NAIROBI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Kenya is confident that it has put in place strong interventions that have set the country on the path to sustainable economic recovery, the National Treasury said Tuesday in response to the global ratings agency, Moody's downgrade.

Moody on May 12 downgraded Kenya's "long-term foreign currency and local currency issuer ratings and senior unsecured debt ratings from B2 to B3 on rising liquidity risks."

Njuguna Ndung'u, cabinet secretary of the National Treasury and Economic Planning, however, said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that the country's growth prospects remain positive, supported by favorable weather conditions and subsidized fertilizer initiative, which are expected to boost agricultural production and improve food security.

Ndung'u observed that there is continued economic recovery across various sectors due to the easing of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said this view is corroborated by Kristalina Georgieva, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director, who visited Kenya and noted the strong economic performance in the face of multiple external persistent shocks as well as domestic ones.

"Kenya has moderate debt carrying capacity and its portfolio of public debt is sustainable," the official said.

He added that inflation, which peaked at 9.6 percent in October 2022, at the height of severe drought and commodity shocks in the global market, is down to 7.9 percent in April, and there is the easing of global commodity prices, especially oil and food.

According to Ndung'u, there is a planned pipeline of foreign currency loans from the IMF, World Bank and syndicated loans that will positively impact market liquidity.

He assured that Kenya would not default on the upcoming 2024 Eurobond maturity payments, noting that the government has received more than 300 proposals offering various liability management solutions, as it embarks on effective liability management in the next fiscal year. - Xinhua

Mumias Sugar Company has been ordered to pay Sh12 million to its former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) after the court ruled that he deserved his dues for services rendered.

Justice Stephen Radido of the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Kisumu noted that although the termination of Nashon Aseka’s employment was procedurally fair, it was devoid of substantive fairness for failure by the respondent to justify or prove the reasons.

“The Court also finds that Mumias Sugar was in breach of contract in respect to non-payment of salaries and accrued leave owed to Aseka.

The Court therefore awards Aseka Sh9.6 million in salary arrears, Sh1.2 million in accrued leave days, and Sh1.2 million as compensation, all adding up to Sh12 million. The award will attract interest at court rates from the date of judgment,” ruled Radido on Wednesday.

The award would be a downscaled sum of the Sh25 million plus interests that the former influential manager sought in his court papers, claiming he had been unfairly laid off.

Aseka pleaded in his court papers that were not rebutted that he was unfairly dismissed by the former sugar milling giant before it went under in 2018 and the case went cold as the company was put under receivership. 

Eng Aseka, who also served at the Agriculture and Food Authority and the Kenya Sugar Board, was fired by Mumias on July 9, 2018 for financial mismanagement. 

He would however argue that the sacking defied labour laws as the process leading to it was flawed.

He said that on June 5 of the same year, the company sent him on a 21-day suspension without notice to show cause or any charges against him, or reasons for suspension. 

“The suspension was then extended for a further 14 days when the staff manual provides a mandatory suspension period of not more than 21 days,” he argued in his court papers.

His earlier efforts to block the company from continuing with the disciplinary process that triggered his sacking were dismissed with costs by the same court on September 17, 2018. - Robert Amalemba, The Standard

President William Ruto has defended the three per cent deduction on employees pay for housing schemes, saying this contributes to individual savings towards owning decent houses.

He scoffed at politicians whom he said have blown the issue out of proportion to divert the real meaning of the contribution. He said the government during campaigns promised to bridge the current housing deficit, which stands at two million.

“I want to be clear here, this is not a tax but a collective contribution between the employee and the employer. This is not a new project, we were part of the plan as we campaigned last year to provide decent and affordable housing to our people,” he said.

The President was presiding over the ground-breaking ceremony of Bellevue Park Residences-Affordable Housing project, Nairobi.