GOOD NEWS TO KENYANS WHO OWN MOBILE PHONES.

Considering how fast 2021 has been speeding along, one cannot help but wonder if someone secretly added a supercharger to 2021.

Well, this might sound like a joke, but scientists actually say that the earth is moving faster than it has in the last 50 years – which is why 2021 seems to be in a rush.

As we bid farewell to July and prepare to usher in August, Kenyans have something to smile about – such as the signing of Ksh20 billion in deals between Kenya and the UK, as well as an expected review in mobile call rates.

However, it still seems that the full effect of the pandemic is yet to be fully comprehended with companies like Centum making its first full-year loss in 42 years, and revelations that in the Covid-19 period about 20% of SMEs in Kenya closed down.

It is against this backdrop that we take a look at the biggest money news from the last 7 days, and how they could affect the contents of your wallet.

Call Rates Expected to Fall

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) is expected to lower the rates charged by telecommunication companies for interconnecting customers, something that could lead to lower call tariffs.

This will come as a reprieve to Kenyans, who are already dealing with reduced spending power due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as an increase in calling costs following the recent revision of excise duty on telephone services to 20%, up from 15%.

In a notice dated Tuesday, July 27, the regulator said that advancements in technology have made mobile communication more efficient, thus the need for a review of these charges.

The authority last reviewed these charges, which are commonly known as mobile termination rates (MTR) in 2015, pushing the rate to Ksh0.99.

A downward revision of these charges is likely to trigger a price war between the top mobile operators in the country. At the moment, Safaricom charges Ksh4.87 per minute to call rival networks, while Telkom and Airtel charge Ksh4.30 and Ksh2.78 respectively.

If the mobile termination rates get slashed by the CA, these rates could drop even further. However, analysts expect Safaricom, the leading telco with the largest market share to challenge this proposal.

In October 2020, the High Court ruled that a set of laws – among them laws that introduced taxes on M-Pesa transfers and fuel, as well as a Ksh18 levy on Kerosene – were illegal because they did not have the backing of the Senate.

The High Court had given Thursday, July 29, 2021 (today) as the deadline by which Parliament needed to have gotten the approval of the Senate, otherwise the laws would be abolished.

However, on Tuesday, July 27, the Court of Appeal extended the deadline to November 5, 2021, which is when the court will deliver a judgment on the fate of the laws.

Among the laws in contention include the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendment), the Tax Laws (Amendments), the Finance Act 2018, and 20 other laws.

The extension is a win for the government, with Attorney General Kihara Kariuki saying that the taxes collected under these laws will help fund key government operations and programmes, such as the Big Four Agenda.

However, the extension of the deadline means that Kenyans will continue feeling the pinch of these taxes until the court pronounces itself on the matter in November.

Kenyans’ Appetite For Investments Growing
Despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic Kenyans still looking for ways to invest their money, with the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) reporting that the total assets held by Collective Investment Schemes have grown by over 80% over the last 3 years, which saw them cross the Ksh100 billion mark in December 2020.

Between December 2020 and March this year, these funds grew by more than 6%. At the end of March, Collective Investment Schemes managed over Ksh111 billion for Kenyans, up from Ksh104 billion just three months earlier.

Despite facing woes over the performance of its unregulated products, investment firm Cytonn has seen Kenyans increase their investments in its regulated funds by 17% between December and March 2021, pushing the funds pooled under the firm’s regulated products to Ksh960.2 million.

Meanwhile, Acorn Holdings Group has seen its second green bond, which closed on Friday, July 23, oversubscribed by 146%. The bond, which had a target of Ksh1.438 billion, ended up raising Ksh2.096 billion.

Sourced from mobile 254