Desperate for Oil

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December 02, 2025

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In today's newsletter, Kenya wants to exempt some taxes for Gulf Energy, the firm that took over the oil drilling ambitions in Turkana. What does the gov't gain from this?

This and more stories in today's edition…

Desperate for Oil : Incentives for the New Driller

By Brian Nzomo

Kenya is trying to revive its stalled oil dream, and Gulf Energy is the latest company handed the keys plus a generous basket of tax breaks to sweeten the ride. The new deal wipes away a whole catalogue of levies, practically rolling out a fiscal red carpet to get drilling moving again in Turkana. Officials are betting that with the right incentives, the long-promised early production (slated for 2026) might finally materialize. Behind it all sits the lure of more than 300 million recoverable barrels and the hope that this time, the story ends differently.

Read the full article here >>>>>

Your Opinion

Do you support the decision to slash taxes and duties for Gulf Energy to enable its development in the Turkana oil fields?

Youth, Women, and the surge in tenders

By Fred Obura

Government contracts for youth, women, and persons with disabilities have surged in Kenya, nearly doubling over the past two years, according to new KNBS data. The gains, led by women-owned businesses and county-level youth contracts, reflect a broader rebound in public procurement rather than a systematic overhaul of empowerment programs. Persons with disabilities remain on the margins, highlighting persistent structural barriers despite policy intentions. The pattern suggests that fiscal cycles continue to drive who wins government tenders.

Read about it here>>>>>

After Eleven Years, A Profit…

By Harry Njuguna

Uchumi’s first operating profit in eleven years has triggered an outsized rally in a stock still anchored to a fragile, rent-driven turnaround.

Financial Snapshot:

🟢 Operating profit came in at KSh 8.8 million, swinging from a KSh 49.7 million loss last year.

🟢 Revenue rose 88% to KSh 123 million, while rental income, including from China Square, remained the retailer’s strongest cash source.

🟢 Gross profit reached KSh 27.7 million, and other income climbed to KSh 62.7 million,

🟢 Under its Company Voluntary Arrangement, Uchumi settled KSh 232.5 million of the KSh 245.9 million planned in the current phase.

Read the full financial analysis here »»»»»

INSIGHT : Investing in Africa’s Future Through Private Equity

By Chelsy Maina

Africa, we’re told again and again, is on the brink of something transformative, though the capital meant to fuel that transformation still arrives in hesitant trickles rather than confident waves. Private equity, which elsewhere strides in as a force of discipline and expansion, remains oddly tentative on the continent held back as much by old myths as by real structural flaws. Even so, a new ecosystem is slowly cohering; one shaped by tech founders solving local problems, by patient funds hunting long-term value, and by the growing realization that the continent’s future won’t be financed from abroad alone.

Read the article here >>>>>

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OPINION: Tanzania's Excise Duties on Imports Risk EAC Trade Integration

By Dr. Kirimi Wanjagi

Tanzania’s recent excise duties on imports from fellow East African states have stirred a familiar unease along the region’s borders, as trucks idled for hours while commerce caught in the crossfire. What looks like a routine fiscal tweak may test the very promise of East African integration, highlighting how fragile the ideal of a seamless single market can be. Legal precedent from Kenya shows that the East African Court of Justice is willing to step in when national policies threaten regional trade, though politics often complicate swift resolution. The coming weeks may reveal whether the region’s legal mechanisms can uphold the common market, or whether protectionist instincts will quietly chip away at the EAC’s long-standing vision.