The National Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee (BAC) has proposed ammendments to the 2020/21 expenditure estimates that will see a cumulative Ksh.49.6 billion rise in this year’s budget.

According to data from its vote on the estimates presented to the floor of the house on Thursday, gross spending by the national government is expected to increase by Ksh.78 billion, a figure that later shrinks by Ksh.28.4 billion after the exclusion of appropriations to the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS).

Kenya is now the third-largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa after surpassing Angola. 

African cities and countries rank lower in the 2020 global startup ecosystems’ list by Startup Blink. The global ranking of regional giants like Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa as preferred startup destinations fell significantly. This is despite these countries maintaining their dominance within the region. READ MORE..

The Central Bank of Kenya has re-opened bids for a five-year and a 10 year Treasury Bond worth KSh 40 Billion, proceeds that will be used for budgetary support.

The bond will be sold between 4th June and 16th June 2020. Investors seeking to participate are required to invest a minimum of KSh 50,000. READ MORE..

Shareholders approved a final Ksh.2.50 dividend per ordinary share as recommended by the board at the lender’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on Thursday.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings, KCB hosted a virtual AGM where shareholders got the opportunity to seek clarifications and ask questions regarding the company’s financial performance.

Under the draft 2020 Value Added Tax (Digital Market Supply) Regulation, downloadable digital contents, subscription based media, software programmes, electronic data management and supply of music, film and games will be taxed.

Others include search engines and automated help desk services, online tickets, e-learning platforms, audio, vision or digital media, transport hailing platforms, among others.

"A person supplying taxable services through a digital marketplace shall be required to register for VAT in Kenya," the regulation says.

The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service data shows that the 68 public and private institutions admitted 122,831 students against available space for 145,129.

This is, however, an improvement from the previous year when the institutions were left with 55,852 unfilled places.

Of the 689,007 candidates who sat the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination in 2019, 125,463 scored C+ — the minimum entry grade to university — and above.

The Education minister announced on Friday that the decision to reopen learning institutions will be made after scrutiny of Covid-19 pandemic data from the Ministry of Health.

The fund, which is divided into the ‘Fairtrade Africa Producer Relief Fund' and the ‘Fairtrade Africa Producer Resilience Fund', will be directed into safety and livelihood programmes. It will fund purchase of masks and basic protective and medical equipment, wage payments, food security initiatives, awareness of safety campaigns and business continuity costs.