This study acknowledges the rise in the usage of commercial motorbikes as a transportation mode in Kenya. The increase is attributable to among other factors, transport system inability to satisfy Kenyans transport needs and the fairly low cost of purchasing motorcycles. The drawbacks to this new development is that the industry is increasingly linked to traffic crashes, posing serious health and safety risks to the public. It is from this knowledge that this study draws. The general objective of the research was to investigate the association between motorcycle riders' socioeconomic and demographic attributes and the occurrence of motorcycle crashes in South Imenti Subcounty. The study incorporated a descriptive approach with a stratified random sampling method where the main data was collected from 86 boda boda riders in the identified 29 rider groups. Closed and open-ended questionnaires, observation, and interview guides for Key Informant Interviews were used to gather information from the respondents. The information gathered was coded, and with the use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) application, organized and interpreted to deliver meaningful information. Qualitative information gathered from Key Informant Interviews were grouped into themes and analyzed based on the study objectives to inform the overall findings. Descriptive analysis was also applied, which comprised of frequencies and percentages. The study reveals that a number of socio-economic and demographic attributes of riders have a mutual relationship with the occurrence of crashes. The findings also show the absence of formal rider training and knowledge of motorcycle safety measures which contributes to the crashes by commercial motorcycle riders in Imenti South Sub County. In summary, the research concludes that age, marital status, the income of rider, formal rider training and knowledge of motorcycle safety measures influence rider crashes. However, the study did not find any linkage between the sex of the rider and the occurrence of rider crashes because the sample was mainly male and therefore not significant for comparison. Education level and motorcycle ownership were mutually linked with rider crashes demonstrating that lower education level compromises the safety while the riders that own motorcycles had lower crashes. Recommendations include the integration of formal rider training at subsidized fees. Stringent measures on riders who do not comply to road traffic rules and regulations and the creation of awareness for riders on the importance of using safety gear such as helmets as well as risks of over speeding and overloading

Ministry of Defence procures capital equipment to service the national military strategy as an aspect of national interest. These procurements are pivotal and prioritized based on fleeting needs and budgetary constraints hence need to adopt appropriate corporate procurement strategy for appropriation of capital equipment. MoD supports Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) by giving assurance that military assets and capabilities are reliable and readied for action in maintaining national sovereignty through security against any foreign aggression. However, sourcing of military armament and equipment in Kenya has been presided over by ill-informed partisan political deliberations other than expert and improvement-geared critical capacities and capabilities in line with future threats. This study sought to establish the development of capital equipment acquisition strategies and national security by analyzing sourcing approaches. The goal was to create better understanding of the current environment facing KDF in acquisition processes and involvement of distinct stakeholders to concentrate efforts on improving sourcing strategies and/or development of local industry through the study findings. The findings can be extrapolated for knowledge base, improvement on quality/savings on procurements, international security, markets for military hardware and technocrat approaches to military asset acquisition imperatives as a special concept of Public Procurement. To understand the precepts, perceptions and global principle, comparative assessments of military procurements in the world/regions were explored and further hunching on certain procurement theories including Institutional, Network, Bureaucracy and Innovation-oriented Procurement Theories have been deliberately highlighted. For instance, India has extensively used the last theory to make great leaps in her military industry and procurement enabling great technological transfers from other parts of the globe. A qualitative research design was adopted consisting of survey method of data collection, comparison and findings complemented by statistical probabilities. Senior staff of MoD and Procurement Officers at Defence Headquarters (DHQ) were enlisted to draw representative sample. One hundred and fifty respondents were obtained and provided data through a questionnaire. Factors considered to draw the sample included education level, departmental/military rank and period of service. Questions answered varied from sourcing strategies, supplier relationships, budgetary implications and utilization of allocations. Among other key findings, it was apparent that innovation policies, economic accountability, research/development investiture, bureaucracy reduction, redundancies elimination, better contract management and increased training for procurement staff prevailed. The study strongly recommended e-procurement, best-value sourcing and technology research strategies. Largely, respondents opined that limitations were impediment poor infrastructure, corruption, poor supplier relationships and low investment to research/development.

Effective monetary policy should promote return on investment and positive trend of share prices among listed companies. This calls for in-depth understanding of how monetary policies impact financial markets, which would in turn impact financial asset prices and patterns. Hence, main objective of this research in evaluating effect of monetary policy tools on share performance with focus on banks listed in Nairobi securities exchange. This study was based on international Fisher effect, interest rate parity and arbitrage portfolio theory. The reseach relied on time series data. Time series analysis was applied to analyse the data. KNBS and CBK annual reports were the sources of secondary data for this study. Monthly data was adopted. Stationarity tests were carried out and vector autoregressive model was fitted. Descriptive statistics and time series analysis analyzed the data. There was positive effect of central bank lending rate and money supply on share performance. Cash reserve ratio and open market operations has a negative effect share performance. Open market operations have positive effects on share performance. The study concludes, that the rate at which central bank lends, leads to a positive result on share performance, especially of those banks listed in Kenya. On the flipside, an increase in cash reserve ratio, negatively impacted on the share execution for the same banks. Whereas, an increase in open market operations increases share performance of listed banks. The country would also experience negative impact if money supply decreased. It can be recommended that there is need for policy makers to evaluate the extent of co-movement between monetary policy tools and share performance of listed banks so as to develop policies that would aid in achievement of the roles of the banking sector

The study examines how participatory communication was done on formulation of Public Finance Bill 2019 by Nairobi County Government. The major aim is to understand whether participatory communication in policy formulation is collaborative, engaging and the public input is sought in all stages in accordance to the constitution of Kenya 2010. Article 118(1)(b) and 196(1) of the Constitution calls for Meaningful Public participation at both National and County Government levels. The study utilized explanatory sequential Mixed Method research methodology. Business, organizations, Special Interest groups, lobby groups and policy implementers who participated in Public Finance Bill 2019 comprised the study population. The quantitative data was obtained from the documents reviews and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. In addition, qualitative data was generated from a sample of 10 participants who participated in the formulation of public finance Bill 2019 and respondents on the Nairobi County governments. Further, Qualitative data derived from County government respondents’ key informants was transcribed and arranged into meaningful themes which were coded for content analysis. The data collected informed the findings of the study and conclusions were made based on the findings on the process of formulation of Public Finance Bill 2019. The findings show that participatory Communication is a concept that is not fully understood and comprehend by the public Institutions and there is little influence of organizations and groups inputs on Bill formulation process. Additionally, in as much as convectional media especially Newspaper Notice adverts played role in informing organizations and groups that participated on the Public participation events, it was not the most effective media channel for communication. Interpersonal form of Communication played a key role on information dissemination to targeted Organizations and groups during policy formulation process. The study recommends training of County Government Officials and organizations and self-help groups involved in policy formulation process on what constitute quality public participation process in order to formulate better policies. Similarly, there is need for additional resources to Public Institutions to support public participation process as well as passage and enactment of laws and policy guidelines that enhance the public participation process.

Discussions on peace and war have dominated African discourse amid protracted violent conflicts and the impact such have had on the continent’s stability and ability to attain its developmental objectives. Persisting civil wars and novice conflicts linked to resource, political and ideological differences continue to plague the continent. Notably, as global and continental discourse on the preference for conflicts prevention against attempts to manage those that have already flared takes cognizance, Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) mechanisms at continental, regional and state level have also become instrumental to Africa’s conflict management efforts. Such has been necessitated by the shortcomings of the reactionary rather than proactive approaches of conflict management. In Africa, such EWER mechanisms have developed under the AU, and regional groupings like ECOWAS, and IGAD. However, the presence of these conflict early warning and prevention measures has yielded mixed results across the continent, aiding the prevention of conflict, though with various forms of conflicts in the continent still persisting. Similar to the global level, these outcomes have yielded debate on regarding the effectiveness of these mechanisms. Towards addressing a deeper understanding and contextualization of the of Africa’s Early Warning systems, this study examines the role of the continent’s EWER mechanisms in forestalling conflict in Africa. On this subject, the study looks into the role various actors in the operationalization of the EWER mechanisms, as well as the factors influencing their effectiveness of these mechanisms in Africa. The study bases its theoretical standing on Michael Lund’s Conflict Prevention theory as its analytic framework; drawing on its key assumptions that early response to signs of conflict, coordinated approaches to address rising tensions and efforts to transform the root causes of conflict can mitigate the escalation of conflict into overt violence. Towards this the study examined the empirical case of conflict prevention measures in the Ilemi Triangle which has continued to be characterized by inter and intra- state conflicts amidst existing regional and continental EWER mechanisms geared at managing the conflicts. The study conducted interviews with selected actors involved in the region’s EWER system towards its objectives and analyzed the collected data using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. Study findings identify competition for scarce resources, longstanding hatred amongst different ethnic communities and marginalization by authorities as the main drivers of persisting conflict Africa. Additionally, revenge and disputed borders are also catalyzers of conflict. The findings point to the significance of EWER mechanisms in facilitating peaceful co-existence and driving collective responsibility for security through trust-building and enhancement of possibilities for mediation and negotiation in resolving conflicts. The study establishes an array of actors EWER, playing both enabling and off- setting roles to their implementation and that an array of structural, institutional and political factors which were promoting and antagonistic to the effectiveness of early warning mechanisms. Accordingly, the study recommends enhanced incorporation of grassroots actors in the implementation of conflict early warning mechanisms alongside state support for separate conflict resolution mechanisms such as DDR and border demarcations to complement the ability of early warning mechanisms in averting conflict in Africa.

This study focused on the impact of insurgent groups on human security in the Middle East region for the period 2010 to 2020. Objectives of this study included: examining the place of insurgent groups in the Middle East regional relations since 2010, finding out the impact of insurgent groups on human security in the Middle East since 2010 and comparing the impact of insurgent groups on human securities between Syria and Yemen in the period 2010 to 2020. The study was anchored on the rational choice theory. Descriptive survey research design was employed in this study and both primary and secondary data used. The target population of the study included people in the civil service, media and civil societies in Syria and Yemen who had worked in the country in the period 2010 to 2020. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. Findings of the study established that insurgent groups have played a great role in defining economic, political and security regional relations in the Middle East over the past one decade. Through their activities, the groups have intensified religious relations amongst the countries but have consequently adversely affected political relations and economic relations in the region. Findings of the study further established that insurgent groups had led to an increase in human insecurity in the Middle East region since 2010. By orchestrating civil wars and taking part in conflicts with other groups in the region, insurgent groups have increased economic insecurities, personal insecurities, political insecurities, food insecurities, health insecurities and environmental insecurities. The impact of insurgent groups on human security in Syria and Yemen did not vary widely as established in the research study. Though few differences were seen in the magnitude of the impact on personal security as judged by the number of people displaced and those whose lives has been lost, many similarities have been identified in the motivations of the insurgent groups, strategies employed, nature of operations and the counterinsurgency measures employed by governments. The researcher concluded that insurgent groups have greatly defined regional relations in the Middle East and hold an important place in as far as the history of the region is concerned over the past decade. The insurgent groups through violence, destruction of property and strategic influences have continued to adversely affect livelihood in the region; displacing many people, resulting to the loss of lives, destroying millions worth of property and curtailing economic development in the region. The researcher has presented recommendations and suggestions for further studies which are included in this research paper.

Conscious to the prevailing challenge of poor governance in Africa and the opportunities presented by technology through social media, this study seeks to critically analyze the challenge of attaining good governance in Africa and what role technology specifically social media can play to address this challenge in Kenya and Mauritius. This project was guided by three objectives: to critically analyze the challenge of attaining good governance in Africa, to assess and analyze the key factors hindering the attainment of good governance in Kenya and Mauritius and to critically examine the impact of social media in addressing the challenge of attaining good governance in Kenya and Mauritius. Conversation and debate on good governance remains one of the oldest debates that African states continue to struggle with to date. It is clear that the much hyped transition to liberal democracy in Africa in the 1990s did not translate into ensuring good governance in the econtinent and a happy life for Africans. As the study has revealed, despite significant gains made, some of the old challenges such as bad leadership, weak institutions, corruption, electoral fraud, lack of constitutionalism, suppression of individual rights and freedoms still continue to persist. At the same time, introduction of competitive elections has manifested the challenge of negative ethnicity in many countries making some of these countries to slide into civil conflicts. As a result of the challenge of attaining good governance, some countries like Bukina Faso are contemplating returning to authoritarianism. While acknowledging the gains made in Africa, the study argues that transition to liberal democracy in Africa might have been necessary, but it has not translated into good governance and as a result there is need for African scholars to engage in a program of rethinking the application and practice of liberal democracy in Africa and how good governance can be operationalized in the continent. This research has also been able to test how good governance infrastructure in Kenya and Mauritius are; and noted that in an effort to attain good governance, states should not be preoccupied by the quantity or ideology of regimes but rather by the quality, efficiency, effectiveness and intelligence of beauracracies that can deliver on policy objectives. The project recommends that policy makers moreso the public officials to focus on the process of implementation of the already existing legal and policy frameworks to further operationalize good governance in Kenya, Mauritius and Africa at large. At the same time, the wave of globalization and advancement in technology has also presented Africa with an excellent opportunity by empowering many citizens to be able to participate and have their voices heard on various issues that affect Africa’s governance infrastructure. This opportunity has been presented in form of internet based applications normaly referred to as social media. Social media has become a very powerful tool in advancing good governance in the world over, and very instrumental in some African countries like Kenya. To this end, the study has been keen on bringing out the role that social media can play and the impact it can have on attaining good governance specifically in Kenya and Mauritius. In retrospect, the study argues that social media has played a key role in addressing the challenge of poor governance across the globe and if used well and responsibly, it can have a positive impact in advancing good governance in the two countries. However, it is important to note that social media is a double edged sword that can cut either way if not used responsibly. It can polarize societies, bring instabilities and make societies ungovernable. It is imperative that communications authority come up with policies that will ensure that social media platforms are not used to spread hate and divide the society.

Dividend payout is a significant financial aspect since it entails the determination of the sum distributed to the stockholders as return on invested capital to increase the size of the firm. However, the link between dividends and firm size has been an important topic but controversial corporate finance area since Miller and Modigliani conceptualized the dividend irrelevance model. In Kenya, the NSE indicates that any company seeking listing at the bourse must have a clear dividend payout policy. However, due to financial difficulties, various nonfinancial companies have not paid dividends for many years. In 2017 for example, only two companies paid an extraordinary dividend in addition to the usual dividends. This study thus sought to examine the effect of firm size on dividend payout among nonfinancial corporations quoted at the NSE. The study adopted a descriptive research design to achieve its objectives and target population therefore comprised of the 48 non-financial firms quoted at NSE. This study thus undertook a census of the 48 listed nonfinancial corporations. This study entirely used secondary data that was extracted from audited accounting reports of the individual non-financial corporations for a 5 years period from 2017 to 2021. The study employed descriptive statistics and inferential statistics for analysis of data using SPSS statistical software. Descriptive statistical tools entailed standard deviation, mean, maximum and minimum values that were employed to summarize data. Inferential statistical tools entailed the regression model. The study results revealed that firm size had a negative and significant relationship between with dividend payout while profitability had a positive and significant relationship with dividend payout respectively. The results further revealed that firm growth had a positive and significant effect on DPR while firm age negatively and significantly affected dividend payout respectively. The study concluded that firm size, profitability, firm growth and firm age had a significant effect on dividend payout of listed non-financial firms at the NSE. The study recommended that the management of quoted non-financial entities should invest more in fixed assets and properly manage those assets to growth their entities, to generate revenue as well as enhance economics of large-scale production to enhance performance which will enable the entities to pay dividends.