Another year ends which has been challenging in many ways, especially as the region has faced various environmental headwinds including economic constraints, a drought and more recently heavy rains, all exacerbated by considerable world turbulence. The effect has been a subdued performance for D&S, though still some growth has been achieved, particularly in the various subsidiaries and I'm very grateful to all the teams that have worked so hard to achieve these results.
D&S has taken a leading role in the effort to combat effects of drought in the region including the recent initiatives taken in Kenya by HE President Dr William Ruto and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua who have engaged the company directly. Group CEO George Mbugua and Branch Network Executive Margaret Kuchio recently signed an MoU with Nation Steering Committee on Drought Response leads Murage Murimi and Patricia Mugambi.
His Majesty King Charles III in October embarked on a state visit to Kenya, his first official visit outside of Europe since ascending the throne in September 2022. He was hosted by His Excellency President Dr William Ruto and toured various sites across the country as part of a busy program.
D&S Technical Division under Director Philip Holi have collaborated with key partner Huawei to host an event at D&S Tatu for the solar EPC Industry (Engineering, Procurement and Construction).
D&S has successfully supplied and installed state-of-the-art pool filtration and heating equipment at Glee Hotel, a prestigious 5-star luxury establishment located in the serene suburb of Runda, in proximity to Nairobi's UN and Diplomatic enclaves.
D&S Westlands has completed the successful integration of essential systems in the equipping of a comprehensive project at Gathura Investment's prestigious apartment block in the Pangani area.
September is the beginning of our Company year which commences with the recently held Annual Conference where we review the concluding year and establish priorities for the forthcoming one, the theme for the year ahead being 'Finding New Ways' . We live in turbulent times with both international and national events causing considerable concern and, like many companies some of last year's targets will be missed, though there has also been progress in many areas, particularly developments in the International Business Division, the Distribution Centre in Zambia and some growth has been achieved.