??4 Govt Agencies Auctioning Cars, SK Macharia Company Shutdown Drama

By Derrick Kubasu

Hello and welcome to the Evening Brief Newsletter where we are keeping track of flare-ups and shutdowns (And Gachagua flying commercial).

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Up for Sale

Four government agencies today announced that they were placing motor vehicles and office supplies on auction, largely for their unserviceable nature. And likely to create room to buy new ones.

The notices from the National Land Commission (NLC), National Irrigation Authority (NIA), National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), and Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) were carried in the local dailies today.

Zoom In: EPRA revealed that it will auction off laptops, cameras, phones, tyres among other items on June 21.

• NDMA, on the other hand, announced that it will auction used motor vehicles, motorcycles, general equipment as well as furniture and fittings housed in 21 different locations countrywide, including Nairobi. The exercise will take place between June 26 and June 28.

• NIA listed motor vehicles, heavy machinery, spare parts, scraps and tyres for auction in five locations between June 18 and June 26 this month.

• NLC announced that it was in the process of disposing of unserviceable, obsolete, surplus motor vehicles, ICT and other assorted items in an exercise scheduled for June 28.

Of Concern: Leading dailies, Daily Nation and Standard, repeatedly carry numerous pages of properties on auction, mostly apartments, signaling tough times.

The Central Bank of Kenya, in its Chief Executive Officers' (CEO) Survey, showed that 240 Kenyan CEOs of the 1,000 surveyed revealed that they had no choice but to trim their workforce before the end of the year.

Interview With Daily Nation Managing Editor

Part of the companies planning to effect job cuts is Nation Media Group, the parent company of NTV and Daily Nation.?

Ahead of the firings, Daily Nation Managing Editor Bernard Mwinzi announced that he was leaving the outlet and would serve his last day on Friday, June 14.

I reached out to him to understand what necessitated his departure and he noted that he will be heading out for other endeavors within the media industry. He declined to say which endeavors.

"I will still remain in the media ecosystem... (Nation) has been affected by human resource disruption because there is human resource flight. The talented, the best, and the most experienced are leaving because it is also experiencing the human resource flight which is to me a bad thing but expected," he noted.

"It is navigating a very delicate phase of its life. What I know for sure is that it is going to be here for a long time."

Mwinzi is leaving after serving for 17 years.

FYI

After more than a month of failing to access a military chopper for travel, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has embarked on flying commercial.

On Tuesday, Riggy G set the internet abuzz after he was spotted booking a commercial flight while traveling to Mombasa.

The public speculated that his choice of flying commercial was a PR stance likely to win him more hearts as rumours swirl that he is not in good books with his boss, William Ruto.

What He Said

The battle between Directline Assurance Company, owned by Citizen TV proprietor S.K. Macharia, and the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) played out on Tuesday after the former announced that he was shutting down the company and terminating all employees.

What He Said: Macharia, the Chairperson of Royal Credit Limited, declared that the company was shutting down immediately and dissolving the company's Board of Directors.

He explained that the closure of the company was prompted by IRA's decision to freeze of the company's bank accounts.

Macharia further lamented that IRA had failed to take action against the company's former directors whom he accused of mismanaging funds totalling Ksh7 billion.

Of Note: The company controls more than 60 per cent of the Kenyan Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) insurance market.

IRA Fightback: The regulator dismissed Royal Media Services Director SK Macharia’s move terming it as null and void. IRA, as a result, directed Directline to continue with operations.

"All policies issued by Directline Assurance Company Limited remain in full force and effect and the insurer remains liable for any claims arising therefrom. The insurer has been placed under heightened surveillance by the Authority and the Authority will take the necessary steps," IRA noted.

"This pursuant to the provisions of the Insurance Act, CAP 487 Laws of Kenya, to ensure the sustainability of the insurer and protection of insurance policyholders' interests."

Here are 5 other stories we are keeping tabs on for you;

1. KAA briefly closed the JKIA runway, between 12pm and 2pm today, after a plane from Sudan was redirected to Nairobi after debris dropped.
2. Ruto phones his former boss Uhuru Kenyatta after his (Uhuru’s) office flared up yesterday with claims of harassment from the State House.
3. Health CS Nakhumicha publishes a document breaking down treatment tariffs that will be used under the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) and their prices.
4. KWS announces that it is recruiting individuals to fill 220 permanent and pensionable vacancies in 26 sections.
5. US Ambassador Meg Whitman on Tuesday praised President Wiliam Ruto's leadership on matters of Finance Bill 2024 and hustler empowerment.

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This newsletter was written by Derrick Kubasu and edited by Brian Muuo.

Washington Mito contributed to the content.

Graphics prepared by Adongo Kyalo.