The United Nations was formed out of desperation for the maintenance of world peace and security to prevent war, aggression, conflicts, and loss of lives, which was evident in the First and Second World Wars. Its framework on world peace and security places the UNSC at the centre stage of maintaining international peace and security. Article 39 of the UN Charter emboldens the UNSC to determine whether a situation threatens or breaches international peace and security and to choose the remedial action to be undertaken under Articles 40, 41, and 42 of the UN Charter. The UN Charter envisages that threats to international peace and security have two key characteristics. One, that they are between states. Two, that they involve the use of armed force. This is a problem because contemporary threats to world peace do not exhibit these two key characteristics. They are not necessarily occasioned by states against other states. They do not always involve the use of force. This study aims to determine whether the UN’s framework on world peace and security is well adapted to address contemporary threats to global peace and security. It examines the UN’s legal and institutional framework for maintaining international peace and security. It focuses on contemporary threats, such as infectious diseases, climate change, cyber operations, and human trafficking. It also investigates the challenges posed by contemporary threats to the UNSC’s primary mandate to maintain global peace. Using the doctrinal legal research methodology, the study establishes that even though the UNSC has the core mandate to maintain international peace and security, other organs, such as the UNGA, the Secretariat and the Secretary-General, and the ICJ, as well as regional arrangements carry out some functions in maintaining international peace and security. The study finds that contemporary threats challenge the UN’s framework on global peace and security. Non-traditional threats render its legal and institutional framework inadequate. The study finds that the UN faces several difficulties in the quest to maintain international peace and security in the face of contemporary threats, such as anachronism, lack of definitions of key terms like “threat to peace” and “breach of peace”, inadequate enforcement action, inconsistency, and double incidence of mandates. It concludes that the UN is not well adapted to address non-traditional threats to international peace and security. It is in the interest of stakeholders to take steps towards meeting these concerns. The study makes specific recommendations that could alleviate the obstacles faced by the UN’s peace and security framework in maintaining international peace and security.

Lodupo, Loserian T

Business uncertain environments and competitions push firms to renovate their operations by reviewing the existing financial policies and to adopt the ones that would favorably lead to business survival. This gives them an edge over the others that use a reactive approach in regards to their business operations. In order to finance any business operations, resources are required and these resources can either be acquired in form of debt or equity. To apply debt as a source of finance the borrower has to take into consideration its maturity such as short-term or long-term debt. In Kenya, NSE listed firms are using short-term financing to raise most of their fund to improve undeveloped capital market. Deliberates influence of short-term financing on firm’s economic performance lead to determined outcomes and concerns whenever a firm is investing in current assets. The objective of the current study was to investigate the whether short-term financing influence corporate performance of NSE registered companies. The study used explanatory non–experimental research design. The target populations of this study were all NSE listed firms between the years 2015-2019. The study adopted census where all firms listed at NSE from 2015-2019 were involved in the study. Secondary data was used in this study and sourced from the NSE data. Data was coded in the SPSS (V.20). Descriptive statistics and frequency distribution tables was used to analyze quantitative data. Pearson Correlation and ANOVA test to be carried out to find out if there exist any relationship between short-term financing and corporate performance. Normality test indicated that the data was normally distributed. The study found that Multicollinearity was not present as all VIF values were below 5. From the findings, it’s clear that p-values for the Chi-square statistic is less 0.05 and hence the residuals of the empirical model are not auto correlated. The study found that all the variables used in this study had a positive insignificant relationship with ROA. The study also found that a unit increase of the variables used in this study results to an increase on corporate governance. The study concluded that Cash & cash equivalents, Growth, size showed a strong and significant relationship with ROA. Short-term financing and liquidity showed a positive relationship with ROA, although the relationship was insignificant. The study recommends that corporate managers should pay more attention to cash management on the basis of these findings, because proper cash management improves corporate performance. The study also recommends that policy makers of NSE-listed companies should consider firm features when formulating short-term financing policies in order to boost corporate performance.

Changes in the business environment are characterized by high levels of competition, changing customer’s behaviour, high firm operational costs and inadequate resources and are some of the challenges that face most firms. Firms have to change with the customers to retain the business relationship. Taking up innovation is basically one of the critical measures to stay relevant and survive. SunCulture has embarked on a number of innovation strategies in the recent past which have made the firm come up with an organization structure that makes it competitive. The specific objective of the study was to establish the innovation strategies adopted by SunCulture Kenya Limited and their effects on service delivery at SunCulture Kenya Limited. This study was based on two theories, Technology acceptance theory and Resource based view theory. The research adopted a case study approach and an interview guide was used for collection of data. Content analysis was used to analyze data which was qualitative in nature. The study established that innovation strategies; product, process and organizational innovation strategies affected the firms’ service delivery. SunCulture has worked both hard and smartly to reengineer its products spearheaded by customer feedback and key learnings from previously rolled products. The study established that SunCulture undertook process innovations like embracing technology to embed various business ideas, service delivery and piloting the last mile delivery that has helped the organization to penetrate the remote regions in Kenya. SunCulture offers a hybrid of marketing innovation that has enabled the organization to reach farmers way beyond the Kenyan market. The study established that the strategies adopted by the firm were effective and the adopted competitive strategies by the firm were suitable and thus enhanced the firm’s service delivery. The study also notes that SunCulture Limited has a team that listens to and handles customers' issues via an automated system that’s able to ensure quality service to customers. The study recommends that the management of SunCulture Limited should continue undertaking various innovative strategies since the strategies complement each other in the quest to enhance service delivery.

Kenya has a robust legal framework on the rights of Persons with Disabilities chiefly comprising of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and the Persons with Disabilities Act (PDA). The legal framework is designed to ensure optimal protection for PWD, with respect to social, economic and political spheres. However, despite the legal framework, PWD continue to face considerable barriers in terms of access to justice. The study sought to investigate the legal challenges hindering PWD’s access to justice. The study made a hypothesis that he Kenya’s legal framework does not guarantee optimal realization of the right to access to justice for PWD. The study utilized the best practices approach and doctrinal methodologies. It analyzed the Republic of Korea, the United States of America and Australia with a view to identifying lessons which Kenya can emulate. The study revealed that the definitions adopted by the legal framework have ‘individualized and medicalized' disability in a way that does not highlight issues of justice nor emphasize the rights of PWD. In addition, even though PDA was enacted in 2003, the government is yet to develop special regulations to ensure complete operationalization of the Act. The study concludes that these inadequacies have negative legal implications on the rights of PWD in Kenya, especially their constitutional right of access to justice. The Republic of Korea, the United States of America and Australia have established and implemented effective legislative and policy measures that protect and enhance the rights of PWD whilst also promoting their access to justice. Kenya lags behind in its legislative and policy framework in enhancing and promoting access to justice by PWD and the framework should be reviewed to align with the UNCRPD, especially in promoting their access to justice.

The study sought to evaluate the contribution of Fin-Tech to financial inclusion in Kenya. Descriptive research design was used collect and analyse data. The population of the study was all 25,000,000 adult population in Kenya interacting with Fin-Tech in various degrees. The study collected quarterly secondary data regarding financial inclusion and Fin-Tec from CBK database, Communication Authority database and KNBS. The data extracted was entered on data collection sheets in the form of excel sheets. Data on excel sheet were exported to STATA version 15. Measures of dispersal and central tendency were used including minimum, maximum, mean and standard deviation. OLS regression model helped evaluate the effect of Fin-Tech on financial inclusion in Kenya. The study adopted the models. The study examined whether or not the explanatory have significant effect on the dependent variable by comparing the p-value associated with the parameters with 0.05 level of significance. P-values less than 0.05 levels of significance implies significant effect of the explanatory variable on dependent variable. The study established that financial technology and other covariates have a significant effect on financial inclusion as measured by number of banks accounts, deposits and credit to private sector. Further, mobile money had a direct and significant effect on financial inclusion measured by number of bank accounts, deposits and credit to private sector. Agency banking had a significant effect on financial inclusion through number of bank accounts, deposits and credit to private sector. Point of Sale had a direct and significant effect on financial inclusion through number of banks accounts opened and credit to private sector, however, Point of Sale had negative and insignificant effect on financial inclusion through deposits. Diaspora remittances had a direct but not statistical significant effect on financial inclusion through number of bank accounts, deposits and credit to private sector. However, diaspora remittances had significant effect on financial inclusion measured by credit to private sector. The effect of lending rate on financial inclusion through number of bank accounts, deposits and credit to private sector was inverse and statistically significant. Finally, the effect of mobile phone penetration on financial inclusion through credit to private sector, deposits and number of bank accounts was direct and statistically significant. The study thus concluded that financial technology and other covariates have major effect on financial inclusion via number of banks accounts, deposits and credit to private sector. The study recommends to the Central Bank, Communication Authority of Kenya, communication firms and banking institutions to strengthen and deepen mobile money and agency banking. The CBK should put policies in place for securing transactions carried over the point of sale as well as improved POS technology. The study also recommends to the government to put in place policies and strategies for ease of the remittance money by Kenyans working and doing business abroad. The study also suggests to the Central Bank of Kenya, Sacco Regulatory Authority, commercial banks, deposit-taking MFIs to continue lowering the cost of borrowing.

Owing to the important role played by commercial banks in an economy, understanding the determinants of their survival and viability is important. This study therefore sought to test the relevance of Altman Z-Score model in predicting failure within the Kenyan banking industry. Such a study would enable formulation of a proactive response to distress signs meant to mitigate against business failure. The study adopted a diagnostic research design and covered all banks in Kenya. It further utilized an online survey and collected secondary data published by these banks. The study adopted Altman’s (1968) model for failed and non-failed Bank and examined relevant ratios for two failed banks in Kenya i.e., Dubai Bank, and Imperial Bank against 41 non-failed banks. The above ratios were analyzed further with the help of the Statistical package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and generally found to be useful in predicting firm’s failure. However, the type of ratios that best discriminate between failing and successful companies differ. It was established that Liquidity, Earned surplus leverage, Earning power, Solvency, Sales generating capability ratios were significant in predicting failure. The study therefore concluded that the Altman Z-score model was reliable in predicting financial distress in Kenyan banks. According to the results, most of Kenyan banks are financially distressed mainly due to insufficient retained earnings. The study thus recommends that the banks should enhance their sales generating capacity. Finally, due to the critical role played by corporate governance and other qualitative aspects, it is important to undertake studies on the effects of such aspects on business failures in the Kenyan banking industry.