An analysis of government revenue data published by Treasury Secretary Ukur Yatani on Friday shows that total tax receipts in the January to March 2020 period amounted to nearly Sh340.67 billion, largely unchanged from Sh339.27 billion in the same period a year ago.

This is equivalent to Sh1.4 billion, or 0.41 percent, growth over the same period in 2019.

Companies reported a sharp slump in orders during the three-month period, with overall business deals in private sector hitting lowest levels in more than two years, according to a closely watched monthly survey.

Speaking during its inaugural webinar, Octagon Pension Services managing director Godwin Simba said Kenya could benefit from using technology riding on a cloud-based model that facilitates in-house transactions as well as linkages to external stakeholders.

“Organisations must embrace technology and have a strong research and development team that foresees adverse scenarios beforehand by analysing data thereby helping pension scheme take pro-active measures that safeguards member savings,” he said.

Data from the CBK shows that the shilling opened Friday at an average 107.24 units to the dollar in contrast with the previous Friday’s level of 106.20 in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has hurt export trade and slowed down Diaspora remittances.

This has, in turn, reduced the stock of dollar reserves.

The Friday opening performance meant that the shilling had shed 4.7 percent of its value since March 12 when the first case of Covid-19 was reported in Kenya. It exchanged at 102.42 against the dollar at the time.

The directive is to take effect from the date of opening, which was scheduled to be May 4, 2020.

The Cabinet Secretary sought to make it clear to students, parents and the general public that the earliest schools could open was on June 5, 2020.

Speaking at the daily government briefing on Covid-19, he further reiterated that the government had not yet considered postponing the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.

Pharmacists say the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which is before the National Assembly Committee on Finance, will increase the cost of buying medicine for Kenyans.

PSK chief executive officer Daniella Munene says pharmaceutical sector players have always advised against making medicines tax exempt as it means manufacturers will now absorb input costs, leading to higher prices for patients.

Kenya, which reported its first case of Covid-19 on March 13, had 336 confirmed cases and 94 recoveries as of Friday.

President Kenyatta made these announcements in an address to the nation amid the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and Kenya's efforts to reduce local transmission.

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