By Bassey Udo

Controversy is trailing the recent mass sack of workers by First Bank of Nigeria, FBN, as the bank and its affiliate contracting firm in charge of recruitment, Whyte Cleon Limited, have given various reasons to justify the action.

The affected workers, reported to be more than 1,000, cutting across branches of the bank throughout the country have dismissed the reasons given, while criticising the process as defying due process and acceptable labour practice globally.

Initially, the First Bank spokesperson, Babatunde Lasaki, who confirmed the sack to The Next Edition, said the exercise was based on the outcome of an annual staff appraisal which sets a baseline to assess staff performance.

He said in line with the usual practice, those who met some key performance indicators and a scorecard spelt out at the beginning of the year about the job description relating to their offices were either retained or promoted for increment, while poor performers risked being sacked.

However, following the debate that has trailed the sack, First Bank management appears to have distanced itself from it, as it later said the sacked workers were not part of its workforce.

When PREMIUM TIMES contacted Mr. Lasaki on Tuesday through a mail for further clarification about the sack, his automatic email responder machine directed the reporter to his colleague, who said those affected were not “regular staff” of First Bank, but casual workers who were hired to provide support services to the bank.

The official who requested not to be named, as she was not authorised to speak on the issue, did not give further details.

She, however, re-directed the reporter to an official of Whyte Cleon Limited, the bank’s human resource recruitment affiliate, which carried out the sack of the workers.

Recent media reports said those sacked were mostly front desk tellers, account and clearing support staff, customer service officers and marketing associates who had put in between five and 10 years in the service of the bank.

PREMIUM TIMES could not immediately verify these reports.

But, the workers, who insist they considered themselves bona fide staff of First Bank, by virtue of the official staff identity cards they carry and the conditions of service issued to them when they resumed work, insist the manner of their disengagement did not follow due process.

Apart from denying that the termination of their appointments was based on the outcome of a performance appraisal exercise, the workers said information about their sack was not communicated to them formally, but through short message service, SMS sent to their telephones on August 7, 2017, an act they alleged did not meet international labour practice standards.

The bank insists that apart from the text messages, all the affected workers were later issued formal letters of termination of appointment.

Besides, the workers said, contrary to what the bank would want the public to believe about the reason for their sack, the real reason they were sacked was that First Bank wanted to avoid being encumbered up with the provision of a labour law requiring employers to compulsorily convert their casual workers to permanent staff, with full benefits after their 10th year in active service.

Some of those affected who reached out to PREMIUM TIMES to give further clarification on the circumstances of their unexpected exit from First Bank said the majority of those given the boot were non-core staff recruited between 2008 and 2015, most of whom have put in more than nine years in the service of the bank.

“It is a blunt lie. There was no scorecard or indicator to measure the performance of non-core staff. We worked to support the core staff. They are only using that as a gimmick to deceive the public.

“They are trying to wipe out the entire staff recruited as far back as 2008, who have spent between eight and nine years in the bank. They do not want them to attain 10 years of service so that the bank would not be forced to convert them from non-core staff to core staff, in line with established labour laws,” one of the workers who gave his name as Jimoh Durojaye, said on Wednesday.

Another, Chukwuka Odinaka, said they did not fail any appraisal test, as claimed by the bank, as they were not even given any such opportunity to defend themselves.

He alleged that all positions vacated by the sacked worked have since been filled with fresh graduates recruited by the bank.

“We were employed by Insourcing Limited, formerly a subsidiary of the First Bank Group. We were later handed over to Whyte Cleon. It is not true that our disengagement followed due process, as Business Managers and Heads of Branch Services who oversee the branch operations were not aware of the development. They only came to work on Monday morning and saw they had been given new staff,” Mr. Odinaka said.

Also, Alani Moshood, who said the bulk of the workers laid off were recruited between 2008 and 2009, also said the affected workers are considering approaching the National Industrial Court to seek justice, adding that they were yet to be paid any severance package since their exit on August 11, 2017 in line with statutory exit labour procedures.

Meanwhile, Whyte Cleon Limited in response to PREMIUM TIMES enquiries on Wednesday dismissed the allegations that the workers were sacked through text messages as false and an attempt to discredit it.

“Reports in the media alleging Whyte Cleon Limited ordered the mass dismissal of some members of staff in the employ of First Bank Plc through only short message service (SMS) is false. The claims that Whyte Cleon Limited has been silently laying off its staff through only SMS is a deliberate attempt to discredit Whyte Cleon Limited,” the company said in a statement to PREMIUM TIMES, sent by its representative, Seun Togan.

“We wish to reiterate categorically that the decision to withdraw the services of our employees was communicated to them both verbally and formally in compliance with the conditions of service of engagements. In global human resource outsourcing practice, employees can be withdrawn from an organization, deployed to other organisations and/or may be replaced with other employees as the case may be.

“Whyte Cleon Limited followed due process in honouring the terms of appointment of their outsourced employees and subsequently withdrawing them. Whyte Cleon Limited had exit interviews with all the affected outsourced employees before notification of their recall. It is noteworthy that the affected employees were paid their entitlements and ancillary benefits,” Mr. Togan said.

He did not respond to another email seeking further explanation on the number of workers affected by the sack and their relationship or status with First Bank.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that Whyte Cleon inherited the workers from Insourcing Limited in February 2016 following a Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN directive to all financial institutions in the country in December 2015 to discontinue involvement in non-financial transactions.

By Innocent Ruwende

Harare City Council has said it will start repaying its $144 million debt to China-Exim Bank this month, although the bank is still to release the outstanding amount of $72 million. The $144 million loan facility was obtained for the rehabilitation of Morton Jaffray Water Works and sewer works. The loan was advanced at an interest rate of three percent per annum and over a nine-year tenure.

In the first four years, the city will service the interest and then thereafter repay the principal amount loaned.

Morton Jaffray rehabilitation works will cost a total of $55 million upon completion, with the remainder of the $144 million loan from China Exim Bank being used on IT equipment, construction and other pump stations.

“A total of $144 million was owed to the Exim Bank of China, of which $72 million had been committed and repayment will commence from September 2017,” finance director Mr Tendai Kwenda told the Finance and Development Committee recently.

According to council’s financial report for the period January to July 2017, the city’s debtors were reported at $686,97 million, while the aggregate income and expenditure for the period under review amounted to $91,13 million.

Actual collections amounted to $12,22 million, while a total of $15,4 million was owed CABS for the period under review.

During discussion, the committee noted with concern that revenue collection was not improving and felt that council had to prioritise capacitating all revenue generation and collection units of council.

“The committee also underscored the need to computerise most functions of council, so as to reduce financial leakages,” reads the minutes.

“The committee emphasised the need to urgently computerise the Lease and Estates Division of Council to enable effective identification of council land/properties, as well as management of revenue generation from such properties.

“There was also need to equally capacitate the building inspectorate and the development control section as these were critical in revenue generation in council. In response, the finance director reported that processes of computerising the valuations at estate division of council were under way to ensure full utilisation of the land management module of the BIQ.”

The committee resolved that efforts be made to capacitate all revenue generation and collection units of council and that reports be submitted to relevant committees.

By Valentine Oforo

Dodoma — The government has ruled out any possibility of limiting the use of US dollars in the country, saying it has no negative impact on the value of the country’s currency.

The Finance and Planning Deputy Minister, Dr Ashantu Kijaji, yesterday told the Parliament that depreciation of the Tanzanian shilling was due to many factors and had nothing to do with the use of US dollar in the country.

She was responding to Japhet Hasunga (Vwawa-CCM), who wanted to know, when the government would limit the use of the US dollar in the country to strengthen the value of Tanzanian shilling.

“There are some companies that sell their goods and services in US dollar, a tendency that, to a great extent, contributes to a fall in the value of local currency. What steps has the government taken to overcome this situation?” he asked. Moreover, Mr Hasunga also wanted to know, when the government would restrict the importation of foodstuffs to encourage domestic crop production.

“The country spends at least Sh2.8 trillion to import foodstuffs, mainly sugar and cooking oil. When will the government restrict the importation of such foodstuffs to boost local industrial production? he queried.

However, Mr Hussein Bashe (Nzega Urban-CCM), raised a concern over the fall in the country’s export volume value from $4.5 million to $3.8 million, according to a recent report by the Bank of Tanzania (BoT).

“What steps has the government taken to overcome such a downward trend,” he queried.

In her basic answer, Dr Kijaji said the depreciation of the local currency was a result of varied macroeconomic fundamentals in the country as well as the economic status among countries that Tanzania was trading with.

She mentioned the factors that might lead to the depreciation of the country’s currency as foreign trade’s balance payment, inflation and other seasonal causes.

However, she detailed that, most of the companies had their bills quotation (mode of payment) in Tanzanian currency for at least 99.9 per cent, whereby, it was only 0.1 per cent of the bills quotation, which were in US dollar. “For example, records show that in countries with a policy that bars the use of foreign currencies like South Africa, their home currencies have suffered a lot compared to Tanzania. This has happened even to other top currencies like Yen (Japan), Renmimbi (China) and Euro,” she detailed.

Dr Kijaji also said the government had no any plan to bar importation of foodstuffs like sugar and cooking oil in the country because Tanzania did not have the capacity to produce for actual home demand. “We will only restrict importation of sugar, cooking oil and other foodstuffs by the time, when we will be capable of producing to the extent of meeting the actual local demand,” she insisted.

Marondera — Lands minister, Douglas Mombeshora has defended the government’s controversial and violent land reform process as non-racial saying some white farmers were still farming in Zimbabwe.

Mombeshora made the remarks while addressing delegates at the Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) annual congress in Marondera.

“We are not racists. Land reform was actually meant to bring in the previously marginalised population and those are the resettled farmers,” Mombeshora said.

“This is why up to today we have (white) farmers who are still operating here who were operating before independence and we want to work with them. Those who want to work with us are welcome to be with us and we welcome to be with them,” he said.

Mombeshora said he recently travelled to Washington D.C in the US to resolve the issue of former white farmers who had taken the government to court claiming the land reform process was racial.

“But the truth is that it was not racial. We could not take away land from the blacks; they did not have the land. We only took from those who had it and those who had the land were white farmers, so it is not a racial issue,” Mombeshora said.

However, at a recent Zanu PF rally in Marondera, President Robert Mugabe, threatened to embark on fresh land grabs targeting all the remaining white farmers.

“We told Tony Blair (former British prime minister) to keep his England and we keep our Zimbabwe because land is our heritage. We have discovered that in Mashonaland East province alone, there are 73 white farmers who are still occupying some farms when our people do not have land,” Mugabe told his party supporters.

“We are going to take those farms and redistribute them to our youths,” he said.

Thousands of white farmers and their employees were left stranded after the government undertook a violent fast-track agrarian reform in 2000. The land grab also left scores of farmers and employees dead.

However, most of the grabbed farms have become derelict because the resettled farmers either do not have adequate resources for farming or have no experience.

Police in Harare have arrested former Zanu PF spokesperson and Zimbabwe People First leader, Rugare Gumbo, for selling farming equipment.

According to police records which were brought to the Harare magistrate’s courts on Tuesday, Gumbo, at his Mvuma farm, sold a combine harvester to two customers.

The former cabinet minister was on Tuesday briefly seen at the Harare magistrate’s courts in the company of police officers from Malborough Police Station facing charges of theft of trust property.

The police claim that Gumbo sold a combined harvester (Case Combine 2388 model) to Christopher Jamu for $27 000 before reselling it to another person who stays in Chinhoyi for $30 000.

He (Gumbo) was saved by the prosecutor, Michael Reza, who referred the docket back to the police for further investigations.

It is the police’s case that Jamu bought the combined harvester sometime in February this year but could not collect it from Gumbo’s Mvuma Farm because of burst tyres.

The police further stated that some months later while trying to get his property, Juma discovered that it had been sold to another buyer for $30 000.

By Habel Chidawali and Louis Kolumbia

Dodoma/Dar es Salaam — The Minister of State in the President’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government), Mr George Simbachawene, and deputy minister for Works, Transport and Communications, Mr Edwin Ngonyani, have resigned.

Their resignations came just a few hours after President John Magufuli ordered officials who were implicated by the Committees formed by the Speaker of National Assembly, Mr Job Ndugai, to investigate tanzanite and diamond mining handed over their reports to the Head of State.

Addressing reporters in Dodoma, Mr Simbachawene said he decided to resign after listening to the President’s speech during the reports handover ceremony at State House.

Mr Simbachawene said he was taking political responsibility by stepping down.

“I didn’t sign the contract (the sale of TanzaniteOne to Sky Associates) but I’m stepping down because I was the minister for Energy and Minerals, at the time the contract was signed,” said Mr Simbachawene.

He thanked President Magufuli for having given him the chance to serve Tanzanians.

Mr Simbachawene, however, said he believed his name will be cleared by security organs, which have been ordered to conduct thorough investigations over the matter.

Reached for his reaction, Mr Ngonyani said he was writing a resignation letter in line with the President’s directive to those, who were implicated in the reports.

Speaking to The Citizen, Mr Ngonyani said he held no grudges against President Magufuli.

“Yes, I heard what the President has ordered. I’m currently writing my resignation letter. I support the President’s efforts to make sure that the country’s resources benefit its citizens,” said Mr Ngonyani in a telephone interview.

The committee chaired by Mr Mussa Azzan (Ilala MP on the ticket of CCM), which investigated diamond mining, accused Mr Ngonyani, who was then working with the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, of misleading the government by advising it not to buy Petra Energy and Minerals therefore denying the government a chunk of the $362 million between 2006 and 2016.

Speaking at State House, Dr Magufuli said he had no doubt the reports which exposed a number of irregularities in the diamond and tanzanite extraction businesses were fair.

“Implicated persons may be clean or hardworking, polite and handsome but their names are here in the report. I don’t believe that members of the probe committees hold any malicious intentions towards them,” he said.

“Had the findings of these investigations been politicised, I would have today formed another expert committee to investigate the same. But, I see that they have done their job well,” said President Magufuli.

The Head of State handed over copies of the two probe reports to the heads of the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB), the Police Force and the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) and directed them to take legal measures.

He ordered Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa to convene mineral legal experts including those from the Office of the Attorney General (AG) and the Ministry of Energy and Minerals to initiate a process to amend laws supervising and regulating extraction of diamond and tanzanite in the country.

He ordered engagement of security organs in safeguarding natural resources asking them to prepare a strategic plan on how to secure gemstones. Speaking during the event, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said the probe teams unveiled many loopholes in minerals supervision including theft, embezzlement, corruption and lack of unaccountability. He suggested huge reforms in the minerals sector.

“Also, a new system should be formulated to enable the government benefit from small miners because the report shows that out of 291 licensed miners, only one was operating in Shinyanga denying the country of revenue,” he said.

Earlier on Mr Azzan who chaired the Committee that investigated diamond mining advised the government to revoke a licence issued to Williamson Gold Limited (WGL) that operates in Mwadui, Shinyanga should be revoked and be given to the locals.

For his part, the chairman of the tanzanite probe team, Mr Dotto Biteko, said the country was losing billions of shillings in mineral extraction.

“Over Sh8 trillion is approximated to have been generated from 1998 to 2017. But, records from the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) and the Commissioner of Mineral show that only over Sh400 billion equivalent to 5.2 per cent was collected by the government,” he revealed.

President Magufuli also supported a previous Parliamentary resolution that MPs who have been implicated in many scandals should be disciplined by their parties.

“Don’t hesitate to write letters to political parties about these MPs. I’m the chairman of my political party. We will use our procedures to warn the MPs or ask them to defend themselves according to our party regulations,” said the President.

By James Kariuki

Uganda is secretly wooing disgruntled Kenyan plastic bags manufacturers to relocate to the capital Kampala following a total ban in the country.

In a letter sent to Kenyan plastic bags manufacturers entitled “Investment Opportunity in Plastic Sector”, Uganda says there is big growth opportunity in the country for manufacturers of quality packaging material.

“We have laws to protect and allow investors to repatriate their profits as they deem fit. Likewise, their expatriate staff can come in easily,” says the letter authored by the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA).

A Kenya Gazette notice signed by Environment secretary Judi Wakhungu outlawed the manufacture, import, sale or use of plastic carrier bags in Kenya.

The ban has caused loss of thousands of jobs as manufacturers suspended operations to avoid steep fines stipulated under the law.

Makers of alternative carrier bags are, however, doing booming business, while supporters of the new law cite its potential to check environmental pollution by the non-biodegradable plastic bags.

Usage of the bags now attracts a fine of up to Ksh4 million (about $40,000) or a two-year jail term.

All East Africa Community (EAC) member countries were supposed to ban usage of plastic bags, but so far only Kenya and Rwanda have effected the bans.

High quality packaging

Uganda is flaunting its economic growth rate of between five and seven per cent to entice Kenyan manufacturers.

“Many Ugandan enterprises are missing out on opportunities in larger markets because their packaging does not meet international standards. In order for Ugandan processed honey, fruit juices, mineral water, herbal medicines and chemicals, among other products to be competitive nationally, regionally and globally, the packaging has got to be of high quality,” says the letter.

The invite signed by UIA investment executive Robinah Magoba says most Ugandan companies import plastic packaging material from Kenya where the PVoC (Pre-Export Verification of Conformity to Standards Programme) packaging technology was in use.

“PVoC technology is more acceptable worldwide and most of the companies that need good quality packaging, import their customised packaging material from Kenya, South Africa and China,” says the letter.

Relocation

Some Kenyan firms are said to have since established subsidiaries in Uganda and the invitation is intended to convince them to relocate their machinery.

UIA says it has a One Stop Centre (OSC) where investors will be assisted to register their businesses, acquire work permits for foreign workers and acquire land as well as get the necessary regulatory approvals.

As part of the East African Community (EAC), Uganda supported calls to curb proliferation of plastic wastes but adopted the waste management proposal where it plans to establish recycling facilities to handle waste plastics while promoting use of plastic packaging for its industries.

By Hassan Adebayo

The Senate and its serial critic, Itse Sagay, are sparring again.

This time, the Senate accuses the senior lawyer and presidential adviser on anti-corruption of hate speech and claims he is a “senile, jaded, rustic and outdated Professor of Law” who may be “under influence of substance.”

The latest wrangling followed a claim by Mr. Sagay that a Nigerian Senator gets N29 million in monthly pay in a speech he delivered at the Nigerian Society of International Law public lecture in Lagos on Wednesday.

“From the information I have gathered, a Nigerian Senator earns about N29 million a month and over N3 billion a year,” the professor said.

“Basic salary N2,484,245.50; hardship allowance, 1,242, 122.70; constituency allowance N4, 968, 509.00; furniture allowance N7, 452, 736.50; newspaper allowance N1, 242, 122.70.

“Wardrobe allowance N621,061.37; recess allowance N248, 424.55; accommodation 4,968,509.00; utilities N828,081.83; domestic staff N1,863,184.12; entertainment N828,081.83; personal assistant N621,061.37; vehicle maintenance allowance N1,863,184.12; leave allowance N248,424.55; severance gratuity N7, 425,736.50; and motor vehicle allowance N9, 936,982.00,” Mr. Sagay added.

In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday, he challenged the Senate to prove him wrong by publishing what the lawmakers collect as salaries and wages.

However, in a statement on Thursday, the Senate spokesperson, Abdullahi Sabi, replied with vicious remarks and asked President Muhammadu Buhari to rein in the at the septuagenarian lawyer, whom the Senate accused of “making hate speeches” against the National Assembly and using “uncouth and unprintable words” to describe the legislators and the institution they represent.”

“Ordinarily, we would ignore Sagay whose statements and attitude present him like a rascal and sadist instead of a former university teacher. However, his last speech in Lagos during which he was reeling out false and exaggerated figures about the salaries and allowances of legislators and also lied about the passage of anti-corruption bills showed that he just deliberately set out to undermine the legislative institution and lower its reputation in the estimation of right thinking members of the society and we therefore believe we should put him in his rightful place.

“As an academic whose creed should be to find facts and make comments based on truth, we believe that Sagay should stop spreading beer parlour rumours about the salaries and allowances of legislators when he could simply get the facts from the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC) which is the body constitutionally charged with the responsibility of fixing salaries and allowances of all public officials,” said Mr. Sabi.

But he was yet done.

He said Mr. Sagay’s comparison of remunerations of a U.S. president and a Nigerian lawmaker was like comparing oranges and apples and that only “a senile, jaded, rustic and outdated Professor of Law like Sagay will make such a comparison which falls flat on its face, even to an ordinary lay man.”

The senator added: “This man talks like a man who is constantly under the influence of some substance and perhaps possessed as he employs the language of a tout with no civility. He is probably constantly excited and incensed by the fact of having his first opportunity to find himself in the corridors of power.”

Speaking further with PREMIUM TIMES, Mr. Sagay said he was unperturbed by the statement from the Senate calling him “loose cannon” who should be “put in his right place” by Mr. Buhari.

Asked how he arrived at his figures, he said, “It is not a figure that I arrived at; it’s a figure that was printed (for me) and published on the internet with very convincing details.”

Otherwise, he added, “If the Senate says what I say is false, they should publish what is right. right. If these figures are being doubted, write to the Senate President asking him to deny or confirm them.”

He was asked what particular issue he had against the Senate in the context of the accusation by the lawmakers’ spokesperson that every opportunity to address the public would be employed to disparage the Senate by Mr. Sagay.

“Firstly,” he said in response, “the minimum wage in Nigeria is N18,000 and the Senate is a group of people who actually vote their own minimum wage for themselves. The President does not determine his wage but the Senate takes a chunk of our budget and gives itself.”

“Secondly, their allowances: their basic salary in a year is N2,484,000. Then they collect hardship allowance which is 50 per cent of basic salary. Is there hardship in being a Senator? They stay in air-conditioned offices with beautiful cushions and live a luxurious life and yet collect hardship allowance. Then, there’s constituency allowance, 200 per cent of basic salary; furniture allowance, 300 per cent of basic salary; newspaper allowance, 50 per cent of basic salary. So, our senators cannot afford to buy their own newspapers, Nigeria has to buy newspapers for them? Wardrobe allowance, 25 per cent of basic salary. So, they arrived in Abuja stack naked, meaning we have to clothe them.

“Recess allowance, 10 per cent of basic salary; Accommodation allowance, 200 per cent of basic salary; utilities, we don’t even know what that means, 30 per cent of basic salary.

“Domestic Staff, 75 per cent of basic salary; entertainment, 30 per cent of basic salary; personal assistant, 25 per cent of basic allowance; vehicle maintenance allowance, 75 per cent of basic allowance; leave allowance, 10 per cent of basic salary; severance gratuity, 300 per cent of basic salary; motor vehicle allowance, 400 per cent of basic salary.”

“90 per cent of Nigerian youth are jobless, involved in kidnapping, armed robbery and so on. Boko Haram came because the people are jobless and a few people are earning over N3 billion a year. One can’t be neutral, should Nigerians be deprived of all these by small elite who think of themselves alone and do not care about the country.”

By Kennedy Kangethe

Nairobi — Kenya is set to benefit from the adherence to the Supreme Court ruling that nullified the Presidential results.

According to economic experts, the decision will enhance political predictability for investors boosting Kenya’s attractiveness as an investment destination.

Cytonn Investments Chief Executive Edwin Dande says the decision has raised the country profile with regard to constitutionalism, the rule of law and has reduced the country’s political risk.

“One of the best outcomes about this election petition is that it shall increase the size of ugalis on our tables. Raila having now gone to all courts – high court, court of appeal and Supreme Court and accepted their rulings, I think the probability of or room for ever going to the streets again is radically reduced. In short risk perception goes down, asset prices go up, which means more ugalis on our tables. We are all winners,” he said.

President Kenyatta expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling but said he respects the decision of the court that ordered the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to conduct a fresh presidential election within 60 days.

Stanbic’s Bank Purchasing Managers Index for August is of the view that despite the immediate losses that were experienced after the supreme court decision, the response by the political class will likely attract foreign investors.

“The decision by the court is indeed a reflection of Kenya’s strengthening institutions and will certainly appease the foreign investor community,” the survey said.

The decision, which caught many by surprise, saw investors’ wealth at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) decline having lost Sh130 billion on Friday and Monday this week.

“Nobody really expected such a decision, and investors do not like unpredictability,” Genghis Capital Research Analyst Gerald Muriuki told Capital FM Business.

However, Market Capitalization at the Nairobi bourse went up on Tuesday by Sh23 billion to close at Sh2.37 trillion reversing the losses experienced over the last two trading days.

But global rating agency Moody’s says the Supreme Court move will negatively affect the country’s credit ratings and will prolong policy sluggishness and uncertainty.

According to the agency the ruling has brought about the political uncertainty that has already damaged business confidence and undermined economic growth.

The election fever was felt in August with Stanbic’s purchasing index revealing private sector activity slid hitting fresh lows with new orders falling for the first time in the survey’s history.

Orders also fell for the first time in over three years, while employment also fell in August.