A blue and white ‘Sorry We're Closed’ wooden signage at a business premise. Image used for representation only. PHOTO/Pexels
The government has issued a notice of their intention to close down 67 companies in the country over the next three months.
In a gazette notice, the Registrar of Companies Joyce Koech listed the companies facing dissolution and urged their directors to show cause why they should not be shut down.
“Pursuant to section 897 (3) of the Companies Act, the Registrar of Companies gives notice that the names of the companies specified hereunder shall be struck off from the Register of Companies at the expiry of three months from the date of publication (August 27, 2024) of this notice and invites any person to show cause why the companies should not be struck off from the Register of Companies,” the notice read in part.
Alekim Consulting Limited, Alistair Logistics Kenya Limited, Ality Fusion Investments Limited, Arctic Limited, Barak Goshen Kenya Limited, Bourgogne Limited, Brikisha Hardware Limited, Caxdon Supplies and Logistics Limited, Crawlers Supplies and Logistics Limited, Curators Sisters of St Luke Investments Limited, Drill and Pump Limited, Easy Stay Limited, Evelets Investments Limited, Ewas Scrap Metal Dealers Limited, Grandacres Red Hill Limited, Granito Metals And Ore Limited and Hakuna Matata Automotive and Farming Equipments Limited.
Companies facing closure
The others listed for closure are Hari Detergents Company Limited, Heliacal Kenya Limited, Hot Rods Logistics & Equipment Limited, House- Pitality Training Centre Limited, Kaboi Tea Growers Company Limited, Kei Pharmacy Limited, Kenrod Investments Company Limited, Kizimkazi Investments Limited, Kvs Mines and Minerals Limited, Lanelle Links Limited, Leadnabs Technology Company Limited, Makkaah Pharmaceutical Limited, Malivest Limited, Marshalls Investment Limited and Mbonyi Limited.
Other companies in the list are Mofran Technology Limited, Mokefa Construction and Supplies Limited, Motrans Technology Limited, Nelishelm Investment Limited, Nordlife Capital Limited, Northways Shuttle Limited, Notitia Afrika Limited, Omidyar Network Kenya Limited, Plentree Foods Limited, Prime Six Limited, Rage Travel and Cargo Agency Limited, Rift Care Group Limited, Rubicon Sustainable Technologies Africa Limited, Seoul Guest House Limited, Shanzuluck Bays Limited, Shaush Builders Limited, Shs Projects Kenya Limited, Skel Wan Wood Limited and Sky Height Achievers Limited.
Reasons for company dissolution
Also, Koech has noticed Spyro Gyra Limited, Students Housing Projects Limited, Suite Living Kenya Limited, Sunstar Research and Consultancy Services Limited, Sustainable Housing Solutions Limited, The Magari Yetu Limited, Timecon Consultants Limited, Ufunzi Research Management and Consultancy Limited, Uzi Video Limited, Valgent Limited, Wamuthaka Agencies Limited, Wey Education Limited, Woodspice Limited, Yettal Limited, Zambezi Ummoja Limited and Zee’s Bbq Limited to explain why their companies should not be expunged from the register of companies.
According to the law, when a company is dissolved, the liability of the directors, members and officers ceases.
A company could be dissolved by the registrar if it applies to be struck off the register on its own, is in liquidation or is no longer in operation. By Arnold Ngure, People Daily
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli said that illegal foreigners had contributed to the high levels of crime in the country.
The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government said that it wanted illegal foreigners deported back to their countries and for them to only return to South Africa legally. Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli raised this while speaking at the first leg of the annual Reed Dance ceremony at eMachobeni Royal Palace in iNgwavuma, in northern KZN on Saturday. Ntuli said that illegal foreigners had contributed to the high levels of crime in the country. Last week over 123 foreign nationals, who were in the country illegally, were nabbed by police, following the raiding of buildings in Durban. Some of those arrested were charged for selling drugs in what has been confirmed to be hijacked buildings. Speaking at the Reed Dance, Ntuli told Zulu monarch Misuzulu kaZwelithini that he has a plan to curb illegal foreigners. "This campaign will look at illegal foreigners. They must go back home and come back here legally." Ntuli said that illegal foreigners were also contributing to the high levels of unemployment. "Most of them are being exploited by their employers. They get employed while many here aren’t working because illegal foreigners are being paid peanuts." Ntuli said that as the head of the community safety department, he would lead the fight against undocumented foreigners. Nhlanhla Mabaso, EWN
People hold candles during a commemoration ceremony of the 1994 genocide on April 07, 2019 at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, Rwanda. Photo: via Getty Images
Rwanda is a small landlocked country in Africa with a population of about 14 million and is the most densely populated country of the continent. Any mention of Rwanda brings to mind the Rwandan Genocide of 1994 in which over a million people, mostly Tutsi, were killed in a hundred days, an average of over 30,000 people every day.
The incident was used as a backdrop to the 2004 popular film ‘Hotel Rwanda’, which brought the world’s spotlight on the genocide that had hitherto taken place in ‘some far away country in Africa’. The storyline is based on a true happening in Hotel Mille Collines (Thousand Hills in French) where over 1300 refugees found shelter and were saved from the massacre during the days of the genocide. The hotel is functional even today and is one of the most visited spots for visitors to Kigali.
Rwanda is also home to the endangered mountain gorillas. About 60% of the population of this endangered species is found in the “Virunga Mountains” in Northern Rwanda, a chain of Volcanoes that Rwanda shares with Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. It was the place for the critically acclaimed 1998 docudrama “Gorillas in the Mist”, starring Sigourney Weaver.
The film tells the story of naturalist and primatologist Dian Fossey, who studied the mountain gorillas extensively and then fought to protect them from poaching and imminent extinction. She was found murdered in her cabin in December 1985 and was buried nearby in the site that she had herself built for burying poached gorillas. The last entry she had made in her diary before her murder read “When you realize the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate more on the preservation of the future”.
However it is the horrific tales and numbers of the genocide that still resonate whenever Rwanda is mentioned. Such was the scale of the tragedy that the UN has designated 7th April every year as the ‘International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda’. The 30th commemoration of the genocide was observed in Kigali on 7th April 2024, known as Kwibuka 30. Several world leaders attended the event and Government of India was represented at the level of Secretary.
India also lit up the Qutub Minar on 7th April in the colors of Rwanda to observe the day as a mark of respect for those who lost their lives in the horrific genocidal violence of 1994. India had also been associated with peace keeping in Rwanda under the UNAMIR (UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda) where a total of 956 Indian peace keepers took part and some sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. There is realization and respect for this in Kigali even today.
The macabre dance of death and destruction that was unleashed in Rwanda in 1994, was followed up with serious efforts at tribal unity, political stability and nation building. This conscious effort by the Government of Rwanda and its people put the country on the path of economic and social progress. Rwanda is now among the fastest growing economies of Africa and a hot destination for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism and hosts several events in the Kigali Convention Centre.
Tourism is now the country’s largest foreign exchange earner, with MICE contributing over one-fifth of the total. The country is also among the cleanest in the world. It banned plastic bags in 2008 and has clean trash free streets. This is also ensured by the compulsory community service that all Rwandans have to do on the last Saturday of every month, known as Umuganda. Participation in Umuganda is required by law for all Rwandans between the age of 18 to 65 in which people clean streets, plant trees, build schools and community buildings among other activities.
Rwanda was also in news recently because of UK’s new policy for asylum seekers. Under the policy, UK was to transfer all asylum seekers to Rwanda till their cases were adjudicated and they could then be granted refugee status in Rwanda. Rwanda was to get about $465 million over the next 5 years for this having already received $300 Million by the end of 2023. The policy however was struck down by the UK supreme court in November 2023 and completely reversed by the new Government of UK in July 2024. In any case, no asylum seeker was ever sent from UK to Rwanda but the question of money already paid to Rwanda stays under discussion between the two countries.
Rwanda witnessed Presidential and Parliamentary elections in July 2024. President Paul Kagame won 99.18% of the votes and got a fourth consecutive term. However what is more striking and less known is that Rwanda has the highest percentage of women in the parliament in the world. The new Parliament elected in July 2024, has 63.75% women members. The percentage was 61% in then last parliament. The country aspires to become a Middle-Income Country by 2035 and a High-Income Country by 2050 and the President has expressed to make it the "Singapore of Africa". It is expected to feature in the world’s top 10 highest growing economies in 2024.
The 2003 constitution of Rwanda set a quota for 30% for women in elected positions. Globally, the average for women in parliament is around 24 percent. While a part of the answer lies in the constitution that mandates a gender quota, the fact also stays that at the end of the genocide, women outnumbered men.
Rwanda’s four-tiered political system also helped and proved to be an effective leadership development scheme. With 30 percent of elected seats reserved for women, the council system fed those from lower levels into the higher reserved positions including to the Parliament. With increasing number of politically experienced women available at every level, it has led to women contesting against men in non-reserved positions, and winning.
Despite the shocks that it bore, today Rwanda is a living example of how unity and a sense of purpose can bring change at a very fast pace. The memory of those who were killed is preserved and kept alive by the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where the remains of over 250,000 people are buried. PM Modi visited the memorial in July 2018 and in his message praised Rwanda’s response to the genocide as one of ‘restraint, reconciliation and peace’ that has made the country into a beacon of stability, growth and development. (Puneet Kundal is an IFS officer, Additional Secretary, the Ministry of External Affairs.) Outlook
Many diseases have been gripping Sudan for months. A new variant of monkeypox has been reported in the country, though no information is available about its spread, as a significant part of Sudan is excepted from epidemiological monitoring. The federal Ministry of Health considers the areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ‘unreachable’ and has neither provided medical aid nor financial support to the health ministries in these areas.
Medical monitoring is of course of great importance because it contributes to better disease prevention and control. Through the data collected, countries can identify their priorities and develop targeted interventions to address the course of the epidemic.
Other diseases that are gripping Sudan for months, are, most notably, cholera, conjunctivitis, bacterial dermatitis, scabies, haemorrhagic fevers, tuberculosis, hepatitis, in addition to polio, measles and other children’s diseases. Furthermore, famine is reported in several regions.
During the war that erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in mid-April last year, the latter took full or partial control of 10 of the 18 Sudanese states. This means that the Sudanese health authorities are unable to access and monitor the situation in these areas.
Leila Hamedelnil, working for the Emergency Department of the federal Ministry of Health in Port Sudan, Red Sea state, told Radio Dabanga earlier that the ministry classifies the states of Sudan into three levels since the start of the war: accessible, difficult to reach, and unreachable.
The RSF took control of four of the five Darfur states (as well as a part of North Darfur) in the end of last year, and have set up governments in these states with the cooperation of native administration leaders*. This means that the health ministries of East, South, Central, and West Darfur fall within the third category set by the federal health ministry.
The RSF occupies several parts of North Darfur except its capital El Fasher, which is still mainly under control of the SAF, and Tawila and neighbouring areas, including Jebel Marra, that is controlled by combatants of the mainstream Sudan Liberation Movement, headed by Abdelwahid Nour.
In Kordofan, the RSF controls all North Kordofan localities except Sheikan. In West Kordofan, only En Nehoud and Wad Banda are still in the hands of the army.
The RSF further occupies large parts of Khartoum, Khartoum North (Khartoum Bahri), and Omdurman. In El Gezira, south of Khartoum, the RSF occupy all localities except for El Managil and El Gurashi. The RSF seized neighbouring Sennar in June this year.
As for vaccination campaigns, Sudan’s federal Minister of Health Haisam Ibrahim in previous statements attributed the emergence of polio in the country to the decrease in vaccination campaigns in the country, especially in the areas controlled by the RSF.
In August, the Ministry of Health conducted a polio immunisation campaign in eastern Sudan (Red Sea state, Kassala, El Gedaref) and northern Sudan (Northern State and Nile River state), and said it would extent the immunisation to White Nile and Blue Nile states later. The ministry reported “difficulties” in the delivery of vaccines to the areas controlled by the RSF.
A malnourished, sick boy in the El Salam camp for displaced people near Nyala, South Darfur, September 5 (Photo: RD)
Darfur
The health ministries of East, South, Central, and West Darfur all complain about the inability to communicate with the federal Ministry of Health in Port Sudan in order to coordinate their efforts to confront infectious diseases.
Abdelsalam Mustafa, director of the West Darfur Ministry of Health told Radio Dabanga that “we are ready to provide the federal ministry with medical reports, if they ask us.
“We have no problem in cooperating with any party, whether the ministry or an organisation, as long as we receive support for the people’s health care in West Darfur,” he said.
“Health care should not be linked to a political, security, regional, ethnic or other situation,” Mustafa added. “Medical assistance is part of humanitarian aid that should be available even during wars.”
He said he hopes that the opening of the Adré border crossing with Chad “will also allow humanitarian organisations to intervene and improve the health situation. “In this way, we could also send samples of diseases with returning trucks via Chad, to Port Sudan or to other Sudanese or non-Sudanese cities.”
Mustafa noted that more than 144 medical facilities in the state closed their doors due to the total or partial collapse. “We were able to restore 40 per cent of the sector, but this is of course far from enough, in particular with the absence of new supplies for more than 16 months.”
He reported the spread of watery diarrhoea, intestinal diseases, and eye infections in West Darfur.
The situation in South Darfur is not much different. “If we suspect an infectious disease in an area, we only take basic precautions, as we do not have any technical equipment to determine the type of the disease,” an emergency official at the South Darfur Ministry of Health in Nyala, capital of South Darfur, told Radio Dabanga yesterday.
“We only have instantaneous reagents for the water testing laboratory in Nyala in which water pollution is confirmed or denied. But we cannot determine the type of pollution anymore, due to the damage done by the fighting to the Nyala Public Health Laboratory,” the medic, who preferred not to be named, said.
“Before the war, we used to take samples and send them to the National Stack Laboratory in Khartoum, or to the regional laboratory in Johannesburg, South Africa. Now, there is no way to do this, so if there is any suspicion about a disease in a certain area, it is treated as a positive case and we give the green light to deal with it if possible.”
The Central Darfur Health Ministry in Zalingei has adopted “traditional mechanisms in following up and investigating diseases, as the entire medical infrastructure, including laboratories, completely collapsed. In addition, many medical staff members fled the state,” Mohamed El Amin Rizgallah, the head of the ministry explained to Radio Dabanga.
“What complicates the situation is the lack of coordination between the state and federal ministries of health, which also means that we do not have a budget anymore.”
Rizgallah reported the emergence of diseases such as ophthalmia and watery diarrhoea, and the spread of tuberculosis, in addition to the growing number of malnourished people. “We are facing all these problems in the absence of the federal Ministry of Health,” he said, and expressed his gratitude to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the World Relief organisation “that work together with the ministry in some areas of emergency”.
He said that “the ministry, in coordination with MSF-Spain, has been able to rehabilitate the Zalingei Teaching Hospital by 70 per cent after it “entirely collapsed” due to fierce fighting for the control of the city. “Nine other hospitals need urgent repair as well.
The Central Darfuri health official called on the federal Health Ministry to provide budgets again, and on international organisations “to intervene to save the health situation in the state”.
The Ed Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur damaged by the war (Photo: RD)
‘No parallel health system’
As for the states that are difficult to reach, Leila Hamedelnil of the federal Health Ministry’s Emergency Department told Radio Dabanga that “the ministry continuously receives reports from these states.
“The early warning system, activated in the case of disasters and emergencies, enables the ministry to obtain reports from the states by 85 per cent, whether through early warning, grassroots community monitoring, or youth surveillance systems.”
In previous statements, the federal Minister of Health Haisam Ibrahim called on relief organisations “to only work through the competent authorities and not to create a parallel health system that could cause damage”.
He explained that “some organisations tried to bring in medicines without the knowledge of the government” and said that the de facto government in Port Sudan “addressed the United Nations about its rejection of any parallel health system”.
Ibrahim said that “50 per cent of Sudan does not receive humanitarian aid because of insecurity”, and accused the RSF of intercepting routes to Darfur, Kordofan, El Gezira, Sennar, and the Blue Nile and White Nile states. He mentioned the delivery of medicines through airdrops to the states of Darfur and over land to South Kordofan.
He stressed the importance of joint coordination with the government to deliver medical services to areas under RSF control.
This report is published simultaneously on the platforms of media and press institutions and organisations that are members of the Sudan Media Forum. Eurasia
Afrika Mashariki Transport Awards founder Edgar Meshack, co-founder Warren Lamu, National Transport and Safety Authority Deputy Director Duncan Kibogong and Marketing Manager Seth Enos during the launch of Afrika Mashariki Transport Awards at the Standard Media Group headquarters on September 6, 2024. [Kanyiri Wahito, Standard]
Road safety and adherence to traffic rules were the key emphasis at this year’s Afrika Mashariki Transport Awards (AMTA) unveiled in Nairobi yesterday. The ceremony was held at the Standard Group PLC, which is the official media partner.
Speaking during the glitz event, National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) Deputy Director, Duncan Kibogong, said road safety was a collective role of all and not just the government.
He cautioned road users against reckless road habits and asked motorists to be mindful of fellow road users as he cautioned the rate of road fatalities was rising at an alarming rate.
“Indeed the transport industry is an important pillar in the economy, offering services to commuters, delivering farm produce and manufactured products among others.
NTSA will continue to support the industry by playing a crucial role in enhancing road safety and service delivery through strategic innovation management and technology operational efficiency,” Kibogong said.
The awards, now in their fourth year, bring together stakeholders in the transport sector including NTSA, Safaricom, Standard Group PLC, Ministry of Transport, Kenya Railways, Kenya Ports Authority and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.
Transport sector stakeholders and partners of the award will get a chance to showcase innovations in the industry.
Afrika Mashariki Transport Awards (AMTA) founder Edgar Meshak said: “The awards seek to celebrate excellence and talent in the industry. It is also a platform for networking and raising awareness about road safety.”
Standard Group PLC Chief Executive Officer Marion Gathoga welcomed the partnership noting that the company’s online motor show platform, Digger Motors, was in support of AMTA’s vision of recognising excellence in the transport sector.
“At the Standard Group PLC, we are immensely proud of our more than 100-year heritage. We are delighted to be associated with the AMTA awards, which celebrate excellence in the transport industry,” Gathoga said.
“As a leader in the transport and automotive space, the Standard Group PLC consistently hosts major thought leadership forums, bringing together key stakeholders from the private sector, government, and academia to discuss critical transport matters and their impact on society. We also spotlight all happening in the sector on our 360-degree media platforms,” the CEO said.
The stakeholders present at the launch included Watu Gari, VW Babes, Advanced Road Users Safety Institute, Sikika Road Safety, Tembea Tujenge Kenya, She Can Drive Kenya and Forester Nation.
The awards General Category features Motorclub of the Year, Auto Dealer of the Year, Auto Bazaar of the Year, Fuel Station of the Year, Best Breakdown Recovery and Towing Service and Driving School of the Year.!
There is also Transport Infrastructure Category with Rail Infrastructure of the Year, Aviation Transport Infrastructure of the Year as well as Bikers Category featuring Riding Club of the Year and Bikers Safety Initiative of the year.
Other categories include Awards Nominated by Judges, Outstanding Personnel of the Year, Transport Sector, Recognition and Celebration, Matatu Awards and Media in Transport.
The exhibition will bring together industry leaders and experts to exchange ideas on emerging trends and solutions in transportation. The expo to be held at Sarit Expo Centre is anticipated to attract 10,000 attendees.
AMTA co-founder Warren Lamu said that with the rise in urbanisation and technological advancements, innovation in transport is necessary to meet an ever-growing demand, in a world that is also more conscious of environmental protection.
“With this year’s awards “Driving Towards a Sustainable and Secure Future: Green Energy and Safety in Transport”, we hope that the awards will leave an indelible mark on our future generations,” Meshak said.
Some of the past winners include Renegade Air (Domestic Airline of the Year), Mash East Africa (Long Distance Bus Service of the Year), Super Metro Sacco (Matatu Sacco of the Year) and Buzeki Enterprises (Haulier/Logistics Company of the Year). By Kanyiri Wahito , The Standard
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