Ommy Dallah
Labour Ministry Calls For Full Adherence To Safety And Security Measures In Work Stations
The ministry of Labour has vowed to heighten its routine inspections in public and private work institutions to ensure full adherence to safety and health of workers at their work place.
According to Ministry of Labour directorate occupational safety and health secretary Dr Musa Nyandusi, many employers in Kenya have continued to operate with total disregard of the set safety policies.
Speaking in Mombasa on Wednesday, Nyandusi also challenged Kenyans to familiarize themselves with safety and health policies, so that they don’t suffer in silence in the hands of some rogue employers.
“Workers who get injured and are not compensated is a big issue for us. It’s a big issue for us because for us and that’s why our institution exists to protect our workers against disease and injuries, “he added.
He said the government has ensured proper laws that govern occupational health and safety and therefore the laws ought to be fully adhered to by all players.
This happens as many Kenyans continue to suffer in the hands of their employees with very poor working conditions with their security and health compromised in the line of their duty.
“The occupational safety and health act, is an act of parliament ensures workers are protected and they don’t suffer injuries, occupational diseases and death,” he added, saying that institutions ought to adhere to the set policies so that employees get their rights.
Nyandusi said the directorate recognizes enterprises and institutions that put into consideration safety and health of their workers in their establishments.
In Kenya for example, he said private employers are notorious when it comes to full adherence to safety and measures of employees.
“The other policy that is Work injury benefits act is responsible in an event the worker gets injured then or gets a disease, then is treated and in an event if he dies is compensated or his kin’s get compensated,” he added.
Speaking after closing the fifth national occupation safety conference in Mombasa he said the directorate also trains institutions that conduct occupational safety and health first aid administration training countrywide to ensure safety and health of workers is paramount.
“As we take time to reflect on the safety and health week which is celebrated worldwide, we spend time reflecting on workers who lost their lives, who have gotten injured or gotten occupational diseases in line of their work, “said Nyandusi.
Nyandusi confirmed that the directorate will hold a band match procession on Thursday from different institutions from NSSF building, through Nkrumah road ,Moi Avenue towards Mbaraki sports grounds where they will hold a meeting to award enterprises who have shown excellence in safety and health of their workers in their enterprises.
“We are going to be graced by our labour minister and principal secretary and we shall celebrate enterprises that have shown excellence in safety and health. We hope events like this will go a long way in ensuring safety awareness of workers in their place of work,” said Nyandusi.
Necessary Noize Making A Comeback
Remember Necessary Noise, the Kenyan hip hop group that served us with hits like "Bless My Room', 'Kenyan Boy, Kenyan Girl' ?
Well, the group previously composed of Nazizi Hirji, Wyre and Bamzigi seems to be making a comeback.
The news was shared by a group member, Wyre who took to social media and posted a short video from what seems to be their upcoming project.
https://twitter.com/WyreDaLoveChild/status/1519025722756677632?s=20&t=G7MSF_c0-apszgPcQiJP5
The group which was formed in 2000 managed to win several awards including the Kisima awards in 2004, voted as the Best group and Best music video through the song 'Kenyan Boy, Kenyan Girl'.
The group also won the Chaguo la Teeniez in the same year (2004) and the Peral of Africa music awards, Best group award in 2006.
Nazizi and Wyre have been doing solo projects with Bamzigi missing from the limelight. Nazizi is also currently a radio presenter with The standard group owned radio station, Vybez Radio.
Rights groups Condemn Brutal Murder Of Kenyan LGBTQ Member
A section of human rights groups has come out to condemn the alleged murder of Sheila Lumumba, 25, a member of the LGBTQ community.
The lobby groups, The National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC), Initiative for Equality and Non-Discrimination (INEND), National Advocacy Trans Network (NTAN), Voices of Women in Western Kenya (VOWWEK), Amnesty International, raised concern over the increasing cases of attacks and murder of the community.
"We come together to condemn these heinous acts in the strongest terms. We commiserate and grieve with the family of our departed sibling and active member of the Kenyan community and commit to standing by them in demand of justice for Sheila" reads a statement from the group.
Adding "In the same breath, we decry a visible pattern as indicated in various research studies and anecdotal information by the LGBTIQ community of targeted violence against sexual and gender minorities and the lack of prosecution and impunity for perpetrators of homophobic/transphobic violence."
Lumumba was found dead in their apartment in Karatina, Nyeri County, last Thursday.
It is alleged that the autopsy report showed they had been raped, strangled, stabbed several times in the neck and eyes and their leg had been broken.
The group further called on the police to ensure that the perpetrators are prosecuted.
"As the investigations around the murder of Sheila Lumumba continue, we ask the DCI to act with swiftness and surety to bring the perpetrators to justice. Further, we demand duty bearers be vocal and condemn violence against LGBTIQ+ persons. We ask that the Kenyan society understand that violence against LGBTIQ+ people is unacceptable and is punishable by the law"
Stop Meddling In Mombasa Politics, Nassir Tells Kalonzo Over Sonko's Entrance In Governor Race
Mvita Mp and ODM Mombasa gubernatorial aspirant Abdulswamad Nassir has told Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka to stop meddling in Mombasa politics.
According to Nassir, Kalonzo is behind the entrance of former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko in the Mombasa governor race.
"Just recently, I travelled with Sonko and he never told me that he will be vying for Mombasa governor" argued Nassir.
Adding " As you are all aware, Sonko has even been telling the media that it is Kalonzo who sent him to Mombasa to vie for the governor seat".
Speaking during a media interview with local radio stations, Nassir accused Kalonzo of planning to scutter ODM leader and Azimio One Kenya presidential candidate Raila Odinga votes in Mombasa.
Nassir charged "We all that this is a large scheme by Kalonzo to interfere with Raila's votes in Mombasa. If kalonzo is intrested in Mombasa politics let him come and vie for the Mombasa governor and stop sending his people".
Nassir further revealed that he will be soon unveiling his manifesto for Mombasa.
"I did not just sit down and come with the manifesto. The manifesto is made up of views from the people that I collected during my interaction with them" He said.
The Mp also took issue with his rival former Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar who is also eyeing the Mombasa governor seat on UDA, over his recent attacks on his (Nassir) candidature
"The people of Mombasa should just understand him, that is his nature. You know some of things depend with how you were brought up. I was brought up in a family with values so I cannot go down his lane, I will never respond to him."
Diamond Platnumz Recovers You Tube Channel
Bongo flavor crooner Diamond Platnumz has finally recovered his you tube channel.
This comes just days after the channel which boasts of over 6 million subscribers and over 1,6 billion views was hacked and later terminated.
“Usiku wa Kuamkia leo channel za wasanii wetu Diamond Platnumz na Mbosso zilikuwa hacked na Bitcoin scammers. Tumefanikiwa kuzirudisha salama na poleni kwa wote mliokutana na tatizo hili. Tuendeelea kuwasiliana na YouTube creators kwa msaada Zaidi.” announced Diamond's IT manager Kim Kyando on Sunday.
The hackers livestreamed a program titled, 'Elon Musk - Bitcoin And Ethereum Merge Incoming ETH/BTC Predictions and Analysis,". The hacker also replaced the profile and the cover image of Diamond Platnumz's account with Elon Musk's Tesla's Logo on the profile section and turned off the comment section in the video they shared.
According to YouTube, Diamond's channel has been terminated for going against YouTube's Community Guidelines.
On Monday evening, an elated Diamond announced to his fans that his IT team has finally managed to recover the channel.
"Thank you my Beloved....my Youtube channel is back, Enjoy my brand new video #WONDER" posted Diamond Platnumz.
The singer is currently in UK promoting his new First of All (FOA) Ep.
Opinion Piece: Africa Holds Opportunities For Digital Natives, But The Continent Must Prioritise Digitally-enabled Socioeconomic Growth
By Darijan Boskovic, Sales Director at Infobip Africa
Africa holds huge economic potential – in almost every area – and the continent’s youthful population structure represents tremendous opportunity within the modern digital era. But this calls for the continent to prioritise digitally enabled socioeconomic growth.
There are plenty of opportunities for digital-native brands in Africa, which by their nature, are positioned to sidestep many of the continent’s historical challenges, including infrastructure deficit, low levels of financial inclusion and a lack of access to information.
Digital natives are typically more cost-efficient. They have agility and flexibility, require minimal infrastructure, can be borderless and operate free of time zones. Simply put, a digitally native business is one that was born online and controls its entire Customer Experience (CX) – from factory to consumer – digitally.
Reduces reliance on physical infrastructure
Digital native companies, built through the flexibility and innovation of the cloud, don’t need to rely on physical infrastructures and have more technological tools at their disposal to enable seamless collaboration.
This is a huge advantage, particularly across Africa where traditional businesses are hamstrung by physical, legacy infrastructure and the difficulties presented by tax, legal and other regulatory barriers.
For the customer, digital native enterprises offer just as many benefits, including faster service driven by automation, greater product innovation, increased transparency and access to support, as well as information whenever and wherever they want.
At the same time, customers benefit from having their transactions executed in real-time, giving rise to an improved CX.
For digital native organisations to manage the entire customer journey effectively, customer communication must be done via a single platform, which can offer several capabilities. These include quicker deployment of solutions through a plug and play system, with minimal technical integration and out of the box solutions.
A customer engagement platform must also be able to deliver higher levels of personalisation by integrating customer data for more tailored campaigns, and better reporting through a 360-degree view of the customer, with accurate data that can be tracked by any channel.
For example, a tailored and personalised campaign would dynamically show content, product recommendations and specific offers based on previous customer actions, browsing behaviour, buying history, demographics and other personal information. Such campaigns can be leveraged to not only engage customers, but also to increase repeat purchases, drive sales and increase conversion.
What the future holds
By 2030, it is expected that digital-native brands will offer rapid, low-cost development, borderless reach and endless possibilities for collaboration. The market and customer demands are expected to change in tandem.
According to Allianz, millennials – most of whom are digital natives – will make up 75% of the global labour force by 2025. Companies that don’t follow the digital path will slowly start to lag behind, putting digital native brands in an even stronger position.
A primary enabler for digital-native brands is the availability of seed funding, venture capital funding or direct investment (foreign or local) for growth and expansion purposes. Other enablers are favourable laws and regulations that effectively create a level playing field and lower barriers to entry into the brand’s industry vertical of choice.
As with everything in today’s world, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution – especially in Africa. However, constant innovation and disruption to the market remain key. Even digital natives cannot afford to lag behind. They must be aware of any changes in the market and focus on their core business while partnering with other companies that can help drive additional value.
Any business of any size or origin can take advantage of the challenges across the African continent. It all comes down to providing a strong, efficient and financially beneficial experience that will improve the day-to-day lives of consumers.
Uhuru To Receive Kibaki's Body In Parliament On Monday
President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to receive the body of the former president Mwai Kibaki in Parliament on Monday.
According to a statement from the national state funeral committee, President Kenyatta, accompanied by first Lady Margaret Kenyatta will lead the nation in paying their last respects and tributes.
“His Excellency Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta, C.G.H., President and Commander-In-Chief of the Kenya Defense Forces, accompanied by the First Lady H.E Margaret Kenyatta, E.G.H., will lead the Nation in paying tributes to the late President, as well as the paying of their last respects. The Head of State and Government shall arrive at Parliament Buildings at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, 25th April 2022 to receive the body of the Retired President and commence the three days of lying-in-state,” reads the statement.
The cortege will leave the Lee funeral home at 07:05 a.m with Kibaki’s casket draped in National Flag and escorted to Parliament by his family with the procession passing through Valley Road, and Kenyatta Avenue through-to- Parliament Way. a Military 3 Guard of Honor will be mounted along Parliament Road for the entry procession into Parliament.
public viewing at Parliament Buildings will be between 09:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday.
After lying-in-state for three days, the military gun carriage and State Funeral Procession will make its way from State House to the Nyayo Stadium on Friday, the venue of the National State Funeral
The late president who died last week will be accorded full military honors and protocols, which include, conveyance of the body under escort in a Gun Carriage, accompanied by Military Musical Honors and a 19 gun-salute.
Yesterday, the government declared Friday a public holiday to enable all Kenyans to participate in the State Funeral service.
Jubilee Party Issues Direct Tickets To Coast Aspirants ,Vows To Deliver Seats In August Polls
The Jubilee party on Saturday issued direct party nomination tickets to various aspirants from Kwale, Mombasa and Kilifi counties as it seeks to capture political seats in the coastal region.
The party however announced that it will not field governor candidates in Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi but will compete for all other seats in the respective areas.
Speaking in Mombasa during an event to issue the certificates, Jubilee Party National chairman Nelson Dzuya said the party resulted to adopt consensus so as to arrive at suitable candidates.
"We called the aspirants and agreed on a consensus and where people did not agree we did interviews and everyone was satisfied, the party will give necessary support you need and therefore you must deliver," said Dzuya.
Adding "We have decided not to field candidates in Mombasa Kilifi and Kwale because we are in Azimio and those regions have stronger candidates for those positions.”
Dzuya promised the aspirants that the president Uhuru Kenyatta led party will fully fund their campaigns and asked them to deliver seats.
He cautioned aspirants against misusing the funding they get from the party.
"We have all the necessary mechanisms to know who are doing serious campaign and those who are jocking because the president is very categorical that he wants you to deliver seats," said Dzuya urging the contestants to do issue based politics.
The party has encouraged losers in the nomination to back their colleagues so that the party can deliver seats for the president's party.
"Those who got tickets should know they are candidates for our party, we are ready to support you so that you can win in the general elections," said Dzuya.
At the same time Dzuya said the party will soon announce the winner of a gubernatorial nomination process of Nyandarua county that has attracted alot of attention from the president.
Some of those who got tickets include Mombasa county Senator aspirant Hazel katana, Changamwe Mp aspirant Abdi Daib, Raymond Furaha Mangi to contest Kaloleni member of Parliament, and Yasir Noor to contest for Nyali constituency, Riziki Abdalla Wadzoyo (24yrs) eyeing the Jomvu Kuu ward MCA seat among others.
Sonko Handed Direct wiper Ticket For Mombasa Governor Race, Mbogo To Deputise Him
It's official. Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has been handed a direct nomination ticket by the Wiper Democratic Movement to vie for the Mombasa County governorship in the August General Election.
This brings to an end the debate that has been ongoing for weeks now in Mombasa whether Sonko will be in the ballot for the Mombasa governor seat.
The flamboyant politician was handed the ticket by Wiper leader Kalonzo on Thursday in Nairobi in the presence of Kisauni Mp Ali Mbogo who was also eyeing the Mombasa governor seat on a wiper ticket. Mbogo will now deputise Sonko.
"Our consensus efforts continue to bear fruit. The National Elections Board is very pleased to announce that Gov. Mike Sonko. and Hon Ali Menza Mbogo have agreed to work together to deliver Mombasa county Governorship." said Musyoka.
Sonko will now battle it out against Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar (UDA) and Mvita MP Abdulswamad Sharif Nassir (ODM), Mombasa deputy governor William Kingi (PAA) and former Mombasa senator Hassan Omar (UDA).
Mombasa Azimio Aspirants Oppose Raila's Six Piece Voting Call
A group of aspirants under Azimio One Kenya alliance from Mombasa have opposed the call by ODM leader Raila Odinga for six-piece voting in the county.
The aspirants mainly from wiper party, Jubilee party, Kanu and the Pamoja alliance party termed the call by Odinga as divisive asking him to recant his statement and apologise.
Addressing the media on Thursday morning, the aspirants demanded to be treated as equal partners in the coalition.
On Tuesday while handing over nomination certificates to ODM candidates from the Coast region at the Treasury square Mombas, Odinga once again called on ODM supporters to vote using the six piece system, by voting for only ODM candidates.
"Raila Odinga is the Azimio one Kenya alliance party leader and presidential candidate , he is not an ODM party candidate . The ODM party no longer has exclusive rights to Odinga, any attempt to claim exclusive rights to Odinga diminishes his candidacy to a party affair." said Mombasa Deputy Governor William Kingi who is eyeing the Mombasa governor seat on a PAA ticket.
Adding " All aspirants within Azimio stand with him, campaign for him and he should reciprocate by standing with them as a father to al. We urge Odinga to shun status quo politicians who are only interested in personal gain."
The aspirants also want to involve in all political activities being spearheaded by the ODM leader in the county.
"We also reject all attempts to zone off the coastal region as this has been used by brokers to advance personal interests in the past. Consequently we call upon the leadership of the Azimio one Kenya alliance to desist from retreating into past zoning practices that have led to division, If any Azimio candidate wins, Baba wins." charged Kingi.
On her part, Wiper party aspirant for the Nyali Mp seat Millicent Odhiambo emphasized the need for Odinga to treat all aspirants equal and campaign for them too.
"Raila made a decision to get into a coalition, he is now in a polygamous marriage and he needs to change his ways and treat all wives and families equal. He is our father." said Odhiambo.
Amina Abdallah, who is eyeing the Mombasa Women representative seat on a Jubilee party called on President Uhuru Kenyatta to also hit the ground and starting campaigning for jubilee aspirants.
"Let the president also come out and start campaigning for his people and if things will not work out then let everyone campaign for themselves and not just one candidate." said Amina.
