Kanyiva Muindi and Blessing Mberu | African Population and Health Research Center
Air pollution is a visible problem in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. The city’s poor air quality is evident in its congested streets where passenger vehicles, trucks and motorcycle taxis jostle for space while belching clouds of black smoke.
Nairobi’s construction boom and practices like the burning of garbageonly add to the levels of outdoor air pollutants. The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that the level of fine particulate matter in the city’s outdoor air is 17 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3). This is 70% above the recommended maximum level.
This figure could even be higher given the absence of a robust monitoring system. Outdoor (ambient) air pollution causes more than 3 million premature deaths globally each year and increases the risk of respiratory diseases and cardiovascular conditions.
What’s less discussed is the problem of indoor air pollution – the presence of air pollutants in homes, offices and classrooms. These could be gases like carbon monoxide and can come from various sources, such as fuels used for cooking and lighting.
Indoor air pollution is not so visible, even though it’s estimated to cause 4.3 million premature deaths globally each year. Estimates of indoor air pollution levels in Nairobi’s households are hard to come by. This is partly due to the complexities of setting up monitoring devices in people’s houses.
The invisibility of the problem is exacerbated by the fact that it’s seen as a private problem because it happens in a household setting. But it’s an important environmental risk factor for our health given that we spend a large amount of our time indoors.
We have been conducting research to understand the levels and burden of household air pollution in Nairobi’s informal settlements. Our research in Korogocho and Viwandani indicates that average levels of fine particulate matter within households are approximately 76 µg/m3. ThisThis is over three times more than the WHO recommendedmaximum level of 25µg/m3.
<h2>An urban problem</h2>
Household air pollution is primarily driven by fuels that are burnt for cooking and lighting. While it’s been associated with rural communities, household air pollution is also an urban issue. Residents of informal settlements have little access to electricity or liquefied petroleum gas. They primarily burn firewood, charcoal and kerosene.
Some households even resort to burning plastic bags and containers when they can’t buy charcoal or kerosene. Burning these fuels releases pollutants such as carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, poly-aromatic hydrocarbons as well as particulate matter of varying sizes.
Wood smoke has been shown to have similar pollutants as cigarette smoke, but at higher concentrations. This has health implications for firewood users. Poor ventilation in homes because of concerns about security or outdoor air pollution adds to the levels of pollution. The pollutants are associated with respiratory diseases, cancers and adverse maternal and child outcomes.
Women are more exposed because they are primarily involved in cooking and household work. A cross-sectional survey in Nairobi’s slums indicates that females form 37% of the slum population, with those aged 20-29 years forming the highest proportion.
In the search for low cost and innovative solutions to the problem of indoor air pollution in poor urban households, three workshops were convened last year in Nairobi.
These involved policymakers, academics, researchers and NGO representatives. Also present were residents of Korogocho and Viwandani – two informal settlements in Nairobi. Together they developed a basket of potential policy interventions which were modelled in different scenarios.
The first involved changing the fuel mix used in cooking and lighting by increasing the price of kerosene and lowering prices for gas and clean cook stoves. This showed a marginal reduction in levels of household air pollutants.
In the second scenario, the price control measures were combined with stronger enforcement of pollution regulations. This resulted in a tripling of the reduction effect in comparison to the previous scenario.
The third scenario added increased health impact assessments and air quality monitoring to scenario two. This led to an even further drop in air pollutant levels.
The final scenario combined all the policy measures mentioned above with a reduction in outdoor air pollution and improved ventilation. This led to the greatest decrease in indoor air pollutant levels.
<h2>What the modelling tells us</h2>
The modelling showed that while price controls may be effective initially, sustaining gains in air quality and health outcomes will require a combination of different measures. The results also show that only targeting household air pollution isn’t enough.
Because indoor and outdoor air pollutants constantly interact with each other as air moves in and out of people’s homes, the greatest gains will only be realised when outdoor air pollution is addressed effectively.
But it’s easy to focus on ambient air pollution which is more visible and ignore the problem within households. That’s why policymakers need to ensure that both challenges are monitored and addressed. Reducing exposure to both indoor and outdoor air pollution is critical to improving health outcomes for vulnerable populations in the informal settlements in Africa’s cities.
Chege Mwangi, the policy engagement manager at APHRC, also contributed to this article

Invisible and ignored: air pollution inside the homes of Nairobi’s residents

Bill Dixon | University of Nottingham
&nbsp;
<div class="grid-ten large-grid-nine grid-last content-body content entry-content instapaper_body">
Five years ago this week 44 people were killed in the course of an industrial dispute at a platinum mine in South Africa’s North West Province owned by Lonmin. It became known as the Marikana massacre.
For many observers, Marikana was a turning point in the presidency of Jacob Zuma – who came to power in 2009 – and in the history of democratic South Africa. Even more so, it gave an early indication of the abuse of state power that’s been the hallmark of the Zuma government.
Thirty-four miners were shot dead by members of the South African Police Service in a single day, 16 August 2012. Seventeen were gunned down by heavily armed members of police tactical response teams as they left the small hill (or koppie) they’d been occupying. Others died at the hands of the police in the course of a brutal mopping up operation that followed.
Five years on, and two years after the official Farlam Commission of Inquiry into the Marikana tragedy, no-one has been held to account. Ministers have moved to new portfolios, police commanders have retired on ample pensions, or been replaced  in a blaze of litigation.
<h2>Lack of accountability</h2>
Only last week Zuma survived a vote of no confidence in parliament in the wake of a series of scandals. These included compelling evidence that he and his government are in thrall to the influential Gupta family.
Zuma’s reputation as the “Teflon President” – able to shrug off charges of everything from bribery to rape and allowing the South African state to be “captured” by the Guptas and their acolytes – dates back well beyond 2012. But, when it comes to Marikana, Zuma is not the only one with non-stick credentials.
In March this year, the country’s Independent Police Investigative Directorate, the police oversight body, announced that it had identified 72 police officers to face charges. These ranged from murder to perjury and defeating the ends of justice. Since then, no further action has been taken.
Important though this is, the responsibility for the massacre doesn’t stop at those who pulled the triggers. At the outset of the Farlam Commission’s public hearings, Dali Mpofu, counsel for the miners injured at Marikana, blamed many of the deaths on ‘toxic collusion’between the police and the mining company Lonmin.
As the inquiry progressed, Mpofu and others made strenuous efforts to blame Cyril Ramaphosa, deputy president of South Africa for the bloody denouement of 16 August. At the time Ramaphosa was a shareholder and non-executive director of Lonmin as well as a member of the ruling ANC’s National Executive Committee.
The commission itself uncovered evidence that collusion went some way beyond the police commanders and Lonmin executives on the ground. At a special briefing two days before the massacre the police commissioner for the North West province, Lieutenant General Miriam Mbombo, told a senior Lonmin executive that police were planning to move in to “kill” the strikers’ protest.
Mbombo revealed that she was acutely aware of the influence wielded by Ramaphosa. She also admitted being alive to the risk of allowing Julius Malema, who had been expelled as leader of the ANC’s Youth League, to make political capital out of the dispute.
Based on the transcript of this briefing, the Commission found that both Mbombo and the then National Commissioner of police, General Riah Phiyega, were complicit in raising political factors in their discussions about policing in Marikana. It found these discussions to be “inappropriate” and inconsistent with the constitutional requirement that
<blockquote>policing should be conducted in an impartial and unbiased manner.</blockquote>
The Commission also determined that the fatal decision to forcibly remove the striking miners from the koppie they were occupying was taken by Mbombo and not by tactical commanders with expertise in public order policing. It was then endorsed at an extraordinary session of the South African Police Service’s national management forum late on 15 August.
The commission did not find a direct link between anyone in political authority having ordered the police to take action. It did, however, conclude that the decision to remove the strikers from the koppie
<blockquote>was at least partly the consequence of the senior police officials feeling the need to act and to be seen to act.</blockquote>
This idea that the police commanders at Marikana did not need to be told what to do, or how to do it, is consistent with the social theorist Steven Lukes’ three-dimensional view of power and the ability of the powerful to secure the compliance of those they dominate without either making decisions or giving orders. The generals knew what had to be done to end a costly and politically damaging protest. They knew that it had to be done without further delay, and, if necessary, with the use of force. The result, as we now know, was the loss of 34 lives.
The way in which power, subtly but with far reaching consequences, was used at Marikana may also tell us something about how it’s used in contemporary South Africa more generally to control, perhaps even to capture, not just the police but other state institutions far beyond the criminal justice system.
</div>
<div class="grid-ten grid-prepend-two large-grid-nine grid-last content-topics topic-list"></div>

Op-Ed: What the lack of accountability for Marikana says about Zuma’s government

Earl Conteh-Morgan | University of South Florida
During the recent G-20 meeting in Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel floated the idea that African countries should be given weapons as part of development aid so that they could be more effective in combating militant groups.
This was a bold departure from the traditional emphasis on economic aid as the bedrock of development efforts in African countries. To many, and for most African states, her statement sounded like a contradiction in terms because spending on arms can divert funds from vital areas such as food security, health care and education.
Over the past 20 years Africa has been transitioning from a focus on economic integration to one on security. Until the late 1990s the emphasis in many regions was on economic integration. This was clear from the consolidation of a number of regional economic integration communities like the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
But since the turn of the century, there has been a much bigger focus on security and fighting radical Jihadist groups typically affiliated to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. As of May 2015, there were nine UN Peacekeeping missions in Africa. The big shift towards security started in 2002 when the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) was formed. This was followed by a security partnership being agreed between the African Union and the EU. And then there are sub-regional security forces like Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group and the Sahel G5 states’ counter-terrorism force.
As a result of the growing threat from terror groups, a number of countries, with the help of major powers, have boosted their military capabilities. These include Mali, Nigeria, Cote d&#8217;Ivoire to name a few.
Merkel’s statement was made in the context of many African countries experiencing economic growth while, at the same time, battling militant and terrorist groups.
The view seems to be that by helping Africa contain instability, growth rates will be enhanced, and Europe relieved of mass migrations.
<h2>Increase military capability</h2>
Increased securitisation – the emphasis on a militarily strong state at the expense of basic human needs and a strong civil society – started after the 1998 Al-Qaeda attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. These led to the creation of AFRICOM which included putting active American troops on the continent. Djibouti serves as a forward base for AFRICOM. It also included a commitment from the US to train and advise African countries that request it. Current key beneficiaries of US military assistance are Djibouti, Ethiopia, Uganda Chad, Cameroon, and Mauritania.
In addition, French troops have become more active in Africa. In Mali they are helping the government contain Jihadist organisations in the north of the country.
There are also regional international efforts, such as the security partnership between the European Union the African Union, and the UN Mission established to contain terrorist attacks in the Sahel region. Known as the G5 Sahel force, it includes troop contributions from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger.
France and the US are also active in the Sahel region providing training and equipment to the militaries of Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, Naiger and Mauritania, and engaging in joint exercises with the G5 forces.
Merkel’s proposal is aimed at taking these engagements even further. What’s she’s put on the table is a compact with Africa and the G20 which includes weapons transfer as development aid.
<h2>Implications</h2>
Merkel’s suggestion would mean more weapons on a continent that is already awash with small arms and light weapons. It can’t be denied that Africa as a secure continent would benefit Europe. But weapons as development aid sounds like a contradiction. Do weapon transfers in fact contribute to development?
There are studies that show that the acquisition of weapons by developing countries doesn’t contribute to development.
I believe that more weapons on the continent would have the opposite effect. The African continent already has a great deal of weapons which exacerbate civil strife. Evidence points to the fact that weapons transfers are responsible for conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Somalia, among others.
More weapons and an increased military presence for incumbent African regimes could have negative consequences.
Firstly, it could lead to even more violations of the rule of law as incumbent regimes become militarily stronger.
Secondly, it would improve the changes of regimes surviving longer. They would have the wherewithall to violate human rights even more, as well as suppress opposition voices. And finally, weapons could be diverted to rebel groups through political corruption or for personal selfish objectives.
In conclusion the G20 Compact with Africa is very encouraging. But when it comes to the transfer of more weapons, donors and investors should make sure that this is done under strict rules and regulations. Conditions for receiving aid should also be based on strict adherence to the rule of law, and in particular democratic processes.
In the end the biggest emphasis should be on private investments – as set out in the compact – which will generate millions of jobs for the unemployed.
&nbsp;
This article was first published on The Conversation.

Op-Ed: The danger of supplementing aid to Africa with weapons

The Kenyan government is trying to shut down a rights group and a pro-democracy organisation who have raised queries over last week&#8217;s disputed presidential election, officials from the organisations said on Tuesday.
Official letters from the NGO Board &#8211; the government-run body that registers and regulates NGOs &#8211; to the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and Africa Centre for Open Governance (Africog) said the two organisations risked punishment for administrative and tax reasons.
International and domestic observers have said the election process was largely free and fair, but opposition leader Raila Odinga has disputed the official results, which show incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta won by a margin of 1.4 million votes.
The NGO Board did not return calls or emails seeking comment and Reuters reporters were not permitted to enter its offices.
Mwenda Njoka, a spokesman for the interior minister, said the letters, circulating on social media, were genuine. Africog and KNRC said they had not received any official communication.
&#8220;This is an attack on any kind of independent voice,&#8221; said Gladwell Otieno, the executive director of Africog.
Otieno repeatedly raised concerns about what she described as insufficient preparations by the election board in the run-up to last Tuesday&#8217;s elections, when Kenyans chose a new president, lawmakers and local representatives.
Both organisations also expressed public concern over the unsolved torture and murder of a key election official a week before the vote.
Odinga has not yet provided any evidence of rigging but is due to address the nation on Tuesday. His rejection of results triggered demonstrations and a deadly crackdown by police in his strongholds, including Nairobi slums and the western city of Kisumu.
George Kegoro, the head of KHRC, said his organisation was compliant with all laws and was being targeted for political reasons. He denied they had failed to pay taxes, operated &#8220;illegal&#8221; bank accounts or employed foreigners without work permits.
&#8220;If you operate in the kind of environment we do, we have to be compliant. The rules are a drag but we observe them,” he said.
His organisation had already successfully defended itself in High Court against the same accusations, he said, making the new letter threatening de-registraton &#8220;a travesty of justice&#8221;.
<div class="DPSlot_container_2dHIN DPSlot_inline_1oeo6 in-article-tag"></div>
&#8220;We think its got to do with the politics of the season. We’ve played a leadership role in organising civil society participation in this election. They (the government) don’t like that.&#8221;
Otieno said her organisation did not fall under rules governing non-governmental organisations and was properly registered.
Njoka denied the organisations were being politically targeted and said &#8220;there were some issues with their auditing and accounting &#8230; If they give good accounts they may not be de-registered.&#8221;
<div class="Attribution_attribution_o4ojT" data-reactid="47">
Additional reporting by George Obulutsa; writing by Katharine Houreld, editing by Pritha Sarkar
</div>

Kenya government says it will close down two rights organisations

A South African court rejected on Tuesday a call by the anti-graft watchdog for the central bank to focus its monetary policy on boosting economic growth instead of on fighting inflation and keeping the rand currency stable.
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, whose job is to ensure proper conduct in public office, sparked a political row and a big sell-off of the rand when she proposed the change in the central bank&#8217;s monetary policy target in June.
High Court judge John Murphy said Mkhwebane&#8217;s proposal lacked merit, in a ruling welcomed by the central bank and which was supportive for the rand.
&#8220;She would do well to reflect more deeply on her conduct in this investigation and the criticism of her by the Governor of the Reserve Bank and the Speaker of Parliament,&#8221; he said.
In June, central bank governor Lesetja Kganyago filed a court challenge to quash the recommendation, arguing that Mkhwebane went beyond the scope of her own mandate and describing the proposal as reckless.
Policymakers also warned that the political concerns and regulatory uncertainty caused by the proposal were harming investor sentiment towards South Africa, the continent&#8217;s most industrialised economy.
Responding to the court verdict on Tuesday, Kganyago said: &#8220;We welcome the judgment and we will let the judgment speak for itself.&#8221;
&#8220;The mandate of the Reserve Bank is spelt out in the constitution and that is what we had always argued for.&#8221; he told reporters at a meeting of central bankers in Pretoria.
Mkhwebane said last month she would not defend her recommendation in court and she was not represented at a hearing for the case.
Spokeswomen Cleopatra Mosana said the Public Protector was studying the judgment and was not immediately able to comment.
The rand firmed by 0.26 percent after the ruling to 13.2850 per dollar, up from 13.3500.
South Africa&#8217;s unemployment is at a 14-year high and key sectors of the economy, such as trade and manufacturing, are struggling as the country reels in recession.
<div class="Attribution_attribution_o4ojT" data-reactid="52">
Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo in Pretoria and TJ Strydom and Tanisha Heiberg in Johannesburg; Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Gareth Jones
</div>

Court rejects proposal to change South Africa’s central bank mandate

&nbsp;
<div class="group-container ">
<div class="group">
<a class="inline_quotes" href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes?symbol=TSLA" data-gdsid="74213" data-inline-quote-symbol="TSLA">Tesla</a>&#8216;s Model 3 launch highlights the need for a succession plan, especially if the top executives are spread too thin.
As the late-July launch of Tesla&#8217;s make-or-break mass-market Model 3 sedan neared, CEO <a class="inline_asset" href="http://pagesix.com/2017/07/31/elon-musk-tells-twitter-he-might-be-bipolar/">Elon Musk allowed himself an unguarded moment</a>on Twitter: &#8220;The reality is great highs, terrible lows and unrelenting stress,&#8221; he wrote, momentarily agreeing with speculation that he might even be bipolar, before adding that he didn&#8217;t literally mean it. &#8220;When you buy a ticket to hell, you can&#8217;t blame hell.&#8221;
The moment illustrates that even world-changing entrepreneurs like <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/elon-musk/">Musk</a> battle stress. And having an irreplaceable, overstretched founder is a legitimate concern for any fast-growing business if there is no strong team in place as a backup should something happen to the visionary leader.
&#8220;When it&#8217;s your own money, fine,&#8221; said Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. &#8220;When you take other people&#8217;s money or public capital, the obligations change.&#8221;
Even so, many of the management challenges Tesla faces as it morphs from a niche automaker into a global renewable-energy one-stop shop apply to less-exalted businesses, from small manufacturers to midsized service companies.
Management experts have a playbook for scaling up management of growing companies, and Tesla is learning similar lessons on the fly. And in some cases the company isn&#8217;t there yet, by textbook standards. But the company is taking key steps on its path to growth. Most notably, it has locked and loaded <a class="inline_asset" title="https://www.wsj.com/articles/tesla-ceo-elon-musks-37-584-salary-reflects-california-minimum-wage-1460759161" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/tesla-ceo-elon-musks-37-584-salary-reflects-california-minimum-wage-1460759161">Musk in an incentives-based compensation plan</a>that gives him a low salary, no cash bonus or incentives until he hits targets related to stock price and brings products to market. <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/20/tesla-adding-this-ceo-to-its-board-is-a-big-deal-for-silicon-valley.html">Tesla also added independent board members</a> in July to diversify its brain trust.
Here are important steps every company should take to ensure there is no disruption in business if something should happen to their most important asset: the visionary founder and CEO.
</div>
</div>
<div class="group-container ">
<h4 class="subtitle">1. Have a succession plan.</h4>
<div class="group">
With Musk only 46, Tesla can be forgiven for not planning much for when he&#8217;s not around — but <a class="inline_quotes" href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes?symbol=AAPL" data-gdsid="8016" data-inline-quote-symbol="AAPL">Apple</a>&#8216;s Steve Jobs was 49 when he got his first cancer diagnosis, years after he hired his eventual successor Tim Cook as Apple&#8217;s operations chief. Life comes at people fast, and business leaders need to prepare more than most people, said Andrew Sherman, a Washington-based partner at law firm Seyfarth Shaw LLP.
&#8220;Not doing it not only puts the founders&#8217; families at risk but also people who work there and the whole supplier ecosystem,&#8221; Sherman said. A plan can also bridge gaps between baby-boomer business owners and millennials who will help run the business soon, he said.
Musk has said he expects to be around Tesla for years to come. He has even joked about succession, as when he was asked if he would go on a Mars space mission through his <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/15/spacex-2017-disruptor-50.html">SpaceX</a> rocket company.
&#8220;I&#8217;d have to have a really good succession plan, because the likelihood of death is very high,&#8221; he told a questioner after a 2016 speech. &#8220;And I&#8217;d like to see my kids grow up and everything.&#8221;
</div>
</div>
<div class="group-container ">
<h4 class="subtitle">2. Have key-executive insurance.</h4>
<div class="group">
If Tesla has coverage on Musk, it&#8217;s not disclosed in the company&#8217;s <a class="inline_asset" title="http://ir.tesla.com/secfiling.cfm?filingid=1564590-17-3118&amp;cik=1318605" href="http://ir.tesla.com/secfiling.cfm?filingid=1564590-17-3118&amp;cik=1318605">annual 10-K report</a> to the Securities and Exchange Commission — or in its yearly proxy statement, which discloses executive pay (Tesla declined to add detail). Experts say that&#8217;s OK for Tesla — Musk&#8217;s value runs into the billions of dollars, so he&#8217;d be all but impossible to insure for what he&#8217;s worth. But for more-mortal executives running prosaic businesses, it&#8217;s a must.
<div class="group-container ">
<div class="group">
&#8220;It&#8217;s usually correlated more with closely held partnerships,&#8221; said Stuart Tauber, partner at corporate insurance consultant Meltzer Group.
Key-exec plans can protect either the company or the families of founding partners, Tauber said. If an owner&#8217;s family doesn&#8217;t want to stay involved in the business, it&#8217;s common to buy enough insurance to let surviving partners buy them out. Alternatively, the insurance can pay the company for hiring and paying a replacement, or reimburse for value lost when a partner dies, Tauber said. A million dollars of life insurance coverage can typically be had for about $1,000 a year, with another $5,000 to insure against disability, Tauber said. Policies should also be revisited every few years as roles different executives play in a business change, he added.
</div>
</div>
<div class="group-container ">
<h4 class="subtitle">3. Put in place a well-rounded executive team.</h4>
<div class="group">
How well Tesla has done on this is a matter of debate. One sore point is that perceptions of Tesla&#8217;s quality has slipped since the initial Model S&#8217;s rave reviews — a J.D. Power report this year said fit and finish of recent models isn&#8217;t competitive with BMW and Mercedes. (That contradicted a <a class="inline_asset" title="https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/22/tesla-tops-2016-consumer-reports-customer-satisfaction-survey/" href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/22/tesla-tops-2016-consumer-reports-customer-satisfaction-survey/">December 2016 Consumer Reports survey</a> that rated Tesla&#8217;s customer satisfaction the industry&#8217;s highest, a company spokeswoman noted.) Analysts, short sellers and CNBC&#8217;s <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/08/03/jim-cramer-heres-the-issue-i-have-with-tesla.html">Jim Cramer</a> have also noted Tesla&#8217;s propensity to miss production forecasts and push deadlines for new products.
But a fleshed-out management team is essential to business continuity planning if the boss gets sick or injured — and it will keep everyone sane even when the boss is healthy, Sherman said.
Tesla works without a COO, and Musk&#8217;s manufacturing knowledge was mostly learned on the job, at Tesla and his SpaceX rocket company, where he is also CEO. (In May 2016, Tesla confirmed it had <a class="inline_asset" href="https://electrek.co/2016/05/13/tesla-audi-senior-director-production-model-3-program/">hired Audi veteran Peter Hochholdinger</a> as vice president of manufacturing.) SpaceX has a president and COO, Gwynne Shotwell, despite being a fraction of Tesla&#8217;s size.
Tesla&#8217;s investor-relations website only bills three executives — Musk, chief financial officer Deepak Ahuja and chief technical officer JB Straubel — as corporate officers. Combined with Musk&#8217;s obsession with getting details right, strains on management have contributed to <a class="inline_asset" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-elon-musk-sleeping-on-tesla-factory-floor-2016-5">Musk&#8217;s keeping a sleeping bag at Tesla&#8217;s factory</a> as production deadlines approach.
That&#8217;s a recipe for a stressed-out boss, Sherman said, though many companies don&#8217;t specifically have a COO. One point of being the boss is being able to enjoy success — including taking vacations sometimes, knowing the business works when the CEO&#8217;s away, Sherman said.
<div class="group-container ">
<div class="group">
&#8220;I intend to be actively involved with Tesla for the rest of my life,&#8221; Musk said earlier this year. &#8220;That doesn&#8217;t mean I should be CEO forever. I think my main — the most valuable thing I could contribute — is kind of product design and technology, but that&#8217;s my forte; that&#8217;s what I like doing, and that&#8217;s what I imagine doing in the sort of very long term.&#8221;
</div>
</div>
<div class="group-container last">
<h4 class="subtitle">4. Communicate the plan to everyone on your team — employees, customers, investors and lenders.</h4>
<div class="group">
Even Tesla admirers give the company relatively low marks here. &#8220;I don&#8217;t have any notion of how their bench strength is,&#8221; said Theodore O&#8217;Neill, an analyst at Ascendiant Capital Markets. &#8220;It would be better for them if they were more transparent.&#8221;
At Tesla, lack of clarity about the team leads to Musk facing questions about management turnover, which he said on Tesla&#8217;s second-quarter earnings call is less than at comparable companies. (The <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-03/at-tesla-departures-mount-as-carmaker-stretched-to-the-limit">question came amid departures</a>, including the company&#8217;s former chief financial officer and the head of its <a class="inline_asset" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/06/21/former-apple-executive-chris-lattner-leaves-tesla-after-6-months-on-the-job">autonomous-car research</a> effort.)
Many companies put off this planning and communication and even get away with it. By most measures, Tesla has — it&#8217;s built a $60 billion market cap and is expected to boost sales next year to $20 billion as Model 3 production scales up, from $11.8 billion in 2017. &#8220;People with car experience have been pooh-poohing Elon Musk for 15 years and been proven wrong,&#8221; O&#8217;Neill said.
But at big companies like Apple, down to more mundane businesses that turn to lawyers like Sherman, careful planning lets workers and partners breathe easier and plan their own futures.
&#8220;It&#8217;s a good governance approach that also pays cultural dividends,&#8221; Sherman said.
— By Tim Mullaney, special to CNBC.com
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

The biggest risk that will determine Tesla’s fate: Elon Musk himself

Former President Barack Obama tweeted a picture and a quote in response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, this weekend, and he has gotten a record-setting amount of engagement from Twitter users. The first of his series of threaded tweets has accumulated about 2.8 million &#8220;likes,&#8221; making it the most approved of tweet of all time.
Citing Nelson Mandela, Obama wrote, &#8220;No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion &#8230; People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love &#8230; For love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.&#8221;
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-281157 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Obama_Tweet.png" alt="" width="590" height="467" />
The former record-holder is a tweet from pop star Ariana Grande telling fans that she was &#8220;broken&#8221; after a bombing of her concert in Manchester killed at least 22 people, including some children. It has about 2.7 million &#8220;likes.&#8221;
The third most-popular tweet of all time is far more lighthearted: Ellen DeGeneres&#8217; Oscars selfie.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has fumbled while using the social media platform. He retweeted and then deleted two messages on Tuesday, one that featured a cartoon train running down a character intended to represent the news network CNN and one that called the President a fascist.
Also on Tuesday, after three CEOs stepped down from their positions on his manufacturing advisory council, Trump used Twitter to accuse them of being &#8220;grandstanders.&#8221; Shortly after that tweet went up, a fourth CEO also stepped down.
The President has come under criticism for his overall handling of the events in Charlottesville. On Saturday, instead of criticizing racists and neo-Nazis by name, Trump referred to violence &#8220;on many sides.&#8221; Only two days later, on Monday afternoon, did he explicitly condemn white supremacists. By then, much of the PR damage had already been done

Obama’s response to Charlottesville is now the most ‘liked’ tweet of all time

ArcelorMittal South Africa is considering job cuts and restructuring to save costs in a challenging global steel market and recession at home, it said on Tuesday.
Job cuts are a thorny issue in South Africa were unemployment is at a 14-year high and key sectors of the recession-hit economy, such as trade and manufacturing, are struggling.
ArcelorMittal, which is majority-owned by top global producer ArcelorMittal, said it would explore several initiatives, including cost saving measures, assessing the profitability of various product lines and restructuring in the next six months.
&#8220;All options are being explored and the company has no option but to also review its staffing levels,&#8221; ArcelorMittal said in a statement, adding that it would first consider alternatives before any job cuts.
ArcelorMittal said it anticipated that more than 50 employees could be affected.
Its first-half losses deepened to 1.619 billion rand ($125.5 million) on higher costs for imported coking coal and iron ore, exchange rate volatility and continued weakening of the South African economy.
The steel maker is the latest company to consider job cuts following Sibanye Gold and Anglogold Ashanti, which could affect a total of around 15,900 employees.
<div class="Attribution_attribution_o4ojT" data-reactid="47">
Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; editing by Susan Thomas
</div>

ArcelorMittal South Africa considers job cuts, restructuring

&nbsp;
&nbsp;
By Mary-Jean Nleya*
Africa is considered the youngest continent. In 2016, the World Economic Forum <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/05/the-world-s-10-youngest-countries-are-all-in-africa/">indicated</a> that the “world’s 10 youngest populations are all in Africa”. This youth bulge on the African continent should be harnessed positively to avoid a Malthusian disaster, given that food and agricultural production on the African continent is yet to be maximized.
According to the <a href="http://blogs.worldbank.org/africacan/how-significant-could-africas-demographic-dividend-be-for-growth-and-poverty-reduction">World Bank</a> the youthfulness of the African continent could potentially yield an 11 to 15 percent growth in GDP in the African continent between 2011 – 2030.
The UN recognises the importance of youth participation 
The United Nations (UN) has in past years recognised the importance of youth in both the social and economic development of their countries. In 1984, the General Assembly of the UN adopted Resolution <a href="http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/39/a39r022.htm">39/22</a> . It was decided to dedicate the year 1985 to young people by naming it ‘International Youth Year’. This was in recognition of the significance direct participation of youth would have on the “future of mankind”.
Yet, there was little action to back that ‘recognition’ of the capacity of youth. It is only in recent years that active strides have been made to support and empower youth to be change-makers in their respective countries and in the world.
In 1996 Resolution <a href="http://undocs.org/A/RES/50/81">50/81</a> titled ‘World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond’ was adopted by the General Assembly of the UN. This resolution recognised that “young people in all countries are both a major human resource for development and key agents of social change, economic development and technological innovation”, the resolution also acknowledged that young people aspire to be active participants in the shaping of their societies.
Opportunities and enabling environments for youth
Again in 2008, Resolution <a href="http://undocs.org/A/RES/62/126">62/126</a> was adopted to support youth and one of the proposals of action was for governments to provide opportunities for the youth, and create enabling environments whereby young people will be able to enjoy the prospect of employability and skills development.
This particular resolution highlighted the fact that young people in developing countries should especially be provided with greater protections and opportunities because some of them were trapped in poverty and “remain marginalized from the global economy and lack the capabilities to access the opportunities that globalization has to offer”.
Youth &amp; scalable solutions to the SDGs 
These UN Resolutions, spanning different years, have significantly shone a light on the importance of youth participation in global affairs and the importance for such youth to be empowered and supported.
Now, Unleash Lab 2017 has taken it a step further to provide a testing ground in the form of a ‘lab’ for bright young people from all over the world to test their own ideas in Denmark from 12 to 23 August 2017 – in an effort to stimulate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The selected young people, attending and participating in the Unleash Lab 2017, are referred to as <a href="https://unleash.org/sdg-talents/">SDG Talents</a>. They include entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, academics, media practitioners and others. The young SDG Talents will work on various tasks in different sectors or themes such<a href="https://unleash.org/innovation-lab-2017/"> as</a> access to clean water, food production and preservation, access to clean energy and renewable energy, sustainable production and consumption, access to education and ICT, urban sustainability and urban planning, health and medical supply chains.
Unleash Lab 2017, has been dubbed an Event for the Sustainable Development Goals. This entire programme will <a href="https://unleash.org/innovation-lab-2017/">culminate</a> into The Unleash Awards Show where scalable SDG solutions tailored by the SDG Talents will be presented before various thought leaders and experts.
The World Economic Forum in Davos came and went; The G20 Summit in Hamburg came and went; now it is time for UNLEASH Lab 2017 in Denmark to make its mark – the UN’s past resolutions on youth participation is put into action this August in Denmark. Let’s wait and see what scalable solutions to the SDGs the young talents will come up with – this is harnessing the capabilities of the youth in the future of mankind.
&nbsp;
*Mary-Jean Nleya is the founder and editor of <a href="http://www.theglobalcommunique.com/conversations-with-prominent-figures/">The Global Communiqué </a>. She has been selected as an SDG Talent to attend the UNLEASH Lab 2017 in Denmark.  
&nbsp;

Op-Ed: How African youth can help find solutions to meet SDGs

&nbsp;
By Jasson Urbach
“It’s déjà vu all over again,” as the late Yogi Berra might have said had he read the latest iteration of the national health insurance (NHI) policy paper. We are no closer to understanding critical details, such as how much the scheme will cost and where the money to pay for it will come from.
The costing figures presented in the latest iteration are copied verbatim (amongst other sections) from the 2015 White Paper. Despite economic alarm bells ringing throughout the economy, the government is going ahead with the scheme in an increasingly authoritarian attempt to limit our civil liberties and freedoms.
<h4>Those who can pay for their own healthcare should be allowed to do so</h4>
As I have argued previously and will continue to do so, in these dire financial circumstances, it is neither necessary nor appropriate for the government to provide “free healthcare for all”. Those who can pay for their own healthcare and, generally, do not rely on government provided service, must be allowed to continue to do so. Government’s role should be to fund the healthcare needs of only the poorest and most vulnerable members of society.
The proposed mandatory payments into the central NHI fund will crowd out private insurance. Cash-strapped individuals will no longer be able to afford voluntary private-insurance premiums when burdened with a mandatory NHI payment as well. Those unable to pay both premiums will be forced to burden the already overstretched public health service.
While the rich can hop on a plane and seek medical care anywhere they please, the poor and middle-class will be unable to escape the vagaries of the government-controlled system.
<h4>NHI will increase inequalities in healthcare</h4>
NHI will perversely increase the inequalities in healthcare, concentrating power in the hands of state officials and leaving no room for private medical schemes. Taxpayers could well fund healthcare for those who cannot afford it, but why interfere with the arrangements of those who can afford to fund their own healthcare?
Whether directly or indirectly, the government would control the availability, financing, and delivery of healthcare — the choice would no longer be ours to make. Compulsory NHI funding would serve government’s interests, not our own.
South African labour should be fuming since NHI necessitates an increase in the taxes levied on an already overtaxed population. The proposed payroll tax is a tax on labour. Workers will bear the cost, either through lower pay or job losses. This will leave us with less money for savings and investment, and thus the NHI will usher in even slower economic growth and less job creation, again hurting the poor. South Africa’s currently 9.3 million unemployed will have no hope of entering the job market.
<h4>No concern about the quality or price of healthcare</h4>
South Africans need to exercise real personal choice in choosing private insurance arrangements that best meet their individual needs – not a one-size-fits-all policy that will be determined and dictated by a nameless and faceless bureaucrat sitting in Pretoria.
Increased competition would force the private medical insurance sector and private providers of healthcare to compete directly for money by providing value and choice. The government has no such incentive – clearly, it is not concerned about the price or quality of healthcare. Personal ownership of healthcare would help control costs and guarantee better quality, and eliminate the need to depend on government.
South Africans fought hard for their freedoms from an overbearing state. Allowing the government to take over that most personal aspect of our lives &#8211; our healthcare &#8211; would undo these hard-won gains.
History has demonstrated that once a law is enacted, it is very difficult to repeal. The public sector is in shambles. We should not be trying to expand and emulate the failed policies that led to this situation. The government should be concentrating scarce taxpayer resources on the poor and destitute, and allowing the private healthcare sector to grow, innovate and expand. Such a healthcare model would not only be good for South Africa’s financial health, but would lead to better health outcomes for the poor, which is surely what we all want.
&nbsp;
Jasson Urbach is Free Market Foundation Director &amp; Head of the FMF’s Health Policy Unit

Op-Ed: S.A’s NHI – Is it necessary or appropriate for government to provide “free healthcare for all”?

Zimbabwe&#8217;s first lady, Grace Mugabe, handed herself in to South African police on Tuesday after reports she had assaulted a woman in Johannesburg&#8217;s up-market Sandton district over the weekend, eNCA television said.
South African police minister Fikile Mbalula earlier told reporters that he expected to get a report from investigators on Tuesday and that 52-year-old Grace, a possible successor to her husband, Zimbabwe&#8217;s 93-year-old president Robert Mugabe, could be arrested.
A Zimbabwean intelligence source said Grace was traveling on a normal passport. &#8220;She was here on business,&#8221; the source told Reuters.
<div class="Attribution_attribution_o4ojT" data-reactid="38">
Reporting by James Macharia; Editing by Robin Pomeroy
</div>

Zimbabwe’s first lady Grace Mugabe turns herself into South African police

&nbsp;
Apps like True Caller have the potential to disrupt the way we do business in Africa and we’re not preparing ourselves enough for that disruption, writes Nnamdi Oranye.
&nbsp;
True Caller is one of those disrupting apps that always seem to just slip under the radar, quietly building huge traction without big PR and fanfare through providing a valuable service to the consumer, while gaining tremendous potential to disrupt industries and the way many companies do business – including businesses in Africa. For this reason, we ought to take notice, because if we don’t, it has the potential to disrupt our businesses in ways we aren’t prepared for right now.
How does it work? True Caller, which is a relatively small company, develops an app that lets you know the identity behind a number calling or SMSing you. It boasts of having a database of over three billion numbers, collected since 2009 through its users. It allows you to put numbers into spam lists and basically block calls and SMS’s from certain numbers coming through. It’s a great tool for keeping you from receiving unwanted calls from call centres and telemarketers and that friend who keeps asking for money.
<h4>Can legitimate communication end up as spam?</h4>
But what if the call you receive is actually legit? By having your Bank’s number in the spam list, for instance, you also miss out on relevant communication – SMS’s giving your latest balance, or asking you to confirm a purchase on your credit card, or a payment reminder, and so on. I noticed this happened to me when I was using the app – most of my legitimate communication ended up in my spam and I didn’t know, and I would only see it sometime later when I went looking because I was wondering why I never got that SMS from the bank confirming my balance. This also happens to users when they receive communication from their telecommunications provider – for example, an SMS telling them how their airtime balance is looking. So what we see is many large corporates are being blocked and listed as spam. That’s great for the consumer in many ways, but not very good for business.
This also happens to users when they receive communication from their telecommunications provider – for example, an SMS telling them how their airtime balance is looking. So what we see is many large corporates are being blocked and listed as spam. That’s great for the consumer in many ways, but not very good for business.
Perhaps you might think they deserve to be labelled as spam, and perhaps in many cases you would be right. Many people do agree. I was recently at a conference and decided to do an informal survey to find out how many people use the app. The audience at the conference was predominantly made up of professionals (in their 30’s and 40’s) and I found that about 50 percent of those I surveyed used the app.
<h4>Wide reach among Millennials and Gen Xers</h4>
So it arguably has a wide reach, and especially among Millennials and Generation Xers. The use of such an app shows that these generations communicate with their phone in a very different way to older generations (even though the older generation has cottoned on). Telemarketing and cold calls are rejected right from the outset. You simply will not get through. You’re either blocked outright or your call is ignored.
Today’s large corporates, such as banks and telecommunications providers and services companies, have a huge investment in customer research and make a major focus on understanding and knowing the customer. All this investment, however, is worthless if you actually can’t even get through to your customer. If you are considered a spammer, it doesn’t matter how slick your image is or how much your product will add value or how well trained your sales staff are, you are automatically tarnished with a certain brush and all that investment and effort isn’t worth much.
<h4>Could True Caller become the gatekeeper to your customer and cut you out?</h4>
This means that inadvertently, True Caller owns access to your customer. The more it grows, the more it has this sort of ownership. I think this may be exactly what True Caller is actually looking to do long-term. Have a look at its privacy policy for a clue into how it makes money in the background:
“Truecaller may also share personal information with third party advertisers, agencies and networks. Such third parties may use this information for analytical and marketing purposes e.g. to provide measurement services and targeted ads and for improvement of products and services.”
[<a href="http://phandroid.com/2017/08/10/how-does-truecaller-work/">http://phandroid.com/2017/08/10/how-does-truecaller-work/</a>]
Most users probably never bothered to read that. When you sign up for True Caller, you actually give personal info to the company. This is so that it can track who is calling you and figure out how you manage these sorts of things, in the name of making its service better. But like most of today’s tech disruptors, you have to sacrifice personal info and privacy to use the service and help it improve. Ironically, it gathers personal info that it probably intends to sell to the very companies you are blocking off as spam.
<h4>Reaching your customer through social media</h4>
But there is more to it than that, and here is where African businesses need to take notice. Much of that information would probably go to the likes of social media companies such as Facebook. And most of that information will go to companies looking to advertise via social media like Facebook. This makes a lot of sense because if you can’t reach your customer through the phone, you probably can reach them via social media. When it comes to today’s generation, you’re practically guaranteed as such.
Owning the customer is paramount and today’s younger generations are certainly more reachable through social media than any other. That changes the landscape of business considerably. If you cannot own your customer or access them because there is a new gatekeeper in town, then you need to go through that gatekeeper. Essentially, these sorts of disruptors don’t just want to have eyes on their news feeds but want to own access to your customer bases. So what concerns
Essentially, these sorts of disruptors don’t just want to have eyes on their news feeds but want to own access to your customer bases. So what concerns me, even more, is if the likes of Facebook scoops up True Caller entirely, because then it can pretty much own the customer base in Africa.
I keep writing that, as Africans, we need to take on this sort of Silicon Valley disruption and work with it or work in competition with it. We have to consider these sorts of things quite seriously. In my upcoming book, Taking on Silicon Valley: How Africa’s Innovators Will Shape Its Future, I go into some detail with this argument.
I think True Caller is the perfect example of an app that has the potential to pull the rug under us in many ways but we’re just not talking about it. We’re not preparing ourselves for the possibilities. We need to look at such apps and think beyond just the consumer experience and consider what it means for business as a whole. We need to take a more macro view.

Op-Ed: Could True Caller eventually own your customer?

Mauritius needs to tighten monetary policy and modernise its framework to respond to shocks and tackle inflationary pressures, the International Monetary Fund said.
In a statement late on Monday, the IMF said its directors had noted on their yearly consultative mission to Mauritius that &#8220;inflation has picked up on the back of supply shocks, but there are signs of further building inflationary pressures&#8221;.
&#8220;The mission recommends tackling inflationary pressures by tightening monetary policy, while modernizing the monetary policy framework to strengthen policy response to shocks,&#8221; it said.
The Indian Ocean island&#8217;s Key Repo Rate (KRR) has been held steady at 4 percent over the last year.
The IMF mission said it expected headline inflation to remain above 5 percent during the second half of 2017 onwards, mostly on account of second-round effects.
Mauritius&#8217;s inflation fell to 5.3 percent year on year in July from 6.4 percent a month earlier, data from its statistics office showed.
The fund also projected real GDP growth in 2017 at 3.9 percent on the back of improved performance in the construction sector. The forecast is in line with the government&#8217;s projections.
<div class="Attribution_attribution_o4ojT" data-reactid="47">
Reporting by Jean Paul Arouff Editing by George Obulutsa and Kevin Liffey
</div>

Mauritius needs to tighten monetary policy as inflationary pressures build:IMF

Miemie Struwig, Laura Best, Sibongile Muthwa | Nelson Mandela University
Across the globe consumers are increasingly realising their power. In many countries this consumer consciousness, which marries consumer rights to sustainability issues, has been greatly helped by dynamic consumer protection policies.
In Africa, the rise of the middle class is fuelling a consumer economy and countries have begun to beef up their consumer protection policies. But they tend to be disconnected from sustainability issues.
South Africa, which leads the continent in terms of consumer protection regulations, showcases this limitation. The country has a good consumer protection policy regime, benefiting consumers and providing them with rights and redress possibilities. But it’s not linked to sustainability concerns.
The South African situation is not helped by the location of consumer affairs and sustainability in two separate government departments. Consumer protection policy is the responsibility of the Department of Trade and Industry. For its part, sustainability is primarily located in the Department of Environmental Affairs. As a result there’s a disconnect between the two.
South Africa – and other African countries suffering from this disconnection – need to develop a new framework. Our study identifies key areas countries should focus on to get to an integrated approach.
<h2>International experience</h2>
In recent years many countries have amended their consumer protection laws to connect them more closely with sustainability concerns. We looked at a number of international experiences to identify key aspects that could make up a comprehensive consumer protection framework.
Brazil provided helpful insights. It established the National Consumer Bureau in 2012. It was designed to plan, prepare, coordinate and implement the country’s national policy on consumer affairs.
Brazil’s system runs on a model that actively pursues an integrated approach to consumer protection and sustainability. It connects a number of government departments to work together. Departments and agencies in sectors like tourism, health, transport, aviation, municipalities. Together with business representatives they cooperate to ensure consumers rights.
Chile has implemented a national initiative titled education for sustainable consumption. It was designed to provide consumers with information about the environmental and social impact of their daily choices. The underlying policy premise is encouraging responsible consumption.
In Europe, Germany aligned its consumer protection law with European Union consumer rights directive. The emphasis is on giving consumers balanced and independent information so that they can make comparative choices.
China unveiled new consumer protection laws in 2014. Critical changes included raising penalties for false advertising, including false statements about human health or safety. But the law is silent on measures retailers must take to ensure the accuracy of product information.
While many countries are incorporating some elements of sustainability into their consumer protection legislation, it isn’t happening fast enough on the African continent.
&nbsp;
<h2>Lagging behind</h2>
Our study showed that consumer protection policies in many African countries tend to be narrow. This is partly dictated by economic conditions. In poorer countries the basic needs of consumers are given precedence over sustainability considerations.
In addition, poverty limits consumer choices. Products that are produced in a way that doesn’t damage the environment tend to be more expensive.
Ideally, there should be a mix of policy instruments to enable consumers to make more sustainable consumption choices. These must touch on product safety regulations, product information provision and consumer information standards.
South Africa’s Consumer Protection Act has gone some way to closing the gap. The act provides for industries to voluntarily implement minimum sustainability compliance requirements. In addition, the government has powers to prescribe minimum industry sector standards.
But little has been done to put in place mechanisms to enforce these provisions. This also limits the insertion of sustainability goals into consumer protection policy.
On top of this the act should be amended with a view to:
<ul>
<li>improving the definition of key concepts of sustainability and sustainable consumption</li>
<li>making the link between consumer protection and sustainability explicit</li>
<li>and setting down minimum requirements for self-regulation.</li>
</ul>
Because sustainability straddles multiple policy domains, there needs to be joined-up implementation across government.
Consumer education and stakeholder engagement are important because individual’s choices and behaviour also have an impact.
<h2>The way forward</h2>
Sectoral self regulation is an immediate starting point. To trigger this, the business community should review business processes. They must find ways to integrate sustainability and consumer protection.
Debates among policymakers in regional bodies such as the African Union can play an important role. The advances that have been made in the EU provide
But these debates must be underpinned by the knowledge that poverty limits consumer choices. Basic needs of poor consumers need to be protected. South Africa has made a head start and can lead the way.

The gap between consumer protection and sustainability in Africa

Kenya&#8217;s main stock index rose 2.51 percent on Monday to a 14-month high, building on gains last week as investors welcomed the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The NSE-20 index has risen nearly 7 percent since the election last Tuesday. Kenyatta was declared winner by a clear margin on Friday but his main challenger, Raila Odinga, has not yet conceded.
At least 24 people have been killed in pockets of protests against the outcome of the vote, mainly in two Nairobi slums. But businesses re-opened on Monday, shrugging off a boycott call by Odinga.
A dispute after an election in 2007, which Odinga also lost, sparked widescale protests and violence that killed 1,200 people and hammered the economy.
Aly Khan Satchu, an independent trader and analyst in Nairobi, said the market worried that Odinga, who identifies himself as a social democrat, would have changed the economy&#8217;s course.
&#8220;The markets were concerned around a leftist &#8216;Magufuli&#8217;-like tilt which would have eroded Kenya&#8217;s hard won free market credentials. So part of this rally is a relief rally,&#8221; he told Reuters, referring to President John Magufuli of neighbouring Tanzania.
Kenyatta, the 55-year-old son of the country&#8217;s founding president, engaged regularly with the business community in his first term to try to boost economic growth and job creation. His family also owns a range of businesses.
The Kenyan shilling firmed on Monday to touch an intra-day high of 103.65 per dollar, from 104 before the election, while Kenyan dollar bonds have also rallied after the election.
Monday&#8217;s gains by the blue chip index were led by electricity distributor Kenya Power, which was up 9 percent and lender KCB Group, which was up 8 percent.
Ken Minjire, the head of securities at Genghis Capital, said investors had been encouraged by endorsements of the election by various foreign observer groups. The main local observer group also said the official result was in line with their tally.
&#8220;The international investors are more or less confident,&#8221; he said.
Kenyan shares had slightly lagged this year&#8217;s gains in other African bourses like Nigeria as investors waited to see how the election would go, market participants said.
&#8220;This means there is a tonne of liquidity that is set to enter the market and underpin valuations,&#8221; Satchu said.
<div class="Attribution_attribution_o4ojT" data-reactid="53">
Editing by David Lewis and Toby Chopra
</div>

Kenya’s stock market hits 14-month high after Kenyatta victory

A mudslide killed more than 200 people on the outskirts of Sierra Leone&#8217;s capital Freetown on Monday, sweeping away homes and leaving residents desperate for news of missing family members.
The Red Cross said at least 205 bodies had been taken to the central morgue in Freetown. Police and military personnel were at the scene in the mountain town of Regent searching for people trapped in the debris.
Many people living at the foot of Mount Sugar Loaf were asleep when the mountainside collapsed, burying dozens of houses, including two-storey buildings, witnesses said.
Standing in the rain, residents sobbed as they mourned family members and waited for news of those missing. Adama Kamara wept as she described a failed attempt to rescue her 7-week-old child.
&#8220;We were inside when we heard the mudslide approaching. I attempted to grab my baby but the mud was too fast. She was covered alive,&#8221; said Kamara, who escaped with bruises. She said she was not sure what had happened to her husband.
A man said he had left early in the morning to buy bread. When he returned, his wife, children, siblings and in-laws were all dead.
The death toll is expected to rise as more bodies are recovered, Red Cross spokesman Abu Bakarr Tarawallie said.
Vice President Victor Foh told Reuters at the scene: &#8220;It is likely that hundreds are lying dead underneath the rubble.&#8221; He said a number of illegal buildings had been erected in the area.
&#8220;The disaster is so serious that I myself feel broken,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We&#8217;re trying to cordon the area. Evacuate the people.&#8221;
An excavator plowed away at the mountainside and ambulances rushed back and forth to the city center with bodies and wounded, but rescue efforts were hampered by bad roads and the weather, a Reuters witness said.
Community chief Fatmata Tarawallie said she had started calling for help at 4 a.m. (0400 GMT) but that it did not come soon enough.
&#8220;Now our community has sunk,&#8221; she said.
Mudslides and floods are fairly common during the rainy season in West Africa, where deforestation and poor town planning has put residents at risk.
<div class="Attribution_attribution_o4ojT" data-reactid="84">
Additional reporting and writing by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Janet Lawrence
</div>

More than 200 killed in Sierra Leone as mudslide sweeps away homes

Sudan&#8217;s annual inflation rate rose to 34.23 percent in July from 32.63 in June, the central statistics office said on Monday, partly reflecting the postponement of a U.S. decision on whether to lift economic sanctions permanently.
The Sudanese pound has weakened and prices have climbed since the United States said on July 11 it was deferring the sanctions decision for three months.
&#8220;The prices are increasing on a daily basis, and we can&#8217;t live like this. Our income is the same &#8230; and the government doesn&#8217;t care about the people, and we don&#8217;t know what will happen or what we should do to be able to live,&#8221; said Rabab Ahmed, a 38-year-old day labourer.
Sudan says it has complied with all U.S. demands for lifting sanctions over human rights and other issues, which have been in place for 20 years and have hobbled the economy.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama temporarily lifted the sanctions for six months in January, suspending a trade embargo, unfreezing assets and removing financial sanctions. But the United States said in June it was still &#8220;very concerned&#8221; about human rights.
Sudan&#8217;s economy has struggled since the south seceded in 2011, taking with it three-quarters of the country&#8217;s oil output, its main source of foreign currency and government income.
The government cut fuel and electricity subsidies in November in a bid to tighten its finances. Petrol prices rose by about 30 percent, leading to broader inflation.
<div class="Attribution_attribution_o4ojT" data-reactid="47">
Reporting by Khalid AbdelAziz; Writing by Arwa Gaballa; Editing by Mark Trevelyan
</div>

News

Invisible and ignored: air pollution inside the homes of Nairobi’s residents

Op-Ed: What the lack of accountability for Marikana says about Zuma’s government

Op-Ed: The danger of supplementing aid to Africa with weapons

Kenya government says it will close down two rights organisations

Court rejects proposal to change South Africa’s central bank mandate

The biggest risk that will determine Tesla’s fate: Elon Musk himself

Obama’s response to Charlottesville is now the most ‘liked’ tweet of all time

ArcelorMittal South Africa considers job cuts, restructuring

Op-Ed: How African youth can help find solutions to meet SDGs

Op-Ed: S.A’s NHI – Is it necessary or appropriate for government to provide “free healthcare for all”?

Zimbabwe’s first lady Grace Mugabe turns herself into South African police

Op-Ed: Could True Caller eventually own your customer?

Mauritius needs to tighten monetary policy as inflationary pressures build:IMF

The gap between consumer protection and sustainability in Africa

Kenya’s stock market hits 14-month high after Kenyatta victory

More than 200 killed in Sierra Leone as mudslide sweeps away homes

Sudan’s inflation tops 34% in July after U.S. defers sanctions ruling

News Tips

Advertise With Us

News

Invisible and ignored: air pollution inside the homes of Nairobi’s residents

Op-Ed: What the lack of accountability for Marikana says about Zuma’s government

Op-Ed: The danger of supplementing aid to Africa with weapons

Kenya government says it will close down two rights organisations

Court rejects proposal to change South Africa’s central bank mandate

The biggest risk that will determine Tesla’s fate: Elon Musk himself

Obama’s response to Charlottesville is now the most ‘liked’ tweet of all time

ArcelorMittal South Africa considers job cuts, restructuring

Op-Ed: How African youth can help find solutions to meet SDGs

Op-Ed: S.A’s NHI – Is it necessary or appropriate for government to provide “free healthcare for all”?

Zimbabwe’s first lady Grace Mugabe turns herself into South African police

Op-Ed: Could True Caller eventually own your customer?

Mauritius needs to tighten monetary policy as inflationary pressures build:IMF

The gap between consumer protection and sustainability in Africa

Kenya’s stock market hits 14-month high after Kenyatta victory

More than 200 killed in Sierra Leone as mudslide sweeps away homes

Sudan’s inflation tops 34% in July after U.S. defers sanctions ruling

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Newsletters