuel in the global markets.

The latest rise in local prices will be significantly felt in the coming days as service providers, farmers and manufacturers pass the increased cost of fuel to consumers.

Diesel is the main fuel powering the Kenyan economy and is used to power farm machinery, industries and public transport.

Wajir has Kenya’s highest youth unemployment rate at 35 percent, nearly four times the nine percent recorded in Nandi and Nyeri, as young people face different chances of finding work across counties.

The 2026 County Development Index (CDI) ranks Wajir highest in youth unemployment, followed by Turkana, Marsabit, Mandera and Samburu at 34 percent, 32 percent, 31 percent and 30 percent respectively.

Garissa records youth unemployment of 29 percent, Tana River 28 percent and Mombasa 27 percent, placing the coastal city among the counties with the highest rates despite its tourism, port, transport and trading industries.

The gap points to a jobs problem that is more severe in some counties than others, with high unemployment limiting young people’s incomes and worsening poverty in areas where businesses and employers are scarce.

‘High unemployment among young people constrains household incomes, increases poverty and undermines long-term economic productivity,’ the CDI report says.

‘The analysis suggests that expanding labour-intensive industries, strengthening entrepreneurship and increasing investments in technical skills will be essential for addressing youth unemployment.’

At the other end, Nandi and Nyeri record the lowest youth unemployment rates at 9 percent, followed by Kirinyaga, Murang’a, Nyandarua and Tharaka-Nithi at 10 percent.

Kericho and Nyamira record rates of 11 percent, while Elgeyo-Marakwet, Meru and Uasin Gishu each stand at 12 percent, according to the index.

The report links lower unemployment in counties such as Nandi and Nyeri to productive agriculture, stronger private-sector activity and technical skills development, while arid and semi-arid counties face structural barriers to employment.

‘Nandi and Nyeri recorded the lowest youth unemployment rates at nine percent… These counties combine productive agricultural sectors with relatively stronger private sector activity and technical skills development,’ said the report.

Mombasa’s high unemployment rate, however, reflects a different pressure, with rapid urbanisation and population growth adding more people to the labour market faster than jobs are being created.

‘Mombasa’s relatively high youth unemployment reflects rapid urbanization, population growth and labour supply outpacing employment creation,’ the CDI noted.

National employment data show that creating jobs remains a challenge, with most new opportunities concentrated in the informal sector.

Kenya created 824,100 jobs in 2025, with 90 percent being in the informal sector, according to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). Total recorded employment rose to 21.6 million from 20.8 million in 2024.

Wage employment increased 3.1 percent from 3.21 million in 2024 to 3.32 million in 2025, a much smaller rise than total recorded employment.

The World Bank estimates that about 85 percent of young people in Kenya rely on informal work, where earnings can be uncertain and opportunities for career progression limited.

It also identifies weak job markets and infrastructure gaps as barriers in arid and semi-arid regions.

In counties with high unemployment, a narrow range of employers and weak links between local producers and larger markets can limit the number of jobs available to young people leaving school or technical training.

The government’s National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) project is targeting 820,000 young people through apprenticeships, skills certification, business grants and savings support.

Its official programme outlines plans to place 90,000 young people into work or enterprise and provide capital to 110,000 businesses.

Four coastal-based salt producers have won a court fight against a Sh200-per-tonne levy on their products. The High Court declared the charge by the Kilifi County government as unconstitutional and ordered a stop in collections.

The judge ruled that the charge under the Kilifi County Finance Act, 2018, lacked meaningful public participation and was not authorised by national legislation. The court also found the county had not linked the levy to a service.

‘Having failed to demonstrate the services rendered in relation to salt extraction, the Court finds that the cess imposed is not a charge for service as contemplated by Article 209(4) and cannot stand,’ the court said.

Krystaline Salt Company Ltd, Ken Salt Company Ltd, Malindi Salt Works and Kurawa Industries filed the case against the County Government of Kilifi, the County Assembly and the Attorney-General. The firms challenged a levy introduced at Sh60 per tonne in 2017 and increased to Sh200 under the 2018 law.

The companies said the charge raised production costs. They said a meeting with the county finance team in October 2018 did not lead to a cut, while a Kenya Association of Manufacturers memorandum in September 2019 sought a reduction to Sh100 per tonne.

They argued that counties could not impose the cess without authority under national law and that the county provided no service to justify it. They also said that businesses and residents were not adequately consulted over the tax.

The county, however, maintained that the Finance Act was subjected to public participation across all seven sub-counties. It said notices had been issued, copies of the draft bill were available online and in hard copy, and views from meetings had been considered.

The County Assembly argued that the Constitution empowered counties to raise revenue for public services.

But the court found shortcomings in the county’s own participation record. The notice inviting public views was undated, and no deadline was given for written memoranda. The county’s report recorded complaints that the draft bill had not reached participants in good time.

The judge also noted requests for Kiswahili versions, ward-level meetings to reduce travel costs, and sign-language interpretation. She found the process did not give people a fair opportunity to understand the proposals and contribute.

‘The imposition of cess on salt in the Finance Act, 2018 is unconstitutional for violation of Article 10(2) of the Constitution for failure to facilitate meaningful public participation,’ the judge ruled.

The court found that the levy breached Article 209(3), which limits county taxes to property rates, entertainment taxes and other taxes authorized by an Act of Parliament. The county had not identified any national law authorizing the salt cess.

Under Article 209(4), counties may charge for services they provide. The court found Kilifi had not identified a service or amenity offered in exchange for the charge, saying the county’s reference to essential services was vague.

No authority

The court also found that the cess could prejudice economic activities across county boundaries and interfere with the movement of goods. It further ruled that managing seawater and the salt extracted from it fell under the national government’s functions because these responsibilities had not been assigned to county governments under the Constitution.

The court said Kilifi County therefore lacked the constitutional authority to impose the levy on salt extraction.

The court declared the cess provision null and void and prohibited the county government and assembly from collecting the fee under that provision.

It did not order refunds or compensation. The judge said compensation had been raised in submissions but was not sought in the petition.

The companies had also challenged Kilifi’s 2019 draft valuation roll, which they said increased land rates to more than 1,000 per cent of unimproved site value and contained inflated or inaccurate entries.

The court declined to reconsider that issue because another High Court judgment had quashed the roll in May 2021.

In its defence, the county argued that losing the levy would deprive it of revenue needed to provide essential services to residents. The County Assembly maintained that the cess was a legitimate source of income and urged the court not to issue orders that would undermine the county’s ability to fund public services.

The judge acknowledged the importance of county revenue in supporting a devolved government but said the power to raise money must be exercised within the limits set by the Constitution. The judge noted that counties must generate sufficient revenue to deliver services, but cannot impose charges without a proper legal basis or where the Constitution does not permit them.

‘The power to impose taxes must, however, be exercised in a manner that meets constitutional muster and where it does not, the Court must intervene,’ the court ruled.

She also found that the Attorney-General was improperly joined in the dispute because no violation had been alleged against that office, and county institutions have their own legal representation immediately.

Masokani, an emerging settlement on Kangundo Road, is shaping up as the next property frontier in Nairobi’s satellite town.

When the BDLife recently visited, the transition was hard to miss. Fenced plots stretched across the dry landscape along the Koma-Kenol/Nairobi-Kangundo Road corridor, while scattered posh maisonettes and commercial properties were under construction.

Yet many plots remain empty, their owners seemingly content to wait for the area to develop.

For Robert Kamau, who has lived in Masokani since the 1990s, the transformation has been considerable.

‘When I bought here in the 1990s, there was no development whatsoever. Even this road is just a recent infrastructure improvement,’ he says of a the main tarmac road.

Mr Kamau bought two acres at Sh40,000 an acre. Today, he estimates that a 50-by-100-foot plot near the road costs at least Sh1.5 million.

Masokani prices sit within a wider market of settlements along Kangundo Road, where cost depends on location, access and level of development.

Some 50-by-100-foot plots in Malaa and Kantafu cost about Sh999,000. In Joska, same size plots go for Sh1.1 million to Sh1.7 million, and commercial plots are listed at about Sh2.2 million.

The settlement, near the boundary of Kathiani and Matungulu constituencies, is attracting buyers seeking homes away from crowded urban centres.

Property developers are keen to tap on this demand, buying huge tracts of land, subdividing, titling and setting up utilities such as water and electricity to woo buyers. After the value add, the developers demand at least Sh2.1 million for the 50-by-100-foot commercial plots.

According to Mr Kamau, the delopers are also pricing houses attractively with a three-bedroom house priced at about Sh5.2 million, while a four-bedroom townhouse measuring 152 square metres costs approximately Sh9.5 million.

However, not every buyer is staying.

Mary Ndanu is among those reassessing their investment in Masokani. She bought a 50-by-100-foot plot five years ago, during the Covid-19 period, for Sh520,000. She now hopes to sell it for about Sh850,000 and redirect the proceeds to an investment she believes will generate better returns.

‘I’ll probably do rental houses or invest in another property that has better returns,’ she says.

Ms Ndanu still sees potential in the Masokani. She points to the prospect of a petrol station, possibly accompanied by a mini supermarket, and believes better roads could encourage businesses and residential developers to move in.

‘Once the roads improve, more people will be able to access the area, and that could attract more development,’ she says.

‘The area is becoming cosmopolitan because people from different places are coming to settle here. With more people coming in, there is potential for the area to grow further.’

For now, she says how fast Masokani grows will depend on whether those projects materialise and the roads and other infrastructure improve quickly to catch up with the ever increasing land prices being quoted.

Such expectations underpin much of the appeal of emerging property markets. Buyers may be willing to hold land for years if they believe population growth, infrastructure and commercial activity will eventually lift its value. But those gains are not automatic, and the timing remains uncertain.

For Masokani, improved road access and the spread of housing provide visible signs of change. Whether the settlement can attract enough residents, businesses and services to sustain further growth remains an open question.

For now, investors must weigh the potential for appreciation against the cost of holding undeveloped land, the availability of essential services and the returns they could earn elsewhere. In a market where much of the promise lies in what is yet to come, patience may be valuable – but so is the ability to distinguish between an emerging opportunity and an expensive wait.