Category: Business Daily

For years, employee experience has been positioned as an HR agenda. It often sits alongside engagement surveys, wellness programmes, recognition initiatives, and workplace culture campaigns. While these are important, they only tell part of the story.

The truth is that employee experience is much bigger than HR. It is a business-wide responsibility shaped by every system, process, leader, and decision employees encounter throughout their journey at work.

An employee does not experience an organisation through the HR department alone. They experience it through the speed of IT support when their laptop fails, the clarity of communication from leadership, the efficiency of finance processes when expenses are delayed, the quality of management conversations, and the ease of collaboration across teams. In many cases, the moments that most influence morale and productivity happen far away from HR.

This is why organisations that treat employee experience as a standalone HR initiative often struggle to create lasting impact.

They may run successful engagement campaigns while employees still battle slow approvals, unclear priorities, outdated tools, or managers who are not equipped to lead people effectively. Good intentions cannot compensate for poor operating systems.

High-performing organisations understand that employee experience is an operating model issue, not just a people issue.

It starts with leadership. Senior leaders set the tone through visibility, trust, decision-making speed, and consistency.

Employees notice whether leaders communicate openly, listen to feedback, and model the culture they promote. No engagement programme can outshine weak leadership behaviour.

Managers also play a defining role. For many employees, their manager is the organisation. Daily coaching, recognition, workload management, career conversations, and psychological safety are delivered through line managers. If managers are unsupported or untrained, employee experience quickly declines regardless of broader HR initiatives.

Technology is another major driver. Employees compare workplace systems with the simplicity of the consumer apps they use every day. When internal systems are fragmented, slow, or difficult to navigate, frustration grows. Seamless digital experiences are no longer optional; they are central to productivity and engagement.

Then there are the processes employees live through every day: onboarding, performance reviews, internal mobility, leave requests, learning access, approvals, and communication flows. If these journeys feel confusing or bureaucratic, employees interpret it as organisational indifference.

So who owns employee experience?

The most effective answer is everyone, with clear accountability. HR should architect the overall framework, measure sentiment, and champion people-centered design. But IT must own digital usability.

Finance must simplify employee-facing transactions. Leaders must create trust and direction. Managers must deliver everyday experience. Operations teams must remove friction from workflows.

Ultimately, responsibility for employee experience sits at the highest level of governance. That is why boards should also receive regular, measurable KPIs on employee experience in the same way they review financial, operational, and customer performance indicators.

More importantly, board visibility creates accountability and encourages earlier intervention when warning signs emerge. In the future, Boards will oversee three interconnected scorecards: financial performance, customer performance, and employee performance. Ignoring any one of them creates risk.

Organisations should begin by mapping employee journeys the same way they map customer journeys. And this includes documenting the real steps employees follow, including informal handoffs, shadow systems and delays that are not ‘officially’ mentioned in SOPs.

Where are the pain points? Where is time wasted? Where do decisions get stuck? Where do employees feel unsupported? Where do systems contradict stated values? What could be improved to remove friction and how? And in this AI era, evaluate where AI can support the workflow by connecting signals, building context and helping teams act on better information.

The future of work will belong to organisations that understand a simple truth: employees are internal customers of the workplace experience.

When companies design work with the same care they design products and services, engagement rises, productivity improves, and culture becomes real.

Employee experience was never meant to belong to HR alone. It belongs to the entire business.

A court battle over a hotel in Kericho County has cast fresh light on the risks of investing significant sums in renovating a leased property without a comprehensive and binding agreement with the asset owner.

The dispute pits Majani Hotels Group against Tea Hotel Limited over a long-term lease signed in August 2023 for a hotel and swimming pool complex.

At the centre is a claim by the tenant (Majani) that it invested up to Sh10 million in renovations to revive a dilapidated facility. The lease was for a period of 20 years.

Majani moved to court in August last year seeking to block termination of the lease, arguing that the investment transformed the property into a viable, high-value hospitality venture. It also sought reconciliation of rent accounts to reflect renovation costs.

Lease dispute

Tea Hotel, the landlord, opposed the move and sought court orders to evict the tenant, accusing it of failing to pay rent for over two years and illegally subletting the premises.

‘The renovations that were to be carried out by the plaintiff were not an investment as they were to make the premises suitable to run the hotel business,’ Musa Koech, Tea Hotel director, stated in court filings.

The Environment and Land Court declined to grant either side interim relief, instead directing that the core dispute proceed to a full hearing.

In its ruling, the court underscored the limits of judicial intervention in commercial contracts at an early stage. ‘A court of law cannot rewrite a contract between the parties,’ the judge said, adding that parties ‘are bound by the terms of their contract.’

Tenant claims

The tenant argued that it discovered undisclosed water and electricity arrears after taking possession of the premises, which led to disconnection of essential services. It said this crippled operations and justified withholding rent while undertaking repairs.

Majani further claimed that the parties had agreed to offset renovation costs against rent and adjust revenue-sharing terms in its favour for five years. It contended that the rent ratio was to be revised to 60:40 in favour of the tenant over the same period to reflect the investment.

It warned that termination would result in ‘irreparable loss, including forfeiture of its investment’, disclosing that the landlord had engaged an auctioneer.

‘The purported termination notice treats the lease as a simple tenancy arrangement rather than a registered long-term lease, thereby undermining the Plaintiff’s rights and protections under the lease and the applicable laws,’ said Majani’s director, Fredrick Ochieng’ Amayo.

Landlord pushback

But the landlord dismissed the claims, insisting no such agreement existed and that the tenant had breached key lease terms, including failure to pay rent and unauthorised subletting.

Tea Hotel told the court the tenant had accumulated rent arrears of Sh3.9 million and continued to occupy the premises while generating income.

The court found that the contested issues – including the validity of the termination notice, rent obligations and the extent of renovations – required a full trial.

‘It is my view that its validity or otherwise is an issue for determination during the hearing,’ the judge said of the termination notice.

On the tenant’s request for rent reconciliation, the court was firm. ‘The plaintiff is calling upon the court to rewrite the terms of the lease agreement,’ the ruling stated, declining to compel accounting adjustments.

The court also rejected the tenant’s proposal to deposit Sh1 million in court pending reconciliation, noting it was tied to a prayer already declined.

Equally, the landlord’s push for eviction orders failed. The court ruled that granting vacant possession at this stage of litigation would effectively determine the entire dispute without a full hearing.

‘Such orders would have the effect of determining the counterclaim at the interlocutory stage,’ the court said, leaving the tenant in occupation and the landlord unable to enforce eviction until the main case is heard.

In an era where large language models of artificial intelligence are widely used and studies show a dumbing down of society whereby thinking frequently now gets offloaded to AI, it has never been more critical to champion doctoral education as a harbinger of knowledge creation and dissemination.

As we advocate enhancing doctoral education, let us find ways to fix various broken aspects of PhD and DBA programmes.

Here in Kenya, British Council and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) research shows that only 11 percent of doctoral students finish within six years.

The Commission for University Education (CUE) shows a similar figure at 13 percent. We have one of the highest PhD dropout rates in the world. It would be lazy if we merely blame financial strain as reasons for doctoral study departures.

If the student is able to fund themselves for many years and still not graduate, then there exists a systemic issue that educators must address.

Kenya holds arguably the most difficult and burdensome doctoral process in the entire world. Globally, there exist three main models in doctoral education.

First involves the North American model whereby one completes an undergraduate bachelor’s degree and then typically goes straight into PhD studies, bypassing a master’s degree entirely.

Therefore, their doctoral programmes include intensive coursework to become a subject matter expert and on how to research in one’s discipline, then a comprehensive examination, followed by the ever-dreaded dissertation that takes around five to seven years to finish the whole programme.

All the while, the doctoral candidates usually teach undergraduate classes and support faculty on research in exchange for tuition waivers or fee reductions.

Second, the European model utilises an entirely different structure. A student completes their bachelor’s degree and then proceeds on to a master’s degree. The master’s degree would usually include a thesis component, unlike most North American master’s degrees.

In Europe, a master’s degree is often a steppingstone to a doctorate. The master’s programme thesis is then usually under 15,000 words, while in Britain often 8,000 words depending on the discipline.

Then further in Europe, after the master’s, one then enters a doctoral programme where the sole focus revolves around the comprehensive dissertation.

They presume that the student is already a subject matter expert from the master’s degree and therefore doctoral programmes do not include coursework, mainly just some short seminars on how to research.

Therefore, European doctorates usually take around three years full-time. South Africa and the United Kingdom follow the European methodology for doctorates.

Third, we in Kenya have our own different and arguably tedious way. We mix the worst of all by requiring a master’s degree like in Europe and also requiring a doctorate with intensive coursework like in North America before the dissertation.

So, a Kenyan doctoral student takes an additional two years of classes more than almost any other doctorate on the planet, usually resulting in unhelpful coursework regurgitating undergraduate and master’s topics already taught instead of focusing on research or helping to solve national pain points.

Therefore, everyone studies for the exam instead of studying to understand subjects deeply as faculty try to make the class harder because of the doctoral level and ask obscure questions from content not covered in class with the excuse that doctoral students should do extemporaneous reading. Further, Kenyan master’s theses usually are required to be far longer than the European standard.

We must really examine whether forcing our students to jump through extra hoops is helping or hurting our nation. We need doctoral students solving societal problems not stuck in bureaucratic circles.

Further structural problems include vague research methods courses and non-specific research manuals forcing students to pay for help from the illicit academic writing industry.

Researchers Rosemary Mbogo, Elly Ndiao, Joash Wambua, Niceta Ireri, and Francisca Ngala published in the European Journal of Education Studies about the stunning doctoral supervisory challenges and delays in Kenya at both public and private higher education institutions in Kenya.

Beyond the structural problems with the setup, in East Africa we perpetuate a gotcha culture in Higher Education. Students must show extreme deference to supervisors who in most cases receive no disciplinary measures if they refuse to ever meet their students. So, getting a PhD turns into more about being awarded a “bureaucracy buster” certificate more than doing actual original research.

Doctoral students spend much of their time chasing supervisors and following up on vague corrections. In Britain, as an example, corrections from supervisors and invigilators must state specific pages and paragraphs for corrections, not the vague often seen in Kenya ‘make the thesis tighter’, ‘follow the research manual more’, etc.

Then academics ponder why many students turn to the academic writing industry scourge for help because faculty fail in executing their duties clearly and fairly.

Students are often blocked from conducting original research since new techniques are often frowned upon and not allowed to be world-leading because doctoral supervisors are simply unaware of the latest statistical techniques.

Then in defenses of dissertations, students are often not allowed to talk. They cannot defend and prove that they know the content. Various faculty show off to each other to insult the students’ work in classic gotcha fashion.

Researchers Rugut Kipleting and Syomwene Kisilu recommend that Kenyan universities invest in developing the skills as well as knowledge of doctoral supervisors while building in support structures for students.

Join Business Talk next week as we dissect red flags to look out for in doctoral programs, the questions to ask before selecting a university, and how to choose the right PhD program for you.

A familiar strategy has long shaped how many Kenyan investors approach the stock market: buy, hold, and wait. Sometimes that wait stretches for decades, driven by the belief that patience will eventually pay off.

The idea is simple; time in the market smooths volatility, and doing nothing is often the safest move.

But today’s market conditions are beginning to challenge that thinking.

As markets become more dynamic, a purely passive approach can leave investors exposed during downturns or periods of stagnation.

This has opened the door for a more active strategy-one that does not just wait for returns, but actively seeks them.

Trading is emerging as that complementary approach. Rather than replacing investing, trading offers another way to participate in the market.

According to Lillian Chege, a trading analyst at FourFront Management, the perceived divide between the two is overstated.

‘You can make money from both. They are often presented as opposites, but they are simply different tools with the same goal; wealth creation,’ she says.

The difference lies in approach.

Investing relies on long-term growth, while trading requires active engagement-tracking price movements, analysing trends, and acting on short-term opportunities.

‘With trading, you are more involved. You watch the market and respond to what it is doing,’ Ms Chege explains.

These opportunities often arise from short-term price inefficiencies, essentially moments when assets are mispriced and traders can profit from quick movements that long-term investors might overlook.

By contrast, a buy-and-hold strategy depends on the assumption that prices will eventually reflect a company’s true value, a belief that has historically worked, particularly in stable markets. But that approach has limits.

‘When markets are falling, a passive investor can lose money by simply holding on,’ Ms Chege says. ‘In some cases, stocks even get suspended.’

Active traders, however, can respond to changing sentiment, selling when outlooks weaken and re-entering when conditions improve.

‘They can exit, wait, and buy again when prices stabilise,’ she adds.

Still, trading often attracts scepticism, with some critics likening it to gambling. Ms Chege rejects that comparison.

‘Both involve money and risk, but trading is structured. It requires discipline, analysis, and decision-making, unlike gambling, which is largely chance-based,’ she says.

Success in trading, she adds, begins with mindset. It is not guesswork, but a skill that requires learning, strategy, and risk management.

As more investors explore this space, they must also choose strategies that match their goals and capacity. Meanwhile, structural barriers, such as limited access to capital, research, and technology, continue to give institutional investors an edge.

However, that gap is narrowing.

Advances in technology are making tools like algorithmic trading more accessible. These systems use historical data to identify patterns and signal potential buying or selling opportunities.

Ms Chege likens it to a GPS with live traffic updates: the destination remains the same, but the route adjusts in real time.

While some worry that automation could replace human judgement, she believes the future lies in balance.

‘It will not replace people entirely. It will complement decision-making,’ she says.

Over the coming weeks, many listed and regulated businesses will publish sustainability disclosures alongside their annual reports. These statements outline environmental, social and governance commitments, often accompanied by reflections on long-term value, stakeholder impact and organisational resilience.

The reports have become a standard feature of corporate reporting and an increasingly important reference point for investors, regulators and other stakeholders assessing how institutions are governed.

Yet for all the attention paid to the reporting, an uncomfortable question often lingers. Is an organisation’s commitment to sustainability really demonstrated in the disclosures it produces, or somewhere else entirely?

Picture a scene in the boardroom. After a lengthy discussion, the numbers are clear. The proposal is commercially sound, and the short-term outlook is reassuring. Then a concern is raised.

An additional investment could strengthen resilience over time, but it would dilute near-term performance. The issue is acknowledged, discussed briefly, and ultimately set aside. The decision proceeds based on what can best be defended today.

Instances like these are rarely described as sustainability decisions. They are framed instead as practical judgements about capital allocation, pricing, returns or growth.

Yet it is precisely in these instances that sustainability is put under pressure. How far ahead is the institution prepared to look? What trade-offs is it willing to accept? And what is the real cost, not just the accounting cost, of delaying action?

For most organisations, sustainability is often reduced to environmental programmes, community initiatives, or a dedicated annual report. But important as these are, they exist alongside a deeper reality.

The concept is also embedded in the everyday economic decisions institutions make, including how capital is deployed, how risk is priced, and how much weight is given to resilience. It is the discipline of choosing long-term integrity over short-term convenience, repeatedly, in ordinary business decisions.

In that sense, disclosure merely follows decisions – it does not create them. The true measure of sustainability lies earlier, in the judgements that shape an institution’s direction.

It is not a parallel agenda running alongside the business, but an integral part of how boards navigate competing priorities over time.

Many of the choices that matter most are incremental and routine.

A delay here, a compromise there, a preference for immediate returns over investment in future capacity. Each decision may be reasonable in isolation. Taken together, however, they begin to define a trajectory that is far more consequential than any individual choice appears at the time.

Boards are rarely short of information. They are alert to external pressures, aware of emerging trends and familiar with early warning indicators. The difficulty is not recognising these signals, but deciding which ones should actively shape decisions and which can be deferred.

Often, they are described as uncertain, evolving or not yet material. That judgement about what to elevate and what to postpone is not a matter of process alone. It is an exercise of stewardship.

Measurement plays a vital role in governance. It brings discipline, enables comparison and supports accountability. But it also directs attention. What is measured and reported tends to dominate discussion, while what is harder to quantify is more easily sidelined. Many sustainability-related trade-offs fall into this latter category.

Investments in resilience, flexibility and long-term capacity often span extended horizons and defy neat metrics. The risk, then, is that boards focus on what is most visible in the data, even when the more significant choices lie beyond it.

None of this diminishes the value of reporting. Transparency remains essential. Disclosures create visibility and provide a reference point against which performance can be assessed. But this is not where sustainability is decided.

That happens when the way forward is unclear, competing considerations must be balanced, and the consequences extend well beyond the current reporting cycle. It is at these times, often without immediate visibility, that stewardship is exercised.

As expectations rise, the question for boards is less about how comprehensively sustainability is described and more about how consistently these tensions are surfaced and engaged within deliberations. The polish of disclosure may signal intent, but what reveals the institution’s real direction is the pattern of decisions over time.

This invites a more searching reflection. When difficult choices arise, are they recognised for the long-term significance they carry, or do they pass through the boardroom as routine matters that are analysed, justified and quietly set aside? And when institutions report, do they simply account for performance against targets, or do they give readers insight into the critical judgements made and the considerations that informed them?

Half of former university students who graduated over the past five years have defaulted on their Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) debts, reflecting the impact of the growing youth unemployment in Kenya.

Data from the Auditor-General shows that 281,459 former students who graduated after 2000 have defaulted on Sh39.63 billion or 44 percent of Helb’s Sh89.9 billion bad student loans.

The inability to recover the billions lent to the former students has weakened Helb’s ability to support university freshmen and continuing students, prompting the agency to cut students’ loan allocation.

This emerges in a period when corporate Kenya has struggled to create quality employment for thousands of graduates leaving universities and colleges annually.

The economy created 75,000 formal jobs in 2024, compared to 122,900 a year earlier, with the drop another low since the Covid-19 economic hardships, when 185,800 jobs were lost in 2020. Ninety percent of the 782,300 new jobs were in the informal sector.

Helb has found it increasingly difficult to track and recover outstanding student loans from graduates eking out a living in the informal sector, consultancy and self-employment.

This underlines the difficulty in securing work for the thousands of university graduates joining the job market annually.

About 191,766 former students who graduated between 2015 and 2020 have defaulted on student loans worth Sh33.43 billion.

This makes the decade to 2025 the worst for Helb loan recoveries and job seekers, with 88 percent of the students’ loan defaulters or 473,125 debtors.

The Auditor-General’s report on Helb said a review of documents and interviews with the fund’s management revealed critical challenges facing the revolving fund model, including the job crisis.

‘Loan repayment burden due to high unemployment and underemployment rates makes it challenging for graduates to repay their loans, increasing default rates and threatening the sustainability of the revolving fund,’ said the audit.

Helb is still owed Sh2.39 billion by former students who graduated over 30 years ago.

The majority of the defaulters have been reported to credit reference bureaus (CRBs) for delayed or late payments.

Low credit scores can prevent people from tapping fresh loans and push them into pricier, riskier debt for cars, emergency cash and other everyday needs.

Helb is modelled as a revolving fund where beneficiaries of its loans pay back to support a fresh group of students.

However, this has not been seamless as the growing number of loan defaulters has weakened the agency’s ability to support the university and college students.

More than 163,000 students in public universities and technical and vocational education training (TVET) colleges were locked out of State loans in the financial year ending June 2025 after the Helb ran out of cash, setting them up for challenges arising from alternative funds for tuition, accommodation and upkeep.

The increased enrolment in higher education institutions has raised pressure on Helb’s funding, which has not kept pace with the growing number of candidates making the minimum university admission grade of C+ and above.

The majority of those who apply for Helb loans come from low-income households and rely on the financial support to cover tuition, accommodation and upkeep.

‘In the circumstances, the high default rate may affect the sustainability of the students’ loans fund which may in turn limit loans availability to students in the future,’ warns the Auditor-General.

Data from the Commission for University Education shows 123,928 students graduated from universities in 2024, up from 99,829 a year earlier, way above the number of formal jobs that were created.

Informal employment

The number of job seekers surges when graduates from technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions are taken into account.

The shift towards informal employment complicates loan recovery efforts for Helb, which mainly relies on employer-based deductions to enforce repayments.

The check-off system works well in the formal sector where employers face penalties for not deducting Helb loans.

However, in informal employment, repayment depends on the goodwill of borrowers.

Helb reckons that as it expands its lending base, the risk of default becomes ‘more pronounced,’ especially among self-sponsored and informal-sector borrowers.

Helb loan repayment begins one year after completion of studies. The loan is repayable over a maximum of 10 years at an annual interest rate of four percent.

Beneficiaries are penalised up to Sh5,000 for each month that the loan remains unpaid after falling due and referred to the credit reference bureaus (CRBs).

Hardcore defaulters

The board said last year 83,571 hardcore defaulters were referred to the CRBs and are also being pursued by debt collectors. Helb says it closed June 2025 with a repayment rate of 68.6 percent, leaving it with a non-performing loans rate of 31.4 percent-more than twice the 15.4 percent default rate in Kenya’s banking industry at the end of March this year.

The performance has left Helb heavily dependent on the government.

Out of Sh40 billion revenue in the review period, Sh31.58 billion came from the Exchequer as Sh5.22 billion was received from loan recoveries and Sh605.5 million from external mobilisation.

‘Maintaining healthy liquidity levels is essential for the uninterrupted delivery of Helb’s mandate. In the context of constrained Exchequer support due to growing funding demands, liquidity risk is now a top-tier concern,’ said the board.

Helb said matured loans due for recovery stood at Sh110.62 billion from 993,888 beneficiaries at the end of June 2025. Loans yet to mature were Sh73.48 billion in the hands of 769,303 loanees, while cleared accounts were Sh31.43 billion from 253,743 loanees.

Recoveries during the year were Sh5.2 billion.

‘The financial year 2024/2025 operations were impacted by economic shocks such as inflation, high unemployment etc. [which] undermined recovery,’ said Helb.

On the night of February 24, Nairobi experienced one of the heaviest rains in a very long time, with many residents being caught flat-footed. Many locations around the city were flooded, with the roads being rendered impassable and the people being stranded in buses and buildings.

The heavy rains continued for three weeks up to March 15. The downpour was higher than had been experienced in the past few years, with meteorologist Maithya wa Vilivu stating that some days even received up to 160mm of rain.

Many people were affected, including the garage owners at Grogan, whose properties were heavily damaged, and some of the vehicles were even swept away. They expressed concern, wondering how they’ll be able to recover the losses they had just faced.

Much of the blame for the floods was placed on the lack of a proper drainage system in the city, with emphasis on how we’re still reliant on systems built in decades gone by, with the intention of serving a million residents.

Rightfully so, the population has ballooned to five million residents over the years, but the systems serving the people haven’t been proportionately expanded.

The government has to find ways to solve the issue of land encroachment on riparian land, once and for all. Over the years, there have been a number of initiatives started to restore encroached land on the Nairobi River.

These initiatives did not fail as much as they didn’t succeed, and so, it is important to borrow lessons from them.

First, involve the riparian residents in the activities by providing solutions within their reach, and provide financial incentives for the collection of garbage in their vicinity.

Secondly, ensure that there is proper enforcement of existing legislation. This activity has been deeply poisoned by politics, barring the proper planning of the city, since politicians want to ‘protect’ for their own political benefit, yet when the residents suffer, they suffer alone.

Currently, there’s a multi-agency team that has been deployed by the national and county government to evict and demolish anyone who’s within the 50m riparian boundary. The traders in Gikomba were the first ones to be evicted, with their stalls being demolished on March 30.

It is important that we allocate this 50-metre buffer zone not to anything else, but dedicate it to greenery. That way, we’ll have enough permeable surface to allow stormwater percolation, hence there wouldn’t be a need to heavily rely on our drainage channels, and we’ll have controlled flooding in some of the regions.

This has succeeded in the historical Kamukunji public park, where the land next to the river was set aside as a playground, as well as the Community Park in Mathare, which has been restored from the terrible state it previously was.

Finally, why are new stalls being brought up next to the Nairobi River at the Globe Roundabout? Won’t they be affected the next time we experience floods?

Let’s not take two steps forward and five steps backward, and they included:

The Nairobi River Basin Rehabilitation and Restoration Programme (NRBP) of 1999 to 2008

The Ministry of Water and Irrigation’s 2016 Masterplan

The Nairobi City Regeneration Programme (NCRP) of 2018

The Nairobi River Life Project (2021)

Benjamin Mulwa Langwe, a commissioner at the Nairobi River Commission recently stated that the marking of buildings for demolitions would begin soon, along the 27km length of the Nairobi River, so people should brace themselves. But that shouldn’t be done blindly. We should learn from the past.

Additionally, the drainage problems have compounded over the years, with the loss of green spaces happening correspondingly to the increased concretisation of the city.

Sunday Abuje, in his research on the effects of climate change in Nairobi, explains that the rate of surface run-off has quadrupled in 20 years due to the 162 percent increase in the built-up area of Nairobi since 2002, particularly the high-rise infill developments in Upper Hill, Kileleshwa and Kilimani. There has also been a 50 percent increase in built-up areas along the Ngong River between 1976 and 2013.

Such developments reduce green space, increase the area of impermeable surfaces, and reduce stormwater percolation, thus increasing the run-off when it rains.

Therefore, when it rains, there aren’t enough surfaces to absorb the water into the earth, and so, it has to flow somewhere.

The overwhelmed drainage infrastructure constructed in the 70s, and the disappearance of wetlands within the city, collectively result in a 43 percent chance of flooding every time it rains.

We have seen areas that had been set aside to be detention ponds, such as the land where Parklands Baptist Church currently sits, as well as Nairobi Dam, being grabbed, yet this is where stormwater runoff should be held temporarily when it rains, before being slowly released through a controlled outlet in order to prevent downstream flooding.

Cash generated from non-tax revenue streams, such as fees on services, has declined for the first time in four years, signalling the fading of windfall income that had boosted government coffers, such as mop-up of surplus money from State agencies and a surge in fees collected through the e-Citizen platform.

Treasury data shows that non-tax receipts for the nine months to March 2026 fell by 10.65 percent to Sh109.3 billion from Sh122.3 billion in a similar period last year.

The contraction, the first under President William Ruto’s administration, marks a sharp reversal from the previous financial year when collections more than doubled, surging by 135.15 percent in what now appears to have been an exceptional spike driven by one-off inflows.

Non-tax revenue comprises a mix of income streams outside taxation, including licenses under the Traffic Act, land revenue, investment income, surplus funds from semi-autonomous government agencies (SAGAs), fees under interior and citizen services departments, fines and forfeitures, as well as royalties.

Non-tax revenue had been on an upward trajectory since pandemic-era disruptions, which saw collections in the review period plunge more than 30 percent in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years.

A gradual recovery followed, with modest growth in 2022/23 and 2023/24, before the dramatic surge in 2024/25.

However, the sharp increase last year now appears to have set a high base that is proving difficult to maintain, with the latest figures pointing to a normalisation rather than sustained growth.

Despite the decline, collections remain above historical averages, having crossed the Sh100 billion mark in the nine-month review period for a second consecutive year. This is an indication that the government has expanded its non-tax revenue base, even though stability remains elusive.

The recent growth in non-tax revenue had largely been driven by surplus remittances from parastatals, fees tied to citizen-facing services, particularly those delivered under e-Citizen, and investment income from entities where the government holds shares, such as Safaricom.

Since taking office, President Ruto has pushed State-owned entities to surrender idle cash held in their accounts to the exchequer to ease cash flow pressures.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi reinforced the directive last financial year, warning chief executives of State corporations against adjusting operating surpluses by factoring in capital expenditure such as land, machinery, and buildings without prior approval in order to reduce the 90 percent payable to the exchequer.

‘It has been noted with concern that some regulatory authorities are adjusting operating surplus by providing for capital expenditure to determine the 90 percent to be remitted to the National Exchequer,’ Mr Mbadi wrote in a circular to the chiefs of State Corporations last fiscal year.

Under the policy, agencies are required to remit up to 90 percent of their surplus funds to the Exchequer, retaining the balance as stipulated under the Public Finance Management Act.

Institutions such as the Central Bank of Kenya, Capital Markets Authority, Kenya Ports Authority, Competition Authority of Kenya, Communications Authority of Kenya, and the National Transport and Safety Authority generate billions of shillings annually from fees, licences, and fines tied to the provision of government services.

The government has also accelerated the digitisation of public services through the e-Citizen platform, which has become a key driver of non-tax revenue growth.

Tens of thousands of government services have been onboarded onto the platform, enabling citizens and businesses to access services and make payments through a single channel. The shift is aimed at improving efficiency, sealing leakages linked to corruption, and enhancing revenue collection.

But the growing reliance on such measures has drawn scrutiny, with stakeholders last year raising concerns over the rising use of Appropriations-in-Aid (AiA)-revenues collected directly by ministries and agencies-as a major funding source for the government.

Ministerial A-i-A are revenues collected by various Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies when discharging services and spent at source after appropriation by lawmakers.

Participants warned during Treasury’s public budget hearings last year that increased reliance on fees and levies imposed by public institutions ultimately raises the cost of accessing services for businesses and ordinary citizens, potentially undermining affordability.

The National Treasury has defended the strategy, saying the growth in non-tax revenue reflects deliberate efforts to enhance the financial sustainability of public institutions, improve service delivery efficiency, and reduce reliance on exchequer funding.

‘The Government assures that the increase in fees will not compromise access to or the quality of public services. In most cases, the fees and levies remain modest and non-competitive when compared to market rates, ensuring that public services remain affordable to all Kenyans,’ the Treasury wrote in the 2025 Budget Review and Outlook Paper.

Co-operative Bank of Kenya has signalled plans to expand into new markets and appoint a separate CEO to lead its banking unit in the country following creation of a holding company and a new subsidiary for its core banking operations.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed bank said on Tuesday that it has received approval by its board for a new structure that will see the Co-operative Bank of Kenya Limited renamed as Co-op Bank Group Plc and a new banking business subsidiary, Co-op Bank Kenya Limited, created.

Co-op Bank Group Plc will be a non-operating holding company, while Co-op Bank Kenya Limited will be the unit dedicated to banking operations in Kenya.

The new model awaits approval from shareholders, the Central Bank of Kenya, the Capital Markets Authority, and other regulatory agencies.

The changes set the stage for the banking unit to be headed by a separate CEO from Gideon Muriuki, who is currently the CEO and Managing Director of Co-op Bank of Kenya. Mr Muriuki said the new model will ‘synergize the group operations for further growth and expansion.’

The model also signals plans by the lender to diversify outside the country beyond South Sudan and take on its peers such as CB Group and Equity Group.

Both KCB and Equity changed their work structures before expanding to regional markets.

‘The Co-operative Bank of Kenya Ltd will be renamed as Co-opBank Group PLC as a non-operating holding company that will own all the group operations and will remain as the listed entity at the Nairobi Securities Exchange,’ said Mr Muriuki in a statement Tuesday.

‘This group model alignment provides a strong foundation for sustainable growth, improved governance, and enhanced stakeholder value; notably, it is a scalable platform for expansion into diversified financial services and other regional markets,’ said Mr Muriuki.

Both KCB and Equity changed their work structures before expanding to regional markets.

The proposed structure comes on the back of the lender launching a 2025-2029 strategic plan, which targets to grow the asset size above Sh1 trillion.

The lender closed December last year with an asset base of Sh827.4 billion, a 11.3 percent rise from the Sh743.3 billion it held in the previous year.

Co-op was established in 1968 and converted into a full-fledged commercial bank in 1994, opening doors to other customers beyond co-operatives. The lender was listed on the NSE in 2008.

The lender owns a 51 percent stake in Co-operative Bank of South Sudan-the only operation it has outside Kenya.

Co-op also fully owns Co-op Bancassurance Intermediary and Co-optrust Investments Services, a 90 percent stake in Kingdom Bank, 60 percent in Kingdom Securities, 33.41 percent in Co-operative Insurance Society, and 25 percent in Co-op Bank Fleet Africa Leasing.

The lender is set to hold its annual general meeting next month, where investors are expected to endorse payment of a final dividend of SSh1.50 per share. This will add to the interim dividend of Sh1 already paid, marking a 67 percent rise in total payout.

Co-op raised its dividend per share for the first time in four years after net profit for the financial year ended December 2025 rose by 16.9 percent to Sh29.75 billion on increased interest income.

The State Department for East African Community (EAC) Affairs targets new reforms to restore the efficiency and competitiveness of the Northern Corridor by eliminating costly non-tariff barriers that are driving trade away to rival routes.

The plan includes slashing police roadblocks from over 20 to less than five, halving transit time between Mombasa and Malaba, strengthening security response, and fixing persistent ICT system hitches that have slowed cargo clearance. These reforms are set to result in annual savings of up to $54 million (Sh6.98 billion).

‘Every delay and inefficiency directly impacts our national revenue and the cost of goods for consumers across the region,” said Ms Caroline Karugu, Principal Secretary for the State Department for East African Community (EAC) Affairs.

The Northern Corridor, a network of 1,700 kilometres long interconnected highways, starts from the port of Mombasa and serves Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Trade along the route is hindered by various non-tariff barriers (NTBs), primarily involving transport inefficiencies, red tape, and regulatory inconsistencies.

Despite efforts to resolve these issues, transport-based NTBs remain prevalent, directly inflating costs and extending transit times.

Some of the barriers include multiple checkpoints, particularly in Kenya, which lead to prolonged delays and increased costs.

Others are highway crimes and theft of goods, poor road conditions in certain sections, and a lack of harmonised working hours at border posts, such as Malaba and Busia.

According to the State Department for EAC, the Northern Corridor remains the vital lifeline of regional trade, handling over 35.84 million tonnes of cargo annually and accounting for more than 80 percent of Kenya’s transit trade.

‘However, inefficiencies are driving cargo diversion to competing routes like Dar es Salaam, with Kenya losing five percent to eight percent of high-value transit cargo year-on-year,’ added Ms Karugu.

These reforms also signal a broader push to restore confidence among regional traders and logistics firms who rely on predictability and speed.

Industry players have long argued that uncertainty along the corridor, whether from delays, inconsistent enforcement, or system outages, raises the cost of doing business and weakens Kenya’s position as a regional logistics hub.

The planned reforms will be implemented in coordination with key agencies, including the Kenya Revenue Authority, Kenya Ports Authority, and the National Police Service, with a focus on enforcement discipline, system reliability, and faster response to security incidents.