Category: Business Daily

What if the biggest reason MT4 stays popular in Kenya has very little to do with nostalgia?

New platforms arrive with fresh interfaces and extra features. Kenyan traders still open MT4 at the start of the session because it works. It runs smoothly on everyday devices. It behaves predictably across market conditions. It also matches the way many local traders actually operate: fast checks, quick decisions, and disciplined execution.

MT4 persists because it fits the environment. It fits the broker landscape. It fits real trading routines that prize clarity and stability over novelty.

Why MT4 still fits Kenya’s trading reality

MT4 has a specific kind of reliability that experienced traders value. Orders route the way they expect. Charts load without drama. Templates keep the workspace consistent from one session to the next. That matters in a growing market where many traders balance trading with demanding schedules and prefer a tool that keeps friction low.

The platform also supports a modular approach to trading. Many Kenyan traders build repeatable workflows around a handful of tools, core indicators, clean chart templates, and a watchlist that reflects their strategy. MT4 makes that setup easy to preserve, copy, and refine. A trader can test a tweak, save the template, then return to execution with the same layout every day.

Another reason comes from market culture. MT4 has become a shared language. Traders discuss settings, compare broker conditions, and swap platform tips with less translation needed. That shared baseline reduces errors when traders collaborate, mentor, or join a new community.

Choosing legitimate MetaTrader 4 brokers

Platform comfort means little if the broker behind it creates hidden risk. Traders who stick with MT4 often do so because they have learned a clear lesson: execution quality starts with broker integrity.

A legitimate MT4 broker shows consistency in areas that shape outcomes. It publishes clear trading conditions. It handles deposits and withdrawals through reliable channels. It provides responsive support when platform access, pricing, or order handling needs clarification. It also maintains stable connectivity, because disconnections during active management can break an otherwise solid plan.

Due diligence looks practical because it needs to be practical. A broker can pass a surface-level test and still disappoint when real money hits live markets. Kenyan traders often focus on behaviours that show up over time, such as predictable processing, transparent communication, and stable trading infrastructure.

As one example of a trusted option, traders evaluating an MT4 broker in Kenya often look for straightforward onboarding, platform access that stays stable across devices, and payment methods that match local habits. Exness

A quick broker evaluation can stay structured without turning into a long checklist. The goal is to confirm that the broker supports disciplined execution rather than undermining it.

Review how the broker explains pricing, spreads, and commissions, and whether the explanation stays consistent across pages and support replies.

Test the end-to-end process with small actions first, including account verification and a basic withdrawal request.

Low data use and stable performance

Kenyan traders often trade from mobile connections, shared networks, or areas where speed fluctuates. MT4 handles that reality well. It keeps the core experience light because it focuses on charts and execution rather than heavy visuals. That lower data demand supports more frequent check-ins, which matters for traders who manage positions actively and prefer to stay close to the market.

Performance also connects to mental bandwidth. When a platform feels heavy, traders spend energy navigating the interface. MT4 keeps the workspace familiar, which reduces attention waste. Many experienced traders want their platform to feel like a toolbench, not a dashboard full of distractions.

MT4 also supports a ‘simple first’ approach to analysis. Clean charting and fast symbol switching make it easier to run top-down scans, confirm levels, and execute. Advanced traders still add complexity where it helps, such as custom indicators or scripts, yet the base platform stays stable.

The broker ecosystem keeps MT4 practical

MT4 stays relevant because many brokers continue to support it with full functionality. That matters in Kenya, where trader preferences vary widely. Some traders want tight execution on major pairs. Others focus on commodities or indices. Many want flexible account types or local payment options. MT4 coverage across brokers helps traders shop for conditions without leaving the platform they know.

Strategy implementation also plays a role. MT4 supports automated trading through Expert Advisors, plus scripts that speed up repetitive tasks. Even traders who execute manually often use automation for alerts, risk tools, or trade journaling helpers. This hybrid style fits traders who want control, yet also want efficiency where it counts.

MT4’s wide broker support also reduces switching costs. When a trader changes brokers for better conditions, the platform learning curve stays small. Templates move over. Indicators carry forward. The trader’s process stays intact.

What newer platforms still struggle to replace

Newer platforms often deliver strong features, especially around order types, built-in analytics, or richer interfaces. Many Kenyan traders still keep MT4 in the centre because it offers a dependable baseline with adequate user-friendliness and on-par security. That baseline supports consistency, and consistency supports performance.

For experienced traders, the platform choice comes down to execution habits. A trader who has refined entries, risk sizing, and management rules wants a platform that reinforces those habits. MT4 does that through familiarity and predictability. It creates fewer surprises, which helps the trader focus on decision quality.

MT4 also supports incremental improvement. Traders can adjust one part of the workflow without rebuilding everything. That might mean refining templates, improving alerts, or tightening risk tools. Small changes add up when the core environment stays stable.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has reduced its benchmark rate for the 10th time in a row to encourage lending to the private sector.

The CBK cut the rate to 8.75 percent from 9.00 percent previously and said the decision aims to support earlier measures designed to stimulate credit growth.

It brushed aside an appeal by the bankers’ lobby to hold the rate steady and avoid disrupting the transition of existing loans to the new risk-based pricing framework this month.

This puts additional pressure on banks to lower their lending rates further amid threats of regulatory action to make loans cheaper and boost lending to households and firms.

Lending grew marginally to 6.4 percent in the year to January, having stood at 6.3 percent in the same period to November.

The central bank says the ideal rate to support economic growth is between 12 percent and 15 percent.

Stable inflation that stood at 4.4 percent in January compared to 4.5 percent in December 2025, and an unchanging shilling against the dollar at Sh129.

The ratio of non-perform ing loans (NPLs) to gross loans also declined to 15.5 percent in January from 16.5 percent in November 2025, following a drop in lending rates and increased economic activities.

The Central Bank Rate (CBR) or benchmark rate has dropped a cumulative 4.25 percentage points from 13 percent in August 2024, when the current easing cycle began.

Average commercial banks’ lending rates stood at 14.8 percent in January 2026, down from 15.0 percent in October 2025 and 17.2 percent in November 2024.

‘Having considered these developments, the MPC therefore concluded that there was scope for a further easing of the monetary policy stance by reducing the CBR by 25 basis points,’ said the CBK in its release after the meeting.

‘This will augment the previous policy actions aimed at stimulating lending by banks to the private sector and supporting economic activity, while ensuring inflationary expectations remain firmly anchored, and the exchange rate remains stable.’

With the key macroeconomic indicators stabilising and the improvement in the banking sector asset quality, the CBK is hoping the new cut will push private sector credit growth into the double digits and rev up GDP growth.

While the lending growth has improved over the past year from the contraction of 2.9 percent in January 2025, it remains below the double-digit averages last seen in 2023.

The introduction of the new common base for bank loans was among the monetary policy measures adopted by the CBK last year to unlock credit to homes and businesses, alongside the consecutive rate cuts that were meant to make loans more affordable.

Each bank was previously using its own base rate before adding a premium to cater for costs and profit, with customers identifying the opacity of this arrangement as one of the causes for expensive credit.

Commercial banks shifted to the new loan pricing framework on December 1, 2025 for new facilities, while existing loans are to be fully transitioned by February 28, 2026.

Further to the rate cut, the CBK also tweaked the interest rate corridor around the Kesonia rate, to align it closer to the CBR and improve the transmission of monetary policy. The overnight rate will now be held within a corridor of plus or minus 0.5 percentage points of the prevailing CBR, down from the previous limit of 0.75 percentage points.

At the same time, the applicable interest rate on the discount window (where banks borrow from CBK on an emergency basis) has also been reduced to 0.5 percentage points above CBR from the previous 0.75 percentage points.

Ahead of the latest MPC meeting, the banks had appealed for a pause in the base rate to help make the February transition of existing loan rates to Kesonia easier. They also pointed to potential inflationary pressures from higher food prices due to the ongoing dry spell across the food basket zones as another reason for a hold in the rate.

‘This move will allow the full transmission of previous CBR cuts through the market and ensure a non-disruptive transition of the entire banking sector’s Kenya shilling variable rate loan book to the revised risk-based pricing framework scheduled to be complete by the end of February 2026,’ said the KBA in its statement dated February 9.

‘Some global economies, such as the US, have paused policy rate cuts. going forward, these policy rates are expected to impact the Kenyan economy through capital flows and exchange rate pressures, if not matched by a corresponding decision on the local policy rate.’

In their presentation before the December 2025 MPC meeting, the banks had called for a rate cut to boost the pace of private sector lending and reduce loan defaults.

Pension funds that allocated a bigger share of their assets to equities and offshore assets secured a returns premium of up to four percentage points in 2025 compared to their peers who adopted a conservative strategy heavy on government bonds and cash deposits.

Analysis of pension fund returns done by fund administrator Zamara and Actuarial Services East Africa (Actserv) shows that the funds that aggressively chased returns through the riskier assets, such as equities, made a weighted average return on investment of 28.3 percent, beating the industry average of 26.3 percent.

Conservative schemes made a return of 24.6 percent, while those which adopted a moderate risk approach returned 27.1 percent.

As per Actserv’s classification, conservative schemes hold between 80 and 100 percent of their assets in interest-bearing securities such as bonds and long-term bank deposits, while conservative schemes keep their bond holdings at between 30 and 69 percent, with riskier equities and offshore assets allocated between 16 and 30 percent.

Zamara considers schemes holding at least 80 percent of assets in fixed income securities to be conservative, while aggressive schemes hold 65 percent and below in such securities.

‘Schemes with higher exposure to equities and offshore assets delivered the strongest long-term results across all time periods measured. Aggressive schemes recorded median returns of 28.1 percent over one year, 19 percent over three years, and 13.7 percent over five years, outperforming more conservative portfolios,’ said Zamara in its report.

‘Gains were driven largely by quoted equities, which delivered a standout median return of a colossal 64.3 percent in 2025.’

The interest-bearing assets comprise government securities, fixed and time deposits, commercial paper, corporate bonds and call deposits, while non-interest bearing assets include equities, offshore investments and property.

Zamara sampled 406 schemes with Sh1.51 trillion in assets under management (excluding property) when analysing the returns from the sector, while Actserv surveyed 408 schemes with a total fund value of about Sh1.37 trillion.

In the equities market last year, funds enjoyed capital gains on their portfolios as the bourse added Sh1 trillion or 51.8 percent in investor wealth to Sh2.94 trillion.

They mainly invest in large blue chip stocks that offer long term price stability and regular dividend distribution. Such firms also have ample liquidity that allows for large ticket purchases for the funds.

In the fixed income segment, interest rates on government securities came down last year in line with the Central Bank of Kenya cutting its base rate from 11.25 percent to nine percent between January and December.

Treasury bonds issued last year-majority of them being reopenings from past issuances-paid investors annual interest of between 11.67 percent and 14.63 percent. In 2024, the returns from bonds peaked at 18.46 percent, which was available on an 8.5-year infrastructure bond sold in February 2024.

As interest rates fell, however, bond prices in the secondary market at the Nairobi Securities Exchange rose, handing the pension funds some capital gains on their holdings. Bond yields and prices at the secondary market feature an inverse relationship where a rise in one signals a decline in the other.

Treasury bill interest rates fell to a range of 7.7 percent to 9.23 percent in December 2025, from 9.8 percent to 11.4 percent at the beginning of the year.

For funds invested in fixed deposits in banks, interest rates declined progressively through the year, settling at 7.28 percent in November from 10.05 percent in January.

More Kenyan youth have over the last two years been forced to take up informal jobs despite being well educated as formal employment opportunities diminish, a new study has shown.

Some 754,185 Kenyan youth, aged 15 to 35, have taken up informal openings from 2024 to date, raising the rate of informal employment among them to 91.5 percent currently from 90.2 percent two years ago.

According to the Africa Youth Employment Outlook, a report done by World Data Lab, the MasterCard Foundation, and the University of Cape Town’s Development Policy Research Unit (DPRU), only 955,023 Kenyan youth, or 8.5 percent, are formally employed.

This is a drop from 1,044,893 in 2023, when formality rate was at 9.8 percent, reflecting a drop in formal jobs in Kenya as more young Kenyans enter the workforce amid slow job-creation.

Over the same period, the youth employment rate has remained almost constant at 53 percent, with about 1.2 million jobs being created for the young people, translating to an increase of about 6.3 percent, or just 2 percent every year.

Experts say this rate of job creation is too low compared to the rate of economic growth on the continent. On average globally, every one percent growth in the economy translates to about 0.7 percent expansion in jobs, but in Kenya, it leads to just about 0.4 percent growth in employment opportunities.

‘The conversion rate from growth to employment is lower and for the same amount of growth, we create fewer jobs relative to the rest of the world and for young people, that conversion rate is much lower,’ said Haroon Bhorat, an Economics professor at the University of Cape Town and director of DPRU.

‘This is because the nature of growth we have is not the type of growth that generates large numbers of wage jobs or even low-skill wage jobs. Most of the jobs that are created are actually low-productivity informal sector jobs.’

At 8.6 percent, Kenya’s youth formal jobs rate is at the continent’s bottom half, with countries such as Mauritius, South Africa, and Libya leading with formality rates of 70 percent, 69 percent, and 54 percent respectively.

Yet, at 53 percent, Kenya’s employment rate is among Africa’s highest, but the majority of newly created jobs are in the informal sector.

In an earlier study, World Data Labs had projected that a majority of jobs created in Kenya between 2024 and 2030 would be in the construction industry. Wolfgang Fengler, World Data Lab CEO and former Kenya country representative for World Bank, argues that to reverse the trend and make quality job creation relative to economic growth, the growth must be accelerated.

‘First, our growth must be higher. Then, the business environment should be improved. If entrepreneurs have the opportunity to hustle more efficiently, then they’ll also hire people more,’ he told Business Daily.

Commercial banks are lobbying the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) ,to use profit after tax as a measure to calculate licence fees and drop its proposal to use revenues, a change that will see the regulator forgo collecting billions.

Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), the industry’s lobby group, argues that basing permit fees on gross annual revenue (GAR) as proposed by CBK unfairly impacts banks that report high revenues but have high operational costs.

CBK is in the process of reviewing licence fees paid by commercial banks that have been stagnant for 35 years despite the exponential growth of banks. CBK argues it needs to collect more to play its oversight role better and avoid the risk of banks getting ahead of the regulator.

The regulator’s proposal is for the licence fee to be pegged at 0.6 percent of a bank’s gross revenue this year, with the rate being graduated to 0.8 percent next year before settling at one percent in 2028.

Gross annual revenue includes income from interest on loans, advances, government securities, fees and commissions on loans and advances, dividend income, foreign exchange trading income, and any other income.

The Central Bank had conservatively estimated it would collect Sh4.5 billion in licence fees if the gross revenues method was adopted. Banks reported total income of Sh899.3 billion for the year ended 2024, indicating the permit fees would well exceed Sh5.3 billion.

Under the KBA proposal to have the permit fees as a percentage of profit after tax, the regulator will collect approximately Sh1.2 billion, based on the industry’s Sh207.8 billion net profit for 2024.

Currently, the industry uses a branch-based methodology with banks paying between Sh30,000 and Sh150,000 for each branch, depending on locations and head office charges of Sh400,000.

The Central Bank collected Sh335 million under licence fees for the year ended June 2024.

‘Revise the methodology from gross annual revenue (GAR) to a more equitable model, such as profit after tax basis or tiered fixed-fee structure based on bank size,’ said KBA in a presentation to CBK.

‘Banking fees as a percentage of GAR takes the nature of a tax, which is not desirable,’ adds the lobby group.

Change of the methodology not only assures CBK of collecting higher revenues but also puts the National Treasury in line for more dividends as the principal owner of the Central Bank. The Treasury, as a dividend recipient from CBK, would be more inclined to higher collections from an industry that has been posting mega profits year on year.

The bankers are pushing back against the regulator’s recommendation, arguing that high fees will force them to increase lending rates so as to absorb the new cost.

‘If regulatory fees substantially increase operating costs, banks may increase lending rates to maintain profitability, making credit more expensive for businesses and individuals,’ said KBA.

‘Basing the fees on net profit with a minimum fee for banks making losses would ensure fairness for banks with a huge cost structure’ noted the lobby group.

CBK did not respond to queries sent by Business Daily despite numerous follow-ups.

CBK had recommended the new fees to take effect this year, with banks required to pay 14 days after publishing their financial results.

The regulator acknowledged that using gross annual revenue was unfair but still chose it, arguing it had been successfully implemented by other regulators locally and internationally. GAR is used locally by the Capital Markets Authority and the Communication Authority of Kenya and by neighbouring countries such as Uganda and Rwanda.

‘This (GAR) may not accurately reflect a bank’s ability to pay. Some banks may have high revenues but low profit margins, while others may have lower revenues but higher profitability,’ CBK noted in its analysis.

As per the 2024 financial performance, Equity Bank, which has a wide branch network in the country, would pay Sh841 million under the GAR formula compared to Standard Chartered’s Sh331 million.

However, if the net profit method was adopted, the gap would fall significantly, with Equity being required to pay Sh144 million, while Standard Chartered, which targets the corporate market, pays Sh120 million.

KCB Bank would pay a fee of Sh1.1 billion if gross revenues were applied –more than triple some of its peers in the top tier – but Sh270 million if the regulator used net profit.

A memo released by CBK did not show whether the regulator considered using profit as a basis to determine licencing fees.

Other financial parameters that CBK considered as a peg for the permit fees include total deposits and asset base. CBK dismissed using deposits or assets as a benchmark due to the adverse effect that the methods would have on the banks’ profitability.

Analysis by CBK showed that charging one percent of assets as licence fees would reduce profits by commercial banks by up to 27 percent, while deposits would cut earnings by up to 19.4 percent.

Charging one percent of deposits would see five banks in tier three drop into a loss-making position, while pegging on assets will push six small banks into losses.

CBK estimates that the use of gross annual revenues will reduce profits by 3.1 percent and pull one small lender into a loss-making position.

‘The GAR methodology provides a holistic approach to performance of a bank as it is the result of employment of a bank’s assets and liabilities,’ said CBK.

‘Gross Annual Revenue (GAR) is a better measure of financial performance than deposit-based or asset-based methodologies,’ added CBK.

KBA is seeking the exemption of exceptional one-off earnings and certain income streams, such as dividends from subsidiaries or profits from forex trading, while calculating revenues if the GAR method is adopted. The lobby argues these income streams are erratic and do not represent sustainable earnings of a bank.

The association also notes the proposed one percent fee is higher than that adopted by any of the regulators in jurisdictions where GAR is used.

‘Kenya’s fee structure should be guided by the country’s financial services strategy policy that seeks to make Kenya the regional financial hub and therefore competitive in attracting investments in the sector. The approach adopted is contrary to this principle,’ said KBA. In Uganda, the fee is 0.05 percent of revenue, while Rwanda charges 0.5 percent.

More than half of share orders at the Nairobi bourse on Monday were transacted through the new M-Pesa platform, underlining the power of the mobile money service in bring retail investors to the market.

Safaricom data shows that 7,962 of 14,300 orders for sale and purchase of stocks were directly processed from M-Pesa, marking the first time investors were transacting in shares without going through stockbrokers.

This gave M-Pesa stock platform known as Ziidi Trader a 55 percent share of the stock transactions, with analysts saying its performance was limited by the Sh500,000 cap on mobile phone transactions. Ziidi Trader, however, accounted for 2.0 percent of the value of the shares traded on Monday ahead of the Tuesday’s official launch, indicating that its success is hinged on the volumes.

Safaricom and the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) are betting that the direct trading of shares via mobile phones will boost the participation of retail investors at the bourse.

‘What this shows us is the potential that exists. And all this has happened within a period of three days,’ said Esther Waititu, the chief financial services officer at Safaricom.

‘The success of M-Pesa has been on the strength of partnerships. The same will apply in this case. If you think of APIs (application programming interfaces), we have an open platform, which means anyone technologically enabled can connect with us. We want to continue in that spirit,’ she added.

Under the scheme, which President William Ruto launched on Tuesday, anyone with a mobile phone will be able to buy shares through the M-Pesa app, with Kestrel Capital embedded in the background.

For years, investors were required to open an account or a Central Depository System (CDS) account with a stockbroker and only use M-Pesa for payment, not trading.

Investors under Ziidi Trader will not require an individual CDS account because M-Pesa is pooling funds from multiple investors into a single account managed by Kestrel Capital.

This is expected to help facilitate efficient, anonymous, and often faster share trading, which the NSE believes will rev up the participation of retail investors.

The direct shares trading via the M-Pesa platform represents the latest leverage on the mobile money platform to grow retail investing after the establishment of Ziidi Money Market Fund (MMF), a collaboration between Safaricom and two fund managers, Standard Investment Bank (SIB) and ALA Capital.

The MMF, which was approved in November 2024, has attracted nearly half of Kenya’s unit trust investors, having closed in September 2025 with 1.15 million customers, according to data from the telecom operator.

The launch of Ziidi Trader presents a new avenue for Safaricom to earn fees under its financial services division as it continues to diversify its business from just person-to-person transfers.

The NSE has just over one million CDS accounts and Safaricom bets that its M-Pesa base of 35 million users will grow the share of stock traders.

‘If we can get the mama mboga and boda boda person into the capital markets, then our work becomes segmenting the market from a bigger pie and not from the small pie we have right now,’ said Francis Mwangi, the CEO of Kestrel Capital.

Kestrel is the sole broker embedded in the M-Pesa App.

The market rally witnessed in the past two years at the NSE has failed to attract significant new investors, with the number of participants remaining relatively unchanged.

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) disclosed that the number of investors buying and selling shares at the NSE only grew by a measly 0.2 percent, or 2,621 to 1.3 million traders over two years.

This is expected to help facilitate efficient, anonymous, and often faster share trading, which the NSE believes will rev up the participation of retail investors.

The direct shares trading via the M-Pesa platform represents the latest leverage on the mobile money platform to grow retail investing after the establishment of Ziidi Money Market Fund (MMF), a collaboration between Safaricom and two fund managers, Standard Investment Bank (SIB) and ALA Capital.

The MMF, which was approved in November 2024, has attracted nearly half of Kenya’s unit trust investors, having closed in September 2025 with 1.15 million customers, according to data from the telecom operator.

The launch of Ziidi Trader presents a new avenue for Safaricom to earn fees under its financial services division as it continues to diversify its business from just person-to-person transfers.

The NSE has just over one million CDS accounts and Safaricom bets that its M-Pesa base of 35 million users will grow the share of stock traders.

‘If we can get the mama mboga and boda boda person into the capital markets, then our work becomes segmenting the market from a bigger pie and not from the small pie we have right now,’ said Francis Mwangi, the CEO of Kestrel Capital.

Kestrel is the sole broker embedded in the M-Pesa App.

The market rally witnessed in the past two years at the NSE has failed to attract significant new investors, with the number of participants remaining relatively unchanged.

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) disclosed that the number of investors buying and selling shares at the NSE only grew by a measly 0.2 percent, or 2,621 to 1.3 million traders over two years.

Last Friday, the High Court in Kenya delivered a directive to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, ordering it to reduce the public wage bill.

As it currently stands, the 1.05 million public servants are collectively paid Sh1.24 trillion out of the Sh3.06 trillion that is collected as Kenya’s ordinary revenue every year.

The amount that is allocated to salaries and remunerations, therefore, is 40 percent of the revenue we net (not forgetting that the amount allocated to debt repayments is 69 percent, which means that we have to borrow another nine percent to top up this deficit).

The High Court, wants the ratio of the wage bill to ordinary revenue reduced to 35 percent.

One of the main ways that has been suggested to help achieve this is through retrenchment of public workers.

The commission believes that it can cut down on the number of workers through conducting an audit over the whole public sector in order to purge officers with fake certificates, as well as mitigating the overlap and duplication of roles in the public service thus getting rid of the unnecessary workers.

The thing about being a student of history is that we can look back at instances when such attempts were made and analyse whether they worked. One that comes to mind easily is the Dream Team that was formed in 1999 by President Moi.

When Kenya needed to borrow money from the IMF, one of the pre-conditions that they had given us before offering us the loan, was streamline of the civil service. Thenceforth, they embarked on massive retrenchment of the civil service, firing some 250,000 public staff.

Despite how right the concept felt on paper, it didn’t lead to the intended results. And it is for the same reasons that it wouldn’t be the solution now.

Here’s why: our public service hasn’t hit the optimal staffing levels. For example, the recommended doctor-patient ratio by the WHO is 1:1000. However, the doctor-patient ratio in Kenya is 1:(more than) 10000. On the other hand, the recommended teacher-student ratio is 1:25 but in Kenya it is 1:50.

Therefore, why would we cut down on the number of public servants at the detriment of service delivery to citizens? This would be an act of self-sabotage.

During the National Wage Bill Conference in 2024, the PSC presented an analysis which showed that, across all its organisations in the service sector, they have a deficit of at least 109,770 workers, which meant that they’re operating at 67 percent capacity.

Now, how would reducing the number even further be beneficial for the country? What is mostly needed, which everyone agrees on, is to cut down on the perks and allowances earned by our elected representatives.

All allowances that they earn gobble a huge chunk of the wage bill.

We can use our Members of Parliament as an example.

Besides the monthly basic salary that they receive (of Sh621,250), they also get a committee sitting allowance of Sh80,000, a transport allowance of Sh738,833 (add that to the Sh7.5 million car grant that they receive every term), airtime of Sh15,000 and a daily subsistence allowance of Sh18,200. This brings their monthly salary to a total gross of Sh1,473,283.

What our MPs receive every month for their airtime is equivalent to what ECDE teachers earn as their total salary every month. Now, before anything, we all agree that it’s demeaning to pay our teachers (whom we entrust our kids with) such a demeaning amount, right?

Therefore, we would be doing a disservice to our children, and our nation in general, to take those jobs away from them.

And additionally, the effects of that would merely be a drop in the ocean in terms of reducing the ballooning wage bill.

Therefore, the parliamentarians should be the ones to have their salaries face the chop. Just like other employees, they should face an appraisal at the moment and have their salaries decreased to save our wage bill.

The Environment and Land Court has halted construction of residential flats in Parklands, Nairobi linked to Mandera Governor Mohamed Adan Khalif, marking a new development in a long-running land dispute.

The court issued preservation orders barring any development, sale, or transfer of four prime parcels following an application by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), which is investigating the suspected illegal conversion of public land into private property.

The court prohibited entry, excavation, construction, occupation, sale, transfer, or charging of the properties and scheduled the case hearing for March 5, 2026. The orders will remain in force for six months.

The EACC’s urgent application alleges unlawful alienation of land originally reserved for a public utility. The commission claims the parcels, measuring between 0.157 and 0.2157 hectares, were fraudulently acquired and later registered under private ownership.

The respondents in the case include Hanosa Developers Limited, Leah Bosibori, Alloy Maore, and Mr Khalif. Investigators trace the land’s history to L.R. No. 209/8262, initially registered under the Nairobi City Council for a public school and associated facilities.

Court documents reveal the land was first ‘unlawfully’ allocated to Hellen Njeri in 1995 before being transferred to Shaheensha Investments Limited in 1997. In February 2004, Shaheensha transferred it to Richard Maoka Maore, who then sold it to governor Khalif in 2021.

‘Ongoing investigations have not disclosed any material indicating that the parcels were lawfully allocated or alienated for private use, including residential purposes,’ stated the EACC’s advocate.

The commission argues that part of the land adjacent to the school was reserved for a social hall, not residential development, and that the disputed parcels were unlawfully excised from this public utility zone.

It contends that the alienation violated multiple laws. The EACC further alleges that the letters of allotment used to create private titles were based on unapproved or unregistered part-development plans, rendering them ‘invalid, null, and void.’

The commission also implicates former Commissioner of Lands Wilson Gachanja, accusing him of facilitating the alienation ‘without legal authority.’

Seeking urgent court intervention, the EACC warned that without preservation orders, the integrity of its investigation would be compromised. It requested a six-month freeze to allow for completion of investigations and potential recovery proceedings to return the contested land to the government.

The court granted the interim relief, effectively halting all construction and transactions on the disputed land.

The latest orders contrast with a recent ruling in a separate suit filed by the school’s board of management, where the court declined to stop construction at an interim stage.

In that case, the judge cited insufficient evidence of the school’s ownership of the land and the presence of regulatory approvals, allowing construction to proceed pending a full hearing.

This time, however, the case is driven by a statutory anti-graft probe.

The EACC insists the land was reserved for public utility and ‘was not available for private allocation whatsoever.’

Preserving the properties, it argues, is crucial to prevent further transactions that could hinder recovery efforts if the land is found to have been unlawfully acquired.

The respondents are yet to file their defense.

Safaricom, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and Kestrel Capital launched Ziidi Trader on Tuesday, an innovation leveraging the M-Pesa ecosystem to ease buying and selling shares targeted at retail/individual investors.

What is Ziidi Trader?

This is a service available via the M-Pesa application, which allows investors to buy and sell NSE-listed stocks through the mobile money platform.

How do I sign up to buy and sell shares via M-Pesa?

An individual will be required to opt into the Ziidi Trader platform which is accessed through M-Pesa as a mini application under the financial services tab.

The M-Pesa PIN is required to activate the Ziidi Trader after, which Safaricom sends investors a one-time password (OTP) unlocking access to the trading platform.

The sign-up does not require any paperwork, or documents upload as it relies on the existing M-Pesa know your customer (KYC) credentials to process signups.

What can an investor access through Ziidi Trader?

An investor logged in to the Ziidi Trader platform will be able to have an overview of the market by seeing all traded companies on the NSE complete with other elements including the prevailing stock prices, companies’ logos and a short description about the company and its recent performance.

Under the trade tab, an investor can pick an equity/company of their choice and opt to either buy or sell it. The tab offers a view on activity in each counter including available share volumes, bid and ask prices.

A portfolio tab shows an investor’s total share purchased, the value of the shares held and the profit or loss position over the investment’s horizon.

Is Ziidi Trader available via USSD?

No. Safaricom has opted to leave out the Ziidi Trader from the unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) given the volume of data points and inputs required which would lengthen the trading process in the ecosystem, defeating the purpose of the innovation.

The telecoms operator is betting on the high penetration of 4G devices/smartphones which beat the number of feature phones to support the onboarding of most retail/individual investors.

Read: NSE starts buying, selling of shares directly via M-Pesa

Do I own the shares bought through Ziidi Trader?

Yes. While Ziidi Trader does not require an investor to open a Central Depository System (CDS) account, shares purchased and held in an omnibus trading account by the broker are still accompanied by a ledger which identifies the individual owners of the stocks.

With the proof of ownership, the broker can distribute any dividends paid on stocks held to the respective investors and assign voting rights to the shareholders.

What’s the difference between investing via a CDS account and opting for Ziidi Trader?

The difference between the two is that the Ziidi Trader shortens the time taken to access the equities market by cutting back on time previously used up in opening a CDS account.

Sign ups to the Ziidi Trader take minutes while opening a CDS account can last anywhere from days to weeks depending on the state of each broker’s system and/or capabilities.

Opening a CDS account requires an investor to fill key KYC details including next of kin, bank account and upload documents including the KRA PIN and identification card.

Ziidi Trader does not require a CDS account as investor shares are held in a single omnibus/CDS account owned by the brokerage.

Do I need to move funds from M-Pesa to Ziidi Trader to buy shares?

No, Ziidi Trader seamlessly connects to the entire mobile money ecosystem allowing investors to pay for shares purchased directly from their M-Pesa wallet through prompting while proceeds from the sale of shares are credited to the M-Pesa wallet.

In future, the Ziiidi Trader will allow investors to pay for purchased shares through the Ziidi Money Market Fund (MMF) which also sits within the same M-Pesa ecosystem.

Do I determine the purchase or sale prices for shares?

Yes. Each investor has a view on market activity including trading volumes, respective bid and offer prices. An investor can determine their bid price when buying shares or set an asking price while selling shares.

The platform also helps investors through this process by allowing one to auto select the best possible bid or ask price based on the prevailing offers in the market.

Can I lose money on Ziidi Trader?

Yes. Ziidi Trader allows investors to purchase equities which traditionally are moderate to high-risk assets where swings in prices in either direction can imply a profit or loss for an investor.

Under a bull run, an investor will post a profit as the price of purchased shares rises. In the vice-versa, a market downturn will result in falling prices and subsequently a loss.

Can I get investment advice on Ziidi Trader?

At present, the Ziidi Trader does not embed any investment advisory meaning each investor must undertake their research on the best action to take in the equities market.

In future, Safaricom hopes to embed investment advisory to the trading platform, giving investors access to key research and information to help make investing decisions.

A scheduled maintenance of Kenya Revenue Authority’s (KRA) Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS), has disrupted cargo movement at the Mombasa port resulting in massive traffic gridlock at the gateway.

The iCMS is a crucial platform for clearance of import and export cargo. It was taken offline for upgrades on Friday for 36-hours. KRA adopted the iCMS in October 2021, marking a shift for the country, which for a long time lacked an integrated customs management system aligned with those used by other East African Communities (EAC).

The iCMS involves submitting export or import documents into a single-window system and provides an efficient interface with the customs management systems of the EAC neighbours. The disruption on the iCMS has resulted in long truck traffic spanning more than two kilometers at Gate 24 and other facility entries.

Vehicles that were expected to pick up cargo from the port of Mombasa have been queuing, waiting for the system restoration, causing serious delays and losses to transporters.

In a statement, KRA disclosed that the disruption would last for 36 hours from Saturday, February 7, 2026, at 6 pm to Monday, February 9, 2026, at 6 am.

‘We wish to inform partner government agencies, importers, exporters, clearing agents, shipping lines, and the general public of scheduled major maintenance for the iCMS,” stated KRA.

The downtime has affected various users of the iCMS platform, including importers, exporters, clearing and forwarding agents, shipping lines, and some government agencies.

KRA advised stakeholders to submit all urgent declarations, complete payments, and prioritise the clearance of perishable and time-sensitive consignments before the system goes offline on Saturday evening.

By Monday evening, 12 hours after the expected restoration time, the system had a downtime, disrupting cargo clearance further.

‘We expected the system to be restored by Monday morning, as it was communicated that we could not transact, forcing KRA to reboot the system. Today, Tuesday, the system is working but at a slow pace, as traders scramble to clear their goods,’ said Mr Roy Mwanthi, a clearing and forwarding agent in Mombasa.

Mr John Kidasi, one of the drivers who has been on the queue for more than two days, said there was no hope of getting cleared in the next 24 hours.

‘I have been in the queue since Saturday. I have tried to explain to my boss, but he’s not understanding the situation, but as it is, I have no hope of collecting cargo before Wednesday,’ said Mr Kidasi.

According to the KRA, the maintenance exercise was aimed at enhancing system performance, improving transaction processing speeds, and ensuring a more reliable user experience.

The authority has since apologised for any inconvenience that was caused and appealed for cooperation as it works to improve service delivery and system reliability.

“KRA regrets any inconvenience caused and appreciates the cooperation of all stakeholders as we improve our service delivery,” it stated.

Before this, the port had already been dealing with congestion due to high container volume and previous system bottlenecks. KRA and the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) announced urgent measures, including moving cargo that has stayed for over 21 days to Container Freight Stations (CFSs) and transferring transit cargo to Naivasha Inland Container Depot for clearance.

Increased utilisation of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) for cargo evacuation to inland depots in Nairobi and Naivasha has been initiated to ease pressure.

The authorities have framed these actions as a “pain for gain” scenario, promising better system performance after the upgrade.