🔑 Dr Bosun Tijani speaks on NIN slips being purchased for N100

Today’s Menu ☕️

🔑 Dr Bosun Tijani speaks on NIN slips being purchased for N100
💵 Kenya President withdraws planned tax hikes after deadly protests 
🦏 Radioactive Device on Rhino Horns Rolled Out to Fight Poaching
📲 Kenya’s Mobile Money Sector Soars After Removal of Airtel-M-Pesa Transfer Barriers
🔍 Google is killing infinite scroll on search results

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🔑 IDENTITY MANAGEMENT

Dr Bosun Tijani speaks on NIN slips being purchased for N100

Dr. Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, has officially responded to reports concerning the alleged purchase of his National Identification Number (NIN) slip for N100 on a now-defunct website.

Paradigm Initiative, a civil society organization, raised alarm that some unauthorised websites were claiming to hold and provide access to sensitive personal and financial data of Nigerian citizens for as little as 100 Naira. NIMC then officially issued a press statement mentioned 5 websites that are involved in unauthorized data harvesting.

“First, I have engaged my colleague, the Minister of Interior, who supervises the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and I am aware that his ministry and the agency are on top of the matter. Second, the @ndpcngr, a year old agency under my supervision as minister, has over the last few months created data compliance mechanisms for all MDAs and has since started a thorough investigation as to the circumstances surrounding this alleged breach.”

The Minister went further to add that “Having established that, I do believe that it is important to share the proactive steps I have taken upon appointment to help strengthen technology application in government, despite the historical siloed approach to procurement and development.”....……continue reading

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💵 TAXES

Kenya President withdraws planned tax hikes after deadly protests

Kenya President William Ruto announced on Wednesday that he will halt the proposed tax hikes following significant public opposition. The decision comes after widespread protests against the plan to raise $2.3 billion in new levies resulted in the deaths of at least 23 individuals.

The decision will be seen as a significant victory for the week-old, youth-led protest movement, which evolved from online criticisms of tax increases into mass rallies calling for a political overhaul. This has been the most severe crisis in Ruto’s two-year presidency. Despite Ruto’s concession, some protesters indicated on social media that they would proceed with a planned rally on Thursday, with many reiterating their demands for his resignation.

According to the President in a televised address with lawmakers, “Listening keenly to the people of Kenya who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this finance bill 2024, I concede. And therefore, I will not sign the 2024 finance bill, and it shall subsequently be withdrawn.”....…....continue reading

🦏 WILDLIFE PRESERVATION

Radioactive Device on Rhino Horns Rolled Out to Fight Poaching

Beckham, a 1.7 ton rhino named after the English footballer, on Tuesday had a radioactive pellet drilled into his horn as a program to discourage poaching of the endangered animals in South Africa scales up. 

The Rhisotope Project, which is being run by Johannesburg’s University of the Witwatersrand, is just one of a number of ways ranging from staining horns with dye to cutting them off that conservationists in the country with the world’s biggest rhino population are seeking to protect the animals. It has the added advantage in that horns implanted with the pellets could be detected as they pass through borders, airports and harbors.

The aim of the project, which this week installed the pellets in the horns of a large group of rhinos for the first time at an orphanage for the animals a three-hour drive north east of Johannesburg, is to make them unattractive to poachers. Since 2008 more than 10,000 rhinos have been killed illegally in South Africa, their horns sawn off and sold illicitly in east Asia where they are displayed as a sign of wealth, given as gifts and are erroneously thought to cure cancer......…....continue reading

📲 MOBILE MONEY

Kenya’s Mobile Money Sector Soars After Removal of Airtel-M-Pesa Transfer Barriers

Kenya’s mobile money landscape has experienced a significant boost, with subscriber numbers surging to 38.7 million following the removal of withdrawal codes for transactions between Airtel Money and M-Pesa. This positive development, highlighted in the Communications Authority of Kenya‘s (CA) latest report, signifies a major step towards seamless interoperability and enhanced convenience for mobile money users.

Previously, Airtel Money users faced the inconvenience of having to withdraw cash within seven days of receiving funds from M-Pesa or risk having the money returned to the sender. This cumbersome process hindered the smooth flow of transactions between the two dominant mobile money platforms. However, the recent policy change by the CA, in line with the Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) National Payment Strategy, has eliminated this barrier, allowing for direct and hassle-free transfers between M-Pesa and Airtel Money.......…....continue reading

OTHER STORIES

• Google dropping continuous scroll in search results. Google Search will stop its continuous scroll user experience where Google loads more results as you scroll past the first page of the search results. Instead, you will see see the classic and old pagination bar at the footer of the Google Search results…..read more

• Starlink multiplies Kenya’s satellite internet user base tenfold in one year. In less than a year since its introduction to the Kenyan market in July 2023, Starlink, the satellite internet service owned by Elon Musk, has witnessed a remarkable surge in its user base, growing by more than ten times……read more

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