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22:54
From: The Benin Epilogue Part I: Africa-Ready for Business
Read This Entry & More At The Benin Epilogue Part I: Africa-Ready for Business
 As the TED 2007 conference becomes a new chapter in Africa's history books, one issue will continue to be brought up in the media. That is the issue of trade versus aid. To me no story displays the chasm that has occurred between the two supporting camps like the two examples that I am about to highlight for you. I don't know if it's a coincidence or what...but two of the most recognizable text-book cases for each theory come from rural Kenya. So first let us look at the evidence for supporting trade as a means of poverty reduction. For that we shall go to the small town of Ndaragwa in Central Kenya. Here's the story as Technoserve recalls it:
"...Before 2001, business activity in the town of Ndaragwa had virtually ceased. The 10 small stands and one hardware store that lined the street of this small town in Central Kenya were generating barely enough income to survive. Local residents depended on small, one- to three-acre dairy farms to earn a living. Isolated by dilapidated roads in this dry, mountainous region, the farmers had no option but to sell their milk to traveling middlemen who notoriously underpaid them. Frustrated by their situation, a group of over 2,000 farmers founded the Nyala Dairy Multipurpose Cooperative Society.
The Nyala farmers' dream was to construct their own cooling plant so they could sell their milk directly to Kenya's large dairy processors and avoid middlemen. They turned to TechnoServe for help. In order to raise funds for the plant's construction and new equipment, TechnoServe helped the Cooperative to create a farmer-owned business. Nyala's 2,700 members became dairy shareholders by contributing $28 each -- not an easy task in a country where over 58% of the population earn less than a dollar a day. But with this structure in place, financing was secured and in 2002, the plant was completed. On the first day of operation, 3,000 litres of milk were collected.
With TechnoServe's guidance, Nyala Dairy's collection has since quadrupled to 12,000 liters per day supplied by 2,100 small-scale farmers. The largest milk processor in Kenya, Brookeside Dairy Ltd., is now purchasing Nyala's milk, and because Nyala Dairy is a reliable, high-quality supplier, it can pass along higher prices to its smallholder farmers. Recently, Nyala paid $86,258 to rural producers -- the highest monthly payment since its founding. The Dairy also provides a store that offers affordable cattle feed, veterinary drugs, and credit for its members.
In three short years, the Dairy has already increased incomes for thousands of poor farmers, but what it has done for the town of Ndaragwa is truly extraordinary. Nyala Dairy has created a standard of living that none of the farmers ever dreamed possible..."
Now in comparison with Ndaragwa is another rural community in Kenya called Sauri. Sauri is perhaps the most unique village in Africa. I'll let Sam Rich and The Wilson Quarterly do the honors and explain why Sauri just might be Africa's dream village: "...Sauri must be the luckiest village in Africa. The maize is taller, the water cleaner, and the schoolchildren better fed than almost anywhere else south of the Sahara.
Just two years ago, Sauri was an ordinary Kenyan village where poverty, hunger, and illness were facts of everyday life. Now it is an experiment, a prototype “Millennium Village.” The idea is simple: Every year for five years, invest roughly $100 for each of the village’s 5,000 inhabitants, and see what happens.
The Millennium Villages Project is the brainchild of economist Jeffrey Sachs, the principal architect of the transition from state-owned to market economies in Poland and Russia. His critics and supporters disagree about the success of those efforts, often referred to as “shock therapy,” but his role in radical economic reform in the two countries vaulted him to fame. Now he has a new mission: to end poverty in Africa...
It’s not this diagnosis of Africa’s problems that makes Sachs’s theories contentious, but his proposed solution, which might be called shock aid—huge, sudden injections of money into poor areas. Over five years, $2.75 million is being invested in the single village of Sauri, and an equal amount will be sunk into each of another 11 Millennium Village sites that are being established in 10 African countries...
Sachs has persuaded Western governments, local governments, businesses, and private donors such as Hollywood stars and international financiers to foot the bill. Under the auspices of the Earth Institute, the project he heads at Columbia University, he has gathered specialists in fields from HIV/AIDS research to soil science to work out master plans for these dozen villages...
But economists aren’t Sachs’s only critics; others within the micro school he wants to win over are asking questions, too. They want to make sure communities such as Sauri are not simply passive recipients of handouts from donors and lectures from experts, but are actively involved in making decisions about their own development...
Sauri faces the same economic challenges it always has. Most farmers are still growing subsistence crops and depleting their soils. They could instead be growing crops for market or investing in livestock. Low-cost improvements in farming techniques, such as the use of manure and other organic methods that are more sustainable in the long run, are only beginning to be promoted. Growth will be slow because taxation, bad roads, and a lack of electricity need to be addressed at a national level..."
Now of course, these aren't the only two forms of aid and trade initiatives going on in Sub-Saharan Africa, however they seemed to illustrate why supporters of both trade and aid in Africa are so hopeful about their respective tool kits. But what do you think, is there enough evidence for you to conclude one strategy works better than the other at reducing the poverty gap in some of Sub Saharan Africa's rural communities? Thanks Osize for your contribution to this discussion! photo courtesy of Alison M. Jones Photo Gallery
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21:48
From: Kenya Imagine
Read This Entry & More At Kenya Imagine
Richard Mbuthia writes on his emotional experience on taking an HIV/AIDS test before his wedding. My head was spinning. My mate was going through the same motions. When our names were called out we jumped up in unison almost leaving our hearts on the seats! The counsellor, with two spring files in her hands, led the way into her office. We followed suit, our steps almost faltering. Once inside the office, she asked us to be seated. With a disarming smile playing on her lips, she told us that she had the results.
Read more here.
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21:44
From: Kenya Imagine
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Doris Sadera speaks against Kenyan Members of Parliament who have refused to speak out against Mungiki. No one in Kenya can claim that they and their family are completely safe from Mungiki, but the leaders whose job it is to protect us are busy posturing to save their necks, both physically and politically.
Read the rest here.
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18:48
From: My Africa Today
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18:33
From: My Africa Today
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16:59
From: My Africa Today
Read This Entry & More At My Africa Today
Egypt is represented by the Sawiris dynasty patriarch Onsi and the new generation Naguib, Nassef and Samih. South Africa's representation is more varied with entries from the Oppenheimer family, the Rupert family and Donald Gordon. Here is how they pan out according to Forbes Magazine. Naguib Sawiris (Egypt) African Rank No.1 - World Rank No.62 - Wealth $10 billion When the Onsi Sawiris decide to retire after building arguably what is one of the most powerful conglomerates in Africa, Orascom Holdings, it was time for the second generation of Sawiris, Naguib and his brothers Nassef and Samih to step to the fore. Each concentrated on different parts of their fathers empire and have sought to consolidate and then extend the achievements they inherited. Naguib has largely concentrated on Telecoms and has developed Orascom Telecom into one of the most powerful telecom operators in the Mediterranean and middle east. Nicky Oppenheimer & Family (South Africa) African Rank No.2 - World Rank No. 158 - Wealth $5 billion The De Beers legacy started in 1888 and has grown into one of the largest producers of diamonds in the world, with around 40% of world diamond production by value attributable to De Beers "Family of companies". The Oppeheimers have been associated with De Beers since 1929 and have reaped the benefits as clever marketing and strategic alliance has seen the company grow. The Oppenheimers also have extensive holdings in the Anglo America Corporation, the gold mining firm. Onsi Sawiris (Egypt) African Rank No.2 - World Rank No.158 - Wealth $5 billion Once the richest man in Africa, he has since divided his substantial commercial empire amongst his sons. The patriarch of the Sawiris family, Sawiris single-handedly built the Orascom empire from a little engineering consulting firm in Upper Egypt to the global empire it is today. He has since handed day to day running of Orascom's affairs to his three sons. Johann Rupert & family (South Africa) African Rank No.3 - World Rank No.194 - Wealth $4.3 billion Johann Rupert is the eldest son of the late South African tycoon Anton Rupert. The elder Rupert built the industrial Conglomerate into a billion dollar conglomerate from a business he started with £10 in his garage. The conglomerate spans luxury goods, finance, mining interests and more and is now headed by Johan Rupert who has built on the successes of his late father. Nassef Sawiris (Egypt) African Rank No.4 - World Rank No.226 - Wealth $3.9 billion The youngest of the three scions of Onsi Sawiris, Nassef has focused on the construction interests of the Orascom empire. Through a joint venture with Swiss cement giant Holderbank, Orascom controls over 25% of the Egyptian cement market. Donald Gordon South Africa African Rank No.5 - World Rank No.432 - Wealth $2.2 billion Founder of Liberty Life, a life insurance company which he set up in 1958 and sold in 1999. He now has extensive holding in shopping centres, breweries and more. Gordon now lives in the United Kingdom. Samih Sawiris (Egypt) African Rank No.6 - Work Rank No.664 - Wealth $1.6 billion Samih Sawiris took charge of the tourism and leisure interests of Orascom Holdings after his father's retirement from active management. Orascom has extensive holdings in hotels across the middle east. Customize your mobile with your Complimentary Ringtone!
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16:54
From: My Africa Today
Read This Entry & More At My Africa Today
1. Hotel Ivoire - *** - 750 rooms - built 1973, 1977 (Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire) 2. Transcorp Hilton Abuja Hotel - ***** - 670 rooms - built 1987 (Abuja, Nigeria) 3. Eko Hotel & Suites - **** - 604 rooms - built 1983, 1988 (Lagos, Nigeria) 4. Sandton Sun & Towers InterContinental - ***** - 565 rooms - built 1984, 1993 (Johannesburg, South Africa) 5. Southern Sun Waterfront - **** - 546 rooms - built 1998 (Cape Town, South Africa) 6. Sheraton Abuja Hotel & Towers - **** - 540 rooms - built 1985 (Abuja, Nigeria) 7. ArabellaSheraton Grand Hotel - ***** - 483 rooms - built 2003 (Cape Town, South Africa)* 8. Southern Sun Elangeni - **** - 450 rooms - built 1971, 1973 (Durban, South Africa) 9. Garden Court Sandton City - *** - 444 rooms - built 1994, 1995 (Johannesburg, South Africa) 10. Grand Hotel Kinshasa - *** - 422 rooms - built 1976, 1989 (Kinshasa, Congo DR) *To be renamed Westin Grand Hotel Arabella Plaza by end of July 2007 Customize your mobile with your Complimentary Ringtone!
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13:05
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
archiveUntil the Kibaki administration started showing off their performance on the Kenyan economy, economics was a very boring topic to most Kenyans, usually left only to the so-called experts. Today we have every Tom Dick, Njenga and Onyango, not to mention the Kamene’s and Wanjiku’s hotly debating economics. Basically the big argument is over why the growth has not been felt by most Kenyans. The bear truth is that the characters who have benefited from the Kibaki administration are no ordinary folks. Let us put our spotlight on one of them. His name is Nicholas Kipyator Kiprono Biwott. His flagship Kobil Oil has expanded tremendously over the last four years or so and today has interests in Rwanda, Uganda Tanzania and a handful of other African countries. The company has also won lucrative government contracts including one to supply oil to the mostly government owned Kengen. Nothing worng with that of course. After all private business people are free to take advantage of opportunities as they arise, that is business. Or is it? ================== Kumekucha golden oldieMy encounter with Lucy KibakiFirst published in this blog on May 12th 2005================== Actually this the perfect example of what has gone wrong with the Kibaki administration economic growth. Apart from not favoring the ordinary man on the street, the government policy has deliberately been to favor big business while ignoring completely the sort of people they are dealing with. We know how the late Mandattaly Manji (founder of Hpuse of Manji) made his money. Everybody also knows how Bill Gates made his cash. But my big question is how did Muheshimiwa Bwana Biwott make his money? The message to the young people of Kenya is clear. We are saying that it does not matter how people make their money even if it is through corruption and from dipping their hands into the public kitty. Internet Home Based Business: All You Ever Wanted To Know, As told to you by an expert who makes a good living onlineMystery of sleeping arrangements in a polygamous home
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13:04
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
archiveToday is a milestone in the history of this blog. For the first time an article in the local mainstream media has quoted and attributed a story to this blog. No less than the Sunday Nation. What makes this even more interesting is the fact that a very senior executive at that sex-scandal-hit newspaper has on several occasions warned members of staff not to read this blog. Before the Sunday Nation story, dozens of newspapers and hundreds of websites and blogs across America, Europe and Africa had already quoted and even linked to this blog. Now in a few hours a major feature will be published in the New York Post asking searching questions about the involvement of CNN in the Niger Delta scandal. JK has already admitted in writing (via the Brinner emails) that he paid off people at the Niger delta to stage manage his story. He has also said in the same emails that his employers were aware. I will not go into this blogger’s role in getting that story published in the Post but what I can say for now is that I have always been deeply suspicious of what actually happened at the Niger Delta earlier this year. My instincts always told me that that was where the big story was and not in the sex. Hopefully the truth shall soon come out. If you think this blogger is bragging, you are dead wrong, that’s not what this post is about. This is more of a post to record a major milestone in the life of this popular blog site and that is why I move on to the black mark on the people of Kenya that has clearly emerged for all the world to see mainly through the comments left behind here. The JK saga is clear proof that most Kenyans are mostly corrupt deep inside and have double standards. While it is okay to expose retired president Moi, and folks like Nicholas Biwott, it is not okay to write anything negative on the likes of JK. And while some people are not interested in hearing the other side of the story when it comes to the Moi’s and Biwotts, they wonder why JK’s side of the story is nowhere in this blog. Incidentally just like CNN’s side of the story concerning the Niger Delta is nowhere here or in the other numerous blogs that have covered the story. You see both have refused to comment. So the question on our minds should be why don’t they want to give their side of the story? Instead of why is Kumekucha not carrying their side of the story? Internet Home Based Business: All You Ever Wanted To Know, As told to you by an expert who makes a good living onlineMystery of sleeping arrangements in a polygamous home
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10:24
From: Kikuyumoja's realm
Read This Entry & More At Kikuyumoja's realm
There has to be some kind of special relationship between me and insects* I still have to understand.
Still haunted by ever returning images of roaches that keep on bugging me in my dreams in a very Kafkaesque way, I only yesterday encountered another one of those strange phenomenons.
I call it the attack of the Arachnids. Or whatever kind of spidery critters it was this time. This kind that makes you feel “eeeewwwwhhhh!!!” in the first moment.
What you see in the first picture is my washbag, and I’ve put it in that place just a few days ago. Yesterday evening I needed something out of it and discovered these little cocoons at the side of the top cover.
Upon turning the cover, one of the five cocoons fell off and broke to little pieces of dried soil on the floor, releasing about 10 to 15 little baby spiders.
The second picture shows a close-up of the cocoon. I still have them in the bathroom and will keep them until I’ve figured out the exact biological name for these spiders. Any idea?
Talking about insects, I had to kill a tenacious wasp today who apparently thought about building her house BEHIND the books in the shelve over the bed. I wish there was a better way of convincing insects not to interfere with me.
(* insects, as in everything that moves and doesn’t have a brain to understand the simple words: “pay rent or move out”.)
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10:01
From: assidous
Read This Entry & More At assidous
 The last of the Kapenguria Six has had his life come to an end. Achieng Oneko (left) died after suffering from hypertension for a long time. His paasing on marks the end of an era in which he was the last of the K6 who were Kenyatta, Kubai, Kaggia, Karumba and Ngei. We should not mourn his life now that he is gone, we should celebrate his life in the struggle for independence and the role he played while at it. Oneko has bestowed to Kenya a gift in his son, Dr. Ongonga who has in a relatively short time has taken Kenya's Tourism sector to new frontiers not seen before. RIP ONEKO.
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9:50
From: Kikuyumoja's realm
Read This Entry & More At Kikuyumoja's realm
Eigentlich müsste man darüber mal einen richtigen Beitrag schreiben (was jemand sicherlich schon mal getan hat), aber jedenfalls….
bambina - “a speciality made of milke caramel crème with roasted chopped hazlenuts, covered with gently melting full milk chocolate”
Dinkelchen - some sort of chocolate crackers made with spelt
…sind diese Süßigkeiten aus Ostdeutschland in meiner Wertschätzung ganz weit vorne.
These are some of the sweets that survived the turmoil during the German reunification process in the early the 1990s.
They are still produced these days according to the original recipes and - although not as popular, known and available all over the country as their western counterparts - highly appreciated by most loyal customers.
I actually love them and prefer them to most sweets from West Germany.
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8:54
From: Kikuyumoja's realm
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A week in Frankfurt am Main, and it already feels like I’ve never really left this place 8 years ago. Images, scenarios, smells, speeds, people, this peculiar atmosphere - a very familiar place with lots of interesting sights and sounds.
view on the skyline from a rather filthy Bahnhofsviertel…
One of those really nice places in Frankfurt is the restaurant “Im Herzen Afrikas” (”In the heart of Africa”), which is something like a mixture of the 40 Thieves place at Diani Beach (because of the sand and numerous comfy corners) and one of those typical Ethiopian/Eritrean restaurants = good food and nice coffee.
These folks over at the restaurant organized some sort of beach party - in the middle of downtown Frankfurt, just about 100m away from the European Central Bank, in a close section of the road that passes in front of the restaurant. A beach party with real sand (!), a kids corner, life music, a DJ and a beautiful atmosphere. It started at around 1 pm and we went there at around 8pm and stayed for a few drinks.
Ok so I missed taking some decent pictures of the event as I was busy munching some fine Injera and getting jiggy with someone special, but for those lovers of comfy places with that special atmosphere in the middle of Europe: you certainly missed this!
Im Herzen Afrikas
Gutleutsraße 13
60329 Frankfurt am Main
(google maps)
==> Does anyone know of Kenyan joints in the Rhine-Main Area?
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2:18
From: Kenyanentrepreneur.com
Read This Entry & More At Kenyanentrepreneur.com
I got so wound up with all that Mungiki shit (beheadings, poverty, GSU aka “ulifikiria hakuna serikali”…. I couldn’t take it! pass me the Vodka, the rum, the whiskey, the, the, the….pass it, pass it, pass it!)….
What’s going on in the world? oh yes…the G-string G-8 summit with my favorite person…bonehead I mean Bono [...]
Read the complete article at
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