By Emmanuel Kendemeh

The Constitutional Court ordered him to pay back the money to the public treasury he spent to refurbish his Nkandla private residence.

South Africa's President, Jacob Zuma has paid back to the State treasury the 542,000 U.S. Dollars he spent to renovate his traditional homestead in Nkanla in the rural eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, NDTV reports.

The country's highest court, the Constitutional Court found him guilty of siphoning the money from the public treasury and ordered him to pay back to the said treasury 7,814,155 million rand local currency which is the equivalent of 542,000 U.S. Dollars. The money was used to refurbish a swimming pool, a chicken run, a cattle enclosure, an amphitheatre and a visitors' centre. "President Zuma has paid over the amount… to the South African Reserve Bank as ordered by the Constitutional Court of South Africa," NDTV quoted a statement from the presidency. The statement added that the president raised the money through a home loan. Reports say the treasury confirmed separately that the payment had been received. What has come to be known as the "House Scandal" started in 2014 when a report made by the public ombudswoman, Thuli Madonsela, found that Zuma and his family had "unduly benefited" from the upgrade work — valued in 2014 at 216 million rand (then 24 million U.S. Dollars) and ordered him to pay back some of the money. President Zuma reacted by ordering two government investigations that cleared his name, including a report by the police minister which concluded that the swimming pool was a fire-fighting precaution.

In March 2014, the Constitutional Court ruled Zuma had "failed to uphold, defend and respect the constitution as the supreme law of the land". The scandal was well exploited by the opposition leaders who earlier called for the impeachment of President Zuma. It greatly affected the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in the recent local elections as it suffered historic losses, garnering less than 54 per cent in ballot casts and losing councils in major cities.

Arusha — Financing business ventures is one of key issues to feature prominently in next month's regional entrepreneurship conference.

The East African Business and Entrepreneurship Conference and Exhibition to be held in Nairobi.

The conference will also discuss manufacturing and infrastructure.

The event will provide an opportunity for businesses and governments to discuss ways of strengthening entrepreneurship in East African Community (EAC).

"One year after the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, we saw the need for a critical follow-up on the actual tangible impacts of initiatives like 'Trade Africa' or 'Power Africa' that have come along with large funds to promote entrepreneurship. This is why we will have two sessions on the opportunities and experiences to access those funds and on the requirements for other ways of financing," said EABC executive director Lilian Awinja. The conference is organised by the East African Business Council and investment agencies of EAC member states.

On the session, financial Institutions such Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) will elaborate on the key issues relevant for the financing of entrepreneurial enterprises.

By David Muchui

Twenty five cargo planes carrying miraa have left for Somalia after flights to Aden Adde International Airport resumed on Wednesday.

The spokesman of Nyambene Miraa Traders Association (Nyamita) Kimathi Munjuri said that business was back to normal after a one-week suspension.

On Wednesday, only two cargo planes went to Mogadishu due to lack of sufficient supplies.

"The 25 planes, all full to capacity left for Somalia today (Thursday). The demand was very high following the suspension," Mr Munjuri said.

He, however, said miraa traders were waiting for answers on concerns emerging from the recent suspension of flights by the Somali government.

Mr Munjuri had earlier said that miraa traders lost about Sh500 million in the seven days that cargo flights to Mogadishu were suspended.

"Only five planes have been operating when the Somalia government cancelled cargo flights last week. For the first three days, there were no significant flights as traders were reorganising themselves," Mr Munjuri said.

In the last one week, cargo planes ferrying miraa have been using Galcaio, Las Anod, Bassaso and Baladweyne airports in Somalia.

More than 15 cargo planes deliver the stimulant to Mogadishu every day.

By Atul Shah

To fully appreciate why cyber crime merits a robust and well-coordinated security and policy response, one has to look no further than the billions that cyber criminals siphon each year from the Kenyan economy.

Kenyan companies conservatively lose Sh15 billion annually to cyber crime but this figure could be significantly higher, considering that most victims are not even aware that they are vulnerable.

A recent study on the state of cyber security in Kenya shows that 70 per cent of Kenyan businesses are vulnerable to cyber crime, yet most of them are ignorant of this.

The government is the most vulnerable to cyber criminals, according to the report. Banking is a close second due to its increasing reliance on technology and third parties to perform and enhance management and transfer of money. Financial services and mobile banking are ranked third in vulnerability.

The prospect of more than Sh15 billion being stolen each year through shadowy digital networks is terrifying, especially in an economic environment where private and public entities are forever grappling with budget constraints.

Part of the reason for the growing prevalence of cyber crime in Kenya is the country's increasing digitisation, which has inadvertently exposed Kenyans to these crooks.

Furthermore, key stakeholders do not fully appreciate the full range of the risks they are exposed to or how to mitigate them.

The cyber security policies instituted in most Kenyan companies do not reflect the magnitude, complexity, and full range of risks they face. This hit-and-miss approach can be costly.

For instance, many organisations embrace the bring-your-own-device trend without factoring in the risks. This policy permits employees to bring personal mobile devices (laptops, tablets, and smartphones) to the work place and to use them to gain access to privileged company information and applications.

COMPROMISE CYBER SECURITY

Granted, this can help save costs and even act as an incentive to younger employees. However, it can compromise cyber security. Staff can access proprietary company information on their personal phones, including passwords, and share it with third parties either intentionally or unknowingly.

It is no surprise that employees (insider threats) account for 80 per cent of data-related fraud in Kenyan companies. Data fraud can include leaking sensitive confidential information or sharing trade secrets with competitors, both of which can cost billions in terms of reputational risks, lost business opportunities, and litigation.

Companies, therefore, need to be aware of the loopholes and understand how to seal them, while still giving their staff the privilege of using their own devices. Specialist risk managers can help seal these loopholes as well as other more complex ones.

The need for companies to contract specialist risk managers who can cut through the complexity of cyber security and deliver practical mitigation guidelines cannot be overstated.

No company is too big to be hacked. Leading US bank, J.P. Morgan, whose $235 billion market value is more than 10 times the $20 billion combined market value of all the listed firms on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, was not spared. The bank suffered a high-profile hack in August 2014, just two months after it had committed $250 million to cyber security.

Kenyan companies need to start making significant budgetary allocations to cyber security. More significantly, they need to understand that they cannot secure their businesses against cyber criminals through sporadic one-off spending. Mitigation efforts have to be consistent and long-term as cyber criminals are constantly evolving to beat the system.

Cyber security is no longer an IT challenge; it is a broader problem for individuals, businesses, and governments. This is a topic that needs detailed discussion if the loopholes through which more than Sh15 billion is stolen by cyber criminals each year are to be plugged. Mr Shah is the chief executive officer, PKF Kenya.

BLOG

By Samantha Cole

Today is exactly one year since public reports of the UN 2015 Geneva "criticism" of Canadian Mining Companies.

On September 15, 2015, online media reports exposed the UN Human Rights Committee discussions in Geneva, Switzerland in which there was much focus on the activities of mining companies from Canada.

In the usual non-committal manner in which the UN does everything, the Human Rights Committee "addressed a series of concerns" about the problems caused by Canadian mining companies who operate mines around the world.

Was that was the best they could do?

Only to address concerns?

Women are being raped, men are being killed, village homes are being destroyed, environments are being poisoned, in certain areas in the world, these Canadian mining companies are causing devastation and misery beyond description and the most these UN officials were able to come up with, was that they "addressed a series of concerns".

In an article published by "The Diplomat" on September 15, 2015, reported:

•  Barrick Gold, were allegedly involved in a mass rape of 137 local women aged between 14 and 80 in Papua New Guinea.
• Acacia Mining (Barrick's daughter mining company in Africa) were liable, "through complicity, for killing and injuring of locals at the North Mara mine by police guarding the mine," … .
• Violence at the North Mara project was allegedly perpetrated by mine security and local police… ..
• Likewise, allegations of extreme violence, killings, and the mass rape targeting local women in Papua New Guinea, where Barrick Gold has managed the Porgera mine… ..
•  Barrick Gold's (practices) was also called out by the local alliance Justice Foundation for Porgera for the "catastrophically changed" subsistence and livelihoods of landowners in Papua New Guinea.

It is undisputed that the Canadian Government has ignored the complaints about mining companies operating overseas. The Government is perfectly aware of the public scandals of mining companies involving illegal activities such as corruption, bribery and fraud,not to mention murder, violence, rape, environmental disasters, etc – but they take no notice.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have a special unit to investigate Canadian companies operating overseas who are reported to be involved in corruption or fraud or other illegal activities. The RCMP will bring these Canadian mining giants such as Barrick Gold to account for their corruption and fraud activities overseas.

Similarly, in the UK, the Serious Fraud Unit (SFO) have been very successful in the past year cracking down on British companies who are guilty of corruption, fraud and other such crimes in Africa.

Acacia Mining, Barrick's daughter company, has had a shocking run over the past 14 months in Tanzania since Bloomberg first published the story of the US$ 115 million case that Acacia are facing from the local mining company, Bismark Hotels (Mining) Limited for financial damages arising from Acacia losing Bismark's mining concession. In this case, allegedly, Acacia is also involved in a very serious case of possible corruption and fraud involving at least one or more officials in the Ministry of Energy and Minerals.

If that was not enough this year, they have also been found guilty of tax evasion to the tune of US$ 41 million. And, the headaches continued with the public lambasting of their company in the Tanzanian Parliament.

There is more (like 255 legal cases against them) but let's not labour the point… .

Needless to say, our friends in the UN Human Rights Committee have not taken any notice of the crimes and illegal activities by Barrick Gold and Acacia Mining:

In 2015:

Chile, Dominican Republic, Philippines, USA, England, Papua N Guinea, Canada, Tanzania, Argentina.

In 2016:

Dominican Republic, Tanzania; Argentina; USA, Papua N Guinea.

All around the world, these two mining companies are causing havoc, distress and misery.

Human Rights Watch published this report last year:

http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/ToxicWastes/RightToInformation/HRW.pdf

The report states clearly that Barrick Gold are known for problems involving human rights and hazardous substances and wastes. In addition, the report exposes "Barrick Gold had also not been transparent… .. " and "sexual violence".

Will someone in the UN Human Rights Committee stand up, ONE YEAR later, and have the courage to say to Barrick Gold and Acacia Mining, who together making up the biggest gold miners in the world, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

In Swahili, we say TUMECHOKA!!

Are you, in the UN, all talk or do you really care ?

PRESS RELEASE

Illegal mining activities of serious concern to Mineral Resources Committee

The Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources is seriously concerned about ongoing illegal mining activities, which are rife in the provinces of Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Mpumalanga. The Committee learned with shock from the media that some illegal miners are trapped underground at a derelict mine in Langlaagte, Johannesburg.

"Although the Committee is aware of the sophisticated nature of the syndicate involved in illegal mining activities, it remains adamant that through cooperation amongst law enforcement agencies, relevant government departments and the Chamber of Mines, illegal mining can be curbed," said Mr Sahlulele Luzipo, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources.

Throughout its oversight visit to illegal mining hot spots in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, the Committee discovered that foreign nationals make up a large proportion of those participating in illegal mining, and calls on the Department of Home Affairs to strengthen security at all ports of entry.

Mr Luzipo said that since illegal mining does not only take place at disused and derelict mines, it is incumbent on the Chamber of Mines to demonstrate effective self-regulatory measures. "They also need to play their part and show us how they are fighting the scourge in places where legal mining operations are taking place," he said.

Along with the strengthening of legislation dealing with illegal mining, the Committee believes that a multifaceted approach involving all relevant stakeholders will yield positive results.

The Committee further calls on all spheres of government to speak with one voice on matters of this nature, taking a cue from the Department of Mineral Resources as the overseer and policy custodian.

Issued by: Parliament of South Africa

By Otiato Guguyu

NSE-listed Flame Tree Group is betting on the Mozambican economy by putting up a water tank manufacturing plant.

The manufacturer and distributor of plastic tanks, cosmetics and snacks announced the opening of its new water tank facility, a branch of Rino Tanques Lda, in Nampula, to serve the northern part of Mozambique.

The firm's managing director, Heril Bangera, said Tuesday that the company has not been able to cater for the northern part of Mozambique, adding that the move will now strengthen its market reach.

Previously, deliveries to northern Mozambique would take a turnaround time of 8 days to and from Maputo.

By Victor Juma

Motor dealer DT Dobie is set to start assembling Volkswagen vehicles, including light trucks, at the Thika-based Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers plant in which it has a 32.5 per cent stake.

The company, which took over the VW franchise from CMC Holdings, has been importing the German vehicles fully built from markets such as South Africa.

Volkswagen South Africa CEO Thomas Schafer said the German multinational will later this year start assembling some of its models in Thika, having stopped local assembly in the 1970s.

"We were in Kenya in the 1960s and 1970s and resuming operations here is part of our Africa strategy," Mr Schafer said in a statement.

"The Volkswagen Group is excited to be here and we will start operations immediately."

Mr Schafer signed an agreement with President Uhuru Kenyatta to launch VW's local assembly at the Thika plant where the government has a 35 per cent stake.

The other shareholder in the plant is CMC Holdings whose equity is 32.5 per cent.

Among the VW models to be assembled are light trucks and the Vivo — a passenger car that will be the first to be put together locally.

"I am happy to welcome back the Volkswagen Group, currently the largest car manufacturer in the world, back to Kenya," Mr Kenyatta said in a statement.