MSK

Finance, with bias on capital markets and a pinch of construction.

[The Spectator Index @spectatorindex]

GLOBAL OUTAGES

- Major banks, media and airlines affected by major IT outage

- Significant disruption to some Microsoft services

- 911 services disrupted in several US states

- Services at London Stock Exchange disrupted

- Sky News is off air

- Reports the issue relates to problem at global cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike

[Steve Hanke @steve_hanke]

FLASH: The Kenyan parliament has just ERUPTED IN FLAMES as protests against the $2.7 BILLION TAX HIKE turn violent.

The hikes were spurred by Kenya's latest IMF DEAL.

As Harvard Prof. Robert Barro puts it, "THE IMF DOESN'T PUT OUT FIRES, IT STARTS THEM."
https://t.co/xyMcAucfNg

[TurboDiesel @alexmwanzo]

Free Hanifa

[Shoba Gatimu @shobanes]

Polisi wetu @NPSOfficial_KE huwa the weakest link.
Everytime people try to stand for something, hao ndio wa kwanza kutumika vibaya. Alafu mpatiwe mabati ya round in the name of housing. Hamuoni mnatumika vibaya?
Shame on you!!!

#FreeHoneyFarsafi
#RejectFinanceBill2024

[Financial Times @FT]

Breaking news: Former Mexico City mayor Sheinbaum is set to become the country's first woman president after preliminary election results showed an overwhelming victory https://t.co/qn7oF39jBW

[MSK @MSkiplangat]

@MwangoCapital @TheCitizenTz @dseinsights $300 bn?

[Bloomberg Africa @BloombergAfrica]

Kenya will make the final interest payment on its $2 billion eurobond in June and will also repay the principal amount then, the finance ministry says https://t.co/8OrBYpR3Fz

[Pope Francis – ARCHIVE @Pontifex266Arch]

The Church is not a place for the perfect and the privileged. It is a community of disciples that bears witness to Jesus whom by grace they have come to know. We intercede for all, praying, loving and sacrificing ourselves for the world. #GeneralAudience

[Oliver Mathenge @OliverMathenge]

There was a mess at the National Treasury and KRA between 2016 and 2018.
This mess will take at least four years for the new guards to clean up, according to insiders.

[MSK @MSkiplangat]

@OliverCheruiyot Hydromatic will sort you out

[MSK @MSkiplangat]

Paka Hills and why Kenya is on the cusp of a geothermal revolution
https://t.co/z0SuOGFqED

[MSK @MSkiplangat]

@AmArrif 💯

[The Spectator Index @spectatorindex]

BREAKING: Wagner-linked Telegram account says the 'civil war has officially begun'.

[Bloomberg Africa @BloombergAfrica]

The EU signs a trade pact with Kenya, giving the nation duty- and quota-free access to the bloc, a long-negotiated deal it said is open for other East African countries join https://t.co/xk1PUxfrHE

[The Spectator Index @spectatorindex]

Kenya's president calls on African countries to stop using the US dollar in trade amongst themselves.

[Financial Times @FT]

Diageo chief Ivan Menezes dies https://t.co/HdQ0TmgPUR

[Palki Sharma @palkisu]

Yousaf Humza, son of Pakistani-Kenyan immigrants, is the new leader of the Scottish National Party. He will be the first Muslim to lead Scotland.

So now, Indian-origin PM and a Pak-origin first minister will discuss the partition of Scotland from the UK?
#BritishRajToAmritKaal

[Cyprian, Is Nyakundi @C_NyaKundiH]

THE BIG HEIST NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT!

The Kenyan Revenue Authority (KRA) introduced the TAX INVOICE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (TIMS) in 2022, replacing the old ETR system. The deadline for businesses to transition to the new system was set for September 30, 2022. TIMS devices were priced at over 50,000 Kenyan shillings, and businesses were also required to pay an annual maintenance fee to the suppliers. A list of approved TIMS device suppliers was made, but no one knows how the approval of the said suppliers was made or what the procedure was.

As the deadline approached, TIMS devices suddenly vanished from the market, and prices rose sharply due to demand. KRA extended the deadline to November 30, 2022, but once again, TIMS devices disappeared from the market, and prices rose even further. This time, KRA refused to extend the deadline, leaving businesses with no choice but to pay the inflated prices.

Three months later, KRA is rolling out the eTIMS a software version of the system that will be provided by KRA to taxpayers at no additional cost. Now, obviously this is good news to businesses that would have had to incur an annual maintenance fee by the TIMS devices suppliers but we cannot pretend not to see the scam that this was. It is clear that the development of eTIMS had been in progress for some time, and KRA had known about it before they forced businesses to transition to the expensive TIMS devices, it would have made more sense to roll out both systems simultaneously, giving businesses the choice to use either one, majority of the businesses would obviously have gone for the free eTIMS and that would have denied someone something to eat. That’s why it had to be strategic that the old version is rolled out first and all businesses be forced on board before the free could based version of TIMS follows just 3 months later.

Billions had to be made from shipping of the devices by certain high profiled individuals then distributed to a few bogusly selected suppliers and sell to businesses at inflated prices, the Chinese economy from where the devices were shipped benefitted from our corruption and once again the Kenyan businesses had to bear yet another cost of corruption.

You wonder why nothing ever seems to work in this country but if you are keen enough you realize it is by design, low cost of doing business would mean someone somewhere not benefitting from the bureaucracies and that is just not acceptable it seems. Sometimes it goes as far as manufacturing a crisis where doesn’t exist one, economic inefficacies are a billion-shilling industry in Kenya.

[BN Commodities @BNCommodities]

Kenya’s earnings from tea exports in 2022 increased despite a drop in volumes, as its currency weakened against the dollar and prices improved https://t.co/8AK7DuOQ68

[MSK @MSkiplangat]

@amosrono It's the constant pace for me.... Well done👏👏👏