As Mumias Sugar engineers an ambitious recovery, its top managers are set to be fired and prosecuted for gross mismanagement of the firm. Strikingly, the expected prosecutions are to include both current and former managers. Agriculture Secretary Felix Koskei, says that an elaborate plan to revive the firm, including immediate replacement of top management, months after audit firm KPMG unearthed major scandals that forced the country’s largest miller to its knees.

“The legal process has taken its course on each and every individual that has been found culpable in whatever manner on what has brought Mumias Sugar to its knees,” Mr Koskei wrote.

Already, the firm has announced vacancies to head all departments – almost seven months since chief executive Peter Kebati and commercial director Paul Murgor were fired. The duo were involved in criminal activities including illegal sugar importation in a scam that cost Mumias Sugar more than Sh1.1 billion. No charges have been brought before the two, while we could not determine if any progress had been made on threats of surcharging them.

But yesterday’s decision to sack even more executives was reached after years of investigation into the collapse of the miller by the agriculture committee of the National Assembly. A final report is, however, yet to be tabled amid claims of a split in the committee orchestrated by people who were implicated in the scandal, several committee members have told ‘The Standard’ in separate interviews.

In an attempt to show fresh resolve, Mr Koskei added that the State would ‘not watch as they walk free and enjoy ill-gotten wealth’ in his threat. He, however, did not reveal any names, but was specific about a board directive to replace top managers. “The Mumias Sugar board has already approved the advertisement and recruitment of staff with requisite competences, work ethics and culture to drive the company back to where we would all want to see it.”

Towards turning around the fortunes of the firm, Mr Koskei said that the State had come up with a bouquet of measures that would reverse the miller from the downward spiral it is on. Among them is a Sh500 million bailout that would be released within the week to enable the firm in settling its current overheads.

Mumias Sugar has sunk to its lowest, turning losses for successive years and losing more than half of its market share locally. In just two years, the miller has reported Sh4.3 billion in cumulative losses – attributing the poor performance to illegal imports of sugar that complicated its marketing. Even with the claims from the management and board, Parliament had evidence that the Mumias Sugar bosses were culpable in the very fraud.

Many people realize that taking the plunge into working from home can be a considerable boon to their lifestyles, thanks to unconventional work hours and the solitude of one’s personal life.

Here are some critical best practices to help new home workers get the most out of their newfound freedom.

1) Create a dedicated workspace. This is an important step since you’ll want to ensure no distractions while you’re working. Some benefits of homing yourself amid paper stacks and dust bunnies include:

• No one will bother you with requests to eat or watch TV.

• You can put on your pajamas if you want, or not bother to shower.

2) Establish boundaries for work time vs. home time. While it’s essential to regularly interact with friends and family to keep your personal life thriving, it should go without saying that work time is for WORK, and you should not be giving out work advice or pitching in with house chores while the clock’s ticking.

3) Set up a schedule for yourself. If you want to make sure you get enough sleep, don’t fall into the trap of staying up past your bedtime in a trance of Excel sheets.

4) Make sure you have a dedicated phone line for work calls. And don’t give out the number to anyone who isn’t expecting it. Otherwise, you’re going to start getting prank faxes and pizzas on your front porch.

5) You MUST take breaks! Sitting in front of a computer all day is not suitable for your health. While taking one too many bathroom breaks in the office might make you hip-checked into a supply cabinet by your officemate, there’s no reason to let that happen at home when you can take an extra-long break in the privacy of your potty.

6) Avoid gorging on meals during work hours. It’s easy to lose track of time when you’re lost in the rhythm of a delicious meal, but it will only make your belly feel bloated and not your brain feel clever.

7) Schedule time for exercise! You should try biking or running to the office every morning, either before you start working or at lunch – it will keep your blood flowing and fuel up those brain cells.

8) Don’t forget to have fun! At home, you don’t have the boss hovering over your shoulder, so you can finally relax! Try playing video games or doing something nice for yourself, like watching TV or eating ice cream.

[nasonga.com]

The Standard: Things have gone south between ‘miracle’ Pastor James Maina Ng’ang’a of Neno Evangelism and his estranged wife Loise Murugi. In fact, his estranged wife has decided to wash the family’s dirty linen in court, dismissing the man of cloth as an abusive and adulterous drunk. In a child support case filed on September 2 last year at the Milimani Children’s Court in Nairobi, Loise Murugi Maina accuses the flamboyant pastor of assaulting her physically and not providing for their child. Murugi, who is seeking Sh535,000 monthly in child upkeep for their one-year-old daughter, claims she has no job to support herself and their daughter. She describes Pastor Ng’ang’a as a man of means renowned for his lavish lifestyle and who would not have any problem coming up with the amount she is seeking.

Pastor Nga’ng’a on the other hand accuses Murugi of deserting their matrimonial home without notice and denying him access to his daughter whom he fears will not be brought up “with proper moral values.”

The two were married on June 30, 2012. Murugi describes how life changed from paradise to hell: “In church, I took the position of an apostle’s wife, helping him with the service and managing church affairs. It is at this time that I started to experience a change in his attitude towards me.” She claims that she was surprised when she found out who the real Pastor Ng’ang’a was. “He was a drunkard and very abusive towards me, to the extent of insulting my parents. I also later learnt that he was adulterous, sleeping with staff and even bringing married women to our matrimonial bed,” Murugi claims in the court documents.

She took issue with the pastor’s alleged behaviour of texting and calling other women while in the house, which she claims caused her emotional pain. In addition, she alleges that whenever she confronted Ng’ang’a with her concerns, he would become very hostile and occasionally threaten her. She claims that the pastor would later try to calm her by apologising and blaming his behaviour and attitude on alcohol and the devil. “We would then pray together and I trusted that things would change,” Murugi adds.

According to Murugi, the marriage nosedived when they were traveling to China for her sister’s graduation last year. Pastor Ng’ang’a allegedly started insulting her on the plane, and later on abandoned her and her mother at the airport. She alleges that Ng’ang’a later sent her a message bragging he had done shopping worth Sh3 million and that he did not care about the graduation. Five days after the graduation, Pastor Ng’ang’a reportedly called her to apologise for the ill treatment towards.

Murugi claims that one day, she found him drinking and they disagreed, resulting in a brawl. She said that after the incident, she received a text message threatening her not to go back home. “True to his word, he had changed the door locks to deny me access into the house. I was forced to go back with our child to my mother’s house,” said Murugi.

Murugi adds that when they later met over the incident, Pastor Ng’ang’a reportedly got drunk and beat her. She claims that she left the house on August 3 last year and drove off with her then six months old daughter’s clothes in the family car. She then adds that she surrendered the car to police officers who had been sent by Ng’ang’a to collect it. But in a counter suit, Pastor Ng’ang’a claims Murugi deserted their matrimonial home and took off with their daughter, whom he claims has not seen since.

In his suit, Pastor Ng’ang’a asks the court to grant him custody of the baby, saying it is in the interest of the child because she has been denied fatherly love, care, control and supervision.
“I have exhausted all avenues to try and resolve this matter. I pray that I be allowed to take care of the child without any interference from Murugi,” reads the evangelist’s affidavit. But Murugi in her papers is of the view that Ng’ang’a is not competent to be granted custody.

“He is an abusive man, a drunkard and a man who lacks good moral grounding as he has no respect for any one, not even my own mother. He mistreats his children and even brings women to his house. This has resulted in his children being stressed and adopting a ‘don’t-care’ attitude that I would not wish for my child,” writes Murugi in her suit.

Wealth like time is relative; a rich man from Nakuru is equivalent to pauper living in Davos. A Kenyan millionaire is nothing but a middle class employee working in New York. To fully grasp my point, check out the Forbes Rich list, out of a thousand five hundred billionaires, 1553 to be exact, no not one is a Kenyan. So much for the high and mighty.

That being said, once in a while society spits out an entrepreneur extraordinaire who accumulates a Solomonic level of wealth that even billionaires look like normal folks compared to him.

The list of the ten richest compiled by businessinsider, is based on scholarly estimates and adjusted for inflation, includes entrepreneurs, warriors, and robber barons. We did not include monarchs, whose vast wealth is considered public.

#10 Stephen Girard

Peak fortune: $105 billion

Source of wealth: Successful in the shipping trade, he was a French-born American merchant that went into the banking business later in his life, owning a bank that was called “Girard’s Bank”.

Estimate from economist Peter Bernstein via Forbes, adjusted for inflation.

#9 Richard Fitzalan 10th Earl of Arundel

Peak fortune: $108 billion

Source of wealth: The Earl of Arundel and quite the military leader. He fought in the Scottish Independence wars and in the Hundred Years’ War. Subsequent Earls of Arundel — his sons — would make this list, but we’re only counting that money once.

Estimate from historian William Rubensteinvia The Times, converted to dollars at average rate since ’07 (1:1.7) and adjusted for inflation.

#8 John Jacob Astor

Peak fortune: $121 billion

Source of wealth: A successful fur trader, he established a near monopoly within the U.S. by around 1800. He subsequently switched trades and went on to investing in real estate, focusing on New York City.

Estimate from economist Peter Bernstein via Forbes, adjusted for inflation.

#7 William de Warenne

Peak fortune: $134 billion

Source of wealth: Originally from Normandy, William I de Warenneparticipated in the battle of Hastings and was rewarded with properties in Sussex, Northfolk and Yorkshire. He became the first Earl of Surrey.

Estimate from historian William Rubensteinvia The Times, converted to dollars at average rate since ’07 (1:1.7) and adjusted for inflation.

#6 Bill Gates

Peak fortune: $136 billion

Source of wealth: Founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975. He held onto shares as Microsoft dominated the age of computers, peaking in personal wealth at the top of the Dot Com Bubble.

Estimate from wide-spread reports of a $101 billion net worth for a period in 1999, adjusted for inflation.

#5 Alan Rufus

Fortune: $149 billion

Source of wealth: A Norman who joined William The Conqueror in the invasion of Britain in the 11th century, Alan “The Red” had 250,000 acres of land from Yorkshire to London. He also owned Richmond Castle in North Yorkshire, which, for the time, was considered very comfortable.

Estimate from historian William Rubensteinvia The Times, converted to dollars at average rate since ’07 (1:1.7) and adjusted for inflation.

#4 Cornelius Vanderbilt

Fortune: $185 billion

Source of wealth: In 1862, he began to buy railroad lines. Although already 70 years old, his wealth mostly comes from this business of the 19th century. Prior to that, he was known as a cold-blooded steam-boat entrepreneur.

Estimate comes from economist Peter Bernstein via Forbes, adjusted for inflation.

#3 William The Conqueror

Peak fortune: $209 billion

Source of wealth: Was called 0William the Bastard until he led the last successful foreign invasion of England in 1066. Although he became a monarch, we’re counting the spoils of war before he took the throne, based on what he gave out to his sons Odo and Robert.

Estimate from historian William Rubensteinvia The Times, converted to dollars at average rate since ’07 (1:1.7) and adjusted for inflation.

#2 Andrew Carnegie

Fortune: $309 billion

Source of wealth: Carnegie invested in the steel business when the market was booming, eventually ending up at the head of the U.S. Steel empire.

Estimate comes from economist Peter Bernstein via Forbes, adjusted for inflation.

#1 John D. Rockefeller

Fortune: $336 billion

Source of wealth: He founded Standard Oil in 1870, at the age of 31, and bought up most of the oil refineries in the United States, eventually controlling about 90% of the American oil business.

Estimate comes from economist Peter Bernstein via Forbes, adjusted for inflation.

Are you looking for a job in the Banking Industry? Well, Unaitas is looking to hire Teller and Credit officers. Here are the job details:

Unaitas is looking to hire both Diploma and Degree holders.

Teller Clerks

They are looking for Teller Clerks who will be responsible for the daily cash and non-cash transactions’ postings. To qualify for this position, you need to have a degree in:

Banking, Accounting, Finance, Micro-Finance, Entrepreneurship, Co-operative Management, Business Management or Economics.

A B (Plain) in KCSE.

Computer literacy,

Integrity and ability to be a team player are highly required.

Credit Officers

The responsibilities under Credit Officers shall include daily co-ordination of the lending function in the branch.

To qualify, applicants should hold:

A diploma in banking, Micro-finance, Co-operative Management, Entrepreneurship, Business Management or CPA.

Applicants should also have a minimum of two years working experience in credit/ financial institution and good understanding of the financial sector.

To apply, send your CV to: [email protected]