Kra New Registration/ lost pin ONLINE

For individual -Kenya residents PIN registration, prepare the following information:
Your ID number
Your Date of birth
Your District
Your Mother’s last name
Your Father’s last name
Your year of birth
Your Address (P.O. BOX)
Your personal email address. Make sure you can access this email because your password will be emailed to you.

Click here on the KRA Website and select NEW TAX PAYER link enter the details above and print your PIN certificate.
For lost or forgotten PIN
For lost PIN certificates, of forgotten PIN send an email to ControlRoom@kra.go.ke giving them your ID number to get details of your PIN . Alternatively, contact KRA Online support staff on this number: 020 2815059 or visit any KRA office near you.
Once you get your PIN number, you can register online and print the PIN details.
To register for the PIN go to www.kra.go.ke/portal/. On your right navigation click Taxpayer registration, under E-registration Services. Next page is written “Welcome to KRA Online services. Please enter your ‘User Id’ and ‘password’ to access to the system services.” Click on the link New Taxpayer Next page is written: “KRA has some information from you that allows you get a PIN.” Resident  Non Resident  Company  Choose and click Validate Next page; fill in the following; ID Number, Date of birth, District of Birth , Mother’s Last Name, Father’s Last Name and your Year of Birth. Note: For the Date of birth select day on the calendar, month (from the pull down menu) ; for year click the button with three dots. On the pull down menu 2009, and click on the – sign until you get to the year you were born. The last page is straight forward, will need you to enter details depending on whether you are employed or self-employed, in business etc.

Review: This service is a step in the right direction and should be met with praise. At the very least a shorter queue is expected at the Times Towers and this will save a lot of time for those applying for the PIN certificates. The only barrier to this service is that the web developer overlooked usability of the service. This is very evident in that fact that visitors to the website have to ask for assistance from cyber café attendants. If web usability had been factored in the development process of the website then KRA Sessions with Cyber Cafes owners will not happen again, saving taxpayers money. And cyber cafe attendants will not, “have taken the liberty to introduce exorbitant charges relating to the services.” Web usability according to Wikipedia is an approach to make web sites easy to use for an end-user without assistance. The goal here is, “Don’t make a visitor think!” The broad goal of usability can be:

1. Put the most important thing in the right place on a web page or a web application.
2. To give the correct choices to the users, in a very obvious way.
3. Present the information to the user in a clear and concise way.

Put most important thing in the right place: The url www.kra.go.ke/portal/ was advertised on radio local daily’s as a place where you register for you PIN. In this instance, Taxpayer registration is the main goal for visitors accessing the website. A link to Taxpayer registration should therefore be obvious, prominent on the landing page. The link for Taxpayer registration is hidden on the right navigation in small text. A visitor to the website gets there after trying all the other links on the website. Give the correct choices to the users in a very obvious way: Then the page that follows: the link for New Taxpayer is hidden by the text boxes for ‘Identification’ and ‘password’. While filling the field for date of birth there is button to click to be able to input the day/month/year. The button is not obvious. It should have a call to action like click here. I hope these pointers will help the designer make something that is easy to use. It will save the KRA time spend teaching the public how to use the online service and will prevent cyber café clients from paying for an otherwise free service.

Disclaimer: This information is relevant as of 20th April, 2011. Though I have tried to make it as accurate as possible, please if there is any problem confirm at www.kra.go.ke/portal Originally posted at haw.

Mwingi Town, Hot and sweet

Hot and sweet is Mwingi town

A good traveller has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving - Lao Tzu
Like most Kenyans, my thoughts of Mwingi were associated with drought, scarcity of water and starvation and probably a couple of donkeys making their way up dusty hills.
The trip to Mwingi was eventful, the road reasonably smooth with a few surprise potholes and much bigger manholes. Though I travelled alone this time round, I realised just how fulfilling solo company can be. I was singing aloud to Peabo Bryson and Celine Dione and realised that that was not only therapeutic but also good for self-esteem.
Mwingi has several unexpected adventures in store. For instance, I found out that the people of Matuu do not believe anyone should travel alone. I had stopped at a roadside hotel for breakfast and found an unfamiliar young woman with some luggage leaning on my car. She was patiently waiting for me to give her a ride.
“Habari madam,” she greeted me in Swahili, “are you going towards Githiokoni?” She looked harmless, but being a typically cautious Nairobian, I stepped back and nodded.
“Can you give me a ride? I realise that you are travelling alone,” It was a polite but firm request. The one you cannot say no to. “How far is Githiokoni from here?” I asked her, expecting the usual novaa.
As if on cue, she replied, “Not far, round the corner, few minutes from here,”
We drove for almost thirty minutes before she asked me to slow down.
“Thank you madam, you will be very blessed,” she said as she pulled out her luggage from the back seat. As I was pulling out, a young man came running towards me and waved me down. “Madam, wait. Please, can you give me a ride to Mwingi?” I rolled my eyes and smilingly asked him to hop in.
“Wait a while, I collect my luggage,” he dashed off and immediately came back struggling to balance a heavy sack on his back. This time, I firmly turned him down. The sack was full of charcoal and the black coal dust had already discoloured his shirt.
Mwingi turned out to be a small sleepy town, with the friendliest and warmest Kenyans I have ever met. The fruits in Mwingi taste different, they are sweeter. Most were deeply coloured and concentrated, probably because they did not have enough water to turn them soggy as they were growing. When you visit Mwingi, be sure to bring back a lot of fruits to blend a nutritious mix of juice. On the same note, kienyeji chicken and eggs are a good bargain if you can contract a trader to get you some.
While in Mwingi, check into Mwingi Cottage hotel. The staff is professional and genuinely happy to welcome guests. The hotel has ample grounds for kids to play and clean cottages for the whole family. Cottage hotel is five kilometres from Mwingi town, therefore the quiet and serenity is welcome, more so for conferences.

Originally posted by Faith Gatimi

about Yucash

David Solomon,
Nairobi Kenya,

With yuCash, you can now send and receive money instantly and securely through your mobile phone. You can enjoy a variety of innovative and convenient mobile payment services:
This sim card is preloaded with the yuCash menu. To start enjoying the services:

1. Visit a yuCash Agent.
2. Fill in and sign a Customer Registration Form. Attach a copy of your National ID, Passport, Military ID or Diplomatic ID.
3. Hand in the form to the agent and get registered in the yuCash system Upon successful registration, you will receive a confirmation number directly from yuCash by SMS .

Then

1. Go to yu Zone and see the yuCash option.
2. Send a SMS with the words ‘YUCASH UP’ to 777.
3. Allow 2 to 3 minutes for the menu to become interactive.

Activate your yuCash account using the yuCash menu. The confirmation number will be required.
Start enjoying the yuCash services.