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Entebbe expressway shooting: Joshua Rushegyera’s family declines to attend burial  

By
Geoffery Serugo
-
Late. Joshua Rushegyera

 

A scuffle has erupted between the late Joshua Rushegyera’s family members contesting decision taken by the few powerful members attached to the first family to lay him to rest at his maternal Uncle’s place in Kazo.

Joshua Rushegyera was shot dead on Thursday night alongside one Merina Tumukunde , a 37 year old female at Nambigirwa Bridge, along the Kampala Entebbe Express Highway.

Alluding to preliminary findings availed by police spokesperson Fred Enanga, the deceased were going to Millennium Hotel in Zana, where they had arranged business transaction, with a car dealer, identified as Robert Suubi.

In a statement released by Martin Rushegyera (the Heir) on behalf of Rushegyera Family, the tragic demise of Joshua Rushegyera has left the family devastated.

“We cannot express in words our heartfelt grief, Joshua you will forever remain in our hearts, especially the manner in which the merciless killers ended your precious life in cold blood.” He said he  had called on authorities to do their part for killers to be brought to book and account for shocking crime they committed.

“As a family we thought we would lay you to rest by the resting place of your mother in Kasharari or near your father’s grave in Rwenjeru Bushenyi. We are disheartened that some people, so powerful on your late mother’s side have dictated to bury your remains at your maternal Uncle’s place in Kazo in total disregard our linage and ancestry customs.” He wrote

“This is a very big embarrassment and disappointment not only to the Rushegyera Family, but to the people of Kasharari, Rwenjeru and Bushenyi District, and the Basingo Clan. We have therefore, as a family resolved not to go to Kazo for burial, but wish our son and brother an eternal rest.” he said in a statement.

 

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Parliament tasks gov’t to find lasting solutions to the rampant blood shortages in the country

By
Geoffery Serugo
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Minister Sarah Opendi

Members of Parliament have called on government to find lasting solutions to the rampant blood shortages in the country.

Legislators reported that their constituents are facing challenges travelling long distances to access blood, which in most cases is in short supply.

“In Pakwach, we do not have a general hospital and so my people walk all the way to Arua district to access blood, which I am also told is in shortage,” Jane Pacuto Avur said.

Pacuto was equally concerned that Pakwach district lacks an ambulance that would otherwise ease access to blood from Arua Hospital. She said that “If government does not come quickly to address blood shortage in the  district, the number of deaths will be worrisome”.

Aruu County MP, Samuel  Odonga Otto, said that private facilities are selling blood to patients saying that it could partly explain why there are blood shortages.

“In some hospitals in Kampala, you pay Shs3 million to get blood; it is sad that people are giving blood freely but hospitals attach a cost to it,” Otto said.

Odonga Otto asked the Ministry of Health to update Parliament on the state of blood stock in the country and to reprimand health facilities engaged in selling blood.

On ambulances, State Minister for Health in charge of General Duties, Sarah Opendi told Parliament that the Health Ministry has come up with an ambulance policy and is awaiting consideration by cabinet.

Opendi added that the ambulance network would operate just like the Uber taxi system where patients can be directed to a nearby ambulance.

“We propose to have stand-alone ambulances away from health facilities so that if there is any need, somebody makes a call and the call centre detects a nearby ambulance just like how Uber operates,” Opendi explained.

 

 

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Police officer arrested in the Express Highway killing

By
Our Reporter
-
Late Merina Tumukunde, wife to Mark Rugyenza of Bugolobi flats

 

 

Police has issued a statement indicating one of their own has been arrested in connection to the killings that happened on Kampala-Entebbe Express Highway.

A Police Constable known as Davis Taremwa is alleged to have been part of the group with the deceased before they departed from Entebbe to Millennium Hotel.

“We have meanwhile arrested our officer and placed him under criminal investigation. He is being examined for traces of evidence that could have remained on him, especially gun powder to help place him at the scene or not. In addition his movements from Hidden Treasure Hotel where he was picked at 8pm, to Millennium Hotel, till 2pm when he returned to the Hotel are thoroughly being investigated.”

Police in the statement say the woman killed was Merina Tumukunde, 37 years and wife to Mark Rugyenza of Bugolobi.

 

Below is Police Statement in full

 

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations is actively investigating a suspected car shooting which occurred on the 5/09/2019, at around 1o:30 pm, at Nambigirwa Bridge, along the Kampala Entebbe Express Highway, and claimed the lives of two victims, who were occupants in a Black Toyota Land Cruiser under Reg.no.UAW 534B.

The first victim has been identified as Nteyireho Ruhegyera Joshua, a 38 year old male adult, who was found lying dead, outside the car, towards the rear; with gunshot wounds. An AK47 gun was found lying along his side. The second victim was later identified by her husband Mark Rugyenza of Bugolobi flats as Tumukunde Merina, a 37 year old female adult, who died in a seating position, in the hind seat, and with a single bullet wound to the head. She is a Ugandan from Mbarara District (we regret the error in names). The two bodies were retrieved and transported to Mulago City Mortuary for post mortem examination to establish the cause of the death. Our Joint Security response teams arrived at the scene at around 11pm and cordoned it off. It was documented by forensic experts and material scientific evidence recovered.

The Directors of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Services are revisiting the scenes for better reconstruction and documentation. At this stage, the exact motivation towards the double shooting and murder is not yet established.

However, preliminary findings indicate that the male victim and PC Taremwa Davis have been very close friends. It is on friendly terms, that he requested the officer who was on guard duties, at Hidden Treasure Hotel Entebbe to escort him to Millennium Hotel in Zana, where they had arranged business transaction, with a car dealer, identified as Suubi Robert. The officer withdrew from his beat (an act which was not justified based on the law and his training) and the 3 drove together to the Hotel. The circumstances surrounding their movement from Millennium Hotel, up to the stage where the shooting occurred at Nambigirwa Bridge, Mpala are still unclear. It is what the task team of investigators and forensic experts are working to determine.

So far 3 cartridges, an AK 47 gun, mobile phones to the deceased, a magazine porch and headdress have been recovered in addition to the scientific evidence that is of material value. The CCTV footage along the highway have also been retrieved for further analysis. The body of the male victim is also being examined for traces of gun powder as part of investigations.

We have meanwhile arrested our officer and placed him under criminal investigation. He is being examined for traces of evidence that could have remained on him, especially gun powder to help place him at the scene or not. In addition his movements from Hidden Treasure Hotel where he was picked at 8pm, to Millennium Hotel, till 2pm when he returned to the Hotel are thoroughly being investigated.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the deceased as we pledge to conduct very objective and thorough investigations to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.

We strongly believe that the evidence gathered thus far, will enable us determine, whether the shooting occurred from within the car, whether there was an altercation in the car, a transaction gone bad, a drive- along shooting or a murder and suicidal incident.

We further implore anyone with information surrounding the incident to come forward and contract the Homicide Department on telephone number 0718-357460.

CP Enanga Fred

Police Spokesperson

6th.Sept 2019

 

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BoU admits theft of old bank notes by staff

By
Our Reporter
-
Bank of Uganda

The Bank of Uganda has conceded that some its staff tasked with the destruction of Uganda currency old notes have been going against the guidelines and instead they have been stealing to notes to enrich themselves.

Central Bank’s communications director, Ms Charity Mugumya is quoted by the Daily of Uganda staffs who stole old banks notes at the currency center in Mbale and that some staff have already been asked to go on forced leave.

“There were allegations of pilferage involving cancelled stock at Mbale Regional Branch. The Bank is conducting internal investigations to ascertain the veracity of the allegations. As a result, some staff were sent on leave to pave way for investigations. Details will be available as and when investigations are complete.”

BoU) is back in the spotlight following a week of scandal, in which officials at its Mbale currency centre, including cleaners were sacked for stealing cash, withdrawn from the market.

The scandal has left top managers at the central bank carrying shame in their faces, as members of the public continue asking questions as regards to the integrity of the employees at one of Uganda’s premier institutions.

The scandals at BoU have left Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile in a mess with his management skills being questioned as scandal after scandal evolves.

Finance minister Matia Kasaija months ago said that changes at BoU were in the pipeline, based on the COSASE report that pinned the central banbk over the controversial closure of seven commercial banks such as Crane Bank Limited, Global Trust Bank Uganda, National Bank of Commerce and others.

In the latest scandal, the central bank has issued new rules on accessing machine rooms at its currency centre following reports of theft of old notes at its Mbale currency centre.

Dr Bazinzi Natamba, the BoU acting Currency Director, has barred staff not belonging to the machine room not to access it.

“In order to mitigate risks and strengthen internal controls in our currency operations, please observe the following; No Note Examiner should access a Counting/Machine Room of another Currency Branch without the required authorization and No staff other than Note Examiners should participate in the Counting/ Machine Room activities such as sorting, punching and strapping of stocks,” the directive issued on Monday, September 2, reads in part.

Dr Natamba added that there will be closer use of CCTV cameras to monitor operations of the currency strong room after it emerged that some bank staff were earlier caught on CCTV camera stealing old notes that were meant to be destroyed.

Apparently, the Central Bank issued notice in a bid to save face following rising cases of operational loopholes including the sacking of all staff at the Mbale currency centre after an investigation established that some of them were involved in theft of hard cash.

Sources said more security was last Thursday deployed at the currency centre in an attempt to reinforce monitoring and supervision.

Sources said all staff at the centre from cleaners to senior managers were fired after some of them were caught on CCTV camera picking old currency that is destined to be destroyed.

Whereas the allegations of theft surfaced some months ago, sources said BoU management decided to conduct a thorough investigation to establish the extent of the matter.

The investigation revealed that huge sums had been stolen from the strong room, hence the latest action.

The revelation comes months after investigations into the extra cargo that was loaded on a Bank of Uganda (BoU) chattered plane was extended to currency centres in Mbale, Kabale and Fort Portal. The head of BoU Currency Centres in Kabale and Mbale were also questioned for failure to detect the extra consignment on a chartered plane with sensitive government cargo.

The Central Bank has over the last year been in the news for the wrong reasons. Recently, the committee, which was formed by President Museveni in February following concerns about Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile’s sweeping staff changes, recommended sweeping changes in the management of the central bank.

In their report, the Committee reported to Mr Museveni that the central bank was polarised by cliques. The report said all the staff interviewed indicated in a way that they belong to at least a clique aligned to either Mr Mutebile or Mr Louis Kasekende, the BoU deputy governor.

To ease the tensions at BoU, the tripartite committee also recommended the separation of the position of the governor from that of the board chairman and also highlighted the need for the president to create a second position of deputy governor.

Meanwhile a private members bill is in the offing to cut the powers of the governor and his deputy who act as chairman and vice chairman of the board of BoU.

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Police statement on latest murders on Entebbe Expressway

By
Our Reporter
-
Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga
On the 5/9/2019 at about 2300hrs the DPC Entebbe Sp Kawonawo Baker recieved information of shooting at Nambigirwa bridge along Kampala-Entebbe express highway in katabi town council wakiso district.

Police Action:
1.The crime scene was responded too by a team of detectives, being headed by Dpc,soco, dog handler and backed by flying squad and JAT and other sister agencies.

2.Crime scene was examined by the soco.

3.The police dog was introduced to the crime scene to track the suspect(s).

4.One AK-47 riffle No.UG POL56-3100699022697 with 27 rounds of live ammunition recovered at the scene.

5.Three empty cartridges were recovered at the scene.

6.One Counter Terrorism Uganda police cap and a magazine porch was recovered from motor vehicle reg.No.UAW 534B Prado TX black in colour at the scene.

7.Evidential documents, National ID and driving permit belonging to one Nteyireho Ruhegyera Joshua were recovered from the body at the crime scene.

8.Two bodies were taken to mulago city mortuary for post mortem examination.

9.The motor vehicle was towed to the police station.

Findings:

1.It was established that m/v reg no.UAW 543B Prado TX black in colour was found well positioned/parked aside the road at Nambigrwa bridge along Entebbe Express Highway while the engine was still hidroling with lights on while facing the direction of Mpala(Kampala-Entebbe road) with codrivers door open.

2.In the m/v a body of a one Maya Kamukazi Florence was found in seating position in the behind seat of the co driver with a bullet wounded on the head .

3.Out side the motor vehicle at rare was a body of Nteyireho Ruhegyera Joshua which was lying in a pool of blood with bullet wound on the head while the left hand holding an AK-47 smg riffle.

4.In the motor vehicle was a a piece of paper bearing particulars of No.32693 D/Sgt mutesi and two mobile phones were recovered.

Outstanding Inquiries:

1.Retrieve the post mortem reports from Mulago.

2.Obtain relevant witness statements.

3.Subject the riffle and cartridges to the ballistic expert for examination.

4.Forward the particulars of the motor vehicle to Uganda Revenue Authority with of 17a.to retrieve the particulars of ownership of the m/v.

5 .Getting the printout data of the deceased’s phones got in the motor vehicle.

6.Tracking down the suspects to brought to book.

7.Reconstructing the crime scene.

Progressive report to follow.
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A Role for Financial and Monetary Policies in Climate Change Mitigation

By
Guest Writer
-
William Oman

 

By William Oman

 

July 2019 was the hottest month ever recorded on earth, with countries across the world experiencing record-breaking temperatures. A prolonged drought is affecting millions of people in East Africa, and in August 2019 Greenland lost 12.5 billion tons of ice in one day.

A review of the literature by IMF staff aims to spur discussion of what policies to mitigate climate change could or should include. The review suggests that, while fiscal tools are first in line, they need to be complemented by financial policy tools such as financial regulation, financial governance, and policies to enhance financial infrastructure and markets, and by monetary policy.

The stakes are high. There is a broad scientific consensus that achieving sufficient mitigation requires an unprecedented transition to a low-carbon economy. Limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius requires reductions of 45 percent in CO2 emissions by 2030, and reaching net zero by 2050. Despite the 2015 Paris Agreement, greenhouse gas emissions are high and rising, fossil fuels continue to dominate the global energy mix, and the price of carbon, remains defiantly low, reinforcing the need for complementary policies.

The case for policy action beyond carbon pricing

Our review of academic and policy studies suggests that, currently, there are insufficient incentives to encourage investment in green private productive capacity, infrastructure, and R&D. At the same time, investments continue to pour into carbon-intensive activities. These undesirable economic outcomes prevent the needed decarbonization of the global economy. Decarbonization requires a transformation in the underlying structure of financial assets—a transformation that, studies suggest, is hindered by several deficiencies in the way markets function.

First, financial risks may not reflect climate risks or the long-term benefits of mitigation, given many investors’ shorter-term perspectives. Moreover, financial risks are often assessed in ways that do not capture climate risks, which are complex, opaque, and have no historical precedents.

Second, there is a wide gap between the private profitability and the social value of low-carbon investments. High uncertainty around their ability to reduce emissions, as well as the future value of avoided emissions, makes low-carbon investments unattractive to investors, at least in the short run.

Third, corporate governance that favors short-term financial performance may amplify financial “short-termism,” while constraints in capital markets can lead to credit rationing for low-carbon projects.

The above review of previous literature suggests that, because they directly influence the behavior of financial institutions and the financial system, financial and monetary policies can play a key role in addressing these issues.

Possible policy tools suggested by studies

The table below summarizes financial and monetary policy options for climate change mitigation, based on the above review of previous studies.

Policies that have been proposed in the literature can be divided into two categories: climate risk-focused and climate finance-promoting.

Climate risk-focused tools aim to correct the lack of accounting for climate risks for individual financial institutions and support mitigation by changing the demand for green and carbon-intensive investments, as well as their relative prices.

On the monetary policy side, examples include developing central banks’ own climate risk assessments, and ensuring that climate risks are appropriately reflected in central banks’ collateral frameworks and asset portfolios. On the financial policy side, tools include reserve, liquidity and capital requirements, loan-to-value ratios, caps on credit growth, climate-related stress tests, disclosure requirements and financial data dissemination to enhance climate risk assessments, corporate governance reforms, and better categorization of green assets by developing a standardized taxonomy.

Climate finance-promoting policies seek to account for externalities and co-benefits of mitigation at the level of society—that is, to account for how economic activity harms the environment but could instead, in addition to mitigating climate change, generate social value through, for example, reduced air pollution or more rapid technological progress. These policies could help shift relative prices and increase investments. However, the fact that they add new goals to existing policies makes them more controversial.

Monetary instruments to promote climate finance include better access to central bank funding schemes for banks that invest in low-carbon projects, central bank purchases of low-carbon bonds issued by development banks, credit allocation operations, and adapting monetary policy frameworks.

Financial policy instruments to actively promote climate finance revolve around “green supporting” and “brown penalizing” factors in banks’ capital requirements, and international requirements of a minimum amount of green assets on banks’ balance sheets.

What’s the bottom line?

More work is needed. The literature remains limited on the desirable package of measures to address climate mitigation. Nonetheless, financial and monetary policy tools can complement fiscal policies and help with mitigation efforts. All hands are needed on deck, for, as Mark Carney of the Bank of England has warned, “the task is large, the window of opportunity is short, and the stakes are existential.”

The writer is an economist at the International Monetary Fund, where he focuses on macrofinancial issues and climate change within the Monetary and Capital Markets Department.

 

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Minister blames politicians for security challenges

By
Geoffery Serugo
-
Foreign Affairs Minister, Gen. Jeje Odongo.

 

The Internal Affairs Minister, Gen Jeje Odongo, has blamed the rising spate of murders and insecurity on politicians, who he said are using the situation to politically discredit the ruling National Resistance Movement party.

While responding to concerns raised by Mityana Municipality Francis Zaake, Gen Odongo said progress was being made by security forces to implement action plans suggested by President Yoweri Museveni in a past address to Parliament.

“The security agencies have tried to understand what factors drive this new crime trend and politics is one of the drivers,” said Gen Odongo.

“One of the greatest successes of the NRM government has been to provide security for Ugandans [and] this is why the population has voted for NRM; many detractors are aware of this and are trying to create the impression that the NRM government has failed on this,” he added.

The Minister also blamed drug abuse ‘receivism’, which he said is the practice of ex-convicts returning to society after serving their sentences only to continue with criminality.

Gen Odongo presented a report card on the progress of implementation of President Yoweri Museveni’s famous 10-point security interventions delivered in 2018 to address the then escalating criminality.

Museveni proposed the recruitment of Local Defense Units as an auxiliary force, installation of close circuit television cameras (CCTV), fingerprinting guns and issuing electronic number plates to motor vehicles.

Other measures included re-introduction of the 999 police emergency calling system, outlawing the wearing of hoods by motorcyclists, having illuminated numbers on helmets and regulation of unmanned air vehicles, popularly known as drones.

Odongo said LDUs have been recruited and deployed, with another pass-out expected in the coming months and 68 per cent of guns, he said, have so far been fingerprinted from the army, police and private security firms.

CCTV cameras, according to the Minister, have been installed in most urban and surrounding areas.

Gen Odongo said “the Ministry of Internal Affairs is working with its Finance counterpart to ensure that taxes on CCTV cameras are scrapped altogether, to encourage private citizens to install the same on their properties”.

MP Zaake was displeased by claims that security issues are being politicised. “We are not politicising this matter; people are kidnapped, people are killed; as we speak now, someone is being kidnapped somewhere, someone is being killed; we read about these things in the media,” he said.

The Chief Opposition Whip, Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, wanted the debate extended, and also criticised the Minister for claiming politics was at the centre of the spate of murders and kidnaps.

“The minister raises issues of policy; pleading that people don’t politicise security yet he is the one playing politics with it; when he was serving the previous government and aided the escape of criminals,” said Ssemujju.

Last week, the country woke up to the murder of a one Maria Nagirinya and her driver, who had earlier been abducted. Police has now released CCTV footage showing the suspected murderers.

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Nominations for 2019 FUFA Awards get underway

By
Our Reporter
-
Moses Waiswa the 2018 FUFA player of the year

 

FUFA has released the nomination process for the 5th annual Airtel Sponsored FUFA Awards which honour the best and most outstanding performers of the year which stretches on and off the pitch.

This year’s awards are organised under the theme ‘Celebrating Uganda’s Finest Footballers’. The awards will identify notable and varied contributors to the game of football all over the country celebrated.

The nomination process is limited to fans and technical experts that will include Club head coaches, team captains and Member Associations of FUFA.

All nominations will be signed and submitted to the FUFA Awards Technical Committee.

In a system based on positional nomination, each technical expert has been given five slots, worth five, four, three, two and one in points to be allotted to each person nominated.

The five finalists are ranked based on points gathered during the nomination process.

The technical experts are provided with a simple one-page form on which they will fill in their five (5) nominees) they deem to have performed best in the calendar year 2019.

The nomination process is underway and ends on Monday Sept. 30, 2019 at 11:59 p.m.

All the eight categories explained below;

Category 1:  Airtel – FUFA Male Player of the Year 2019:

This category is voted for by the Head Coaches and Captains of the 16 clubs playing in the StarTimes Uganda Premier League (SUPL). The coaches and Captains are required to nominate a list of five (5) players (in order of priority) based on their performance.  Each coach and captain will fill in separate forms during the nomination process.

Category 2; Airtel – FUFA Female Player of the Year 2019:

This category is voted for by the Head Coaches and Captains of the 16 clubs playing in the FUFA Women Elite League (FWEL). The coaches and Captains are required to nominate a list of five (5) players (in order of priority) based on their performance.  Each coach and captain will fill in separate forms during the nomination process.

Category 3: Airtel – FUFA Male Coach of the Year 2019:

This category is voted for by the members of the Uganda Football Coaches Association (UFCA). UFCA Executive is required to appoint ten (10) senior coaches that shall nominate a list of five (5) Coaches (in order of priority) from both SUPL and FBL based on their performance. UFCA generates a list of the appointed ten (10) senior Coaches and submits it to the FUFA Awards Technical Committee.

Category 4: Airtel – FUFA Women Football Coach of the Year 2019:

This category is voted for by the members of the Uganda Football Coaches Association (UFCA). UFCA Executive is required to appoint five (5) senior coaches in women football that shall nominate a list of five (5) Coaches (in order of priority) based on their performance in FUFA sanctioned competitions. UFCA generates a list of the appointed five (5) senior Coaches and submits it to the FUFA Awards Technical Committee.

Category 5: Airtel – FUFA Upcoming Talent Award 2019:

This category is voted for by the Head Coaches of the 16 clubs playing in the FUFA Juniors League (FJL). A Coach is required to nominate a list of five (5) players (in order of priority) based on their performance.

Category 6: Airtel – FUFA Beach Soccer Player of the Year 2019:

This category is voted for by the Head Coaches of the 16 clubs playing in the Uganda men’s Beach Soccer League. A coach is required to nominate a list of five (5) players (in order of priority) based on their performance.

Category 7: Airtel – FUFA Best XI 2019 (Male Category):

This category is voted for by the Uganda Football Players Association (UFPA). UFPA is required to nominate a list of eleven (11) players based on their performance. Players eligible for this category are those featuring in the StarTimes Uganda Premier League and the FUFA Big League.

Category 8: Airtel – FUFA Female Best XI 2019:

This category is voted for by the Head Coaches of the 16 clubs playing in the FUFA Women Elite League (FWEL). A coach is required to nominate a list of eleven (11) players based on their performance.

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4G Capital ramps up sustainable SME lending in East Africa

By
Our Reporter
-
Wayne Hennessy-Barrett CEO 4G Capital

 

 

After a number of years of steady growth, 4G Capital, a Kenya-based fintech which mixes customer oversight and training with unsecured SME loans to achieve a 94 percent average repayment rate, will have lent more in the 2019 financial year than the cumulative total since it was founded in 2013.

By the end of 2018, 4G Capital had disbursed 345,000 loans since inception at a total of US$44 million. Within this year alone the firm expects to have lent an additional 420,000 loans worth US$46 million, bringing the six-year total to US$90 million.

 

Wayne Hennessy-Barrett, CEO and founder, attributes the success to “organic growth” by investing in partnerships and expanding the firm’s physical presence across East Africa.

“We’ve concentrated on the organic growth of the company, almost quadrupling the number of teams across Kenya and Uganda from 28 to 96 as well as increasing our customer acquisition through multinational distributors operating in the region,” he says.

“By focusing on customer success and protection – and as a consequence, portfolio quality – we’re continuing to enjoy repeat rates of 80 percent.”

 Customer interaction

After Kenya’s fintech boom was catalyzed by the introduction of mobile money MPesa in 2007, East Africa’s most diverse economy is now home to over 150 fintech companies; many offering digital credit services.

While permissive regulation helped foster the growth, credit default and debt distress has risen over the past few years as fintechs receive little market scrutiny and many forego due diligence when disbursing loans to customers.

Kenya’s Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) has blacklisted 2.7m people for being unable to repay loans as little as US$2.

Hennessy-Barrett calls this type of credit “blind lending” as it is usually facilitated through an app or online platform, without personal interaction.

Yet the former major in the British army turned start-up leader, believes even fintechs can use customer relationships as a bridge to success and to secure industry-topping repayment rates.

His model stands in stark contrast to many of its peers as one which links the success of 4G Capital’s customers to its own success.

 

Aside from investing heavily in customer relationships through the ‘boots on the ground’ approach, with a presence in 92 markets throughout Kenya aimed at encouraging repayment through financial literacy training, the lender is also introducing an insurance product.

They believe that insurance, which is characterised by low penetration rates and high premiums across Kenya and much of the continent, will help their customers keep their finances above board in times of distress.

“We have a busy R&D department which constantly drafts and models new products, delivered

either by ourselves or with partners,” says Hennessy-Barrett.

“We know many of our customer struggle with healthcare costs when they arise. If we can introduce them to an affordable and agile method to access contingency funds under specific circumstances, this will help their overall financial wellbeing.”

Products which benefit customers are also accompanied by know-your-customer

practices and data analytics.

Some concern is voiced by the CEO over a “credit bubble” in the Kenyan marketplace, where

SME financiers have become overexposed to their clients, who are increasingly defaulting on debt due to poor lending practices. The situation is being worsened by the exponential growth of betting companies in East Africa over the past few years.

In contrast, 4G Capital opts to never refinance loans, choosing instead to focus on the sustainable business development of its customers.

4G Capital uses algorithms and artificial intelligence to turn raw data into “smart data”; data which has been screened and optimised, in order to understand the suitability of their customers for lending applicability and size.

 

“We have identified a finite number of relevant factors which correlate with historic market behaviour, and from this we are able to accurately predict the parameter of loan size, duration and price-point for the different business types we serve,” says Hennessy-

Barrett.

Market growth

After growing the business across Kenya, 4G Capital is beginning operations in Uganda and has set its sights on a total of 1m customers by 2020.

This year alone the company expects to grow its customer base by 200%, fuelled by the promise of its latest market entrance. 4G Capital is currently adding nearly 10,000 MSMEs to its platform every month.

Hennessy-Barrett says that “while Uganda is different from Kenya in a number of ways, the fundamentals of the MSME space can translate across many borders.” The third-largest market in the East African Community (EAC) after Tanzania and Kenya, Uganda is an obvious choice for a business looking to expand in the region.

With few barriers to market entry, a vibrant mobile money culture and pro-business government despite the lack of political freedoms, the capital Kampala is no great conceptual leap from the markets in Nairobi and beyond.

However, in relation to Kenya, the market is relatively underserved which gives 4G Capital the chance to consolidate quickly in its SME lending space.

“There is an enormous appetite for what we bring to the party,” says Hennessy-Barrett.

“Both as direct lenders and in partnership with suppliers and multinationals.”

However, with five-year ambitions to become the “go-to provider of digital SME financial services” in “Africa’s biggest markets” it’s clear that 4G Capital will need to find solutions to operate in countries which have low levels of mobile money penetration.

Nigeria for instance, Africa’s biggest market, is yet to experience the mobile money revolution after the innovation was blocked by the banking industry and its influence on legislation.

Payments and loans throughout most of 4G Capital’s operations are processed via a mobile money platform.

M-Pesa has been transformative in allowing small enterprises without bank accounts to instantly send and receive money, to and from everyone from fintechs to gambling companies across the entirety of Kenya, regardless of rural isolation.

To support MSMEs in markets with low mobile money penetration, 4G Capital has also built bankto-bank transfer functionality and is in conversation with major payments companies to provide even further optionality for MSMEs, says Hennessy-Barrett.

Despite early profitability, the CEO reveals that 4G Capital is now looking to accelerate its growth by raising institutional debt and equity.

Their model, using customer analytics and care to guarantee repayment, is likely to have a big impact in the market the company seeks to enter.

“I guess we’re hard-headed and pragmatic about the problems we’re trying to solve, and that manifests in a more mature approach to the market than might be typical in the fintech world,” says Hennessy-Barrett.

“We don’t believe in any silver bullet that can create an instant ‘home run’. Successful operations are built through cumulative successes, starting with the customer and our unit economics.”

 

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IMF governors remove age limit for the position of managing director

By
Our Reporter
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Christine Lagarde will step down as IMF MD next week

 

 

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have made changes in regards to the age for any individual to serve as the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“The Board of Governors has approved the proposal by the Executive Board to remove the age limit for the position of IMF Managing Director. Approval of the proposal required a simple majority of the votes cast, with a minimum participation requirement of a majority of Governors holding two-thirds of the total voting power,” says the latest statement. Voting ran from August 21 to September 4.

Since 1951, the IMF’s By-Laws had prohibited the appointment of a candidate aged 65 or over as Managing Director, and had also prohibited the Managing Director from serving past his/her 70th birthday. The amendment to the By-Laws adopted by the Board of Governors, which is effective immediately, brings the Managing Director’s terms of appointment into line with those of members of the IMF Executive Board, which the Managing Director chairs, and those of the President of the World Bank Group, who are not subject to an age limit.

“The IMF Executive Board is engaged in the selection of a successor to outgoing Managing Director Christine Lagarde, who will step down on September 12. Nominations to the position close on September 6, 2019, and we intend to complete the selection process by October 4.”

The Board of Governors is the highest decision-making body of the IMF and consists of one governor and one alternate governor appointed by each member country. The governor is usually the minister of finance or the governor of the central bank. Most powers of the IMF are vested in the Board of Governors. The Board of Governors may delegate to the Executive Board all except certain reserved powers. The Board of Governors normally meets once a year.

The Executive Board functions in continuous session and is responsible for conducting the business of the IMF. It is composed of 24 Directors, who are elected by member countries or by groups of countries. The Managing Director serves as its Chairman. The Board usually meets several times each week. It carries out its work largely on the basis of papers prepared by IMF management and staff.

Each member country of the IMF is assigned a quota and voting shares, based broadly on its relative position in the world economy.

 

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