Category: Business Daily

If you spend most of your working day seated at a desk, a few minutes of vigorous movement could be more useful than you think.

A new study suggests that replacing sedentary time with physical activity, particularly short bursts of vigorous movement, is associated with a lower risk of several cancers.

The study, published in July in BMC Medicine, analysed activity data from 59,218 men and women who were part of the UK Biobank. Participants wore activity trackers for a week, allowing researchers to measure how much time they spent sitting, standing and engaging in light, moderate or vigorous activity.

Researchers then examined their medical records over roughly eight years, looking at 13 cancers that have been associated with physical inactivity. They used statistical models to estimate what could happen if participants replaced some of their usual sitting time with different types and intensities of physical activity.

Standing was associated with lower cancer risk compared with remaining seated, but movement appeared to have a stronger association. Light activity was associated with greater benefits than standing, while vigorous movement showed the strongest association.

The study found that about three minutes of vigorous activity was associated with a similar reduction in cancer risk as about 90 minutes of light-intensity movement.

Vigorous activity in the study included movements that substantially increased breathing and heart rate, such as rushing up stairs or running to catch public transport.

For Riya Shah, a cancer specialist physiotherapist at Performance Medicine Kenya, the findings reinforce a broader message about the importance of movement throughout the day.

‘Regular movement is one of the most important modifiable lifestyle factors we can influence across the cancer continuum, from prevention, through treatment and recovery, and into survivorship,’ she says.

Shah says people often think of exercise as something that has to happen in a gym or as a structured workout, yet the body benefits from movement throughout the day. ‘Our bodies are designed to move throughout the day,’ she says.

There is already evidence linking higher levels of physical activity with a lower risk of several cancers, particularly breast and colorectal cancer, she said. Physical activity is also associated with better cardiovascular and metabolic health.

For someone who spends eight or more hours sitting at work, Shah says the focus should not be solely on finding time for a workout before or after work.

Instead, people should also look at how they can interrupt long periods of sitting. ‘Don’t wait until the end of the working day to ‘do your exercise’. Build movement into the working day itself,’ she says.

Her suggestions include standing up and walking around for a couple of minutes every 30 to 60 minutes, walking to speak to a colleague instead of sending a message where practical, taking the stairs, walking while making a phone call, getting up to refill a water bottle and having walking meetings where possible.

Standing, she says, is certainly better than remaining completely sedentary, but ideally people should move rather than simply switch from sitting to standing.

‘Even a short walking break can increase muscle activity, circulation and energy expenditure,’ she says.

The idea of vigorous movement can also be less complicated than it sounds.

It does not necessarily require a gym, running track or exercise equipment.

Shah says climbing several flights of stairs, walking quickly uphill, carrying heavy shopping, cycling quickly or running to catch a matatu can potentially qualify, depending on how hard the activity makes a person work.

‘Exercise doesn’t have to look like exercise,’ she says.

For one person, climbing several flights of stairs may constitute vigorous activity, while for someone who is fitter, the same activity may only be moderate.

A useful indicator, Shah says, is breathing. During vigorous activity, breathing and heart rate increase substantially and a person may only be able to say a few words before needing another breath.

However, she cautioned against interpreting the study as suggesting that three minutes of exercise a day is all a person needs.

The study was observational, meaning it identified an association between physical activity and cancer risk but did not prove that the short bursts of vigorous movement directly prevented cancer.

Shah says the finding should instead be viewed as an encouraging message for people who currently do little physical activity.

‘If you currently do very little activity, small amounts of purposeful movement can still matter,’ she says.

Those short bursts can be a starting point and can gradually be built upon, she adds.

There are also possible biological explanations for why physical activity may influence cancer risk. During vigorous movement, heart rate, blood flow, breathing and muscle glucose uptake increase. Exercise can also influence insulin sensitivity, metabolic health, inflammation, body composition and the immune system.

Shah says researchers are also studying how exercise mobilises immune cells, including natural killer cells, which are involved in identifying and responding to abnormal cells.

But cancer prevention cannot be reduced to physical activity alone.

‘Physical activity is important, but it doesn’t eliminate other established risk factors such as tobacco exposure, alcohol consumption, unhealthy body weight and diet,’ she says.

For people with sedentary jobs, her advice is therefore simple: move whenever there is an opportunity.

Walk during a phone call. Take the stairs. Walk part of the journey where practical. Break up long periods of sitting. Add some brisk walking to the day and incorporate strength exercises such as squats, calf raises, glute bridges or resistance exercises at least twice a week.

The broader message is not that everyone needs to find an extra hour in an already busy day.

Rather, movement can be accumulated throughout the day, from the journey to work and the office stairs to household tasks and short bursts of faster activity.

‘Don’t aim for perfection, aim to avoid sitting continuously for hours at a time,’ Shah says.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has turned to two familiar 15- and 20-year Treasury bonds in its Sh50 billion October issuance, hoping to ride the demand they attracted last month to hit its target.

A prospectus for the October bond sale shows that for the second successive month, the State is reopening a 15-year bond first issued in July 2019 at a rate of 12.34 percent, and a 20-year bond that was initially sold in April 2019 at 12.873 percent.

The two papers have each been reopened five times in the last 12 months, placing them among the go-to bonds for the CBK in its recent domestic borrowing programme for the government.

The 20-year paper was reopened in January, March, May, July and September this year, while the 15-year paper was brought back to market in November 2025, and in February, March, May and September 2026.

By reopening these bonds repeatedly, their outstanding amounts have climbed sharply, raising the risk of refinancing pressure when they will be scheduled for redemption in the future.

The 15-year bond started out with a face value of Sh50.6 billion in 2019, but this has now ballooned to Sh161 billion, while the outstanding amount on the 20-year paper has climbed from Sh9 billion at first issuance to Sh209.8 billion currently.

The reopenings done earlier this month were in two separate sales each targeting Sh60 billion, where the bonds were sold alongside a pair of 30-year papers.

The 15-year paper had its auction on September 2 alongside a 30-year paper from 2011. The 15-year attracted bids of Sh57.1 billion, compared to Sh11.1 billion for the 30-year, with the CBK taking up a total of Sh47.7 billion on the sale.

On September 16, the 20-year paper was auctioned alongside another 30-year bond that was initially floated in March 2026. Bids on the 20-year bond stood at Sh43.8 billion, compared to Sh37.6 billion for the 30-year, with a total accepted amount of Sh50.2 billion on the two papers.

The CBK is now anticipating that the demand seen earlier this month on the two bonds will carry forward into the October sale.

The government’s fiscal agent has been looking to lock in as much borrowing as possible in the early months of the fiscal year, with analysts saying that this will help in managing interest rate expectations later in the year when the country will be closing in on a general election.

Net borrowing in the first two months of the fiscal year stood at Sh406 billion, as per CBK data, equivalent to 41 percent of the full year target of Sh987.4 billion.

With the additional borrowing of Sh97.92 billion in September, the net borrowing has now hit 51 percent of the year’s target, given that there were no bond maturities falling due this month and Treasury bill maturities have generally been refinanced through rollovers.

The CBK has also been refinancing the government’s domestic debt through monthly switch bond sales, where holders of securities that are due to mature soon are offered an exclusive chance to transfer their investment into longer dated alternatives.

The October switch sale opened on Thursday, targeting Sh10 billion from a three-year bond that was issued in January 2024 at a rate of 18.3854 percent-maturing in January 2027- and a 15-year paper from 2013 which pays 12 percent annually and matures in April 2028.

Holders of these bonds have been given the chance to transfer part of their capital into another 15-year bond that was sold in May 2018 at 12.65 percent, with a maturity date in May 2033.

In the most recent swap sale on September 7, investors moved Sh11 billion from a 15-year bond from 2013 into a 10-year security that matures in November 2029.

When a Kenyan mother lights a firewood stove to prepare the evening meal, she is not thinking about climate diplomacy at the United Nations. She is thinking about feeding her family at the lowest cost possible. Yet that simple daily decision is now at the centre of an international conversation in which Kenya has secured a leading role.

On Tuesday, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Kenya and Norway co-hosted a high-level event on clean cooking, setting the stage for the second Africa Clean Cooking Summit to be held in Nairobi on January 27 and 28 next year.

Kenya will co-host the summit with Norway and the United States, in collaboration with the International Energy Agency, the African Union Commission and the African Development Bank.

For Kenya, this is an opportunity to show that clean cooking is not simply an environmental programme. It is an economic issue involving household spending, jobs, manufacturing, energy access and public health.

The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum estimates that 9.1 million Kenyan households, about 69 percent, rely primarily on traditional cooking fuels. Firewood accounts for more than half of household cooking nationally and is particularly dominant in rural areas.

Kenya’s National Cooking Transition Strategy, developed under the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, targets universal access to clean cooking by 2028.

It is explicitly linked to Vision 2030, the country’s ambition to become a newly industrialising, middle-income economy providing a high quality of life in a clean and secure environment. The transition cannot be achieved by simply telling households to stop using firewood and charcoal.

At the UN event, President William Ruto made the point that millions of people depend on charcoal and firewood for their livelihoods. ‘A transition that ignores them will not endure,’ he said.

Kenya is pursuing a multi-fuel approach including LPG, electricity, bioethanol, biogas and sustainable biomass. The Government has also identified a $600 million investment opportunity in institutional clean cooking covering schools, healthcare facilities and correctional services.

This creates an opportunity for Kenyan manufacturers, distributors, financiers and technology firms. The international money is also beginning to move. The 2024 Paris summit generated $2.2 billion in commitments, while the IEA says $740 million has already been deployed through projects in 22 African countries. The Nairobi summit should now push that capital closer to households.

The test will not be how many commitments are announced in Nairobi. It will be whether a rural mother can afford a cleaner stove, whether a school can replace a smoky kitchen or whether investors can build viable businesses around the transition.

Kenya has brought clean cooking from the kitchen to the UN agenda. The next step is to bring investment, innovation and affordable solutions back from New York to the Kenyan household.

The retirement benefits sector has quietly become a remarkable growth story in the country’s financial system. In under 30 years, it has morphed from a fragmented unregulated sector to managing Sh2.8 trillion in assets, equivalent to 14.5 percent of the gross domestic product.

The first phase of the sector’s growth, marked through the enactment of the Retirement Benefits Act and the establishment of the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) in 2000, pivoted on regulation to supervise a sector that had operated under a patchwork of trust.

The second phase, unfolding through the 2010s, saw a product reconfiguration. The number of schemes increased exponentially, the investment guidelines matured in consistence with the law, and the public pensions space also began a structural shift from a defined benefits to a defined contributions arrangement.

The Public Service Superannuation Scheme Act particularly reorganised the administration of public pensions for hundreds of thousands of workers, ultimately leading to the operationalisation of the scheme in 2021.

This phase moved a measure of responsibility for retirement outcomes from the institution to the individual, from a passive beneficiary to an active player.

The sector has developed retirement products for nearly every category of worker and is currently rolling out retirement products to the informal sector through the Kenya National Entrepreneurs Savings Trust.

What has lagged in this sector shift is the human dimension, where millions of Kenyans for whom these retirement products were designed do not understand them, trust them and use them.

The next decade of pension sector growth will come from deliberate, sustained initiative of helping ordinary Kenyans understand, actively participate and trust their own retirement planning.

RBA’s statistical digest shows that the sector recorded an overall membership coverage ratio of 26.58 percent in 2025, equivalent to 7.71 million members out of an estimated working-age population of 29 million, growing from 12 percent coverage over the past two decades.

While this growth has been significant, it is still marginal as a percentage of the working-age population, and is highly concentrated among urban, male and wealthier, middle-aged Kenyans. In addition, adoption of pensions outside the National Social Security Fund remains marginal. The growth of the sector in the coming years will hinge on awareness, trust and habit.

With the global shift from defined benefit to defined contribution arrangements, members have inherited the decisions that employers once made on their behalf. Researchers argue that when members are engaged through commitments and well-structured nudges, participants and contribution rates rise substantially.

The import for Kenya is that while we have had our own shift toward direct contribution arrangements in the public and private sector, there is a greater role for members in enhancing their retirement adequacy. There is need for pension schemes to help members exercise that responsibility.

The common thread across guidance offered by bodies such as the OECD on pension communication is that members save more when they understand what they are saving for, they can track their progress and are engaged in a participatory approach in a language and channels that reflect their reality rather than the industry’s jargon.

Communicating in clear, accessible language, as well as digital self-service tools grants members access to their contributions and projected benefits. Building trust and sustained engagement with the members cannot replace the rigour of investments and pension administration, however, it complements the efforts to create a holistic experience for the member.

The pension sector has done the hard work of setting up broad legislation and harmonising supervision of the industry in the last three decades, but its next phase of growth must be written in everyday work of helping members engage with their retirement future.

This phase will also require a structural shift in how the industry’s success has been measured. Predominantly the key metric has been growth in assets under management, but a key metric of the next decade must be on the number of members who understand their pension, trust the pension scheme that is managing their savings and are actively contributing to their retirement security.

The sustainability implementation journey is an opportunity for transformation, tailored to priority areas aligned with an organisation’s strategic priorities. It will therefore mean different things to different organisations.

However, while these priority areas may differ, organisations share a consistent theme in how they approach their sustainability implementation journey.

Organisations are embedding sustainability into the development of new products and services, including innovation across existing ones. It’s increasingly a focus as organisations navigate rapid technological change across society, blurring lines between traditional industries, and shifting customer preferences.

Having the products and services that meet customer expectations is a big part of staying relevant for longer. Organisations are also transforming their supply chains to build resilience for navigating disruptions. It includes efforts to identify the right partners, strengthen those partnerships and leverage each partner’s unique strengths to deliver synergies for the customer.

Uncertainty is the new normal and organisations are maximising control over sustainability implementation to gain insights across their value chain. This includes measuring and reporting greenhouse gases and transforming the business model through a tailored, organisation-specific decarbonisation pathway to build a climate-resilient business.

This includes efforts such as efficient resource utilisation and other cost-reduction initiatives. Organisations also recognise the need for leadership-level ownership of the sustainability agenda.

As a result, organisations are actively including sustainability implementation in the terms of reference for various board committees. Closely linked to this effort is the investment organisations are making in capacity building for the board and staff.

It ensures organisations have the skills and competencies needed to implement their sustainability agenda successfully. These investments include the systems, tools and processes required.

Technology investments for sustainability are another focus area for organisations. For example, artificial intelligence can profoundly impact an organisation’s sustainability transformation.

From data collection and automated sustainability reporting to supply chain monitoringand scenario analysis, technology can transform the entire organisation.

Technology provides the tools to translate complexity into financial insight and aid decision-making. Organisations cannot sit on the sidelines of sustainability transformation but must actively participate in the integration of sustainability across the business.

While organisations face numerous challenges in today’s operating environment, immense opportunities remain to navigate them successfully and build long-term sustainable value for stakeholders.

Revenue from electricity sales to new Kenya Power customers dropped by Sh1.07 billion in the year to June despite increased connections, signalling slowing economic expansion and increased adoption of off-grid solar alternatives.

Official data shows that Kenya Power’s new customers consumed 161.7 Gigawatt-hours (GWh) in the year to June, marking a 20 percent drop from 202.98 GWh a year ago, pulling down revenues from this customer segment to Sh4.05 billion from Sh5.12 billion in the previous period, or a 26.41percent drop.

The dip in unit sales and revenues came despite Kenya Power connecting 412,249 new customers in the 12 months to June 2026, up from 401,848 the previous year, with more than half of them, or 226,803, being commercial customers.

Kenya Power connected a further 539 new large consumers, also referred to as premium customers, for supply in the period to June 2026, while adding 184,907 clients under the Last Mile Connectivity Project (LMCP).

The utility’s overall electricity revenue from all customers, including the previously existing ones, however, grew by Sh18.9 billion to Sh238.24 billion.

Kenya Power did not respond to Business Daily queries on the shifts, but insiders in the energy sector said a drop in electricity sales to new customers may indicate subdued economic expansion and increased adoption of off-grid solar alternatives.

“A drop in electricity sales to new customers, dominated by commercial clients, is generally a sign of a slowdown in business expansion, industrial activity, or overall economic growth,” an official in the Energy ministry said.

“When new businesses or expanding commercial facilities purchase less power than expected, it may be a sign that they are stifled by inflation pressure or overall weakening economic confidence.”

Kenya’s economic growth slowed to 4.6 percent in 2025, down from 4.7 percent in 2024, continuing a multi-year cooling trend from post-pandemic highs. The Treasury has since also revised Kenya’s economic growth outlook for 2026 downwards to 5.0 percent from the earlier projection of 5.3 percent amid stubborn inflation, partly due to disruptions related to the Middle East crisis.

A growing number of electricity consumers, especially the large commercial ones, are also turning to solar energy to lower their electricity bills and ensure reliable supplies, thus reducing their reliance on the grid.

Kenya Power is also grappling with low consumption by beneficiaries of the Last Mile Connectivity Project (LMCP) initiative amid lingering questions about the return on investment in the subsidised power connection scheme.

Many businesses are increasingly shifting to solar to cut costs and ensure stable and reliable electricity supply. This has seen the country’s captive power installations in the commercial and industrial sector hit a landmark 630 megawatts by early 2026, driven by high grid tariffs and a growing shift toward private self-generation.

Firms such as Bamburi Cement, TotalEnergies Marketing Kenya, Carbacid Investments, Mabati Rolling Mills, BAT Kenya, Africa Logistics Properties and the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) have recently set up solar power plants.

Besides the rising number of consumers with solar installations, Kenya Power is facing the headache of low usage by beneficiaries of the LMCP.

The African Development Bank (AfDB), one of the biggest financiers of the Last Mile scheme, recently raised concerns about the low usage of electricity by the beneficiaries of the project, calling on the government to come up with a fund to help them set up businesses, boost their livelihoods and spur power consumption.

‘The financial sustainability of the LMCP is assessed as satisfactory even though the demand for electricity among the connected new customers is very low and not adequate to compensate for operational and maintenance costs of Kenya Power without the government subsidising this cost,’ AfDB said in a recent review of the scheme.

‘It is expected that with time, new customers are going to gradually engage in productive use of electricity which would grow the electricity demand.’

The Last Mile project was rolled out in 2015 as the then Jubilee government, backed by development partners, sought to connect homes to electricity at a subsidised rate of Sh15,000.

But most of the LMCP beneficiaries use electricity for lighting and lack appliances like refrigerators, microwaves, and electric heaters, which are key drivers of power usage by households.

Besides the use of solar power and low consumption by LMCP beneficiaries, a reduction in the base tariff across all consumer categories negated the impact of increased unit sales of electricity. Under the current tariffs that came into effect in April 2023, the cost of a kilowatt-hour (kWh) has been dropping year on year.

‘One of the major reasons why our electricity revenue did not grow by a bigger margin was the reducing tariff. The tariff has been reduced by Sh0.70 per unit on average year on year over the tariff control period,’ Joseph Siror, the managing director of Kenya Power, said.

Higher consumer tariffs could have allowed Kenya Power and other utilities in the energy sector to raise more cash from electricity sales, affording them room to fund critical projects.

The State froze a review of the consumer tariffs indefinitely in June this year, a decision that further derailed Kenya Power’s quest for more revenue.

New tariffs were set to kick in from July 1, and stay in force for a three-year control period, in line with the Energy Act.

Kenya Power has, over the years, grown its market base largely driven by the LMCP, with the utility’s total customers hitting 10.4 million in the year to June following the addition of 411,710 customers.

The utility relies on the large consumers, also referred to as premium customers, to drive electricity sales and ultimately revenues.

For example, in the year ended June 2026, premium customers accounted for 46.3 percent of the total units that Kenya Power sold, followed by households at 34 percent and small commercial customers at 16 percent.

Premium customers are the large commercial and industrial users who are connected at high voltages -33kilovolts (kV), 66 kV, and 132kV- and are the heaviest consumers of the national grid.

County governments left Sh100.2 billion of available funds unspent in the year to June 2026, while execution of development budgets weakened and 189 projects worth Sh10.51 billion stalled, exposing a widening gap between approved spending and delivery.

Controller of Budget (COB) Margaret Nyakang’o says counties had Sh596.78 billion available for spending during the year but used Sh496.58 billion, translating into an overall absorption rate of 83.2 percent.

The biggest shortfall was in development, where counties spent Sh126.69 billion of the allocated Sh233.69 billion, absorbing just 54.21 percent of allocations compared with 57 percent a year earlier and leaving nearly Sh107 billion unspent.

‘The total funds available to the County Governments in the financial year 2025/26 amounted to Sh596.78 billion. These included Sh415 billion equitable share of revenue raised nationally, Sh97.55 billion from OSR (own-source revenue) and Sh1.47 billion from other revenues,’ said Dr Nyakang’o.

‘County Governments spent a total of Sh496.58 billion, comprising Sh369.89 billion for recurrent activities and Sh126.69 billion for development activities.’

The weak execution of development budgets means billions earmarked for roads, markets, water infrastructure, health facilities and other capital projects did not translate into completed projects during the financial year.

Only three counties achieved development absorption above 80 percent, led by Kilifi at 84.52 percent, Wajir at 83.03 percent and Mandera at 80 percent, according to the budget watchdog.

On the other end, 13 counties absorbed half or less of their development budgets, with Kisumu recording the lowest rate at 25.92 percent, followed by Siaya at 26.53 percent and Nairobi at 28.47 percent.

The poor performance left a growing list of unfinished investments, with counties reporting 189 stalled projects valued at Sh10.51 billion.

’22 counties reported 189 stalled projects valued at Sh10.51 billion, out of which Sh4.21 billion had already been paid,’ said the COB.

Nairobi accounted for the largest value of stalled projects at Sh2.24 billion across 57 projects, followed by Isiolo at Sh1.77 billion from seven projects, highlighting the financial cost of delays on capital investments.

Kakamega reported 26 stalled projects worth Sh848.95 million, while Baringo had 23 projects valued at Sh163.32 million, as Machakos reported 22 projects worth Sh891.58 million.

The figures point to a persistent implementation problem in devolution where county administrations allocate money for development but struggle to move projects from procurement and contracting into actual construction and completion.

Counties also carried Sh172.53 billion in trade payables at June 30, creating another constraint for contractors and suppliers and potentially slowing new projects as administrations struggle to clear obligations from previous years.

The accumulation of unpaid bills is significant for development, as contractors facing delayed payments can slow work, suspend construction or demand settlement of previous obligations before taking on additional county projects.

The challenge has previously been linked to procurement disruptions, with an earlier COB review showing that 10 counties cut development spending by Sh1.7 billion in the three months to September 2025 following disruption caused by the transition to the electronic government procurement system.

The squeeze is occurring even as counties remain central to delivery of services such as healthcare, local roads, markets, water and sanitation, making development spending a key measure of whether the devolved units are converting budgets into public assets.

Dr Nyakang’o has urged counties to prioritise stalled projects that can be completed and operationalised, allocate adequate resources for completion, as well as resolve outstanding contractual obligations.

‘County governments should prepare verified schedules of stalled projects, prioritise projects that can be completed and operationalised, and allocate adequate resources in future budgets,’ said the COB.

‘Ring-fence projects under investigation and pursue appropriate recovery, enforcement, or corrective actions where loss or irregularity is established.’

Late last year, I wrote about the Tata Trusts in India as a model of family ownership with a purpose: two charitable trusts, which, together with other smaller trusts and family-related entities, hold about 66 percent of the corporate behemoth known as Tata Sons.

The trusts steer the profits of a close to $360 billion industrial group toward philanthropy. I suggested East African family businesses could learn from it.

This month, that structure is being tested in public, and the lessons are as painful as watching two porcupines hug.

A few weeks ago on August 12, the Tata Sons board chairman, N Chandrasekaran, told the board that he would not be renewing his term, which ends on February 20, 2027.

The Trusts accepted his decision the next day and began looking for a successor. Two weeks ago, at a September 17 board meeting in Mumbai, the board prevailed upon him to stay and voted four to one to reappoint him for five more years. The lone dissenter was Noel Tata, chairman of the Tata Trusts and one of its nominees on the board.

The Trusts have called the board resolution “a legal nullity” as the Tata Sons’ articles of association require the support of Trust-nominated directors to appoint or reappoint the chairman, and that support was absent. Well, the truth of the matter is that the Trusts have two nominees on the board.

One, Noel Tata, voted against keeping the chairman. The other nominee it would appear, chose the highway to boardroom hell.

The governance question is simple. A chairman who announced his departure and was then reappointed over the objection of the shareholder holding two-thirds of the company must ask whether he truly holds a mandate.

A four-to-one board vote satisfies the arithmetic, but a chairman ultimately serves with the confidence of the owners. It is also critical to mention that Tata Sons is a private limited company, which then leads to the second issue, the potential public listing.

In October 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced scale-based regulation for non-bank financial companies, sorting them into layers by size, complexity and systemic importance. Tata Sons was placed in the upper layer on September 30, 2022, and such companies must list on a stock exchange within three years.

The logic is that entities big enough to matter to the financial system should meet public-market disclosure standards, including published quarterly results and shareholders who can ask questions. Tata Sons missed the September 2025 deadline after applying to surrender its core investment company registration, and on September 11, 2026, the RBI rejected that application.

The Trusts’ resistance is about control and purpose. Special rights in its articles of association give Trust-nominated directors affirmative say (the Trusts have to give specific consent) over key decisions, and those protections would be hard to keep in a listed company.

Noel Tata has argued that listing would “strike at the heart” of the philanthropic ownership model and leave Tata Sons answerable to investors who want returns.

The Trusts have proposed instead to buy out the Shapoorji Pallonji Group’s roughly 18 percent stake, reportedly for no less than 25,000 crore, about $2.6 billion.

The Shapoorji Pallonji Group is the Mistry family’s construction and real estate conglomerate, and the largest shareholder in Tata Sons after the Trusts. The late Cyrus Mistry, who chaired Tata Sons from 2012 until his ousting in 2016, was its scion. The group, understandably, favours a listing that would give it a market-determined price.

Shortly after the controversial keep-the-chairman vote, the board also voted to move toward listing, again with Noel Tata alone in opposition. The implications for a family-controlled or trust-controlled company are serious.

Once listed, a company’s articles are rewritten around public shareholders. Transfer restrictions loosen, special rights face scrutiny, and the owner’s influence is exercised through votes rather than nominated directors. Was that the primary reason the board voted to keep the chairman, which was to help shepherd the listing process that the Tata family was dead set against?

Which brings me to the point for East African readers. Families often hesitate to appoint independent or professional directors, and this saga shows why. Independent directors are meant to exercise judgement in the best interests of the company, not on instruction from the owners. When their judgement differs from the family’s, the family discovers a board can outvote its owner on the two questions that matter most: who leads, and whether to go public.

Owners who want independent boards, and the credibility they bring, must decide in advance which decisions they delegate and which they reserve. Reserved matters belong in writing, in the articles and a shareholders’ agreement, before the first disagreement.

Tata’s lesson is not that independent boards are dangerous. It is that a family wanting to straddle both the independence and control horses must specify exactly where one ends and the other begins. More on this unfolding saga next week.

The menopausal transition, or perimenopause, is a period of hormonal and physical change that occurs over several years.

Women may experience changes in bone density, increasing their long-term risk of osteoporosis and fractures. The changes also affect the cardiovascular system, brain, muscles and joints.

One condition that has attracted little attention is frozen shoulder, medically known as adhesive capsulitis.

“Frozen shoulder is characterised by pain and progressive stiffness of the shoulder, with increasing difficulty moving the arm. It can affect anyone, but it appears to occur more frequently in women, particularly during the menopausal years,” explains Dr Maina Muriithi an obstetrician gynaecologist at Aga Khan University hospital.

He notes the condition typically develops gradually. Pain may be the first symptom, followed by increasing stiffness and a progressive reduction in the range of movement.

“Simple activities such as dressing, reaching overhead or placing the hand behind the back may eventually become difficult.”

However, he says, “frozen shoulder is not exclusively a menopausal condition, and menopause should not automatically be assumed to be the cause of shoulder pain.”

Is there a link between menopause and frozen shoulder?

“There does appear to be an association between the menopausal transition and musculoskeletal problems, including frozen shoulder. The precise nature of this relationship is not fully understood,” Dr Maina says.

One proposed explanation relates to declining oestrogen levels. Oestrogen receptors are found in tissues involved in movement function, including tendons, connective tissue and joint structures. Changes in oestrogen signalling may influence inflammation, collagen metabolism, tissue repair and the health of connective tissues

“During menopause, hormonal changes are also associated with changes in body composition, muscle mass and bone metabolism. These changes may contribute to the musculoskeletal symptoms that many women experience.”

“It would be an oversimplification to say that low oestrogen directly causes frozen shoulder,” he says.

Dr Maina points out that frozen shoulder also occurs in men and in women who are not menopausal. It can be associated with other conditions, including diabetes and thyroid disorders, and may occur following shoulder injury, surgery or prolonged immobilisation.

What actually happens inside a frozen shoulder?

“The shoulder is a remarkably mobile joint. It consists of the upper end of the arm bone, the shoulder blade and a surrounding capsule containing supporting ligaments, tendons and other soft tissues,” explains Dr Maina.

“The joint is lined by a synovial membrane, which produces synovial fluid that helps lubricate the joint and facilitate movement. In frozen shoulder, inflammation develops within the joint capsule. Over time, the capsule can become thickened and contracted with fibrosis and adhesions developing. This progressively restricts movement and can cause significant pain and stiffness.”

Think of it as a highly engineered mechanical system in which the normally flexible surrounding tissues become inflamed, thickened and less elastic. The result is a joint that becomes increasingly difficult and sometimes extremely painful to move.

Is frozen shoulder a normal part of menopause?

No. Dr Maina notes that although bone and joint symptoms are common during the menopausal transition, persistent or severe shoulder pain and restricted movement should not simply be dismissed as ‘part of menopause.’

“A woman presenting with new musculoskeletal symptoms should be appropriately assessed. Shoulder pain can arise from several conditions, including rotator cuff muscles disorders, osteoarthritis, inflammatory arthritis, trauma and, less commonly, infection or other significant pathology,” he cautions.

Similarly, generalised bone pain, significant back pain or a fracture after minimal trauma requires appropriate evaluation rather than being automatically attributed to menopause.

“The decline in oestrogen during and after menopause accelerates bone loss in many women. Over time, this can contribute to osteopenia and osteoporosis, increasing the risk of fractures.”

The spine, hip and wrist are particularly important sites because fractures in these areas can have significant consequences for mobility and quality of life.

Women may also report back and joint pain, muscle aches and stiffness, reduced muscle strength,changes in posture and reduced physical activity.

The severity of menopausal symptoms varies considerably between individuals, and the presence of severe menopausal symptoms does not by itself establish the presence of osteoporosis,” he adds.

Treatment

Dr Maina notes depending on the severity and stage of the condition pain relief and anti-inflammatory medication may be used where appropriate. Physiotherapy is an important component of treatment, with exercises aimed at maintaining and gradually restoring shoulder movement.

“In some patients, corticosteroid injections into the shoulder can provide significant short-term relief, particularly where pain is limiting movement and rehabilitation administered by qualified medical personell.”

More persistent or severe cases may require assessment by an orthopaedic surgeon or musculoskeletal specialist. Additional procedures may occasionally be considered when conservative treatment does not provide adequate improvement.

What about hormone replacement therapy in management?

“Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), can be highly effective for women with bothersome vasomotor and other menopausal symptoms when appropriately prescribed,” he says.

However,he cautions HRT should not be prescribed solely as a treatment for frozen shoulder.

“Current evidence does not establish HRT as a stand-alone treatment that reverses adhesive capsulitis,” he says. “The decision to use HRT should instead be based on the woman’s overall menopausal symptoms, medical history, risk factors, preferences and the potential benefits and risks of treatment.”

Additionally regular weight-bearing and resistance exercise can help maintain bone and muscle strength. A balanced diet containing adequate calcium and protein, together with appropriate vitamin D intake, supports bone health.

Vitamin D supplementation may be appropriate in women who are deficient or at increased risk of deficiency.

Women should also avoid smoking and limit excessive alcohol consumption, both of which can negatively affect bone health.

“Bone-density assessment using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is an important tool for assessing osteoporosis risk. It is not necessary for every woman simply because she has reached menopause; the decision to perform a DXA scan depends on age, risk factors, previous fractures and other clinical considerations,” Dr Maina adds.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and commercial banks are in talks to overhaul the Banking Act to resolve a loan pricing impasse over who between the sector regulator and the Treasury has authority to approve an increase in lending rates.

The Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), the banking sector lobby, says its members are engaging the CBK on the possibility of reviewing the Banking Act to provide that the apex bank is the entity solely tasked with approving variations to loan pricing by commercial banks.

KBA is currently in the Supreme Court looking to squash Section 44 of the Banking Act which requires financial institutions to obtain approvals from the Treasury Cabinet Secretary before altering loan rates.

Section 44 of the Banking Act states that “No institution shall increase its rate of banking or other charges except with the prior approval of the Cabinet Secretary.”

In practice, banks have been raising or lowering their lending rates under the supervision of the CBK. Scores of borrowers have over the years obtained court judgments faulting banks for not obtaining prior approval of the Treasury Cabinet Secretary before changing loan rates, causing uncertainty and protracted litigation.

In some cases, courts have ruled in favour of banks, saying they are not required to seek the minister’s nod, highlighting the challenges presented by the controversial section and its interpretation.

The CBK and banks reckon overhauling the Act will be the silver bullet to the court disputes over loan pricing adjustments.

‘The CBK governor has indicated that we have got to a point where we need to comprehensively review the Banking Act,’ said KBA chief executive officer Raimond Molenje.

‘What we need to do is to embed the current risk-based credit pricing framework into the Banking Act to remove the requirement of getting approvals from the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary. That would cure the politics over who gets to approve changes in bank rates between the Treasury and CBK.’

The dispute over who approves loan price changes by commercial banks goes back decades to a May 2006 legal notice by the then Finance minister Amos Kimunya, who delegated the powers over interest rate variation to the CBK Governor “for the time being.”

The Treasury has taken a backseat on the setting of interest rates ever since, with banks routinely seeking clearance from the CBK.

Lawsuits brought by borrowers against their banks over loan pricing variation have, however, haunted the industry, prompting an evaluation of the current law by the courts.

Santowels, a sanitary towel manufacturer, was the first to test the interpretation of Section 44 of the Banking Act, falling out with Stanbic Bank Kenya over what it said was the varying of interest rates to levels it felt were unjustified. The firm moved to court in 2003, arguing that the bank unilaterally varied interest rates without seeking the Treasury’s approval, and charged it Sh17.25 million in extra interest for several loans contracted between 1993 and 1997.

The suit escalated from the High Court to the Court of Appeal, and finally the Supreme Court, which determined in June last year that interest rates on loan facilities advanced by banks are subject to regulation under Section 44 of the Banking Act, requiring prior approval from the Treasury Cabinet Secretary.

Spire Bank was previously found to have breached the law after varying interest rates on a customer loan without Treasury’s approval after which it was compelled to reduce an outstanding loan balance.

The court decisions sent shockwaves in the banking industry, sparking fears of an avalanche of suits against more lenders over loan pricing variations. KBA, which was previously barred from joining the court battles against its members -Stanbic and Spire Bank, subsequently moved to the High Court seeking orders to declare Section 44 of the Banking Act unconstitutional.

The lobby argued that the section violated constitutional provisions safeguarding the CBK’s independence in monetary policy formulation.

KBA argued that interest-rate adjustments are a key instrument of monetary policy and that requiring the approval of the Treasury Cabinet Secretary, even when the CBK directs such adjustments, would give the minister supervisory or veto powers over the central bank’s monetary operations.

The High Court rejected KBA’s petition arguing that there existed a clear distinction between the CBK’s monetary policy function and commercial lending practices, which were deemed to be the subject of parliamentary regulation.

In August this year, banks got a temporary relief as the clause was suspended pending the determination of KBA’s challenge of the High Court’s decision at the Court of Appeal.

In its move to court, KBA said it was not asking for the re-interpretation of Section 44, but to determine whether the provision, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, is consistent with Article 231 of the Constitution which guarantees the independence of the CBK as a key national institution.

The CBK has largely stayed on the sidelines as commercial banks battle borrowers in court over the interpretation of Section 44 of the Banking Act.

The apex bank, however, differed with the Supreme Court judgment, saying it expected banks to vary loan rates immediately it revises the benchmark Central Bank Rate (CBR).

CBK Governor Kamau Thugge recently told bankers that monetary policy decisions are independent and should be implemented directly by banks without going through the Treasury.

The CBK has over the past two years been pushing banks to pass on lower borrowing costs to customers after cutting its benchmark rate.

The CBR is tied to the total cost of credit, forming one of two industry adopted benchmarks for loans.

The second -the Kenya Shilling Overnight Interbank Average (Kesonia)- is also tied to the CBR by virtue of a narrow interest rate corridor established around the benchmark rate.

Reforms being considered in the overhaul of the Banking Act include the creation of a sector tribunal to serve as a first port of call for customer disputes.

‘This would provide a forum for customers to have conversations with banks. It would reduce situations where any small frictions have landed in courts which take too long to decide. A tribunal would be able to resolve a matter between three and six months once legislated,’ Mr Molenje added.