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6:01 I’d Rather Have A Vitz
» Diasporadical For whatever reason, we’ve managed to create the illusion that we at Diasporadical have something against the Vitz. Alas, we do not. They are perfectly sound vehicles, albeit small and laughable. But nay, Vitz owners, do not fret; there is yet hope. You see, I’ve gone out on the streets of this fair city and [...]
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5:22
Paul Sullivan presents his book ‘Kikuyu District’
» Storymoja Friday 1st October 4pm to 5:30pm Kikuyu District contains the edited letters of Francis Hall (Fort Hall) who lived in Kenya from 1892 – 1901 when he died from blackwater fever aged 40. His letters are among the earliest colonial records of daily life in British East Africa. He commanded Fort Smith near present day [...]
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4:49
Part 106: Hair and Weight
» MREMBO Understand this; NONE and I am not exgerjurating, NONE of my clothes fit me. It’s not even funny. When in Nairobi my sister went to Garissa Lodge and bought me 4 of those cheap Somali dresses for like ksh 150 each. I then had4 maternity dresses made for me at the cost of ksh 1000 [...]
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4:09
Kenyan Techies: Secondary School Survey
» White African Out of curiosity I put out a survey to the Kenyan tech community 2 days ago. I’ve always wondered which schools in Kenya put out the most people who move into positions within tech companies, or start their own. I now have 200 entries, which is a decent enough size sample, though I know if we did a true canvasing of the entire community that the results would be slightly different.
[2010 Kenya Techies School Survey]
Here are the resultsThe top schools
Starehe Boys’ (20) leads by a large margin, followed by the other big private schools; Strathmore (9), Lenana (8), Nairobi School (8), Alliance (7) and St. Mary’s (6). It’s clear that some schools choose quality over quantity, such as my alma mater Rift Valley Academy (2)…
There are a plenty of examples, such as Gitwe (1), which had only one graduate that come from all over the country. Clearly, many techies here in Kenya had to fight their way up from a challenging environment.
Year Graduated
I started this off in 1980 and went to 2009. There’s an interesting curve happening within the community on when people cleared school. The highest is the year 2000 (25). I wonder if there was something that happened in the school systems at this time to make the number go up, or if there is some other reason for that bump in 2000-2002.
Companies you work for
I was amazed at the number and spread of technologists across the tech companies in Kenya. Here is just a small sampling of 127 different companies that were listed of who people work for:Access Kenya
AFRICOM
Cellulant
Craft Silicon
Dotsavvy
Google
IBM
Kencall
Mobile Planet
Mocality
Nokia
Safaricom
The Standard
UN (different groups)
Virtual City
Wananchi Group
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4:02
Safaricom 2010 AGM
» bankelele Safaricom held their second AGM since their 2008 share listing at the Bomas of Kenya on September 2 2010.
Angry Shareholders: really complained into management, mostly about the low dividend, and lack of freebies – and the ~1,000 shareholders largely went home unsatisfied (the bus stage was quite full)
Low dividend: Different shareholders complained 20 cents ($0.0025) dividend per share was too low, was not recognized as currency in Kenya, was not comparable to the company’s 19 billion ($238 million) profit, was not worth picking if it fell to the ground etc. The Board Chairman replied that this was a result of the large number of shares and, it was 100% increase of the previous year, and they were looking into share consolidation as a way of making it more meaningful
No SWAG: Shareholders complained about not being given transport to the venue, why there were shirts only for Safaricom staff (they [shareholders] are better ambassadors of the brand), why they only got bottles of water & juice on a cold morning, and why they could not treat shareholders better, when companies like Kengen, many shareholders (~¼ of Safaricom) could? One shareholder who looked like he had been to a ‘local’ before he spoke, said he regretted buying the shares, admonished the company for taking from the poor (subscribers) to give to the rich (board), hurled a few other insults in his speech and walked out to some applause.
No SWAG also includes annual reports, which were handed out at the door, but which shareholders felt should have been mailed to them. The Chairman said that this was a logistical impossible, it would cost almost 250 million ($3 million) to mail 800,000 books and last year shareholders had themselves approved that reports be placed on their website or headquarters, with summarized versions printed in the newspapers. How unwieldy is the large shareholder base? The registrars’ computer list at the entrance was over a month old and they did not have records of anyone who bought shares in the last few weeks.
Is CSR bad for shareholders?: Later on when not satisfied with the Chairman’s response on the dividend, they began tackling expense items in the books to see if they could dig out some cuts to yield more profit. Ccorporate social responsibility items came under fire; this argument was first seen at Stanchart a few years ago when shareholders felt ‘their dividend’ was being diverted to unauthorized expensive projects (said shareholder and former MP Jimmy Angwenyi), and which were costly (But Chairman replied that the total amount was Kshs 250 million, broken into small impactful sponsorships like boreholes and schools that had no overall impact on the 8 billion dividend [$100 million]) . Again they went further and began tackling huge payment items (anything larger than the dividend) and suggesting to the Board ways to cut down these costs.
Competition from Zain Airtel: Shareholders also took a stab at management for the high costs of their services, in relation to Zain who had recently cut call and SMS costs to 3 shillings and 1 shilling respectively arguing that the company management is asleep and they will wake up when they find their customers have fled unless they too cut prices. Outgoing CEO Michael Joseph took on these and said they had studied Airtel in India and were ready for the price cuts, but were surprised by the underhand tactics/accusations that followed. Safaricom will find a balance to protect their customer numbers, market share revenue, but most important were their profit margins. He added these prices were unsustainable, but that Safaricom would still make more money at 3 shillings than anyone else
Share price: Later in comments about the share price which has declined in the last month, CEO said the market over-reacted to Zain/Airtel promo they are due to foreign sellers who don’t understand Kenya. They take parts in road shows to teach such investors about the market, how they EBIT margin of 42% is exceptional compared to others like MTN and Orascom, and 4 of the 5 analysts who cover Safaricom put the share price as Kshs 5.5 to 5.8 (who’s the dissenter?).
Farewell Michael Joseph: Late the Chairman called on shareholders to thank retiring CEO Michael Joseph who built the company up from nothing in 10 years to be leading revenue earner and top brand in Kenya.
Waving the patriotic flag: After the meeting ended, CEO gave a talk on his pride in the company, which is a Kenyan company one can be proud of with its customers, M-Pesa (which people all over the world come to study), M-Kesho savings accounts (500,000 users signed up in 2 months). It is 60% owned by Kenyans, which none of their competitors (i.e. Zain, Orange, Essar can claim), all their spend is in Kenya, all their profits are re-invested in Kenya, with nothing outsourced outside. It has 2600 employees (all in Kenya) , and supports over 250,000 other Kenyans through dealership and mpesa agents and another 1,500 in customer care (which they can move that to India but that would not be in spirit of the company)
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4:01
Nairobi City Council’s Walk Of Shame
» Diary of a gay Kenyan
Yesterday Imelda and I ventured to Gikomba market, a ward on the east of Nairobi with a thriving industry for many things. There you find jua kali artisans hammering and welding the most fantastic array of creations out of sheets of metal from storage trunks to guttering. We were after a barbecue which we quickly found and purchased after about 45 minutes haggling with enterprising Patrick Omondi, a very likeable chap who told me he’s been running his business with his orphaned nephew Tony for 8 years. Patrick even ordered us scalding-hot over sweetened tea served in green camping mugs; great guy with the whitest pearls I’ve seen in a long time and very surprising given how much sugar he puts in his tea. These are the faces of Kenyans that make me proud to be one unlike bloated politicians who make me sick. We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office (Aesop).After we loaded our purchase in the boot we both felt ready for lunch, Imelda said she wanted to eat some stewed tripe and I also felt like having some because it’s been a long time mainly because none of our household can stand the smell when it’s getting cooked. But we enjoy eating it, funny that, I know! I said to Imelda I know just the place where we can have some delicious tripe stew with ugali and lashings of hot kachumbari salad even though you risk catching some serious stomach bug due to suspect sanitation so I drove the short distance eastwards to Burma market because people should never fear an adventure. Well, after parking the car we had to wade through the most disgusting unimaginable filthy muck of muddy gunge. You can see the picture here in case you don’t believe me. It stank worse than raw sewage and looked like the vomit of a pregnant hippo. The bods at City Hall and whoever has been in-charge of the Constituency Development Fund ought to hang their heads in shame at the very least before rolling up their sleeves to shovel away this slime. Then they should explain how they can collect business permit fees, rates and god knows what other taxes and allow Nairobians to eke out a living in such deplorably unhygienic conditions. Anyway I hope I haven’t put you off your lunch or the erotic thoughts you’re entertaining about the new colleague in the tight top in your office when you really should be working. Actually, I didn’t even eat the tripe after that sight which believe it or not was right bang outside the entrance to the market! When we got to Edu’s stall - whom I haven’t seen in at least three years - I opted for roast meat and Imelda had stewed chicken with a saucer plate each of hot kachumbari. Both our meals were excellent and at budget friendly prices. You guys should visit Edu’s stall, say Tamaku sent you there for free food! Lol! But the moment was almost ruined afterwards when we had to retrace our steps over the soggy, gooey mess we both nearly brought up our lunch which would even have been a decoration to what was under our feet.
Tamaku
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3:16
Assenting to the Alcohol Bill-2010
» assidous Kibaki assented to the Alcohol Control Bill 2010. This legalises all traditional liquor as long as it is packaged hygenically. What this portends is simply a mind-boggling game changer in Alcohol sales in Kenya. Will EABL and Keroche the major beer sellers revert to production of traditional-cheaper liquor? Only time will tell, but opportunities galore.
On the Facebook and Twitter world, hilarious and absurd discussions have emerged on this new craze - Chang'aa Cocktails Names to be found at a pub near you. Some of these are quite innovative but other border on weird.
Here they are:
Slippery Eyes, Blindness on The Beach, Migingo Iced Tea, Kisii Anti-Witch Rum, Blind Mary, Crooked Walker, NyanzaPolitan, Morgue Pop, Single Shot, Famous Cham, Shauri Moyo Gin, Red Eye Shot, Chamnorff, Fire Lighter Graves Dry Gin.......!
And here is the wackiest of them all so far:
TANGAZO!
Je unauhaba wa stairo za kisasa wakati upo na mwendani wako? Usiwe na hofu-Mama Pima Ent, wagema wa chang'aa maarufu kumi-kumi na kuona-mbee sasa wakutangazia uzinduzi mpya wa chang'aa aina ya Promulga Brandy, Watermelon Ice pamoja na Mututho Gin yenye ladha ya vanilla zisizo pofusha wala kuathiri afya ya uzazi kwa bei nafuu
ONYO: Usiinywe kabla ya kufunga kamba kwenye magoti.
Sheria na masharti kutumika... [From FACEBOOK.]
Only Kenyans are this creative.
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0:43
Month of disasters turned into month of miracles
» You Missed This August has usually meant disaster for Kenyans. Even on a personal level my own mother suddenly and very unexpectedly passed on August 20th. One evening she was there and a few hours later she was gone. Founding father and first president of Kenya Jomo “land grabber” Kenyattta died August 22 1978. The list of disasters in the month of August for Kenyans is pretty long and includes the American embassy bombing in Nairobi in August 7th 1998 and the death of former Vice President Kijana Wamalwa on 23rd August 2003.
But this August 2010 was very different. Mighty different!!
I will continue with images from Kenya's KATIBA day in August over the next few days: Here the PM takes the oath of office.
Powerful forces behind the scenes including the president’s own close advisors not to mention his intelligence boys were very much against Kenyans getting a new constitution. Hopefully one day Kenyans will get to hear of at least a fraction of the things that went on behind the scenes to frustrate things. But historians will record that in the month of August 2010 miracles happened and Kenyans got a wonderful new constitution, in my view the best in Africa.
By some miracles one Mwai Kibaki who has never been enthusiastic and passionate about anything in his life (even the political fight of his life in 2007) was suddenly deeply passionate about Kenyans passing a new constitution and criss-crossed many different parts of the country campaigning like some youngster rookie president.
As the miracle month approached the end with the many wonderful things that happened, and as most Kenyans pinched themselves to confirm that it was all real and happening, yet another miracle was dropped on their laps. Folks went to bed paying about Kshs 7 per minute for their calls even as the leading mobile phone service in the country was still able to declare obscene profits in the region of 20.9 billion. The next August morning Kenya suddenly woke up to Kshs 3 per minute to all networks and short text messages to all networks was at a mere shilling. Zain the company that introduced these rates told Kenyans that this was NOT an offer but a more permanent rate structure. As you read this Kenyans are paying as little as 2 shillings for Safaricom to Safaricom calls (which is an offer as the company thinks of what else to do to keep its’ obscene profits).
Why the number of Somalis in Kenya exploded
By Guest writer
Early this year, rumours had it that the number of Somalis in Kenya have increased substantially. And that the results for the census that was carried last year were cancelled because of this. Actually, this story appeared in one of the tabloids in Kenya - The Star. Now, the results are out; Oparanya officially announced the Kenya Census 2009 results on 31st August, 2010.
Seems like they are not rumours anymore; the population of Somalis in Kenya which was just under a million in 1999 has more than doubled in just a decade and now stands at about 2.4 million. Is that possible? Yes and no. The new figures for the Somalis would not be possible if you base your analysis on natural growth alone, i.e. the net difference between births and deaths. But, there are many ‘non-natural’ reasons that could increase the population of a community.
Thus the question here is; what could have caused the exponential growth of the Somalis in Kenya? In my opinion there are many reasons underlying this seemingly doubtful growth rate that have nothing to do with immigration. And that the growth rate in essence could be a true reflection of the Somali population in Kenya. Therefore, these reasons include, but are not limited to, the following; changes in method of data collection and analysis, and changes in the pattern of intra-country migration – notably from nomadic to sedentary lifestyles. Other reasons could include inaccuracies, either deliberate or accidental, in the base population from which we found our previous assumptions. If, for example, the earlier census was not properly conducted or the results intentionally distorted, both of these would have an effect on the validity of our base population i.e. 1989, 1999 etc.
I know for sure the method of calculating Somalis in Kenya has changed. This, by sheer happenstance, I came to learn while a student at a certain college in Nairobi when we were given some assignments part of which entailed getting some figures from the census book. A friend of mine, he was a Turkana, decided for some reasons to compare the Somali population in Kenya to his community’s. He was shocked when he realized that the Somalis were indeed much fewer than the Turkanas. When I went back to the library with him, I was stunned too. The Somalis were divided into clans and each clan listed separately. Only a tiny minority were listed as Somalis. I later explained to my friend that the Degodias, Gurres, Ajurans and Ogadens he was seeing were actually Somali clans and not some distinct communities.
Why they decided to enumerate the Somalis in that manner is something that I have never understood. Now, if indeed the ‘Somali’ population, as listed in the 1989 census, was much lower than the Turkanas in Kenya, would the KNBS also be basing their analysis on inaccurate figures? Wasn’t it also easy for the guys behind these evil machinations to push the figures for the Somalis downwards? I have this feeling they not only could do that but they did. Why they did it is something that we would probably need to ponder on, for a long time to come.
Secondly, the Somalis in Kenya are predominantly nomads. We also know that the region mostly inhabited by these people has suffered from perennial drought and famine. This, I know for a fact, pushed many nomads to a sedentary lifestyle. Some of my relatives currently living in Garissa can attest to that. Also, it is only possible for government officials to enumerate settled residents. I thus, do not believe that the census clerks can exhaustively count nomadic tribesmen wandering in the expansive arid northeast, especially, when the census exercise is carried within a relatively short period of time. Therefore, the fact that many people now live in the urban centres in North-Eastern would definitely affect the number of Kenyan Somalis and of course push their numbers upwards.
Thirdly, and slightly related to the previous point is that the enumerators could have done a brilliant job this time round. I have a feeling that with each subsequent census the sophistication of the whole exercise improves. And this would have a positive effect on the census. Therefore, this would most likely increase the population of a community and in this case the Somalis who usually were not counted would effectively be captured by the census clerks.
Fourthly, I have this feeling that someone somewhere has some vendetta against the Somalis. I say this because it was only early this year when we heard that there would be some audit of Somali owned properties in the city. I am convinced that someone, reeling from the failure of the anti terrorism bill fail to go through, wants to pass the same through the backdoor. Thus as Kenyans we need to be careful about this shadowy figures.
Conversely, the argument that immigration, too, has something to do with the increase of the Somalis could be true. And, in the case that this is true then the government should be held responsible for that. How, for example, should Kenyan Somalis be held accountable for the corruption condoned by the government? If any non Kenyan Somali has illegally obtained Kenyan citizenship then I doubt whether their accumulated numbers could exceed a few thousands. Thus, I doubt this last point could substantially increase the number of Somalis.
Lastly, most of the above would also be true for the Turkanas whose numbers have also been questioned. Or, is this some clever way of justifying the imminent downward revision of the number of Somalis in Kenya? By making it appear as though it’s not just Kenyan Somalis they have a problem with? Anyway, I pray that sooner rather than later we will come to bottom of all this.
Question for Kumekucha readers to ponder:
Recent developments point to increased pressures to charge for quality content on the web and even at times on TV where it has mostly been free. And so is the future in TV services like DirectTV in the Americas Caribbean etc. and DSTV closer to home? What are your views? Would love some feedback in the comments area below.Kumekucha
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12:52
KCB Launched Online Payment System
» All about Africa and specifically Kenya Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) launched an Online Payment Solution. The system provides the tourism sector with an easy and affordable access to reservations and management of online payments. It is mostly geared towards electronic tourism and largely ideal for hotels, tour operators and other tourism merchants. KCB system has been done in partnership with Nightsbridge. Nightsbridge [...]
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11:36
ATTENTION : SPORTS BUSINESS, MARKETING in Kenya
» SportsKenya If you know of anyone in sports business, sports marketing, sports branding and any other consultants in sports in Kenya ( be they homegrown or international franchises with local offices) kindly send us a note at sportskenya@gmail.com. -
Sports Policy : - Mr. Minister less talk, more walk , please, will get it done...
» SportsKenya As is the case with every new Minister for Youth and Sports Affairs, there is lots to say but much more to do than portends to be. Mr Minister, as you aptly put it, there is a 'big' matter of the Sports Bill which ought to help administer sports bodies in Kenya some which have operated under rogue characters while others seem like monopolies tied to few individuals tightly running the discipline(s).
From our brief there are some more issues which though on paper are not being done. Our nosy selves found this little policy document which among others is supposed to have a National Sports Institute who's vision is ..."be a leading institution in sports training and capacity building in the country". There are the following bodies (centres) supposed to be set up under this Institute;- Centre for Sports Science
- Centre for Documentation and Information.
- Centre for Sports Marketing
- Sports Heritage Centre
There is the other sporting body that is under your Ministry going by the name Sports Stadia Management Board - which has become like a dumping ground for political cronies. They may have spruced up two of the countries biggest stadia, but that doesn't stop there. There are more 5 stadiums in need of reclaiming, renovating and generating the much-needed income that the Board is mandated to do. And no don't give us the charade that was the naming rights of one of the stadias, you lost and LOST BIG in the past 2010 World Cup ( by not hosting a single nation even for a day!).
Mr. Minister, there is the small bit that we have tackled down there of alcohol and the ban in advertising and sponsorship(s). With Tobacco out ( which almost entirely killed Kenyan rallying), and now alcohol, what options are there for sports federations to pursue and what is the line Ministry doing to cushion our fratenity against this?
Mr. Minister, we are about to go to another major meet in the name of Commonwealth Games. Shall we have the usual retinue of 50 athletes and 100 officials 'bloating our budget' yet coming home with less than 10 medals? As a Ministry, please help us save this much-needed spending by sending ONLY those deserving to be there.
As a Ministry too, work with the Finance Ministry to help get tax holidays, tax rebates for those willing to invest in sport. As an example, please travel to Brazil and see what they are doing hoping to become one of the few countries to host the Olympics and World Cup back-to-back. Being an emerging economy, we can learn so much from their success and see what can aid our fledging sports industry ( You might also want to make time for Cuba seeing as it the lost glory in our boxing team, fondly named 'The Hit Squad'.
Oops before we forget, there is the other matter of Football in Kenya...you know as we do, the 'magnanimity' of the world body FIFA in running the sport. We currently have a fairly organised local league which if well-managed and supported can see us become the 'pride of Africa'. The elections are around the corner. We shall be watching your move and that of the prospective officials...burn the midnight oil reading all those statutes that FIFA might use against the country and this document from Transparency International on local sports but for goodness sake, save the sport.
Well as we said, the less talk, the more you'll get the work done! Ours is to remain vigilant for the sake of the country and our sportsmen! -
It is OFFICAL - Alcohol Bill in Kenya ends Sports Sponsorships
» SportsKenya With the signature appended on the paper, Kenya's Pres. threw the alcohol industry into a new era. Gone will be the creative ads that have graced your screens, radios and billboards among others; your favourite drink will have larger imprints warning you of the harmful effects alcohol is likely to have on your health and that of your future generations.
In an earlier post, we had lamented about this given the amount of sponsorship and support accorded to sport by alcohol manufacturing firms in the country and the region too. Some firms seem to have read the script early and EABL in some mind-boggling changes dropped sponsorships from rugby, football and the premiere sport they have always supported, golf. (Wonder what happened to Tusker Sports...)
The tragedy for sport is that now more than ever there is need for companies to support this budding industry. The challenge though is seen in the form of companies being forced to enter into what some like to call CSR activities and also the sports federations developing very tight proposals for the companies they wish to target to approach for this.
If the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports is to be believed then let's hope to have robust sports industry....
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The Grid Goes Global
» bankelele The Grid, a mobile only social network owned by Vodacom, has gone global.
First heard about The Grid when 'Portfolio Manager', Vincent Maher, spoke at Mobile Web in Nairobi earlier this year.
- The Grid is a mashup of instant messaging, content sharing, location based services
- They target ads by location gender age time of day. Also they use location based adverts. To use LBA one needs user location, ad server that support this (Google does) and application that adds location. This is good for very small businesses e.g. hairdresser, plumbers, and they can expect to see low volume of impression but a high click though rate
- Users don’t need to have GPS to use the service as the Grid uses aerial photographs and their own maps (not Google maps)
- What is coming next? - Ambient (mood based) advertising
- Desire line anticipation (plot where you will be and advertiser prompts you to buy later when you get there)
The Grid has about two million users in South Africa, Nigeria and Tanzania. It rivals MXit, which dominates South Africa, and was launched in Kenya with Vodafone-managed Safaricom in May 2010.
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5:20
“Verse of Fire”: A Conversation with Benjamin Zephaniah
» Storymoja Sunday 3rd October 4pm to 6pm In “Bought and Sold,” Benjamin Zephaniah asks, “What happened to the verse of fire”? “Smart big awards and prize money,” he warns, are “killing off black poetry.” Poets who seek commercial approval risk losing their ability to find what Zephaniah terms “de magic poem,” a poem that “can ease [...]
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4:00
Literary Nigeria: Saraba Magazine
» Black Looks Saraba is an online literary magazine created and published by Emmanuel Iduma and Damilola Ajayi, two Nigerian students of the University of Ife. Saraba has just published its 6th edition in just 18 months and has gone from strength to strength. There are a number of Nigerian run literary blogs such [...]
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Rockefeller helps Farmers cope with Climate Change
» bankelele The Rockefeller Foundation involvement in Africa goes as far back as 1914 and one of their goals is to strengthen food security in sub-Saharan Africa.
Climate change is affecting food security and the current floods in Pakistan attest and African farmers are seeing wild swings in weather, coping with higher temperatures, less dependable rainfall, and experiencing longer droughts. In Kenya, the Rockefeller Foundation estimates that maize production could decline by 30% in the next 20 years.
Africa countries need to recognize their vulnerability to climate change as ½ billion people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, yet some governments are instead selling off buying tracts of productive land to other countries who are themselves investing to enhance their own food security through geographic diversification
The Foundation has thus made agricultural investments improve their productivity of farmers by reducing the risks they face through key innovations including
- Developing new affordable insurance products for small farmers & pastoralists that are indexed to weather; this encourages farmers to increase land & agricultural investment with the knowledge that they may be compensated if weather conditions adverse affect their harvest
pastoralists & their cattle camp in Nairobi's kileleshwa suburb during 2009 drought
- Funded the World Food Program to develop a software platform to predict most destructive elements; Known as RiskView, it can be customized or every district in every country in Africa and allows governments and aid agencies to when and where a drought will occur.
- Funded Kencall to implement a national helpline for farmers, staffed by a team of experts to answer farmer question on climate change, seeds, fertilizer, agro-dealer location etc – this will help overcome a challenge many famers don’t try new techniques or seeds because they don’t have enough information to take a risk. The information collected will become a research resource even outside Kenya.
- Partnered with Kenya-based Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), in a $50 million loan program through Equity Bank’s ‘kilimo biashara’ program in which the Foundation undertook some risk guarantee enabling the Bank lend to small farmers at below market risks who take up other products like fertilizer weather insurance, and use the help line.
read more -
Ship Repair in East Africa
» bankelele There’s an old company located near the port of Mombasa called the African Marine and General Engineering Company Limited - (AMGECO) which is a dry dock ship repair facility, and one of its kind on the East Coast of Africa.
The company has a long history in East Africa, and has gone through ownership and management changes over several decades, but the core investment is the Lloyd's certified giant facility & dry dock which carries out all manner of ship repairs including steel & metalwork, engine servicing, mechanical, electrical, cabin/woodwork, refrigeration/air conditioning and hull-cleaning among others. They also re-stock ships with provisions like food and water.
pic from their website
The facility can handle repairs of various ships including cruise liners, military , cargo, tankers and others in its 40 metre wide berth, and currently they are repairing one of the old Kenya Likoni ferries.
The skilled work and scope of repairs is fascinating, and ranges from light repairs of lifeboats to heavy ship re-building in their dry dock - and it makes for an interesting place to visit in Mombasa if you get the chance
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0:30
Kenyan Conversations 18
» Storymoja Comment on the blog under the picture on the Storymoja Blog or Send in a story or dialogue that is not more than 500 words long. Send in your story or dialogue to blogs@storymojaafrica.co.ke. Clearly mark in the subject Contemporary/Kenyan Conversations 18 The prize details are as follows: 1st Prize: 2000/-, 2 Storymoja books and 1 complimentary [...]
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18:40
Revenue Generation: It’s Not Theoretical
» Kenyanentrepreneur.com Send this article to Twitter!This post is prompted by two occurrences which I found myself confronting this week. The first is a situation where I am currently surrounded (& can’t escape) from an incessant theoretical bullshitter (from Russia). You see, everyday, this Russian (who is currently taking graduate classes) feels the need to inundated me with all the theoretical bullshit that she’s been learning in class. Lots of memo’s and term papers filled with graphs’ and charts and blah, blah, blah….typical graduate school fufu nonsense. Been there. Done that. Not interested. So, as I sat on my couch enjoying a glass of cheap Australian white wine (Little Penguin Pinot Grigio) — I kept wondering why this Russian would get so excited about theoretical, fufu, esoteric nonsense. I mean, why would this woman (who is in her thirties) be so clueless about the real world? I can understand if she was 21 and had just graduated from college and was just entering the work force, but if you’ve been in the workforce for a few years, things become real clear, real soon and you quickly realize that everything really comes down to money (and money is not theoretical). It won’t self-generate. [...]
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11:09
Water Candle
» Words Much Like Poetry the struggling light
flickers atop a water candle
a windy spell blows
and threatens to put it out
the flame almost leaps off
but grabs onto the icy wick
burning at the watery fuel
the flame dreams of the water
and the water holds its silence, unyielding
ceding no ground
betraying no emotion
but the flame burns still
on the water candle consuming the icy wick
the water seeks the company of the flame
the words exchanged of half passion
half mystery
betraying no emotion
a perfect perplexity of state
a perfect refusal of pairing
yet the flame burns
atop a water candle
the flame aches
denied for long
no chance handed him
no hint of future unity
the flame burns upon an icy wick
dreaming of the comfort of watery embrace
the water plays games of wiles
leading the flame's yellow heart to abeyance
leading it to passion's end
a place of hopelessness
and pointless visions
the water candle lets the flame burn
upon an icy wick it has stood for long
waiting for a sign of hope
the struggling light weathers down
waiting for the next gust of wind
to extinguish it for eternity
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10:40
“Verse of Fire”: A Conversation with Benjamin Zephaniah, Sunday 3rd Oct 4 to 6pm
» Kenyanpoet In “Bought and Sold,” Benjamin Zephaniah asks, “What happened to the verse of fire”? “Smart big awards and prize money,” he warns, are “killing off black poetry.” Poets who seek commercial approval risk losing their ability to find what Zephaniah terms “de magic poem,” a poem that “can ease our sorrows” and celebrate “our tomorrows.” A poet of the heart and of the head, Benjamin Zephaniah writes and performs socially engaged poetry, a poetry that makes audiences laugh and cry, feel and care, think and plan, engage the world in its possibilities and its obstacles.
Deeply committed to an ethical vision of the world, an expansive ethics that ranges from veganism to anti-racist activism, Zephaniah works on and off the page. He has championed a poetry that speaks to publics, eschewing the model of the isolated genius artist intent on writing in cryptic codes. His commitment to a democratic poetics is perhaps most evident in his writing for children in the volumes Funky Chickens, Wicked World, and School’s Out: Poems Not for School. Zephaniah is deeply committed to the future of a risk-taking poetry that pursues social and political utopias. In “Protest Poets,” he urges “human poets” to “unite,” “Lest we pass on to future poets / a world in which, poets do not fall in love / or mek mistakes.”
On this “Verse of Fire” panel, Benjamin Zephaniah is joined by Kenyan poets Tony “Smitta” Mochama and Njeri Wangari, in a wide-ranging discussion about the present and future of poetry, the relationship between art and activism, and how to engage multiple audiences through innovative performances. The panel will be moderated by poet and literary critic Keguro Macharia.
Bio:
Keguro is an Assistant Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Maryland, College Park. he belongs to the Koroga Collaborative and to the Concerned Kenyan Writers Collective. His writing can be found at gukira.wordpress.com
Bio:
Tony 'Smitta' Mochama is a successful journalist, and popular performance poet in Nairobi, with two published works of poetry to his name - 'What if I Am a Literary Gangster', and its sequel, 'The Literary Gangsta - II.' A third work of poetry 'Evanescence' is on the way ... Mochama has also lectured on creative writing and poetry, most recently as a guest speaker in June at Concordia University, in Montreal. A self-confessed vodka aficionado (no lemons, no avocado), the dread-locked poet also did Law at UoN, but sez: "Don't practice. Just preach!"
Bio:
Njeri Wangari is well known local poet/ spoken word performer, blogger and literary activist. Her first book of poetry was launched last month, Mind and Mind Fields: My Spoken Words. Check out her blog [kenyanpoet.blogspot.com]
Bought and Sold from "Too Black, Too Strong"
Smart big awards and prize money
Is killing off black poetry
It's not censors or dictators that are cutting up our art.
The lure of meeting royalty
And touching high society
Is damping creativity and eating at our heart.
The ancestors would turn in graves
Those poor black folk that once were slaves would wonder
How our souls were sold
And check our strategies,
The empire strikes back and waves
Tamed warriors bow on parades
When they have done what they've been told
They get their OBE's.
Don't take my word, go check the verse
Cause every laureate gets worse
A family that you cannot fault as muse will mess your mind,
And yeah, you may fatten your purse
And surely they will check you first when subjects need to be amused
With paid for prose and rhymes.
Take your prize, now write more,
Faster,
Fuck the truth
Now you're an actor do not fault your benefactor
Write, publish and review,
You look like a dreadlocks Rasta,
You look like a ghetto blaster,
But you can't diss your paymaster
And bite the hand that feeds you.
What happened to the verse of fire
Cursing cool the empire
What happened to the soul rebel that Marley had in mind,
This bloodstained, stolen empire rewards you and you conspire,
(Yes Marley said that time will tell)
Now look they've gone and joined.
We keep getting this beating
It's bad history repeating
It reminds me of those capitalists that say
'Look you have a choice,'
It's sick and self-defeating if our dispossessed keep weeping
And we give these awards meaning
But we end up with no voice.
Copyrights to Benjamin Zephaniah
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Lauryn Hill bounces back with 'Repercussions'
» Kenyanpoet She is back! and boy am I glad, although looking very different reformed and not as eccentric as we knew her. Lauryn Hill who has been on a break since the release of her Award winning Album 'The Mis-education of Lauryn Hill'.
Repercussions is the name of her new single. I would say her legendary raspy voice & style are still very much with her.
“There’s been such a long period of time where I haven’t been able to communicate where my mind is, where my consciousness is, where my ideas are,” Lauryn Hill told MTV News last weekend, following her performance at Rock The Bells in New York.
Talking of this come back, it seems to be an ongoing trend with the pioneers of the Neo-Soul movement/genre. Erykah badu is another Icon who has shed her signature head wrap, platforms and long dresses and early on in the year, Maxwell made a comeback, lost the unkempt afro and the retro funk look to suits.
Whats happening, somebody fill me in!
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The Kenya Boys Choir in 'Trees for Harmony Concert' 4th & 5th Sept, @ Alliance Francaise, Nairobi
» Kenyanpoet 
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How to make love to a woman
» Diary of a gay Kenyan Hi diary. What have I been up to? Well this morning Imelda and I decided to go to Nairobi's Central Business district, something we very rarely do. The streets are just too crowded and it feels as if one is always navigating around people who stop to chat in the middle of the sidewalks oblivious of other pedestrian traffic. Anyway we parked the car at the Stanley carpark where the Nakumatt store that was destroyed by fire used to be. Then we made our way along Kimathi Street, Imelda was making me laugh saying that I should have worn that scarf I recently knitted for George because I was saying how cold I was in just a t-shirt. It's ridiculous that Nairobi is still chilly in the mornings even now in September.
We looked at some shop windows along Mama Ngina Street and went into Bata just next to Dormans where I treated Imelda to a lovely pair of brown Hush Puppies. She was over the moon with them. I was too with the free gift of a hijab which I got as part of the Eid Mubarak promotion that Bata have on at the moment. After that we popped into Dormans for an early lunch. I had grilled beef kebabs with sorrowful looking chips and served with a slice of tomato and a slice of cucumber! Imelda had a fish curry served with fried vegetable rice and a more substantial side salad.
I was feeling sleepy after the meal so Imelda drove us back home. I've just turned on my laptop sitting in the garden thinking about that hijab which I plan to wear for George coming home from work today. We can have some role play, I think I'll ask him to call me Shaafia for one night only, lol! I wanted to know how to wear the hijab like the alluring Kenyan Muslim women that fascinate me so much when I see them on the streets so I decided to ask google how. When I typed 'how to..' the top suggestion that showed up was 'how to make love to a woman'....Hmmmm. Surely.Tamaku
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5:38
Castle 7's : Kenya Shujaa fall in Plate semis
» Rugby in Kenya Castle 7's : Kenya Shujaa fall in Plate semis
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5:19
The Indian Black Butterfly invites you to her join her Transformation CirQle.
» Storymoja Friday 1st October 2pm to 3:30pm Tazim Elkington – The Indian Black Butterfly – has a mysterious sense of ‘knowing’ how to tap into the spaces people are unsure of stepping into. Her sessions are unique and rare as they take a life of their own as moments unfold. She challenges limitations, norms, comfort zones and [...]
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5:04
CCK reacts to red number urban legend
» REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG Yesterday my bro came to me with a funny story of a red number calling which meant that you die at 1 am or something like that. I grilled him how the number would predict my death and he said he was being nice to the sister.
I laughed and reminded him of the movie one missed call, which had a similar story. He indicated that the story was going on Facebook and I can imagine it has spread very fast. I though it was only him.
But this morning someone raised the issue on a mailinglist and I wondered whether they were serious. Well, it seems am the only one not clued in because the Communications Commission of Kenya has just issued a statement to that effect.
I must say I am impressed by the way CCK has been responding to issues nowadays; from managing price wars to determining dominant player status in the telecoms industry, seems they are alert and I think it can only get better.
It also shows CCK is committed to ensuring the broadcast media exercises caution because it has reacted fast; maybe to cut the fear mongering. Maybe in hot political times, CCK will say that it acts all the times, whether political or otherwise.
Anyway, here is the press release from CCK....
The attention of the Commission has been drawn to SMS and email messages that are doing the rounds in the country warning mobile users against receiving calls from unknown or certain listed numbers. The messages further allege that receipt of calls from either the unknown or listed numbers would cause “brain haemorrhage due to high frequency”.
Upon analysis of the messages, the Commission has established the warnings are a hoax generated by unscrupulous people bent on causing fear and despondency among members of the public. The listed numbers are non-existent as mobile, fixed or international calls. In addition, the alleged haemorrhage due to high frequency has no technical basis whatsoever. The Commission, therefore, wishes to urge the public to ignore these messages and go about their business without any fear. The public is also advised to avoid fuelling the fear by transmitting the said messages to friends and family members either through SMS or email forwarding.
The Commission also wishes to call on the media, particularly FM stations, to exercise responsibility and avoid fuelling fear and despondency among Kenyans by dwelling on these baseless rumours.
We further wish to warn the originators of these messages that they are in breach of the law (i.e. Section 29 of the Kenya Communications Act, 1998). The Commission is already in contact with law enforcement agencies to ensure that the perpetrators of this crime are brought to book.
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4:48
SC Day 1: About Me
» Memories, Sentiments, Rants and Raves Day 1 of September Challenge: 5 interesting/special facts about myself.- I am afraid of the dark ,until recently i had to sleep with a night light on though am learning to exhaust myself so that i just blackout once in bed.
- My friends are classified in terms of where i knew them from and tend to hang out with each other in those classifications. I have people i was in school with, people grew up with, my blogger friends, Rotary friends, workmates and others.
- As a kid i couldn't stand going to the farm, i would literally do anything to avoid it. Now two weekends a month am in the farm and it seems to be all that i think about.
- I love everything to do with food. I love to shop for food, cook, eat and try out new things. I have this endless collection of recipes that are all to be made someday.
- I don't know how to wash and oil my hair i have to go to a salon for that to be done. Maybe i know just don't think that it comes out as clean as when its done by someone else.
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1:25
Mobile phones: It is 5.5 million households not mobile phone subscribers
» All about Africa and specifically Kenya Confused by the 5.5 million census number on the mobile phones? Here are the facts: Household ownership of Mobile phones..5,538,689 which is 63% of Kenyan total households. At the same time 105,367 households own landlines. The landlines figure translates to 1.2% of Kenyan total households. That figure does not refer to the number of [...] -
0:15
7 Amazing Digital Marketing Influences Awaiting to Happen in Africa
» All about Africa and specifically Kenya By Gaita Wamucii Never before have we seen a technology shape our lives in ways beyond imagination like the internet is doing. Don’t you think it is an interesting time to be in Africa? What I explore in this article, though, is what is slowly becoming and will be of the new digital marketing era in [...]
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La Morena and her... Negroe
» Words Much Like Poetry by Jerome Hambrick
I could have used your company last night
Could have talked or had a tongue and kitty fight
And no, I'm not all right
Until you come over and fix my plight
Had a most stressing day
And was looking towards some one on one word play
Your presence is enough for me
I drink you in and perspire glee
I remove you from your pedestal
And return you back... your love gently bruised
No matter the path I find beneath my feet
I sense you just over my shoulder hovering, lovingly
I enclosed you in our love knowing your fear of small places
That defenseless look... could almost taste it
And I know it's sick but seeing you that way turns me on
But understand my illness will do you no harm
My nature rages to overwhelm and break right through
But I would turn tide on myself before it turned on you
Because you loved me and you knew I wasn't right
And for that I'd kiss your feet or risk my life
You see the world needs more people like you...
That can separate between Black and Evil
And know that one is an adjective and one is a people
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James Baldwin “Precious Lord, Take My Hand”
» Black Looks “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” – I learned a great deal from James Baldwin and haven’t written as much as I had planned. But I read and read. On my bedside table I have copies of Notes of a Native Son and The Fire Next Time. I randomly opened the latter with [...]
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7:41
Tandaa Announces Winners of Kenya Government Information Portal grant
» A Nairobian's Perspective ! 
The Kenya ICT Board has just released the names of the winners of the Kenya Government Information Portal grant 2010 .The successful bidders will each receive a Grant Amount limited to a maximum of US$ 50,000 for firms and US$ 10,000 for individuals. The Tandaa symposium was conceived with the aim of generating and distribution of locally relevant digital content,the initiative grants seed money to webprenneurs with ingenious products to develop the same.
Among the winners cited at the website and their innovative projects include:
1. Octopus ICT Solutions Ltd for their 'HIV and AIDS in the workplace e-Learning Course' that will bring HIV and AIDS workplace policy to every civilian servant in the country. Starting with training for over 40,000 health workers in the first year, Octopus will develop an eLearning course that will work to sensitize civil servants on how to address HIV and AIDS at work and in their private lives. The course will help to reduce stigma and create a safe and supporting working environment for all civil servants including people living with HIV.
2. Infotrack Strategic Solutions Ltd for their 'Teacher's Portal' that will link teachers to their employers, the Kenya Teacher's Service Commission. Teachers across the country often have to travel al the way to Nairobi to access service. The portal will allow the TSC to reach teachers country-wide with services and teachers to communicate easily and effectively with the TSC. The portal will also have public facing competent allowing citizens to review information on teachers in each county.
3. iBid Labs for their 'Kenya Online Museum' project that will seek to document Kenya's history online. Through multi-media, ibid labs will capture 3 million years of Kenyan history to be distributed online and accessed from mobile phones. Inspired by over 25 museums in Kenya that host a rich history of the country, ibid started their project several years ago by extensively researching Kenya's history. The grant will give them the opportunity to realize their dream of making Kenyan history accessible to all Kenyans.( this is quite creative and will indeed rake in revenues with additional tourism interest being generated)
4. Foundation Support Services (FSS) Ltd for their 'IVR Tax Filing Solution', which will offer a voice prompted option for tax filing. The Interactive Voice Response system will allow any Kenyan with a mobile phone to fill taxes in variety of Kenyan languages. The system will help more Kenyans fallen their tax requirement. The team at FSS have a variety of experience in voice enabled technology and are passionate about making service available to all Kenyans country-wide.
5. BTI Millman Company Ltd for their 'eMazingira Software Application' - an open source application that will run on Ushahidi's crowd-sourcing platform. eMazingira will concentrate on documenting and collecting information on environmental degradation and abuse. The environment is one of Kenya's most precious resource and eMazingira will help citizens ensure that our natural resources are preserved for future generations. Citizen will be able to report environmental degradation cases to a dedicated mobile short code number and the information relayed to the relevant authorities for action. People will then be able to view reported cases and the actions being taken on an online interactive map of Kenya.
6. RiverCross Technologies Ltd for their 'EDUWEB - An education institution listing and interactive mapping portal' that will provide a comprehensive list and interactive map of all education institutions in the country allowing users to locate institutions by proximity to relevant locations. The solution seeks to integrate data already available from the Ministry of Education, as well as additional information--all accessible from a computer or mobile phone. The portal will allow students and parents to research and identify the best schools and will also the allow the public to view and analyze vital data on educational institutions.
7. JBA Advertising Co Ltd for their 'Lost and Found Project', which will collect information on the hundreds of IDs and official documents lost every day and provide an online and mobile based solution for search and retrial of lost documents. Loosing an ID can be quite a debilitating experience, and yet the document could be lying in a building or office nearby. With security and privacy in mind, JBA Advertising will build on a platform they have developed over the years to enable Kenyans to find their documents by accessing the internet or a query from their mobile phone.
Without doubt the Kenya online sphere is rapidly developing and creating avenue for creative solutions and products to develop.Our ministry of Information especially the vibrant Permanent Secretary Mr Bitange Ndemo are actively involved in harnessing and encouraging the development of local talent, products and solution.
Indeed here at 'A Nairobian Perspective Blog' we laud their efforts and congratulate the winners .It is our sincere hope that with the financial impetus much good will be accomplished and that the resources will be conscientiously utilized in the development of user friendly portals that will enhance the Afro-presence on the digital divide.
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5:17
Kathy Vaughan presents ‘Management Proverbs’
» Storymoja Sunday 3rd October 4pm to 5:30pm at the SHFK 2010 Growing up, everyone learns lessons about life through direct instruction and through our social environments. Some are positive, some negative, some unexplored. This session will engage the audience in thinking about proverbs as a tool for the modern workplace. The audience will have a chance [...]
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Nyanza To Be Double Taxed Under The New Constitution
» You Missed This By Mwarang'ethe
On 27th August, 2010, the day Kenyans promulgated a “new constitution,” the Kenyan Prime Minister, Raila Odinga told us that, in accordance with the best constitutional experts, we are “Free at last, from the tyranny of the State,” as we read here. On his part, the President, Mwai Kibaki told us that, “It’s a new dawn for Kenya, and we deserve to celebrate,” as we read here:
To reinforce this wonderful message, Julius Kipng’etich, he of the KWS, told us jubilantly this: “Ready for takeoff: Finally, Kenya has a blueprint to be an economic powerhouse,” like Singapore, Honk Kong and Botswana as we read here:
On our part, we declare that, to rely on so called constitutional law experts to draft a constitution was a terrible mistake. What we needed are men and women well versed with Ancient, Middle Ages and Modern history (history of rise and decay of civilizations), economics (history of economic ideas), philosophy (moral philosophy) and sociology. With such people, we would only need a single lawyer, who need not call himself pompous names such a constitutional law expert, for his job will be that of a mere draftsman. This is a heavy charge against eminent lawyers like Ghai and Nzamba Kitonga. However, we shall support it by demonstrating how Nyanza, a region that has suffered terrible economic injustice in the past will now be double taxed under this wonderful “new constitution ” of theirs.
On 31st May, 2010, the DN reported this: “Fishermen on Lake Victoria to pay fee.” See here . Among other stuff, we read this: Fishermen on Lake Victoria will soon start paying fees to be allowed to ply their trade on the water body. This is one of the ways that a joint fisheries ministers meeting between the three countries using the lake came up with as a source of funding. It is among a raft of measures aimed at raising money to run affairs of the sector. Also, “All countries must ensure that the landing site user fee is legislated as a funding mechanism for Beach Management Unit.”
By introducing land rent on the Nyanza fishermen, the Kenyan government is telling them this. No other Kenyan will pay taxes to maintain the lake. All the revenue to maintain the lake must therefore, come from those who benefit from resources provided by Nature. This is the way forward, and we fully support this proposal. Our proposal along these lines can be read under “Proposed Constitution: Land Question Mishandled ". However, note this very carefully. In addition to this land rent, the poor Nyanza fishermen will also pay other taxes such as VAT when they buy necessities of life like salt and sugar.
If the poor fishermen from Nyanza must exclusively pay to maintain “their” lake, how do we propose to treat those others who “fish” in waters called Nairobi, Thika road or Machakos etc? The answer is here. On 7th July, 2010, inquiring mind read this in the Standard: “Speculators anxious over Machakos land”.
Among other stuff, inquiring minds read this. A certain bare land in Machakos “turned into a fruitful vine overnight after the State made its intentions public on the development akin to California’s Silicon Valley.” In other words, when the State, whose tyranny we are told is over by Raila Odinga announced the INTENTION to build some infrastructure funded by the VAT paid by the poor fisherman from Nyanza, a lot of “investors” rushed to buy land to “secure vantage positions ahead of the technopolis."
Why are they doing this? Simple, "People who bought an acre at Sh300, 000 and less five months ago sold it at Sh800, 000 within a month." Simply, within a month, these so called investors pocketed Sh500, 000 while doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. So, who has made these millionaires and billionaire? The poor fishermen in Nyanza who must pay VAT, income tax to the Kenyan government so as to build the infrastructure which raises the value of the land for the FEW who are strategically placed. If you do not call this tyranny and ROBERY, then, we would like hear what you call it. Simply, ROBBERY just like that of a common thug with an AK 47, but, this time without guilt feelings because you can hide behind a fiction called State.
There have been endless talks about wealth gap between the Nyanza fishermen and “investors” such as the ones we read about here. Herein, we demonstrate the SOURCE. So, how do solve the problem? Extremely simple. Require those who “fish” in Nairobi, Machakos, Thika road etc to EXCLUSIVELY pay for the privilege of “fishing” in such rich waters. In other words, STOP ROBBING the poor Nyanza fishermen via VAT etc, and require those who occupy Muthaiga, Karen, Thika road, Kiambu, Machakos to pay for the police, roads, and sewage.
Where will they get the money from? Only a constitutional lawyer cannot see what a fool can see. Take the sh500, 000 as an example for all the land surrounding the technopolis and fund the common infrastructure therein. If these so called “investors” (gamblers) want to get rich, we are very happy with that, but, let them develop the land and build factories so as to create real wealth if they are men and women of substance. Even better, we will leave them to pocket all the gains once they pay land values.
There are those like Phil, Chris, and Philip who have asserted that, we are utopian. Fine. We ask why is it utopian when we demand that, those who occupy land in Nairobi be treated in the same manner as we propose to treat the poor fishermen in Nyanza? In all honesty, we have demanded what is just in law and equity. This is so because; we have demanded what is right before God and Man.
Let the useless land speculators who unlike the Nyanza fishermen who give us food relinquish land values created by poor fishermen from Nyanza so as to fund the necessary infrastructure. So, implemented, we would relieve the long suffering fishermen from this state sanctioned tyranny and robbery? This is the SIMPLE formula for liberty and wealth creation.
However, instead of such a simple formula, Kenyans have come up with complicated nonsense to hide their naked formulas of oppression. We denounce these complicated formulas for what they are. The shameless shifting of the man’s curse that; he shall eat bread from the sweat of his brow, to the shoulders of his helpless brother. We therefore, violate both Divine and Natural laws for we build a nation in total disregard of true nature of both physical and moral nature of man. Nothing built upon such rotten foundation can stand. A heavy price shall be paid for this attempted impunity.
Many conclusions flow from above observations. Firstly, the failure to adhere to what we have said has brought about so called welfare state. However, anyone versed with the history of this stupidity from the Roman times, knows where all is going to end up. Even worse, when we refuse to take what is social wealth by privatising it, we drive the land prices up through speculation which eats all our bank credit as they try to grab a piece of the free lunch instead of funding real wealth creation.
The consequences for this are very grave for we squeeze industrial capitalist’s profits and thereby, wages for the labour. How we intend to industrialise a nation of low profits and low wages is unknown to us. In other words, we have squandered the greatest opportunity to lay a firm and just foundation for industrializing our nation so as to remove want among our people.
Some will tell us about the land commission that is forthcoming. Well, our answer is that, we have seen this movie many times in history and we are pretty sure what is going to happen. For instance, the “new constitution” talks about limiting the size of land. As the Machakos story educates us, it is not size that matters, it is three things. Location, location and location.Kumekucha
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SwiftRiver: Curating in an Age of Information Overload
» White African In an age of information abundance, curating meaning is key.
9 months ago that is just what Jon Gosier set out to do as he took over the reins of the SwiftRiver initiative at Ushahidi. Today he announces the Beta release, and unveils the new website at Swiftly.org.
What is SwiftRiver?SwiftRiver Open Beta Announcement. from Ushahidi on Vimeo.
“SwiftRiver is an open source intelligence gathering platform for managing realtime streams of data.”
Using 5 different tools in the toolbox, you can create a host of useful applications. Tools ranging from natural language processing to handling duplicates, or a source’s importance in the ecosystem. Much like a box of Lego’s, the value and usefulness of the apps created are up to the creator.
SwiftRiver lets users:
- Manage realtime data streams (e.g. RSS, SMS, Twitter, Email)
- Identify relationships between content (e.g. email and tweets)
- Set parameters to auto-filter incoming feeds
- Curate content based on preferences
Like all Ushahidi work, the code is free and open source, anyone can download it, contribute to the code, and run it on their own server. Due to it’s complexity, SwiftRiver also offers a software as a service solution, allowing you to tap our servers for your own needs. Swift Web Services (SWS) is our cloud platform. The platform offers a number of different APIs to developers. With this platform you can easily beef up your applications with natural language processing & active learning, reverse geocaching, distributed reputation, content filtering and web analytics.
This first app, called the Sweeper is the first project to enter Beta and now ships with SwiftRiver. Sweeper, is a term Ushahidi uses to refer to people who ’sweep’ through a system, performing certain tasks, and it was for this reason that we put the Ushahidi resources behind the whole initiative.
SwiftRiver | Sweeper
History, contributors and codeThe origins of SwiftRiver are in the community of Ushahidi developers and users. Chris Blow and Kaushal Jhalla asked some hard questions after the Mumbai terrorist attacks in 2008, discussing the need for something that can help with this information overload we have in the first few hours of an emergency or disaster. Today, we’re seeing the first fruits of that technology, and it’s exciting to know that the potential for it’s use goes far beyond the crisis scenarios that we first envisioned.
Matthew Griffiths (Uganda) and Neville Newey (South Africa) have done a great job hacking out much of the code and designing the architecture for the platform. They’ve been joined by an army of volunteers and contributors, including: Joshua Bronson, Soe, Nishith Rastogi, Mang-Git Ng, Josh Bronson, Ivan Kavuma, Andrew Turner, Chris Blow, Kaushal Jhalla, Ed Bice, Moses Mugisha, Victor Miclovich, Wolfgang Werner, M. Edward Borasky, Maarten J. van der Veen, Ahmed Maawy, Colin Meinke. A huge round of thanks to everyone who gave freely of their time and energy to move this project forward!
Find out more on the website at Swiftly.org
Download the code, v.0.5 Cape Jazz
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0:30
Kenyan Conversations 17
» Storymoja Comment on the blog under the picture on the Storymoja Blog or Send in a story or dialogue that is not more than 500 words long. Send in your story or dialogue to blogs@storymojaafrica.co.ke. Clearly mark in the subject Contemporary/Kenyan Conversations 17 The prize details are as follows: 1st Prize: 2000/-, 2 Storymoja books and 1 complimentary [...]
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James Baldwin 8 : Who is the Nigger? or Reclaiming the Dream 2010
» Black Looks A short clip from “Take This Hammer” in which Baldwin throws the “nigger” back at whiteness who invented him in the first place. Very pertinent in these moments of escalating right wing anti-Muslim hatred – a hatred invented to fill a void of hate that must always be full. Without hate there is [...]
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Reading the Safaricom Tea Leaves
» bankelele Post two of three: Safaricom has been one of the most progressive companies in terms of investor relation’s management, largely because of the cost of their large shareholder base. They spearheaded move to avail electronic instead of printed annual reports and payment of dividend by m-pesa, as opposed to cheques which were unviable for many shareholder who had the bare minimum of shares. Another benefit of electronic reports is that they are easier for potential investors to obtain (some companies print as few reports as legally possible and they don’t circulate widely)
Inside Safaricom's 2010 A/R
Shareholders: - Safaricom has 787,363 shareholders down from 828,912 in 2009
- The Government of Kenya has acquired more shares in the company despite a stated move of divestment. This year they have 22 million more shares, going up from 35% to a 35.06% stake
- Overall there are more foreign buyers of Safaricom shares, but NSSF Rwanda may have exited
- Director Esther Koimett bought 517,600 shares, and chairman Nicholas Nganga has 850,100. Outgoing CEO Michael Joseph and Finance Manager Les Baille each own 2.5 million shares, while their replacements, Bob Collymore and Chris Tiffin have none
- Last years’ AGM (the first since NSE listing and prominently advertised as having no handouts or frills) was attended by just 2,182 shareholders.
- 180,000 shareholders got their 2009 dividend by m-pesa (mobile phone payment)
Performance - Revenue breakdown of the 83 billion ($1 billion) in revenue voice accounted for 75% (2009: 83.4%), with SMS and other data at 9.7% (2009: 8.8%), Mpesa at 9.0% (2009: 4.2%) and equipment sales at 4.4% (2009: 3.3%). Revenue growth was 8% for voice, 32% for SMS/Data and 158% for Mpesa n all categories was positive with voice at 7.8%, SMS and other data at 32.4%, 58% for equipment sales and 158% for Mpesa
- North Eastern Kenya region is growing by over 200% owing to improved security
Other Numbers - Earned Kshs 7.6 billion ($95 million) from m-pesa (up from 2.9 billion in 2009)
- Has Kshs 10 billion ($125 million) in cash and short-term deposits, up from 4 billion the year before. Safaricom earned interest income of Kshs 350 million in the year
- Borrowings comprise 6.28 billion from a consortium of banks, 2.3 billion from one bank, and 7.5 billion in corporate bonds
- Have 2,000 dealers and 200,000 retailers
- Pay income tax at 27%, compared to 30% before they listed at the NSE
Staff - Launch ESOP in 2009 with 101 million shares and which will be issued in 2013. 2165 staff (88% of total) have joined the scheme
- Key management were paid 522 million (up from 438m)
- Of their 2,470 staff the company has an almost equal ratio of male and female employees
Fibre/Data Investments: - are investing 890 million into Seacom: they paid 316 million and balance of 573 million is to be paid over the next 5 years
- Paid 2 million to TEAMS for a 22.5% stake (other shareholders are GoK and Telkom both with 20%)
- Paid KPLC Kshs 116 million as part of 290 million for use their power network for fibre distribution over the next 20 years
- Bought packet stream data networks, for wimax,for Kshs 373 million shillings, and has lent Kshs 600 million to One communication (in which they own 51%)
Customers - their internal customer delight index had a measure of 7.38 last year against a target of 7.76
- Its true that premium customers get better customer service - there is a platinum line at call centre to service platinum (high end) customers on a prioritized basis (i.e. even by calling regular customer service free help line, ‘100’ they get through and served faster
- Safaricom business has over 2,000 customers including airlines, media houses, banks
- Mobile data is responsible for 90% of data revenue
- customer growth (their measure) Safaricom took up 65% of new phone lines in last year
- website: Safaricom the most progressive companies in online investor relations in terms of results and investor briefing posted on the web site and now dividend payments by mobile phone. It now uses twitter & facebook accounts, to promote its services and also try and (slowly) responsd to numerous customer service and product queries posted online
Rival disclosures: Safaricom’s main rival is Zain Kenya - and while it is not a listed company, the former Zain parent was listed on the Kuwait Exchange, and used to produce some extensive reports on their African operations - ranking individual countries by revenue, profit, subscribers - which was information that the local Zain office did not typically share. Similar information can also be gleaned from Orange of France about their Telkom Kenya operation.
Zain Africa sold to Bharti Airtel of India and while a financial quarter is yet to pass since the takeover, it appears they may follow the trend, as they are also a listed company with segmented reporting requirements. For Kenya in July 2010, they note that:
- Airtel Kenya has been given additional frequencies that enable it to offer 3G services
- All operators will have the right to borrow funds from the universal service fund (a fund that will comprise 1% of mobile operators annual turnover) and to use to set up infrastructure in the identified rural areas.
- Kenya companies are Bharti Airtel Kenya B.V. (name changed from Celtel Kenya BV), and Bharti Airtel Kenya Holdings B.V. (name changed from Celtel Kenya Holdings BV)
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11:04
Evoking Hawa – A Photo-Collage Exhibition by Jerry Riley
» Storymoja Filed under: Writing
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Reclaiming the bones: The African Cemetery on Higgs Beach, Key West
» Black Looks Last week I went to Key West – the southern most tip of the US and part of the Florida Keys. The Keys are a series of small islands joined together by bridges and causeways. I had heard nothing but good things about them especially Key West which was home to Tenneesee Williams [...]
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How your county government will transform Kenyan politics
» You Missed This I missed the Katiba celebrations because I came down with something quite serious on Friday night. Am still resting but mercifully the worst is now over. I guess we shall have to continue my weekend special on the Kamba people next weekend.
There are many things in Kenya which are going to change enormously after the events of last Friday. In fact right now my big worry is if Kenyans can handle change on such a massive scale and at such speed. The human mind and body is designed to take in change much more gradually. But alas this is what tends to happen when a people get so totally fed up with the old order of things. They reach a place where they just want out and have no time to stop and ask themselves if they can handle the change they seek.
Many political commentators agree that they have never seen the president so passionate about something (like he has been about the new constitution) and they have never seen him so happy about something (like he was in the picture after signing the new constitution into law). The fact that Kibaki delivered the new constitution has rescued his legacy rather dramatically. Lucky man!!
But for the purposes of this post let me focus on the change in our politics that the new constitution will usher in. Do you know the most powerful political seat, indeed more powerful than the presidency in our new constitution? I am of course talking about the Governor of a county. For instance the president’s appointments will have to be approved by parliament but the governors will NOT. I mean this man or woman will have such power in the county that even retired President Moi who was a god in his time, will envy.
What all this means is that the public will lose interest in National politics. It will all be happening in the counties where decisions will be made every day that will impact very dramatically and quickly on the people’s lives.
I keep wondering about how the media will adjust. The media in Kenya has gone through many changes in the recent past and now comes this most dramatic and far-reaching one of a new constitution with new demands. I see media houses like Royal Media services having a head start over other media houses since they have such a large stable of FM radio stations covering many different regions of the country. There will be great need for media at the counties and I would expect the FM stations to be the initial major form of communication at this level. There will also be opportunities for quick thinking entrepreneurs to find a way to make low circulating newspapers work. Some prosperous counties may even be able to sustain their own TV stations. Indeed even Kumekucha has to re-invent itself to fit snugly into the new Kenya and I am still thinking about that very deeply and will appreciate suggestions from my usually quick-witted readers here.
There have been fears amongst some old school Kenyans who will always want to believe that nothing but the old systems can work in Kenya, to the effect that counties will promote tribalism. Admittedly a few short-sighted governors may want to promote negative ethnicity at the beginning but they will soon find that their counties are lagging behind. The bottom line will be to promote the prosperity of one’s county at all costs and the way to do this is to co-operate with other counties while encouraging a rapid influx of investors from other counties. Smart governors will seek to find what resources and talents their areas of jurisdiction can best exploit because the truth is that nobody can be good at everything. So it is unlikely that any county will be self sufficient in everything.
True entrepreneurs should now be rubbing their hands in glee waiting for the full implementation of the new constitution. This is because there will be massive new opportunities at the county level for all kinds of things. For starters basic essential services like water and electricity are going to be in very high demand and so companies that deal in solar energy, water tanks and other basics should be positioning themselves to sell proposals to respective counties. Entrepreneurs prosper while solving people’s problems and so enterprising companies will now have to take a serious look at the problems in counties and how their products and services can help solve them.
And that brings me to the most important change in politics that counties will bring. The focus will shift from individuals to issues. Until now our politics has always been about personalities whilst real issues have mostly been ignored.
I dare say that what I love most about this new order of things is that silly tribal comments like Kikuyu this and Raila that will lose all meaning even in a blog like this one. That will be the day!!!Kumekucha
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The Bashir Debacle.
» assidous
In yesterday's Sunday Nation, someone wrote an article on the Bashir's escapade and why its in Kenya's interest to keep the man around. I had been one of the most angry people on seeing Bashir at Uhuru Park on Friday. But that article in yesterday's Nation, tanked me out and changed my opinion.
Bashir at the Promulgation in Uhuru Park.
Bashir is indicted by ICC for genocide and crimes against humanity meted out on the hapless Darfur region inhabitants. This wasn't done by himself but by the guerrillas he supported for this mission since the Darfuris are against anything that Bashir and his Khartoum gvt stands for.
Bashir is president of Sudan and Southern Sudan and is deputised by Slava Kiir who is the president of Southern Sudan[GOSS].
Next year, South Sudan will go to a referendum so as to decide if they will wnat to remain part of greater Sudan or to be autonomous. Its a foregone conlusion that South Sudan will be the newest country in Africa. And this is where Bashir's safety is tagged.
The gist of the article is that; by arresting Bashir, the referendum will not be safe and fair meaning that Kenyan's interest therein will be at risk. The Kenyans who are in South Sudan for business opportunities are simply mind boggling and if a referendum isn't conducted peacefully, so much will be at risk. It now then, becomes important for Kenya to ensure that Bashir is not arrested so that South Sudan is safe and joins the EAC. This will also ensure that economically, it will depend on Kenya for oil export be it through Lamu or Mombasa. Do not forget that a refinery is in the works either at Lamu or at Lokichigio for oil from Uganda or better still S.Sudan.
Therefore, it becomes very imperative for Kenya to keep Bashir safe in the interest of the greater region, politically and economically.
After the referendum is done away with in South Sudan, they can then intercept him in air while to any Arab Summit in the region. At least, he will have served his purpose as far as Kenya is concerned.
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0:00
To be a man
» Storymoja Written by Martin Njaga Arnie is a fascinating person. At the end of a long-term romantic relationship, this Dutch-South African embarked on an unusual journey of self-discovery. His journey was unusual because, by looking outward, not inward, by talking to men all over the African continent, story-catching as he calls it, he hoped to use [...]
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0:00
What Makes Us Kenyan?
» Diasporadical I chuckled when she asked this. “No, I’m serious. What makes us Kenyan? We don’t have a national food. Everything either belongs to a tribe or another culture, but nothing is national; nothing is officially Kenyan.” I thought about it, and she was indeed right. She continued: “Same thing goes for clothing and language. We [...]
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20:23
Bois de Boulogne
» kaasa I’m here! Paris, Paris, Paris!!!!!!!!! Arrived yesterday. More later. I hope you’re well!
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10:18
Homesick
» the-undergraduate The rain fell today,and i watched it trickle down the bus window
Rising to a puddle on the sill then splattering onto the road with every jolt
Lost in my thoughts,eyes crinkly trying to hold back tears
That all too familiar burning sensation from my seared heart
Once warm and cuddly
Now held together by ice streaks that wont thaw away
I felt lost and all wanted to do was run
Run to a home where my heart lies
But a 'not welcome' sign loomed over head
And your last words rang continuous in my mind like a broken tower clock that continues to ding long past the hour
"last stop,for incomplete journeys pick your ticket and wait for the next bus"
I wiped the now fogged up window,
Hints of the sun slily peeked through the clouds,
Should this be my last stop,should i continue with the journey?
I closed my eyes,and i could feel you next to me
Holding me tenderly in your arms
For a second i felt like i was home when i saw your face
But in the passing sensation,reality had to take over
Grab a ticket or not?
I've never been as homesick as i am today
but i've got to make it through someway somehow
xoxo
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4:11
Talking to the Maker Faire Africa 2010 organizers
» All about Africa and specifically Kenya Erik Hersman on the Maker Faire Africa Linet Kwamboka on Organizing the event..Maker Faire Africa and her latest project map application Emeka Okafor..CoFounder of Maker Faire Africa and the one of the organizers of the event..on the idea
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1:57
5 Other Parties That Omar Al-Bashir Should Crash
» Diasporadical It seems the politicians have taken taken the “No Snitchin’” policy a tad too far on this Al-Bashir matter. “DENY TILL YOU DIE!” seems to be the order of the day. They didn’t see nothing, they don’t know nothing, they didn’t do nothing. So while they are pleading the fifth, we’ve come up with a [...]
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