LiberalMindsKE

  n a shocking discovery on a ranch hidden in Kenya’s Shakahola Forest, more than 100 people – including children – have been found dead in mass graves. Hundreds more are still missing. Pastor Paul Mackenzie convinced followers of his Good News International Church that the world was ending, though he denies telling them to starve themselves to death. Now, the country is reeling, and Kenyan President William Ruto has called the mass deaths “akin to terrorism”. But it was not the pastor’s first brush with the authorities. Could this have been stopped? And how did one man get hundreds of people to follow him down this path?

 https://www.un.org/en/observances/press-freedom-day?gclid=CjwKCAjw-b-kBhB-EiwA4fvKrA2z6WIE5x6sAOKN4KEF94_S6ZdTGAmCpbx6xwRsOAJpwNIVbUu7NBoCaNAQAvD_BwE

  Africa’s youth are less optimistic about the future of their countries than they were two years ago – and they are even more pessimistic if they live in Kenya, Rwanda, or South Africa. The latest survey conducted by Ichikowitz Foundation, a South African p hilanthropist family says the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing global volatility have raised the level of pessimism. ''Effects of Covid-19 on the economy, instability all play a role in the drop in sentiment, followed by corruption, poor standards of education and the availability of decent jobs.,'' the survey shows.  Most of the young people aged between 18-24 years, however,  are only slightly more positive about the continent’s future. About 77 per cent are scared they will not be able to buy their own homes, with three-quarters of them believing owning land is vital for their financial wellbeing. For this reason, two-thirds of them will marry later than their parents did, 72 per cent intend to have fewer children. ...

  https://nation.africa/kenya/blogs-opinion/opinion/kenya-kwanza-s-arrogance-of-power-4172924 President

  A removal of fuel subsidy has sent petrol and electricity prices to the roof as the country's tax authority hikes excise taxes in an inflation adjustment plan. For many Kenyans, life was unbearable during former president Uhuru Kenyatta’s reign. But just one day after new president William Ruto’s  inauguration , life is getting more onerous, after the lifting of a fuel subsidy that had kept the price of petrol, diesel and kerosene  the lowest  in eastern Africa. “On fuel subsidy alone, taxpayers have spent a total of $1.2 billion [since 2020],” Ruto said during  his inauguration  before projecting that if it continues till June next year, it will cost Kenyans $2.4 billion. To cushion manufacturers and processors against high production costs, the government has spent  $74 million  in fuel subsidies since April last year. The move is seen as Ruto bowing to  pressure  from the International Monetary Fund, which in July set a new conditio...

  Kenya-based content creators have faulted the William Ruto-led government’s plan to   introduce a 15% withholding tax on income generated from digital content monetization . The proposal to tax content creators in Kenya is part of the many revisions intended for   the Finance Bill . If approved by the nation’s legislature, any income obtained from the monetisation of a creator’s content will be subject to the 15% tax. Although this move will help the East African country widen its tax base, it’s worth exploring the potential implications for those directly affected. The creator economy in Africa is booming with young individuals leveraging platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to advertise products and get paid. Many brands have also signed some of the popular creators, turning them into influencers for products and services.  Interestingly,  a Selar report  found that 66.9% of digital content creators “ hire one staff or more in the first six mon...

https://www.theafricareport.com/279263/kenya-ruto-burdens-kenyans-with-increased-taxes-to-deliver-on-promises/   https://twitter.com/AtwoliDza/status/1616367530595221505?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1616367530595221505%7Ctwgr%5E6d8f50b70b6bd8bfbc22f997471adb721ef5a20d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theafricareport.com%2F279263%2Fkenya-ruto-burdens-kenyans-with-increased-taxes-to-deliver-on-promises%2F

“The Finance Bill, 2023 wants to raise revenue through tax, but Kenyans are being crushed by the high cost of living, stagnant and limited income,” it stated. On specific proposals in the Bill, 94 percent of respondents indicated they completely do not support a plan to raise Value Added Tax (VAT) on fuel products from 8 percent to 16 percent, as 2.2 percent said they slightly do not support the proposal. This was the proposal rejected by most Kenyans, among the respondents. Only 1.7 percent of the respondents indicated that they completely support the proposal. At least 92.4 percent of the respondents completely do not support the proposed 3 percent house levy (which was revised downwards to 1.5 percent by the National Assembly’s Finance committee), with only 3 percent of respondents indicating complete support. Also, 90 percent of the respondents completely do not support a proposal to raise the excise tax on mobile money transfer services from 12 percent to 15 percent, but 2.5 perce...