Contamination of crops with fumonisin leads to huge losses in cereals and negatively impacts on human health, animal productivity and international trade. Management of fumonisin contamination in maize has been a challenge since there are no effective management measures for Fusarium ear rots and lack of resistant maize varieties. This study was conducted with the objective of determining the efficacy of Aflasafe KE01 on the population of Fusarium species and fumonisin contamination of maize. The study was carried out in Wote, Kaiti, Kathiani and Nzambani sub counties of Makueni, Kitui and Machakos Counties, respectively. Twenty four maize fields were selected in each of the sub county where 12 fields were treated with Aflasafe KE01, while 12 fields comprised the untreated controls. The formulation comprised of four atoxigenic Aspergillus flavus on sterile sorghum seeds. Aflasafe KE01 was applied at a rate of 5 kg/ha and 10kg/ha by hand broadcasting in the maize fields two to three weeks before tussling of the maize. Soil samples were collected from each field prior to application of Aflasafe while maize grain samples were collected at harvest. Fusarium species were isolated from the ground maize and soil samples using pour plate method following serial dilution on low strength potato dextrose agar (PDA) and Spezieller Nahrstoffarmer Agar (SNA). Fusarium species growing were identified based on their cultural and morphological characteristics such as septation and sporophores, spore shape, pigmentation, mycelia color and colony pigmentation. Fumonisin in the maize samples was determined using Accuscan Pro-reader enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The Fusarium species isolated from soil and maize samples at high frequency were F. verticillioides, F. proliferatum, F. chlamydosporum, F. merismoides, F. semitectum and F. oxysporum. Fusarium verticillioides was isolated at highest frequencies across the four sub counties. Maize samples from Aflasafe KE01 treated maize fields had significantly lower population of the Fusarium species compared to untreated maize fields across all the four sub counties. The mean incidence of F. verticillioides was 43% and 40.9% in the maize grains sampled from fields treated with Aflasafe KE01 at the rate 5 kg/ha and 10kg/ha, respectively; while the control fields corresponding to the 5 kg/ha and 10kg/ha application rates had mean incidences of 63% and 54.8%, respectively. There was significant reduction of up to 68.7% in the fumonisin levels in maize samples from Aflasafe KE01 treated compared to the untreated maize fields. The population of Fusarium species and fumonisin levels were significantly different among the study areas following Aflasafe KE01 application. About 62.5% of the maize fields treated with 5kg/ha of Aflasafe KE01 met the European commission regulatory threshold of ≤2ppmfor total fumonisin as compared to about 45% from the control fields. The results showed that application of Aflasafe KE01 effectively displaced the toxigenic Fusarium species in maize resulting in reduction of fumonisin in the maize from the Aflasafe KE01 treated fields by up to 68% compared to samples from untreated fields. This indicates that Aflasafe KE01 is a potential biopesticide for the biocontrol of Fusarium species and fumonisin production in maize. Efficacy of Aflasafe KE01 on reducing fumonisin contamination of other key staples in Kenya should be evaluated. Key words: Fusarium species, fumonisins, Aflasafe KE01, maize, atoxigenic Aspergillus sp.

Value Chain management is a powerful tool an organization can utilize for the attainment and sustenance of competitive advantage. This revelation informs the firm’s crafting and implementing of a competitive strategy in a bid to acquire an admirable competitive position in the sector. Several theories and studies have advanced that a superior competitive advantage can be attained by disaggregating the firm into strategically significant activities and thereby understanding how each functions.With these imperatives known, the study sought to examine how Value Chain is managed for Competitive advantage at KIWASCO Limited. The study objectives were to determine the Value Chain Management practices and to establish how the firm manages its Value Chain to achieve a Competitive advantage. Among studies done in Strategic management, the focus was on Value Chain analysis and Competitive advantage in different contexts. Few of the studies revealed how the Value Chains are managed to achieve a Competitive Advantage. The planning and development of this research study was to fill this gap. The study adopted a case study as a research methodology in order to gain a deeper understanding of the firm’s Value Chain activities. Both primary and secondary data was collected. Primary data was obtained by the use of an interview guide and secondary data from organizational and sector specific documents.Such as the strategic plan,annual work plans and maintenance schedules. Due to the qualitative nature of data received content analysis was best suited for analysis with a pointer on the study objectives. The study established that KIWASCO has dissagregated its key business functions into value generating activities.The findings of the study revealed that sources of competitive advantage are inherent in the firm’s value chain management practices. Porter’s generic value chain model was resourceful in determining the VCM practices.Technology and development was found to bekey in value creation and competitive advantage. KIWASCO has automated its key value chain processes to ensure efficacy inservice delivery.Physical and soft infrastructural development within coverage areas accorded the firm seamless distribution channels, outbound logistics and marketing activities. Firm infrastructure, good corporate governance practices and partnerships with other stakeholders like donors and development partners enabled the firm to access technical and financial assistance. Personnel management applied practices like recruitment and selection which were found to be highly competitive ensuring the right people at the right jobs. The study recommends that KIWASCO should explore more robust initiatives in managing its value chain for competitive advantage. Such initiatives have to do with policy issues and expertise consultations. This study is particularly useful to KIWASCO’s management, policy formulation and implementation teams. Being a case study focusing on one WSP in Kenya.Future researchers should target more firms in the sector to enable generalization of findings and recommendation. Future studies should also consider contemporary Value chain models to factor in other crucial organizational aspects like leadership, corporate culture and people.

Across the world governments are transforming public organizations services in order to provide services that are customer centered, cost-efficient and user friendly. With Huduma Centres, the Government of Kenya has transformed public service delivery to the citizens. This research examined initiatives to enhance electronic government services in public organizations in Kenya using the case of Huduma Postal City Square in Nairobi. Objectives included to: establish the extent to which electronic government services are provided at Huduma Centres, explore the perception of customers towards electronic government services provided at Huduma Centres; investigate problems encountered by the customers in access and use of electronic government services at Huduma Centres; and determine the strategies to improve access and provision of electronic government services at Huduma Centres. The study used both qualitative and quantitative research methods to provide descriptive data from the case study of Huduma Posta City Square. Total target population incorporated in this research process was 298 respondents with 278 being customers and 20 staff members. Random and purposive samplings were used to choose the respondents for data collection purposes. Questionnaires and interviews were the tools used to gather data and information from the respondents whose results were presented in tables. The study revealed that electronic government services are accessed and provided at Huduma Centres included online applications for certificates such as marriage, licenses passports, and visa, business name search and registration, online payment system, information search on land matters information search for government services and information search on career, employment, education. The study revealed that majority of the citizens has a positive perception towards electronic government services provided at Huduma Centres. Huduma centres have eased service delivery by the government to its people. Huduma services has enhanced equitable treatment of citizens, promoted greater transparency in service delivery, fostered greater convenience and access to information and reduced bureaucracy. The study concluded that there are a number of challenges that affect access and use of electronic government services at Huduma Centres. Among the challenges include privacy issues, connectivity breakdown, lack of reliability of information, lack of awareness, slow speed of internet, lack of equality in public access to internet, lack of interconnectivity between government departments and high cost of internet. The study recommended that in order for the government to enhance provision of electronic government services at Huduma Centres, there is need to enhance the country's computer knowledge provision and internet penetration. Further the government needs to establish more Huduma Centres and increase the number of services provided at each centre. More importantly, since the virtually all services have been digitized, it is recommended that the government should ensure that there are strong internet connections within the centre to enhance service efficiency; this may be achieved by seeking the services of internet providers who are capable of providing high speed internet. The government should also keep training employees on customer service in order to improve the quality of services that the government provides to citizen.

Drylands account for more than a third of the world's land area and are characterized by less than 250 mm of rainfall per year. In these regions, groundwater is a strategic resource and plays a key role in economic development, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where it is responsible for improving livelihoods. Lodwar town depends primarily on a poorly studied groundwater system for its municipal water supplies. The aim of this research was to establish the sustainability of this aquifer system through a comprehensive study of its hydrogeological characteristics, sensitivity to climate variability, and the influence of natural and anthropogenic processes, all of which are currently unknown yet critical for its sustainable management. The methods used were: detailed geological mapping and rock analysis (petrography and X-ray fluorescence); remote sensing (digital elevation models and vegetation cover maps) and drone mapping of Lodwar town for stream lineament analysis; evaluation of borehole drilling datasets including yields, static water levels, water rest levels, drawdowns, transmissivities, and borehole depth; geophysical surveys involving vertical electrical soundings for evaluation of the hydrogeological characteristics; aquifer hydrogeochemistry of surface (river, scoop holes, water pans) and groundwater, where field measurements included pH, Temp, and EC using hand-held Combo Tester HI98129 while, turbidity, total hardness, alkalinity, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na, K+, Fe2+, Mn2+, Cl-, F-, HCO3-, SO42- and CO32- NO3-, NO2- were measured at the Water Resources Central Laboratory based standard analytical procedures. Furthermore, stable isotopic analyses of oxygen-18, deuterium and tritium in water samples was done at Elemtex Lab, United Kingdom to establish the rainfall-surface water-groundwater interactions, groundwater age and recharge sources. The multifaceted dataset was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), the software PHREEQC for analysis of the water chemistry data, and all together, to develop the first conceptual aquifer model for this system. The findings of this research revealed that Lodwar and its surroundings are underpinned by three different and interconnected freshwater (<1000μS/cm) aquifers (shallow alluvial aquifer (SAA), the intermediate aquifer (IA) and the deep aquifer (DA)) that are collectively referred to as the Lodwar Alluvial Aquifer System (LAAS). The fourth, the Turkana Grit Shallow Aquifer (TGSA), is highly saline with electrical conductivity > 5000μS/cm and fluoride values between 2.20 to 18.74 mg/L. The dominant water types are: Ca-HCO3 (SAA and Turkwel river), Na-HCO3 (IA), Ca-HCO3 (Napuu Bh) and Na-HCO3 (DA) and NaCl (TGSA). The petrographical, geochemical, isotopic and inferential statistical analyses indicate that rock-water interaction, Turkwel river recharge, and oxidation reactions control the SAA chemistry, while dissolution and evaporation are key factors affecting TGSA. The dominant processes in the IA include dissolution, ion exchange, and dilution. Elevated concentrations of NO3- and SO42- in the wet as compared to the dry seasons, but still within WHO recommended limits, tritium values ranging from 1.10 to 2.24 in the SAA, IA and DA, and the isotopic values of surface water and groundwater, reflect strong links to modern rainfall and the Turkwel river, indicating that the LAAS is highly susceptibility to climate variability and pollution. The decreasing d-excess values from the SAA (2.18‰) to the intermediate aquifer (-6.81‰) and TGSA (-8.14‰) indicate that they are interlinked and isotope fractionation occurs during the lateral groundwater flow away from the Turkwel River. The study has attributed recharge of the LAAS to diffuse recharge by the Turkwel River and from the surface water of the Kawalase River during the wet season, as well as direct infiltration during rainfall events. This study provides comprehensive approaches for investigating the groundwater resources in data-scarce regions for their sustainable use and management.

Bovine mastitis is one of the most important global diseases of cattle in which it adversely affects animal and human health, quality and quantity of milk, and the economics of almost every country. Despite the global challenge of bovine mastitis, studies on prevalence, bacterial diversity of mastitis-causing pathogens, risk factors and antibiotic resistance profiles of the isolate in dairy cows in Kenya remain limited. This cross-sectional study was undertaken in Embu and Kajiado counties of Kenya with the following objectives; (1) To determine the prevalence of clinical and subclinical mastitis in dairy cows, (2) To isolate and characterize the bacterial communities from clinical and subclinical mastitic cow milk using culture and 16S rRNA metagenomics analysis, (3) To establish the phenotypic and genotypic antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of the isolates (4) To determine the risk factors associated with subclinical mastitis in dairy cows. The study was conducted among 395 randomly selected dairy cows from 154 smallholder farms. In each of the farms, a semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data on mastitis management practices and cow level risk factors associated with mastitis. A total of 1574 milk samples were aseptically collected from each mammary quarter of the 395 cows. Six quarters were blocked and hence did not produce any milk. The milk was initially checked for clinical mastitis and screened for subclinical mastitis using the California Mastitis Test (CMT) before being analyzed for bacterial infection using standard bacterial culture methods. Sixty-six (66) mastitic milk samples based on their culture results were selected and further analyzed using 16S rRNA metagenomics analysis to further understand their bacterial diversity. Additionally, phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility profiles for Staphylococcus species(n=183), Streptococcus species (n=22) Escherichia coli (n=12), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=19) were determined against 10 antimicrobial drugs using the disc diffusion method. Investigation of seven resistance genes to the various antimicrobial drugs was further done on the 183 Staphylococcus isolates using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and partial sequencing. Overall, the farm-level, cow-level and quarter-level prevalence of mastitis were at 76.6% (118/154), 80.0% (316/395) and 67.8% (1068/1574) respectively. Of the mastitic cows, 8.5% (27/316) were clinical and 91.4% (289/316) had subclinical mastitis. On culture, eight genera of bacteria were identified where Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CNS) at 42.8% (435/1016) were the most prevalent bacteria. Twenty percent, (217/1068) of the mastitic milk samples yielded no bacterial growth on aerobic culture-based methods. Failure to milk mastitic cow last (p=0.04) and previous history of mastitis (p=0.03) were significantly associated with subclinical mastitis. Alpha and beta diversity comparison showed that there were no significant differences in bacterial number and diversities in mastitic milk from quarters based on the region, clinical/subclinical status and culture growth status. Genera level analysis using 16S rRNA metagenomics analysis revealed that 11 genera dominated by Pseudomonas (2.6%-83.8%) were shared among the three categories. An increased relative abundance of some phyla and genera which could not be identified using standard culture methods such as Chlamydiae, Mycoplasma and Solibacillus in culture-negative mastitic milk were also reported. Overall, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among the staphylococci ranged between 3.5% (8/183) for fluoroquinolones and 66.1% (121/183) for ampicillin. Strikingly, 25.0% (23/91) of S. aureus and 10.8% (10/92) of the Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CNS) isolates, were methicillinresistant staphylococci (MRS) phenotypically. Among the Streptococcus species AMR ranged between 31.8% (7/22) for ampicillin and zero for fluoroquinolones, E. coli showed the highest phenotypic resistance to ampicillin at 75.0% (9/12) while no resistance to fluoroquinolones. Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed the highest phenotypic resistance in cefaclor 89.5% (17/19) while lower resistance was reported in ciprofloxacin 5.3% (1/19). Unexpectedly 13.6% (3/22) vancomycin-resistant streptococci and 21.0% (4/19) carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates were reported in this study. Higher multidrug resistance (MDR) was present in 66.0% (8/12), 78.9% (15/19) of the E. coli and P. aeruginosa isolates respectively. The most common antimicrobial resistant genes in S. aureus and CNS was blaZ at 44.3% (35/79) and 75.3% (55/73) respectively. This study shows a high prevalence of subclinical mastitis both at the farm and animal levels. Both the clinical and subclinical mastitis were predominantly associated with Coagulasenegative Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas species based on culture and 16S rRNA metagenomics analysis respectively. There was an increased relative abundance of some bacterial phyla and genera which could not be identified using standard culture-based methods in culture-negative mastitic milk implying the usefulness of using more sensitive techniques in the diagnosis of mastitis. There is a need to improve on management of the dairy farms through culling of cows with a previous history of mastitis, use of individual udder drying towels, and milking mastitic cows last as control measures for mastitis. The bacterial isolates revealed high resistance to betalactams with high blaZ genes being detected in staphylococci signifying a public health concern and a challenge to bovine mastitis therapy hence the need to prevent the emergence and control the spread of AMR in dairy farms. This is the first study to report on the presence, methicillin-resistant Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa and vancomycinresistant Streptococcus in cow mastitic milk from Kenyan dairy farms and therefore further monitoring is recommended.

While every organization has to set out a vision, they also have to come up with strategies that align with it with an aim of improving productivity and performance, increasing competitiveness, decreasing costs and improving quality. Strategic management techniques, in particular, have been described as critical for increased output and competitiveness because they boost productivity in terms of production and apportionment of goods and services within the enterprise. The banking industry has adopted insular processes of business process redesign, rebranding and transformation. To ensure both survival and success, banks should employ strategic management practices that strive to maintain a constant balance between the firm and the market environment. The study sought to establish the effects of strategic management practices on performance of banks in Kenya in reference to SBM Bank Kenya. The study focused on the effects of strategic intent, strategic planning, strategy evaluation, environmental scanning, and strategy control on the performance of banks. The study was anchored on dynamic capabilities theory and supported by the resource-based theory (RBV) and contingency theory. A case study design was adopted. The study used both primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected using interview guides. The research data and information was collected from the nine senior management at Kenya SBM Bank including the director of sales and marketing, director of operations, director of supply chains, director of information system, director of customer service, director of finance and director of human resources. A conceptual content analysis was employed. The interviewees' perspectives on the impact of strategic management practices on bank performance in Kenya, with a focus on SBM Bank Kenya, was analyzed using content analysis to extract common themes or data from the various responses received. The study found that the strategies used in the banks included commissioning right products to maximize stakeholders returns, crafting a holistic mission and vision statement that is shared to all staff compliment and clearly displayed to both internal and external prospects, and partnering with other bodies /corporates to support in strategy awareness. Also, the study found that the bank deals with unforeseen market economic changes that may distort the actualization of the plans by: continuing to survey the plans each quarter to make changes educated by market and working climate changes. The study also found the strategies have been greatly applied and achieved through profit margins to an extraordinary reach out in choppiness circumstances such as presently. The study also found that managers ensure that the strategy is consistent with conditions in the competitive environment through continuous measurement of strategy – performance and alignment of initiatives vs. strategic plan. The study also found that the bank enhances communication of information about organizational change before and after about organizational developments through active staff engagement using KIP sessions. The study concluded that strategic intent, strategic planning, strategy evaluation, environmental scanning, and strategy control affect the performance of banks. The study recommends that top management in banks to ensure that they support any implementation taking place in the organization. The study also recommends banks to embrace effective and efficient forms/channels of communication.

The study investigated 1) the effect of in vitro pre-treatment of sunflower meal (SM) and wheat middlings (WM) using fiber degrading enzymes (FDE) without or with protease on mono-sugars release, organic acid concentration (SCFA), organic matter solubilisation, protein solubilization and apparent disappearance (AD) of neutral detergent fiber (NDF). Each feedstuff was mixed with 1% of FDE without or with protease in a ratio of 1:4 wt/wt for feedstuff:water, incubated for 24h and 48h at 40˚C, and freeze-dried. 2) Impact of the inclusion of pre-treated sunflower (TSM) and wheat middling (TWM) in a maize-soybean meal (MSBM) ration on growth performance, tibia attributes, apparent retention (AR) of components and caecal sugars and short-chain fatty acids production. A total of 288 Ross-708 d old male broiler chicks were placed in cages (6 birds/cage) based on body weight (BW) and allocated to 6 diets in a completely randomized design giving 8 replicates per diet. The diets were: I) PC, a MSBM, positive control (PC), II) NC, PC plus untreated sunflower meal (USM) and wheat middling (UWM), and III) 4 test diets in which USM and UWM were replaced with TSM and TWM at 25% (N25), 50% (N50), 75% (N75) and 100% (N100). For pre-treatment, each feedstuff was mixed with 1% of FDE in a ratio of 1:2 wt/wt for feedstuff:water, incubated for 24h at 40˚C, and oven-dried. All diets had titanium dioxide (0.3%) for AR determination. The body weight (BW), feed intake (FI), and mortality were recorded. Excreta was collected and frozen (-20℃). The data were subjected to PROC GLIMMIX of SAS 9.4, and LS means were separated using the Tukey test (P<0.05). The analyses of freeze-dried samples showed improved in-vitro solubilisation of organic matter, increased mono-sugars, organic acids concentration, protein solubilization, and AD of NDF in both SM and WM. Analyses of oven-dried samples showed that pre-treatment increased soluble protein (SP) and decreased neutral detergent protein (NDF-P) and NDF in TWM. Compared to 2 USM, TSM had less SP while NDF-P and NDF were greater. The overall BW and BW gain (BWG) of NC were lesser than PC throughout the study (P ≤0.001). The N75 and N100 BW and BW gain were less than PC (P ≤0.001) throughout the trial. Overall feed intake was not different during the starter, finisher, and overall period (P ≥0.217) relative to PC and NC. Also, feed conversion ratios were not different throughout the study (P ≥0.151). The NC tibia attributes were not different from PC throughout the trial; test diets tibia length was lesser than PC (P = 0.005) and had a linear decrease response with higher inclusion levels (P = 0.004) on d42. The test diets did not affect the AR of CP (P = 0 <0.001); there was decreased apparent NDF retention on d 21 and d 42 (P ≤0.001) and apparent gross energy retention on d 21 and d 42 (P ≤ 0.001) compared to PC. The NC and TD did not affect caecal sugars and SCFA production throughout the feeding period. In conclusion, pre-treating increased in vitro digestibility of sunflower meal and wheat middling, but their pre-treatment did not improve broiler chicken performance and AR of components

The current business environment is continuously changing, and corporations are operating in an era of risk and instability. Technological innovations, competition and globalization are examples of the factors many organizations have to contend with. Organizations, therefore, have to develop strategies that allow them to adapt and not only remain relevant but also maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace. The study examined the influence of an adaptive organization culture on the competitive advantage of an organization by conducting a case study of mobile telecommunication companies in Kenya. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was utilized in this investigation. Safaricom Limited, Airtel Kenya Limited, and Telkom Kenya Limited were the three telecommunications firms in Kenya that were the target respondents for the study. The study surveyed respondents from the three companies by selecting a total of 80 respondents working in the companies, across all hierarchical levels of the company. Primary data was utilized and was obtained using questionnaires. Mean, as a measure of central tendency, was used to identify and analyze the adaptiveness of the company’s culture and the competitive positioning of the companies. The standard deviation and average mean were used to determine the consistency with which an adaptive culture was implemented and the competitive advantage of the businesses analyzed. To investigate the strength of the connection between the research variables, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were employed. According to the findings of the research, all three businesses had organizational cultures that could be characterized as generally adaptive, with Safaricom Limited being rated as the most adaptive of the three companies. Safaricom Limited was found to be the most competitive in the Kenyan market, with Airtel Kenya Limited ranked second and Telkom Kenya Limited, third. It was established, by the study, that there is a statistically significant positive connection between an adaptive organizational culture and competitive advantage. The results indicated an adaptive culture was responsible for 68.7 % of the organizational competitive advantage in the three mobile telecommunication companies. The study recommended that mobile telecommunication operating companies as well as companies operating in the general business environment should implement policies and procedures that foster strong adaptive culture with behavioral examples modelled by the top management. Companies that are considered adaptive have a low power distance, are customer centric, are open to change and foster organizational learning.

Managers are nearly usually blamed and praised for a company's successes and failures. Executive managers encourage growth and management of complexities, while maintaining control of expenditures in a continuously fluctuating environment. Executive managers make critical strategic choices that determine whether or not a company will survive. Furthermore, their job is becoming increasingly focused on growth investment problems in order to start a profound organizational change and create value. As a result, executive directors' qualities, such as those of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), are important. The overall objective of the study was to establish effect of CEO quality on the value of firms listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. It also aimed at reviewing the increasing body of theoretical and empirical studies that have endeavored to examine the range of magnitude and effects of CEO quality on firm value. The upper echelons, stakeholder, and agency theories guided the current study. The current study utilized the descriptive research design The target population was all the 64 listed firms at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The study employed a census and it examined the whole population. The unit period of analysis was annual, and data was collected for the period from 2016 to 2020; the period comprised of five years. The study applied correlation analysis and multiple linear regression model with the technique of estimation being Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) so as to establish the relationship of CEO quality and firm value. The study findings were that that CEO education, CEO work experience, CEO tenure, and leverage do not have a significant correlation with firm value. Further study findings established that the model entailing; CEO quality aspects comprising of CEO education, CEO work experience, and CEO tenure, and also leverage explains firm value to a very least extent with a coefficient of determination value of 0.32%. Additional study findings were that that the model consisting of CEO quality aspects comprising of CEO education, CEO work experience, and CEO tenure, and also leverage does not significantly predict firm value (Prob>chi2=0.1800). Final study findings were that CEO education (p=0.753>0.05), CEO work experience (p=0.396>0.05), CEO tenure (p=0.080>0.05), and leverage (p=0.823>0.05) do not each individually have a significant relationship with firm value. Policy recommendations are made to the government officials and policy formulators in the financial sector, mainly the regulator, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), and the Treasury, not to mainly focus on CEO qualities when endeavouring to boost firm value in order to spur the development of capital markets. Recommendations are also generated to the financial analysts not to estimate market capitalization, and by extension, securities value, by using CEO qualities, and in extension, leverage. To be able to predict bear and bull markets, they should mostly perform due diligence and background check on their investment targets. Finally, recommendations are made to consultants and listed firms practitioners should not mainly focus on CEO qualities to time strategies like securities exchange listings, rights issues, and dividend pay-outs.

The main objective of the study was to examine the role of non-motorized transport in promoting rural mobility in Laikipia County, Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were:- (a) To determine the relationship between socio- economic factors and NMT usage in Laikipia County; (b) To examine whether there is significant difference in travel distances by walking and cycling in Laikipia County; (c) To determine the extent to which availability of NMT has affected access to schools and market centers in Laikipia County; (d) To investigate whether there were existing cultural policies guiding gender promotion in usage of NMT in Laikipia County. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data was obtained from Laikipia County through interview schedule, observation and questionnaires. Secondary data was collected by thorough literature search and review of both published and unpublished research reports, journals and, books. The stakeholders that were interviewed include: Non-Motorized Transport Users, Key Informants, and Non-Motorized Transport Operators. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). Descriptive statistics was used to analyze survey data related to non-motorized travel. Inferential statistics was used to determine whether the observed non motorized transport characteristics differ from the null hypothesis. The study had two hypotheses tested. The first hypothesis was: (a) there is no significant relationship between socio-economic factors and NMT usage in Laikipia County. This hypothesis was tested using multiple linear regressions. The socio-economic factors which were tested included: income, distance, age, marital status, education level, and occupation. The multiple correlations of income and distance variables revealed weak positive relationship of 0.205; income and age correlations also had a weak positive value of 0.260; while income and marital status correlations showed a weak positive value of 0.250. This implies that these variables were weak determinants of walking and cycling in Laikipia County. A correlation between respondents’ occupation and distance travelled showed a significant positive correlation of 0.492. This indicates that respondents’ occupation determines the distance travelled by walking and cycling in Laikipia County. It can also be interpreted that business location determines the distance travelled by the xvi respondents in Laikipia County. The study also revealed that there was a significant positive correlation between education level and distance travelled in Laikipia County. This means that the higher the level of education the greater the need of social interaction in search of business opportunities irrespective of the distance within the county. A multiple linear regression between walking and cycling showed a weak positive relationship which was denoted by R2 = 0.015. This was a weak positive correlation which implies that the relationship between walking and cycling was independent of the distance travelled. The low value of socio-economic factors of R square indicates that other factors than the measured socio-economic factors influenced the patterns of non-motorized transport used in Laikipia County. The second hypothesis was tested using Chi-square statistic (X2). The hypothesis tested was: (b) walking and cycling are independent of distance travelled in Laikipia County. The value of the calculated X2 at 2 degrees of freedom was 0.006 while the Critical X2 at 2 degrees of freedom at 0.05 significance level was 5.99. Therefore, the Calculated X2 was smaller than the Critical X2. Therefore, a conclusion was drawn that, there was no adequate evidence to reject the null hypothesis that, walking and cycling were independent of distance travelled in Laikipia County. Hence, the hypothesis was adopted. In other words, walking and cycling were not determined by the distance travelled in Laikipia. The study therefore, concluded that non motorized transport modes are not determined by spatial distance in Laikipia County. The study recommended that: (a) Interrogation of the non-motorized transport technologies adopted in Laikipia County should be done. (b) Lane segregation for both pedestrians and cyclists with physical partitions between motorized traffic and non motorized transport should be provided, and (e) Prices of spare-parts should be reduced by the government.