An Idiot's Guide to Getting a Tax Compliance Certificate (TCC)

A guest post by Muendo 

Taxes, are the dues that we pay for the privileges of membership in an organized society. Franklin D. Roosevelt

One thing, as sure as death is, you will pay taxes. As to how it is used, it is the prerogative of the government of the day as well as the citizens to keep the government in check to see how the paid taxes are being used to better the welfare of the citizens. I posted a Tweet, after getting my Tax Compliance Certificate and I got a few people including Mr. Banks, asking how I went round the process. So here is my story. I hope it will educate some of y’all on this long process.

On company registration, after you have received that blue/white document from the State Law Office saying that you are a legal entity recognized by the Government of Kenya, you have to go to the next step, which is getting a Personal Identification Number (PIN) for the company. In this new regime, unlike others, you can’t do any business with the biggest spender of our taxes, the government and its agencies, without a PIN. In fact for you to open and a bank account, for you to buy assets in your company’s name, for you to transact with any organization in .KE, you will be required to produce a PIN Number. It is a mandatory requirement. (I suspect soon the government will abolish ID numbers and use your PIN to locate every single thing about an individual. Instead of ID numbers, your PIN will serve as the ID number), (those are just my thoughts). How do you get your PIN in our modern society? KRA went the tech way to get you plugged in to the system. They have a robust system called iTax. Any new employee above the age of 18, and any registered organization, has to register with iTax to get their PIN.

Take that a notch higher, for you to increase the chances of you getting awarded a Tender, as everything in this country is tendered, you need another document called a Tax Compliance Certificate (TCC). The Tax man aka Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), certifies that you have submitted your returns and paid all your liabilities before it issues you with that piece of paper stipulating that you are cleared to conduct business for the next 6 – 12 months.

Normally, for start-ups, the first years certificate is quick to get as your business is new and there is nothing much for them to look in to. (Though, rumour has that they (KRA) are also slowly going to the route of issuing TCC to directors of the companies and will slowly keep an eye on them as well. How true that is I am yet to find out) Now since KRA introduced iTax to the Kenyan system, it killed a few birds with one stone.

Previously, people never cared much about paying taxes. Now, if you are doing business you have to have an Electronic Tax Register (ETR) machine that captures the Value Added Tax (VAT) that you charge to your customers. Unless, you are selling zero rated commodities, it is assumed that every enterprise (Start-up, SMEs, Blue Chip, Multinationals etc.) has a PIN number and an ETR machine. Every transaction is/will be captured there and therefore a customer is issued with an ETR receipt. A normal ETR receipt has your PIN number and the amount you are charging the customer plus VAT and a breakdown of what the VAT is.

Again, previously, the Tax man used to assume that all Kenyans are upright and outstanding citizens who will pay their VAT after balancing their accounts (There is a way that you need to do, briefly explained as, (1) there is what you are charged by your suppliers and then (2) there is what you charge your customers, (3) the difference is what you remit to the KRA, hence the term 'doing your returns'). Anyways, not many Kenyans including the ones in authority, seemed to fit that tag. They would find tax loopholes, using their accountants and tax lawyers,  and exploit them. And the government would lose revenue. So, the Tax man,  aka Njiraini, decided to tighten the belt to curb that habit. So every time you supply the government with substandard goods with over inflated prices, because people have to eat, then the said agency snitches/alerts Njiraini and company, that company X has supplied us with goods/services/consultancy, and here is 6% of the tax they are going supposed to pay. Ask them where the other 10% is. And once the 6% is held, the agency, in return sends you an electronic withholding tax certificate.

As an upright citizen, who wants to be in the good books of the Tax man, you are given up to the 20^th of every month to file returns of the previous month. Now, KRA will check up on its database and see how many organisations have submitted 6% with your company name in there and compare it with the returns you have submitted. Occasionally, you will find scenarios, where the Tax man needs to refund you some money. Problem with KRA is, once that is the case, it can take up to 2 years even more before they decide/remember they need to do tax refunds.

That aside, once you have filled your returns, whether nil or you have a liability (This is where you owe KRA money) or a Tax refund is required, you comply with the law of the land. Failure to file returns attracts a hefty fine of Kshs. 10,000 (~$100) per month for the months you haven’t filed your returns plus a percentage interest determined by a tax officer that you need to pay per month till you finish you with your liability. This is not a joke, especially, now that the government is tightening its laws on taxes and widening its tax base.

Here is a weird thing that KRA does. It waits for say 3-4 years of a company existing. And then, it is expected you have to have audited accounts say for the past two years (That is assuming you are done with your tax amnesty of 18 months – not sure whether this exists anymore,) and you have gotten a few good tenders here and there, and then they knock on your door, to find out how you are carrying out your business and how you have been performing in doing tax returns.) Assuming you are an upright citizen means, you have 4 years of an annual Tax Compliance Certificate issued and you have about 3 years audited accounts. They will request for all, and I mean all, documents to support your claim of existence. And by all I mean, from receipts, to P&L Accounts, to Audited accounts, to bank statements. Who the heck remembers stuff that they did 4 years ago? The Tax man will flip through records and see whether you have dodged taxes or you have acquired your TCC in a fraudulent manner. If you are a citizen of no morals, they will subject you to a fine of a percentage of your gross turnover and give you a time period to pay, failure to which, all assets you own will be liquidated and the money is recovered. I know that a bit to well, as a relative was being auctioned for tax non-compliance.

Also, KRA is now working overtime to ensure that all companies are registered on iTax. There is a budgeted Kshs 8 billion to be spent in catching up with you if you are not iTax compliant.

So, finally; 

Here's an idiot’s guide to getting a TCC

1. Register at the iTax platform and get your PIN.

2. Submit your returns every 20th of the month. You had better submit a Nil return than be late to submit the returns. Be prompt in doing your accounts reconciliation every month. Now, there are times you can’t afford an in-house accountant do your books, There are some great fellas, who I have worked with that can help you with that. Talk to Plus People Ltd. They are the people behind this great platform called Uhasibu. They have really assisted me in getting my books in order and ensuring that I use the Uhasibu system to run my small company. Also get an Auditor or a certified tax accountant to help you decipher and navigate the Kenyan tax laws and the levies that you need to pay as well as how to bring down your tax liability.

3. Make sure you get the Withholding Tax certificate, each time, whatever agency you deal with submits that 6%. As much as the system is automated, follow through is important. I am talking from experience. I have a government agency I am chasing since February 2015, to give me my withholding tax certificate.

4. Use the iTax system to submit your returns before the 20th. This is now an easier way, than to go queue at times towers to make your returns. 

5. It takes approximately, two (2) weeks between the expiry of your TCC and receiving a new TCC. Plan appropriately. During those 2 weeks, I do loads of client visits and queue up business for the next “financial” year. In those 2 weeks, Njiraini and Co, will be looking through your accounts and performance before giving you a clean bill of health. I know we people at .KE have this thing, I know a guy who can shorten that process, if you do well and good. But that’s the average time if you don’t know a guy.

6. Make sure you do annual audited accounts, just in case KRA guys show up and want to see what you have been up to. Also, a great rule of accounts, it moves, have evidence of what happened (Receipts, Invoices, Petty Cash vouchers etc).

7. In case things go wrong, occasionally they do, have your auditor in place, when this KRA officers check up on you. They kind of know how to navigate those murky waters while you sort things out with the Tax man. 

Agriculture not only improves Food Security but creates Wealth for Africans

An open letter to African Union Heads of State by Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the United Nations rural development agency, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

Judging from the daily outpouring of commentary, opinions and reports, you would think that there were two African continents. One of them is the new land of opportunity, with seven of the world's 10 fastest growing economies, offering limitless possibilities to investors. There is, however, this other image: a starving and hopeless continent, hungry and poor, corrupt and prey to foreign exploiters.

As Africans, we are tired of caricatures. But we are also tired of waiting. Waiting to be led toward the one Africa we all want: the Africa that can and should be. We know the real Africa, filled with possibilities, dignity and opportunities, able to face its challenges and solve them from within. Never has the time been more right for us to finally realize our full potential. It is within our grasp.

As a scientist, I am always interested in facts. Africa is a land rich in resources, which has enjoyed some of the highest economic growth rates on the planet. It is home to 200 million people between the ages of 15 and 24. And it has seen foreign direct investment triple over the past decade.

As the head of an institution whose business is investing in rural people, I know that you also need vision and imagination. At the International Fund for Agricultural Development we have banked on the poorest, most marginalized people in the world, and over and over again these investments have paid off. For people, for communities, for societies. And more than half of the people we invest in are Africans.

More than 10 years have passed since the Maputo Declaration, in which you, as African leaders, committed to allocating at least 10% of national budgets to agriculture and rural development – key sectors in the drive to cut poverty, build inclusive growth and strengthen food security and nutrition.

Today, just seven countries have fulfilled the Maputo commitment consistently, while some others have made steps in the right direction. Ten years is a long time to wait. In less time I have seen projects turn desert into farmland.

In just a few days in Malabo at the 23^rd African Union Summit, I will join those of you, African leaders, who will gather to discuss this year's focus of agriculture and food security. This is my call: Don’t just promise development, deliver it, make it happen now. Make real, concrete progress toward investment that reaches all Africans. Investments that prioritize rural people.

Our biggest resource is our people. To squander this is worse than wasteful. If we don’t act now, by 2030 Africa will account for 80% of the world's poor. Is this the legacy that we want to leave for future generations?

The AU declared 2014 as the year of Agriculture and Food Security. And this is the year we look beyond the deadline of the Millennium Development Goals to a post-2015 world with new goals and targets to reach. I hope that this means that we will be dedicating ourselves fully to making agriculture a priority. GDP growth due to agriculture has been estimated to be five times more effective in reducing poverty than growth in any other sector, and in sub-Saharan Africa, up to 11 times. Ironically, it is countries that lack lucrative extractive industries and that have had to invest in agriculture who have found out what is now an open secret: agriculture not only improves food security but creates wealth. Small family farmers in some parts of our continent contribute as much as 80% of food production. Investing in poor rural people is both good economics and good ethics.

A full 60% of our people depend wholly or partly on agriculture for their livelihoods, and the vast majority of them live below the poverty line. It’s not pity and handouts that they need. It’s access to markets and finance, land tenure security, knowledge and technology, and policies that favour small farms and make it easier for them to do business. A thriving small farm sector helps rural areas retain the young people who would otherwise be driven to migrate to overcrowded cities where they face an uncertain future. Investing in agriculture reinforces not only food security, but security in general.

In an Africa where 20 states are classified as fragile and 28 countries need food assistance, the need for a real rural transformation backed by investment and not just words is critical – I have often said that declarations don’t feed people.

Investments must be focused on smallholder family farms. Small farms make up 80% of all farms in sub-Saharan Africa. And contrary to conventional wisdom, small farms are often more productive than large farms. For example, China's 200 million small farms cover only 10% of the world's agricultural land but produce 20% of the world's food. The average African farm, however, is performing at only about 40% of its potential. Simple technologies – such as improved seeds, irrigation and fertilizer – could triple productivity, triggering transformational growth in the agricultural sector. It is estimated that irrigation alone could increase output by up to 50% in Africa.  Rural areas also need the right investments in infrastructure – roads, energy, storage facilities, social and financial services – and enabling policies backed by appropriate governance structures that ensure inclusiveness.

If we look at the countries that have met the Maputo commitment, we see that investing in agriculture works. Given that agriculture has become lucrative for private investors, and about 60% of the planet's available uncultivated agricultural land is in Africa, there is no mystery why we hear about so-called 'land grabs'. Opportunity draws foreign investors. There is nothing wrong with foreign investment. But it has to be managed, to the benefit of all.

What is a mystery is why, with such a vast potential and a young population just waiting for a reason to seize it, our African leaders do not announce that they will redouble their efforts to drive an inclusive rural transformation, with concrete commitments, that will make Maputo a reality. I hope that after the Malabo meeting, that will be a mystery no longer.

African economies have grown impressively. But it is time to stop focussing on GDP figures and instead focus on people. The majority of our people are engaged in agriculture, and the neglect of that sector must stop if we really want to realize the healthy, peaceful and food secure Africa that we know can be. It is not a dream; it is a responsibility.

Why Unit Trusts are better than Bank Savings Accounts

A guest post by @smartyannette 

We all desire to save and/or invest at some point in our lives but we fail to accumulate the little extra we have or we lack adequate financial know how to do so. Obviously, we are more likely to save if we have an investment goal and that's why I think Unit trusts are a much better deal compared to saving accounts in banks.

Unit trusts are professionally managed collective investment schemes where investors pool their money. The accumulated funds are then invested in a portfolio of assets (stocks, bonds, bills, etc.) and the individual investors gain in proportion of their investment, if the value of the underlying assets increases.

Common Unit trusts are Money Market funds that invests in short term securities like Treasury bills, Equity funds that invest in a variety of stocks, Bond funds for bonds and finally Balanced funds that combines all these asset classes. The money market funds are considered low-risk and tend to have lower minimum balances. The others are mainly long term investment options. Gains from Unit Trusts range from about 8% to 16% per annum based on level of risk. In comparison, Commercial banks offer about 4% per annum and only fixed deposit accounts compete favorably, with some over 10%.

You should probably choose Unit Trusts over savings accounts because the former offer better rates of return. Also, If you desire to invest in the securities market, but want to avoid the risk of investing in one company then you may consider Unit trusts as a safer and more stable option. Unit trusts also enable one to invest in a variety of securities at once and get periodic interest unlike some banks that only award interest at year end. 

Investment Banks are specialized unlike commercial banks and you are more likely to easily access financial information and advice as well as brokerage services from the former. The recently-ended Capital Markets Authority open day expo in Nairobi showcased a variety of firms that offer their customers the option to invest in Unit Trusts.  They Include Old Mutual, Genghis Capital, Stanbic Investments, Dyer and Blair investment bank, Britam, Apex Capital, Apollo and CIC. The minimum balances are as low as Kshs. 500 at Genghis Capital and Kshs. 100,000 (~$1,200) for some of the other firms.

Most firms give a capital guarantee, meaning that the principal you put in is secure, but it is always safe to check. Management fees and initial fees also vary depending on the type of fund, and while some companies charge it based on the interest earned, others may charge it on principal. Some firms also allow you to access your money upon request via MPesa while others require you to wait for 3 business days for payments to clear. In comparison, money in a savings account is only an ATM visit away so chances of misspending are high.

Kenyan Guide to Brazil

Now that the 2012 Olympics are over, it’s time for Kenyan fans to start preparations for the next great sporting event. Brazil hosts the World Cup in 2014, and the next Olympics in 2016. There is little hope for Kenya making the former, in fact they have been, but we hope to do better at the next Olympics. @MartinKeino pointed out just before the London games ended, Kenya rarely does well in European Olympics, and a move back to a tropical climate will be welcomed.

Anyway on to the guest post by  @Wajulzoe who recently traveled to Sao Paulo, Brazil. Note the local currency is the Brazil Real and US$1 is about 2 Real.

Getting there: Regarding the embassy, which is located on the street right behind The Village Market-UN Crescent, ensure that you start your visa application at least three weeks before you are schedule to leave. This is because the Brazilian embassy serves the entire East African region, and delays are expected especially when major events and conferences are taking place in Brazil.

Your first visit will be to drop off your documents, which if there are no problems will be accepted, and you will be informed via email when your visa is ready. Make sure you have all your original documents, including invitation letters, as they do not accept scanned copies even for invitation letters, and these will have to be shipped in for them to authenticate the signatures.

For the flight, Emirates via Dubai which will cost approximately $2400 return from Nairobi depending on whether or not it is peak season. Note, you can also fly through South Africa for about $1,600 on South Africa Airways, and while been said that that Sao Paulo has been earmarked as the first Latin American destination for Kenya Airways, nothing has been officially announced .

If you are travelling to Sao Paulo, you will arrive at Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) where you will be required to present your visa.

Getting Around:  From the airport, a taxi will cost you approximately R100 (equivalent to $50) though you could alternatively take a bus which costs R10 (equivalent to $5) which passes along the main tourist sites to view while en route and uses the main road. The transport system is well organized. You can choose from using a taxi, bus or metro(subway). The bus and subway are efficient and affordable, in addition to being convenient irrespective of which part of the town you are headed. The only thing to keep in mind is congestion of the subway terminals during rush hour.

Brazilians speak Portuguese as their official language, with a minority of Brazilians being bilingual (can speak both Portuguese and English).

Getting around, you will spend between R$15-30 (equivalent to $7.50-15) per a meal inclusive of drinks. There are also a number of buffet eateries in the town where you can enjoy local meals for about the same cost.

Sao Paulo is generally a secure city though you need to keep a close eye on your wallet to avoid busy hands from pick pockets. It is advisable to walk in groups late in the evening and to use a car as much as possible when traveling at night.

Where to stay: Sao Paulo has reliable electricity and water supply and The average hotel cost starts from $50 for bed & breakfast  and breakfast is an elaborate meal in most hotels.

Eating out: The main food is rice, beans and meat though this may be served with a salad. Brahma is the local beer which goes for about R3 (equivalent of$ 1.5) though this may cost more depending on where you are.

Staying in touch : International calls are expensive, approximately $1 per a minute though most hostels and hotels have good Internet access (Wi Fi) which you can use to make calls using Skype. Cyber cafes are also available and affordable, with rates of R2 ($1) per an hour.

Shopping & sightseeing: Avenue do Paulista is the main high rise shopping mall street though for more affordable items, you may visit 25 de Marcio which is where most stores in Brazil get their goods from.

Samba performance

Among the places to visit are Parque do Ibirapuera, Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, Sala Sao Paulo, Teatro Municipal and Museu fo Futebo, to mention a few. Many of the buildings in the city date back to the colonial era when the Portuguese occupied Brazil and for this reason, look out for a lot of pre-colonial Portuguese architecture.

Surprises /Odd Points: The warmth and hospitality of the people, even though there was often a language barrier between us.

The Brazilians are very passionate about football and for this reason, expect to have an elaborate firework display before, during and after a football match. There are also a number of of gay festivals held in the open.

Guide to Kigali

A guest post by Niti Bhan

Getting There is not difficult  as there are Kenya Airways flights and also Rwandair flights. Our experience with Kenya Airways was not the best however. Our flight (via Bujumbura, Burundi) was on time and comfortable but the luggage for ALL, but three, passengers was never loaded in Nairobi, (or so they told us). Though, we were traveling under the "Priority" luggage tag due to colleague's KLM frequent flyer card, the luggage arrived the following day, with the locks broken on the suitcases and the contents ransacked. 

In terms of  Visa and eGovernment, this aspect was very impressive, even before we left for Rwanda  We applied for visas online in the morning and though the response to the submission said it would take three (3) days for the visa, we received our PDF visa documents the very same day by email  (to be printed out and carried on the flight).  The payment for this cost US$ 30 at the airport and there is a little process of approaching the immigration counter before one is sent to pay at a cashier and then return  for a stamp.

The duty free at the airport is ridiculously cheap – with cigarettes cartons US$1 cheaper than in Nairobi and the Scottish single malt, Glenmorangie, cost just US$28 as compared to $40-50 for the same bottle in Singapore, Europe and the USA!

Getting around : The first thing to note in comparison to Nairobi is there is little traffic except for rush hour in morning and evening. The roads are wide, even, and clean and it was a pleasure to drive even during evening hours.

Kigali is a small town and reminds me of Bangalore in the late 1980s before the big boom – it has pleasant weather, mountainous vistas, hillsides with homes and a slower pace filled with mopeds – such as TVS 50 and ubiquitous  "motos" = boda bodas. All drivers have helmets, with spare for riders and they are marked with numbers and names. Taxis were less commonly seen.

Where to stay: We stayed at the Hotel Chez Lando - close enough to the airport yet it felt central to the town. We paid US$ 60 per single room which were neat, clean and comfortable. Only soap is offered in the bathrooms though and such amenities were limited. On the other hand, guests have Wi-Fi internet  access (via password) throughout this garden style hotel.

There is breakfast included in the rooms, as well as a bar and restaurant . The hotel also has pleasant walkways with the heady scent of night blooming jasmine when walking through to the guest rooms.

Note: There was a theft in my room and the front desk was reluctant to act upon it in any way. We hear that police tend to say "It must be Kenyans" if thefts occur, and this had also happened to our colleague who had her house burgled by 4 armed men who took everything of value. Rwandans will claim Kigali is safer than Nairobi, but I leave that to your judgment.

Communications: Our Safaricom connection worked but even though Airtel advertising has seen around Kigali  the prepaid Airtel one did not, - & they say that it will be arriving soon.

The top two service operators here are MTN (see everywhere, discreetly) and Tigo. We also saw  internet cafes and  one assumes most businesses and hotels have broadband as that was widely advertised through RwandaTel. Is Rwanda working towards internet access (and thus provision of eGovernment services) for all? Yes, that I would agree with based on what I heard (though MTN money from the city to rural recipients, is not yet convenient for due to shortage of agents) and saw (our visa response rates)

Dining We ate at the Hotel Chez Lando that was reasonable with beer in an open air environment, food tends towards a European menu rather than more local offerings that seem available in Kenya;  one of the many Chinese restaurants  had good food, fast service and was affordable and there was also KhanaKhazana - a premium Indian restaurant  whose food (speaking as an Indian from India) was superb, some of the best I've eaten and the restaurant was packed with expats from all over the world.  The service was better, in my personal estimation, than in Kenya, although our Kenyan
colleagues feel the Rwandans to be slow. There is tradeoff made there for waiters here are empathetic, courteous, and willing to help you choose and navigate the menu.

Beer: Mutzig is the highly recommended local beer and its better than a Heineken and maybe (dare I say) than  Tusker! It comes in two sizes, extra large and regular and is the preferred beer over the more plebian Primus (considered the Budweiser of Rwanda). 

Our hotel's bar was packed with non resident diners (the front half is separated by a garden gate from the residential half) and had TV sets, a pool table and casual open air seating. On the other hand, with all its non smoking rules, and Rwanda is said to be stricter about smoking than Kenya.  However, this was not felt as a major constraint by our smoking colleague.

Shopping & Sightseeing: Not much of this happened due to our packed
work schedule but a  must-see in Rwanda is the Genocide Museum in Butare. The reverberations of this nations’ events of 1994  can still be sensed across the country (we went deep south close to the Burundi border as part of our
work, passing the Ethnographic Museum) and influences the country's patterns of behaviour. April is the national month of mourning and the country, effectively shuts down.

Rwanda cannot be understood without understanding this national event, and even our group (on a commercial trip) could not avoid the bullet holes in our local office, or the scars - both mental and physical – as some of our colleagues, narrated their stories of survival.

Business opportunities: MTN Money has been there for three years but rural agents are not as common as the local Bank Populaire de Rwanda – which has more rural outlets than MTN Money agents per local interviews on cash flow,  although for the city dwellers, it is more convenient. There is opportunity here, as the government moves towards eGovernment and providing internet access for all, for a wide variety of services and applications on the mobile platform.

One also did not see much activity such as jua kali metalworks, fabricators etc. and the rural market's household goods shop had only china made offerings and no local ware such as in Kenya. Only one tailor was seen on the 110 KM trip to upcountry locale. Biashara is not as obvious nor as common, and one has heard is much more regulated by local councils and regions. In Kigali, Indians were seen doing business as were the Chinese.

Biggest Surprise: Rural Rwanda barely noticed us mzungus and we did not feel we were foreigners like we had in other rural regions e.g.  in Kenya. Only in a rural market, was our Kenyan colleague teased for having a mzungu with her. Our second biggest surprise, (coming from Kenya,) was the minimal wall paintings seen  across rural Rwanda and how structured and regimented the buildings were - similar construction, similar colours and mostly natural earth walls in comparison to the bright series of walls  (with cheap corporate advertising) one sees in Kenya.

Overall, a peaceful, small, well managed nation was the impression left although one could see prisoners in their bright orange suits at work in the city as well in the rice fields in the rural areas. Prisoners do not escape when working the fields because, if they do, their families homestead will be confiscated in return by the government.

Summary: The sense was that Kagame would indeed reach his 2020 vision of becoming the Singapore of Africa, but I add the caveat of the obvious and unnecessary thefts from the hotel room as a caution.

Guide to Libreville

A guest post about a recent visit to Gabon 


Getting There: Kenya Airways has direct flights from Nairobi to Libreville (via Douala) and flies 3 times a week. It’s around US$1400 and the flight isn’t usually full.


If you don’t have a visa you'll need to buy one upon arrival. It costs €70 and you’ll need a letter of invitation. The airport terminal is new and clean and very easy to navigate. They often check yellow fever certificates but there are no unexpected taxes or other charges. The airport is very close to town so it’ll cost around US$5 to catch a ride to the centre.


Getting Around:  - French is the main language spoken in Gabon and you hear this on the streets more than local languages. There aren’t any English language papers.
- Prices vary considerably between local and tourist places so it’s hard to give a standard daily spend, but around US$ 20-30 should be reasonable.
- Libreville is a small and quiet city, which feels very safe to walk around, although you shouldn’t walk alone at night or take a taxi alone at night.


Shared taxis are the usual means of transport – a private car that picks up people by the side of the  road – you have to flag them down, tell the driver where you want to go and what you’ll pay (it’s around 200 CFA per kilometre). The driver then chooses whether to take you to the destination if it’s on his route and he’s happy with the price. You’ll need to double the price at night. If you want to be driven alone (i.e. for the driver not to pick up other passengers), the price is 3 or 4 times higher - you just spot an empty taxi and ask: “une course pour “(your destination)”.


Where to Stay:  Hotels are expensive, the best are L’Hotel du Phare in la Sabliere (2 mins from airport), Maisha (further along the main road in La Sabliere) and Le Meridien in Glass (5 mins after the Presidential Palace). Expect to pay around US$ 300/night. Cheaper options include l’Etoile d’Or in La Sabliere, a new Chinese-run hotel with purely Chinese furniture and fittings (everything from the soap dispenser to the toilet has Chinese writing on it and ridiculously bad English and French translations... although the food is pretty good!


Communications:  You can get full BlackBerry service although data speeds are slow and voice can also be problematic. There's a new cyber cafe at the entrance to the Montee de Louis (entertainment district with lots of bars and restaurants) and WiFi hotspots at Dolce Vita restaurant at Port Mole and Hotel du Phare in la Sabliere (diplomatic district near the airport). Electricity supply is pretty reliable.


Dining: You can eat like a king in Libreville – the quality and variety of restaurants is surprisingly good. There are great French restaurants, ethnic restaurants from many parts of the world (Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese), gourmet African food and more down to earth little “maquis”. Prices vary considerably - from dizzyingly expensive top range French restaurants such as Le Bateau Ivre and le Phare du Large, through to local joints which are much more affordable. The best value is often found in Lebanese restaurants (called “Cuisine Mediterranéenne”). They sell both Lebanese and French/Italian food for around $10. There’s a great open air pizzeria near the airport called Rivoli with an amazing selection of homemade pizzas. Also, Gabon specialises in bushmeat so you can find python, crocodile, porcupine and even monkey if you look in the right places...


You can get a beer in all bars very easily – local beer is great and cheap, and while prices vary depending on the establishment, usually for a dollar or two, you’ll be happy! . In bars, they talk about politics, business (theirs and those of their neighbours), sports and weather.

Shopping & Sight-Seeing: For shopping, Centre Mbolo is the main commercial centre with supermarkets and international brands. It’s a useful place but there’s nothing really special here. The town centre is also full of interesting shops - mainly imported goods but if you can’t afford travel to France you'll find French fashion at French prices... For local arts and crafts, there’s a great artisan market in the town centre selling art, masks, clothes, leather goods and other souvenirs.

The best thing you can do is take a boat from Port Mole to the island opposite Libreville – La Pointe Denis, where you see pristine and deserted white sandy beaches, backed by tropical forest – it’s an incredible place. Alternatively, you can drive to Le Cap, which is also a beach but you reach it through the forest so it’s an unusual and beautiful drive. The beach isn’t as good as La Pointe but lots of Gabonese (as opposed to tourists) have beach huts there so there’s a great atmosphere with family and friends hanging out and chilling.

Biggest surprise:  Gabon is a calm and beautiful country; 85% is forest as Gabon is part of the Congo Basin, the earth’s “second lung” and there are 13 national parks, in line with the Government’s commitment to protecting biodiversity and promoting sustainable development. There are beautiful waterfalls and huge rivers running through the forest and you can visit pygmy communities who still practice traditional rituals and preserve their culture. Gabonese art is unique and impressive – painting, sculptures and masks are all highly collectable although many of the top Gabonese artists live abroad.