MAY 2017
KENYA
11 .
Banks ’ Devious Practice
Kenya Bankers association officials during the launch of PesaLink in February 2017 . Photo Courtesy of KBA
I just saw a message on my phone that my account had been linked to PesaLink . I don ’ t even know what the company does !
By Joshua Masinde
Since launching their mobile money service to rival M-Pesa barely two months ago , Kenyan banks have reached a major milestone by signing up two million customers . However , they are now finding themselves in an ugly position following heightened criticisms from users for being involuntarily signed up to their mobile money platform . Ordinarily , the best practice would be to allow anyone to register out of their own volition . Instead , users are being registered without their consent and asked to opt out of the service if they wish . “ I just saw a message on my phone that my account had been linked to PesaLink . I don ’ t even know what the company does !” account-holder Stanley Kanyiri Weru said . Yet another user , Wilfred Bwire Masakhalia , said : “ My account and phone number were registered without my consent . I just received a confirmation SMS .” A lot of those who were ‘ registered ’ without their consent were outraged by the fact that they had to incur a ‘ text ’ message cost for deregistering . While opening accounts , many customers are often unaware of authorizing banks to use their personal information for purposes such as signing them up on new products as set out in terms and conditions . Such terms and conditions are often too convoluted for them to read or comprehend . “ That is default move in the sense that you had given the authority for them to register you on any initiative they come up with such as the mobile platform ,” says Habil Olaka , chief executive officer of Kenya Bankers ’ Association .“ If you do not want it , the bank does not lock you in there . You can just opt out .” Ironically , some banks are asking customers not already registered to fill out manual forms and submit them to their branches , unmindful of the fact that it only takes a few minutes for one to self-register by phone . On February 16 , Kenyan banks launched an industry mobile money platform widely seen as rivalling the hugely successful M-Pesa . It allows mobile phone users to transfer or receive money from within the banking industry without having to depend on third-party operators such as M-Pesa , Airtel or Orange Money . Users can transfer up to $ 10,000 between banks in a single transaction in real time . So far , 22 banks out of 43 have signed up with more expected to come on board in the coming weeks . The launch of their mobile money transaction service is a replica or clone of M-Pesa platform but analysts think that it will give the dominant player a run for its money . Currently , M-Pesa controls approximately 85 % of the person-to-person money transfer valued at over $ 3.5 billion . A distant second is Equity Bank ’ s mobile money transaction service , Equitel which controls about 15 % of the person-to-person money transaction business valued at approximately $ 630 million . However , the next frontier of competition lies in the value that providers offer their customers . PesaLink users can , for instance , transact up to $ 5 free of charge and will not have to rely on M-Pesa or any other rival mobile money service to make transactions . This effectively takes away their customers ’ over-reliance on M-Pesa when the users may simply want to transfer money from one bank account to another or to third parties on phone and had to do so through an intermediary mobile money platform . They can also transact or transfer up to $ 10,000 daily , way above M-Pesa ’ s everyday limit of $ 1,400 . The major advantage with M-Pesa is its ubiquity and ease with which it has helped millions of people who were previously locked out of the financial services sector partly because the costs of owning a bank account were way too high and banks were mostly limited in urban areas . With M-Pesa , even someone living on less than $ 2 a day can boast of having a bank account in their pocket . This is something they could only dream of ten years ago . “ Safaricom ’ s vastly larger agency network has made it significantly easier to deposit and withdraw money from the M-Pesa system . Like the subscriber numbers , Safaricom ’ s network of agents remains far bigger than that of any individual bank ,” analysts at Exotix research say .
Fast-tracking on the Malabo Declaration
By Kawira Mutisya
African countries have been called upon to develop the necessary tools to ensure the implementation of the June 2014 African Union Heads of State Malabo Declaration on Agriculture Growth and Transformation in Africa . In 2014 also known as the “ Year of Agriculture and Food Security ”, Heads of State and Government adopted a set of concrete agriculture goals to be attained by 2025 . The Declaration is a set of new goals showing a more targeted approach to achieve the agricultural vision for the continent which is shared prosperity and improved livelihoods . The Malabo Summit reconfirmed that agriculture should remain high on the development agenda of the continent , and is a critical policy initiative for African economic growth and poverty reduction . Senior strategy advisor at the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa ( COMESA ) Mbosonge Mwenechanya said that African governments need to know where their countries are on the implementation of the Malabo Declaration and the reasons for having not implemented it already . “ Agriculture is the engine of economic growth , development and transformation for most African countries ”, adding that “ without visionary leadership , African agriculture would suffer .”
Agriculture provides the most diverse base for industrialization and the biggest potential for poverty reduction and employment creation in Africa . The heads of state agreed to develop an implementation strategy and roadmap that facilitates translation of the 2025 vision and goals of Africa Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation into concrete results and impacts , and report to the January 2015 Ordinary Session of the Executive Council for its consideration . They also agreed that African stakeholders , including farmers , pastoralists , fishers , private sector operators in agriculture , agribusiness and agro-industries , civil society organisations , and financial institutions , would rally behind the realization of the provisions of this Declaration and take advantage of the huge opportunities it presents . Mr . Mwenechanya said that within the COMESA region , for instance , agriculture is the source of 50 % of the raw materials for industry and employs 70 % of the workforce . He was speaking while addressing delegates during the opening session of a five-day regional training workshop on the preparation of the Biennial Report on the Malabo Declaration in Arusha , Tanzania . The workshop which is being attended by delegates from Ethiopia , Eritrea , Kenya , Rwanda , Somalia , South Sudan , Tanzania and Uganda has drawn participants from the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme ( CAADP ) Member States , African Union and three Regional Economic Communities , namely COMESA , East African Community and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development . In his remarks circulated by the EAC secretariat , the EAC Deputy Secretary General for Productive and Social Sectors , Hon . Christophe Bazivamo , said that the EAC had made steady progress in embracing the CAADP agenda . Hon . Bazivamo disclosed that the EAC had realized steady progress with the support of the African Union Commission , NEPAD and USAID . “ The EAC Secretariat is working closely with Partner States and has developed key CAADP instruments including the EAC CAADP Compact and Results Framework . A draft Regional Agriculture Investment Plan ( RAIP ) has been developed and is currently undergoing validation at the national level in the EAC Partner States ,” said Hon . Bazivamo .
Senior strategy advisor at the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa ( COMESA ) Mbosonge Mwenechanya addressing delegates during the opening session of a five-day regional training workshop on the preparation of the Biennial Report on the Malabo Declaration in Arusha , Tanzania .