Africa, Economy, Essays, Politics, Socio-cultural

The EAC Conundrum

Brenda Wambui

The East African Community (EAC), a regional intergovernmental organization, was re-formed in 1999 by the Republic of Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania and the Republic of Uganda after the collapse of the original EAC in 1977. The Republic of Rwanda and the Republic of Burundi became member states in 2007, and South Sudan has expressed interest in joining the community.

Its vision is a prosperous, competitive, secure, stable and politically united East Africa, and its aim is to widen and deepen integration and co-operation among partner states politically, economically, socially and culturally for their mutual benefit. So far, it … Read More

Essays, Politics, Security, Socio-cultural

Nyumba Kumi And Institutional Failure In Kenya

Brenda Wambui

After the Westgate attack of September 2013, Kenyans were forced to perform a post-mortem of the situation, and many questions came up. The one thing that was agreed upon was that the number of institutional failures that led up to the attack was jarring.

The terrorists were said to have rented a shop in the mall, and have transferred ammunition there over a period of time. It was said that some terrorists came in through the Kenya-Somalia border disguised as refugees, and that they registered at Daadab before travelling further south. It was said that one of the terrorists may … Read More

Economy, Essays, Internet, Politics, Socio-cultural

The Revolution Will Be Written In HTML

Brenda Wambui

After the Westgate attack, an American friend who works as a freelance journalist based in Kenya tweeted that he was tired of listening to a government that spouts lies and a nation that was unwilling to question it. To which I responded that several questions were being asked daily, minute by minute even, especially online – all he had to do was check on Twitter. He responded that we can’t change a government via Twitter – that it’s lazy – and we should get our media to ask real questions.

This got me thinking. Countries in Africa, Latin America and … Read More

Economy, Essays, Politics, Socio-cultural

Death By VAT

Brenda Wambui

In 2013, the Value Added Tax (VAT) Act passed by parliament increased the number of taxable goods – by reducing the number of exempt and zero rated goods. The government hopes to raise an additional Sh. 10 billion per month in doing so. The standard rate of VAT remains 16%.

In theory, this is what we should aim for. VAT has several advantages: it covers both goods and services. It is also less risky when it comes to revenue leakage. VAT is self-enforcing – it uses an invoice-based credit mechanism in its administration, which facilitates collection and enforcement; even if … Read More