The much anticipated Monday night Democratic debate on CNN, featuring Youtube video questions posted by the public, was overall a good showing by all the candidates who proved – as all good politicians would – that they can think on their feet.
Read here as Dave Nyambati analyses Monday night's debate, and Senator Clinton's attack on Senator Obama.
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22:54 Kickstart Technologies: irrigation, and cooking oil human-powered pumps
» AfriGadget I met the managers of Kickstart technology at the recent TED Global conference in Arusha, Tanzania. Kickstart’s patented technology bridges the gap between expensive industrialize equipment used to pump, squeeze or pack and all it’s products are human powered. This is a very important feature in Africa for the Base of the Pyramid (BOP) market, because it solves the issue of energy and cost for equipment used in agriculture, and construction.
Kickstart’s most popular product is an irrigation pump that uses the stepping motion you see in a work-out gym to move water hundreds of feet to irrigate land. Kickstart also has been able to sell several thousands of these products all across Africa, and has been approach by the United Nations to sell globally.
Below is the irrigation pump
Kickstart pressing pump for building construction
Below you can see a picture of a person squeezing seeds to make oil
Here is a little more about Kickstart from the organization’s website.
About KickStartKickStart’s mission is to help millions of people out of poverty. We promote sustainable economic growth and employment creation in Kenya and other countries by developing and promoting technologies that can be used by dynamic entrepreneurs to establish and run profitable small scale enterprises.
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22:53
US of Africa
» Kenya Imagine This week, The African Executive Magazine spoke out on the clamour for the formation of a United States of Africa proclaiming, "we do not need a United States of Africa." According to the magazine, the African Union (AU) summit issued a road-map to a federation of African States (Accra Declaration) without mentioning a single idea on political or economic freedom for African citizens.
Read here as Ken Teyie advises African states to move away from ideology onto action that will lead to economic growth. -
Purple Hibiscus
» Kenya Imagine The first time I read Chimamanda Adichie's Purple Hibiscus, I could not put it down. I finished it up in one sitting. The novel, as seen through the eyes of 15yr old Kambili, addresses many social issues relevant to many African societies. It also features the obligatory love interest. A happy family is thrown into turmoil by changes within its walls, and by the strife following a military a coup in Nigeria.
Read Nekessa Opoti's review here.
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20:40
myspace gems
» Black Looks This is probably old hat but I am just discovering gems on MySpace after my son sent me some music - now I fear another obsession in the making. Some of the gems I found are the None on Record project - an audio documentary work in progress that collects [...]
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18:44
One-Term President... a solution to Kenya's political crisis?
» Rants, Raves & Reviews We should limit Kenyan Presidential terms to ONE TERM... yes... perhaps the term might be a little longer...
Proposal: A 7-year term that enables the incumbent to concentrate on Kenya & Kenyans. Not on his/her re-election bid & political power games!
Why:- Fairly good presidents can get sucked into bad political schemes that tarnish even otherwise decent presidents e.g. Kibz, who seems to have done a fairly decent economic job, has re-appointed most of the ministers tainted by anglo-fleecing!!! Perhaps this is a result of the desire to bring in votes from various tribes... fronted by these politicians?
- Politicking by incumbents wastes time & money e.g. Most of 2007 has/will be spent politicking by kibz especially if he wants to stand for re-election.
- Limiting the term to 7 years will encourage presidents to leave (good) legacies. They could remain out of the pig-sty since, well, they are already at the top of the dog-pile!!!
- A one-term president has greater immunity (or a thicker skin) to political kingmakers & manipulators.
- There is the fear that some presidents will rig the elections to elect their proteges but this is no different from the current suituation e.g. Nigeria's Obasanjo favouring Yar'Adua.
- No fear of not being (re)elected provides a sense of hubris but the parliament retains the power to impeach.
- If the president dies or resigns without completing his term, they can be replaced by the Vice-President pending new elections &/or some mechanism of succession. We can use the USA model where the VP becomes the prez for the remainder of the term. An alternate is to have pre-set limits depending on when the transfer of power takes place.
- We might lose a competent president who we want to run again but there are many smart competent Kenyans. We need new blood, new ideas & accountability.
- Too many presidents on our payroll! But this is mitigated by fewer presidents serving a mere one term lasting 5 years! Hopefully, some of these presidents will take up international roles e.g. UN appointments, etc. Kenya should lobby for these positions on condition the presidents so appointed/elected to these bodies "give" up their GOK salaries/pensions for the term of employment with the UN, etc.
Politicians are like nappies, they need to be changed often or they start stinking. -
Seems like a speech Kenyans need...
» Rants, Raves & Reviews I was reading on India's new president... a woman names Pratibha Patil... anyway, so I clicked through onto Wikipedia about the former president... APJ Abdul Kalam... A Muslim president in a pre-dominantly Hindu country... Granted it is primarily a ceremonial post but India has had:- A Muslim president (APJA Kalam, Zakhir Hussain, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed)
- A woman prime minister (Indira Gandhi)
- A woman president (Pratibha Patil)
APJAK was not a politician. We need someone like him, a non-politician as the next president of Kenya. Someone who serves for one term... but a dedicated one-term... Note that India's president has limited powers but remains a check on the Prime Minister's powers. India does have a technocrat PM - Manmohan Singh - who did wonders liberalising India's economy when he was Finance Minister. Of course, he is doing a great job as PM. India has a growth rate of almost 8% or higher for the past few years!
I have copied the speech below but here is the link..."I have three visions for India. In 3000 years of our history, people from all over the world have come and invaded us, captured our lands, conquered our minds. From Alexander onwards, The Greeks, the Turks, the Moguls, the Portuguese, the British, the French, the Dutch, all of them came and looted us, took over what was ours. Yet we have not done this to any other nation. We have not conquered anyone. We have not grabbed their land, their culture, their history and Tried to enforce our way of life on them. Why? Because we respect the freedom of others.
That is why my first vision is that of FREEDOM. I believe that India got its first vision of this in 1857, when we started the war of Independence. It is this freedom that we must protect and nurture and build on. If we are not free, no one will respect us.
My second vision for India's DEVELOPMENT, For fifty years we have been A developing nation. It is time we see ourselves as a developed nation. We are among top 5 nations of the world in terms of GDP. We have 10 percent growth rate in most areas. Our poverty levels are falling. Our achievements are being globally recognized today. Yet we lack the self-confidence to see ourselves as a developed nation, self-reliant and self-assured. Isn't this incorrect?
I have a THIRD vision. India must stand up to the world. Because I believe that, unless India stands up to the world, no one will respect us. Only strength respects strength. We must be strong not only as a military power but also as an economic power. Both must go hand-in-hand. My good fortune was to have worked with three great minds. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai of the Dept. of space, Professor Satish Dhawan, who succeeded him and Dr.Brahm Prakash, father of nuclear material. I was lucky to have worked with all three of them closely and consider this the great opportunity of my life.I see four milestones in my career:
Twenty years I spent in ISRO. I was given the opportunity to be the project director for India's first satellite launch vehicle, SLV3. The one that launched Rohini. These years played a very important role in my life of Scientist. After my ISRO years, I joined DRDO and got a chance to be the part of India's guided missile program. It was my second bliss when Agni met its mission requirements in 1994.
The Dept. of Atomic Energy and DRDO had this tremendous partnership in the recent nuclear tests, on May 11 and 13. This was the third bliss. The joy of participating with my team in these nuclear tests and proving to the world that India can make it, that we are no longer a developing nation but one of them. It made me feel very proud as an Indian. The fact that we have now developed for Agni a re-entry structure, for which we have developed this new material. A Very light material called carbon-carbon.
One day an orthopedic surgeon from Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences visited my laboratory. He lifted the material and found it so light that he took me to his hospital and showed me his patients. There were these little girls and boys with heavy metallic calipers weighing over three Kg. each, dragging their feet around.
He said to me: Please remove the pain of my patients. In three weeks, we made these Floor reaction Orthosis 300-gram calipers and took them to the orthopedic center. The children didn't believe their eyes. From dragging around a three kg. load on their legs, they could now move around! Their parents had tears in their eyes. That was my fourth bliss!
Why is the media here so negative? Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?
We are the first in milk production.
We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.
We are the second largest producer of wheat.
We are the second largest producer of rice.
Look at Dr. Sudarshan, he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self driving unit.
There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert land into an orchid and a granary.
It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news. In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime. Why are we so NEGATIVE?
Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? We want foreign TVs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology. Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance? I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developed India. For her, you and I will have to build this developed India. You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation.
Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance. Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.
YOU say that our government is inefficient.
YOU say that our laws are too old.
YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.
YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke, the airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.
YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.
YOU say, say and say.What do YOU do about it? Take a person on his way to Singapore. Give him a name - YOURS.
Give him a face - YOURS. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best.
In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground Links as they are. You pay $5(approx. Rs.60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOU come back to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity. In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai. YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah. YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a month to, "see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else."
YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, "Jaanta hai sala main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost." YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand. Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo? Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston? We are still talking of the same YOU. YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India?
Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay, Mr. Tinaikar, had a point to make. "Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place," he said." And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels? In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in Japan. Will the Indian citizen do that here?" He's right. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility. We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.
We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity. This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public. When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? 'It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my sons' rights to a dowry.'
So who's going to change the system? What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbors, other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr. Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away. Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England. When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government.
Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.
Dear Indians,
The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too....
I am echoing J. F. Kennedy's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians.....
"ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY"
Lets do what India needs from us.
Thank you
Abdul Kalaam[Dr. APJ Abdul Kalaam was the President of India]
- A Muslim president (APJA Kalam, Zakhir Hussain, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed)
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15:00
Meeting Shmeeting!
» tHiNkEr'S rOoM One of the unfortunate side effects of rising in the ranks is the introduction to the murky world of meetings. A cursory look at my Outlook Calendar is all I need for my heart to be engulfed with despair. My personal preference when it comes to meetings is not to ...
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14:27
Changes…
» Me, Life & Everything Rendezvous: 2227hrs Prolixity: Long like this Mood: Changie Whereabouts: kwa hao Echelon: IV Track: Changes - 2-Pac. I shall get right to the meat today, got lots to do and precious little time. I am back and all over the blogs like a cheap suit, while on that topic i should get me one, my tailor, he of the over ambitious [...]
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14:14
Wall Street, “Africa is Investing’s Final Frontier”
» White African 
I came across an interesting article in Canada’s Globe & Mail entitled, “Africa - Investing’s Final Frontier?“. The piece talks about how Africa has been overlooked, primarily due to the perceived risks associated with putting money into play in Africa. They quote extensively from Merrill Lynch chief investment strategist Richard Bernstein and his thoughts on what makes Africa a potential big hit in the coming years.While India, China and other emerging markets are now permanent fixtures on the radar screens of the media and investors, Africa is brimming with under-followed companies and stock markets, Mr. Bernstein said. Furthermore, the continent is rich in oil and other commodities, the very resources that are fuelling the booming economies investors are clamouring for.
The Merrill report pointed to ten investment opportunities in Africa:
- Oil
- Commodities
- Agriculture
- Health care
- Infrastructure
- Telecommunications
- Information technology
- Defence
- Financial services
- Retail
It’s good to see some of the larger US investment organizations looking closer at Africa. I hope that more investors do take a serious look at African enterprises. The will to build business and wealth in Africa is there already, what has been lacking is the capital to build.
[Update: more on this same topic from the Wall St. Journal - thanks Pablo]
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12:39
Kenya Railways (now RVR)
» bankelele Besides planes, I am to a lesser extent a train buff who took many trips by train from Nairobi to Mombasa as a kid. During school holidays the overnight train ride was one of my greatest treats. It used to take 12 hours going through the dark countryside, waving at people, counting train cars, and memorizing stations. Later we’d have a good dinner and go sleep when it got boring to wake up in the morning, glad to have put the man eating lions of Tsavo behind us. A full breakfast in the dining car would then set the mood for more watching – looking out for for the first coconut tree, smell the ocean (and then Changamwe) before finally getting to the Mombasa station where my uncle would be there waiting to take us to Kwale for the rest of the holidays.
Needles to say Kenya Railways corporation became a run down shell that is another story in itself. I’ve read enough stories of passengers stuck in the bush when trains break down or derail. Anyway will probably hear u from another tip so . so when the Institute of Economic Affairs invited Mr. Roy Puffet, the MD of Rift Valley Railways I was briefly there to hear what was said
Some snippets (I was late to the event)
New start: RVR is a 25 year concession between a consortium of companies and the governments so Kenya and Uganda.
RVR got off to a start in November 2006 and suffered 61 derailments that month. They have since slowed down all their trains as a measure to contain such incidents. They now average 10 – 12 incidents a month - from a combination of equipment, railway and human failures (including sabotage)
Financial & investment: So far the consortium has invested about $18 million The shareholding is 70% foreign (Sheltam, and an Australian company) and 30% local (Transcentury – 20%, ICDCI – 10%) and some financing was sourced from the IFC.
Some attendees later asked why Kenyans were not given a chance to invest in the company (like the Kengen IPO) to which the MD replied that there were not a lot of investors rushing to build railways in Africa (only 2 groups bid for the concession) .
Equipment: RVR inherited 174 locomotives from Kenya (55 were working) and 44 from Uganda (25 operational) . also 46% of the 7,000 wagons were usable.
They have focuses n getting a working fleet going. This has entailed reducing the fleet to contain only trains in good condition and they also got back 5 locomotives from Magadi soda. Fleet repair is slow as the company faces a lead time of 8 month for locomotive spares.
Their workshops were run down, with no tools or equipment, and many of the sheds had long been taken over by other businesses. The remaining sheds had leaking roofs, and when it rained they had to stop maintenance work for fear of electrocution.
Railway: Demand from china for steel has driven steel prices through the roof. There are few companies making railway parts (and African countries have a different railway size) so it takes about 8 months to deliver (they have to order 4,000 tons at a go) which is expensive. One engineer (from the UK) at the talk said that such a railway would be shut down with all the incidents if it was in Europe - the MD replied probably true but this was the state of things. He added that new rails were be laid on the Mombasa - Nairobi line after which the older ones will be taken out and used for other upcountry lines.
They will also close some stations (there are 50+ stations between Nairobi and Mombasa) and have installed communication's and tracking systems on all trains and stations
Operations RVR have done quite well since they took over in November 2006 and move about 200,000 tons per month. While this has not changed much in volume from before the concession, they are achieving this with two differences (i) they are using a smaller fleet (ii) and they are collecting more revenue (from increased efficiency & reducued corruption in revenue collection) – about $6m a month. Their volumes dipped in December and April following flooding from the rains. The MD mentioned that they now take between 4 – 7 days to move cargo from Mombasa to Kampala – from 20+ days before, though some members of the Kenya Shippers Association disputed that there.
Other stakeholders
Employees those not retrenched by the company are all being retrained in safety and modern railway processes
customers While there have been complaints about the slow movement from the Mombasa port (including by the Kenya Ports Authority) , the MD said that 50% of the 14,000 containers at the Mombasa port don't have proper documentation.
He added that business people were contributors to this i.e. as a result of the past railway inefficiency, companies had taken to using railway train wagons at Mombasa as extra storage facilities. But when the railway movement improved, and cargo was now moved upcountry, the same businessmen took their time to offload goods, creating more congestion.
They have tried to contain prices and their charges ($0.05 per ton per km) compare well with , truck cos taken ad of rail inefficiency to jack up prices
Passengers & commuters: they will run commuter train services (in Nairobi) for 5 years, but this is one thing none of the bidders for the concession wanted to continue running – as it is a loss maker.
Kenya railways : The corporation still exists and will oversee the concession on behalf of the government of Kenya, while also maintaining a register of railway assets. The corporation still has a great burden from the past – illustrated by Kshs 31 billion of debts (about $600 million). Including a 12 billion pension deficit. They hope to use land sales to pay off their employee (and perhaps supplier) obligations while also talking with the governments to waive some debt. They have also received 1 billion shillings form the world bank to resettle some residents in Kibera who live/work too close to the railway line (but this plan/financing is already 1/ ½ years behind schedule)
summary
The MD mentioned that there was a lot of expectations about the now concessioned railways – some of which were not close to being realistic. He also added that they had fewer customers as a result of the slow uptake by the concession, but added that RVR had no regrets and that the governments of Kenya and Uganda were very supportive.
So, a rough but promising start by the company who now say they have enough locomotives working to achieve their 5 year targets. Will they be a celebrated success like Safaricom? We'll know in a few years.
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11:46
What Kibaki And Moi Are Planning Against Kenyans
» You Missed This archive
Recently President Kibaki had yet another meeting with former President Moi that sent jitters down the spines of those in the know. (As I was posting this, news came through that Moi has been appointed special envoy to the Sudan. Still I don’t believe that this is the only thing No2 and No3 were discussing).
Contrary to common belief, the two old men have not fallen out with each other and insiders say that the meeting was designed to put the final touches to their campaign strategy.
Apparently as we head towards the polls, meetings involving the two will dwindle and disappear altogether. The idea is that...
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David "Signed Anglo Leasing documents" Mwiraria's Return To The Cabinet
» You Missed This archive
The Message That The President Is Sending Is Sending Forth Is That Anglo Leasing NEVER Happened
The words on the Anglo Leasing tapes are still pretty clear on the minds of many Kenyans.
"I will use my own way…" Mwiraria said audibly meaning that he would use his own way to get to the bottom of the identity of the shadowy figures said to have embezzled and then allegedly wired back huge amounts of funds to the Central Bank. Actually billions of it.
Now the man who was also heard saying in the same Githongo tape that if they were not careful, this was something that could easily bring down the Kibaki government, seems to have had his "own way" and like his tribes-mate, Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi, has bounced back into the Kibaki cabinet ahead of the general elections.
Even more interesting is the fact that not too long ago...
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NSIS And The Kibaki Administration Are Terrified Of A Githongo Candidature
» You Missed This archive
Sadly the intelligence community in Kenya, as well as numerous foreign ones are pretty busy with mischief at the moment as we hurtle ever closer to the general elections.
One interesting aspect has emerged. It is rather clear that the NSIS are very wary of a John Githongo candidature in the coming general elections. There is mounting evidence that links several attempts to discredit Githongo with them. Starting with a curious newspaper article that was somehow sneaked in and ended up appearing in the Daily Nation labeling Githongo a foreign spy.
The latest is a site that has clearly been designed to discredit the character of presidential candididate Mr Githongo. Here is the link...
Read more
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Joburg Rising
» Black Looks Joburg Rising has been sitting in my head for the past two weeks since the film’s opening on 13th July. The film is special because it was made by my dear sister friend Lindiwe Nkutha (writer, poet, photograher and film maker) The film is a 48 minute documentary called Jo’burg Rising, and [...]
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9:57
Local techies in the news
» Kenyan Pundit Today’s Business Daily (which is actually quite a good read, unlike it’s cousin the Nation which has become just as mediocre as the Standard) featured two well-written stories on local techies. First story is on Mama Mikes (Seg, loving the shirt si you hook me up), a business that’s a great example of [...]
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7:43
Clean Drinking Water Pumped by Wind Energy!
» Afromusing This installation in Chifiri, in North Eastern province Kenya is an example of how wind and solar installations can be used to provide the needs of marginalized communities in arid and semi-arid areas.
Simon Mwacharo, TEDGlobal speaker and renewable energy innovator has written about it in wonderful detail and provided pictures. Read more about it here.The turbine also provides some power to the nearby manyattas (traditional samburu huts), Simon noticed a Japanese guy camped out near the turbine. That was the only place he could charge his laptop and phone!
Do note that next week, the TEDGlobal talks will premiere on Ted.com. Subscribe in itunes by searching for tedtalks and also check the TED blog for a series of posts from bloggers who attended the conference. A piece i wrote is is alread posted on the TED blog, Like Emily said ‘This is the bloggers story to tell’, because there wasn’t as much coverage of it in the mainstream news. I hope you enjoy the talks.
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6:43
“United States of Africa” Talk Ignores Crucial Issues
» The Benin Epilogue Part I: Africa-Ready for Business 
The African Union (AU) summit issued a road-map to a federation of African States (Accra Declaration) without mentioning a single idea on political or economic freedom for African citizens.
Continental union was the founding principle of the original Organisation of African Unity but it never stood a chance. African leaders refuse to face up to their own or their neighbours’ failures, whilst preventing ordinary Africans from using their ingenuity to build their own future.The AU summit was full of....................Read the rest of the post at http://businessinfocus.blogspot.com
Of course, I love your comments. But, if you can't comment at this particular time- but would like to let us know that you were here; please sign and View my guestbook
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via Kameelahwrites: Kliptown Folks are Asking: Where is my house?
» Black Looks visit me at: kameelahwrites If you had to guess the year of this South Africa photo, what would you guess? Any ideas? It is not 1980s Apartheid South Africa. It is 2007. Hat-tip to Jacque in Jozi for the recent happenings in Gauteng. Residents from several informal settlements in Kliptown took to the streets on Monday morning, barricading [...]
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4:52
Comparing Notes
» Cock And Bull A well-worn dollar bill and a similarly distressed twenty dollar bill arrived at a Federal Reserve Bank to be retired. The twenty dollar bill reminisced about its travels all over the country. “I’ve had a pretty good life,” the twenty proclaimed. “why I’ve been to Las Vegas and Atlantic City, the finest restaurants in New York, performances on Broadway, and even a cruise to the Carribean”.
“Wow!” said the one dollar bill. “You’ve really had an exciting life!”
“So tell me,” says the twenty, “where have you been throughout your lifetime?”
The one dollar bill replies, “Oh, I’ve been to the Methodist Church, the Baptist Church, the Lutheran Church …”
The twenty dollar bill interrupts, “What’s a church?”
- Author Unknown
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3:19
Tremors Increase Church Attendance In Nairobi
» For Love and Money This past Sunday turned out to be very interesting for a lot of Nairobians. I got to church early as usual and even before we had finished with the praise & worship, the church was filled up to capacity. As the service went on, I wondered why the church was never full like this during the past services. I even tried to figure out if it was a special church service or occasion.
It was only later on that I realised that it was because of the tremors that people had trooped en-mass to church. Usually, the church rarely fills up and even more odd is the fact that people turned up on time.
Now that the tremors are gone, it will be interesting to see what will happen this coming Sunday. Knowing that people have forgotten about the tremors, it's possible that church attendance will dwindle until something else stirs the fear of death in Nairobi. Apparently, not even the mungiki uprising has had such an effect on Kenyans.
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Car Accident, Revisited
» For Love and Money Earlier this week as I walked out of the Norfolk Hotel, I run into the cab that I had an accident with a while ago. As I made my way out of the hotel, right at the first taxi rank was the car. Inside sat a different driver. Not only had I not forgotten the cab’s number plate, but it also had a fresh coat of paint at the front.
I told the taxi driver about the incident and sure enough he told me exactly what the other cab driver had told the traffic police at the scene of the accident. Apparently, "I was the one who run into him". Unfortunately for him, he was relieved of his duties by the cab owner as he failed to provide the details of the my car insurance. Though I was told that he was still employed elsewhere as a taxi driver.
Not keen on taking the taxi, I decided to walk to town rather than take the cab that hit my car.
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Google Fired Up For Success
» For Love and Money 
This past Friday, investors traders punished Google, the undisputed king of internet search engines, after it reported lower profit margins during the second quarter of 2007.
Google, keen on extending its lead over rivals and overtaking Microsoft as the world's largest technology company spent $575 million on capital expenditures, 'the majority of which was related to IT infrastructure investments, including data centers, servers, and networking equipment' resulting in decreased a profit margin.
Google's rival Microsoft having no better use it's cash pile, returned $31 billion to it's shareholders through share buy-backs and cash dividends in this past year. In a sign that Microsoft is loosing the battle for online supremacy to Google, Its online division widened its loss to $239 million from $187 million last year.
The sell-off brought Google's share price to it's 50 DMA, making it an attractive buy for investors seeking aggresive growth.
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Zimbabwe needs other Africans' help
» Kenya Imagine Rejoice Ngwenya:
Although we are an extreme case, these oppressive economic and political policies are not exclusive to Zimbabwe. The fallacy of the African dream of Ghanian founding father Kwame Nkrumah about self-rule has been exposed by the brutal failures of governments with a revolutionary history. Julius Nyerere, Kenneth Kaunda, Milton Obote, and perhaps even such so-called models of excellence as Yoweri Museveni and Thabo Mbeki, all espoused Nkrumaism, meaning state control of the economy and even of society.
What will this generation offer Africa? Read more here.
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Why are Kenyans offended by the TRUTH?
» Rants, Raves & Reviews My comments in RED... blog entry courtesy of a friend who asked the rhetorical question... From the editorial of the East African Standard... Online edition...
‘The Economist’ fell into old trap on AfricaForeign correspondents based in Africa should endeavour to report accurately on political and economic developments on the continent.
What about our journalists? Jeff Koinange certainly seems to have set a "bad" example... if the allegation against him are true...
Many African leaders have complained about their reports for decades. True, some dictators do not tell the truth, and the world has learnt to ignore their lamentations over negative media reports.
These 'leaders' were mostly crooks & buffoons... moi, idi amin, kenyatta,mobutu, mugabe, bongo, etc... Only president who was a leader in the true sense of the word... Nelson Mandela... I understand the Botswana presidents are also pretty good... Have I missed any others? So who are these leaders who speak the truth?
Still, many foreign reporters and commentators go overboard. They are obsessed with negative stories and ignore positive developments. Kenya feels wounded, and rightly so, by a negative report in The Economist of London. Anger over criticism in the international magazine led to the cancellation of the inaugural Business Roundtable meeting last week.
Billed as a first in East Africa, the conference was to give business leaders an opportunity to engage with a high-powered Government team led by President Kibaki. The meeting, organised by Economist Conferences — a division of Economist Group — was to run from July 17 to 18 at Nairobi’s Intercontinental Hotel.
Things were going on well until someone who claims to "have returned to Kenya after 40 years" decided to write a three-page article claiming that no development had taken place.
The Economist Group announced the postponement in a statement a few days to the conference, but did not give details. However, Finance minister Mr Amos Kimunya confirmed that the conference was cancelled because of the offending article
Several companies had pledged to sponsor the conference, with Barclays Bank offering Sh5 million. The article, which appeared in the June 9 issue, is titled Kenya: Going up or Down? It stated that the general state of disrepair in the country is striking.
The article alleges that Kibaki is "ailing", adding that it is time for the elderly ruling class of "hippos" to give way to "cheetahs" (young reformers). Would The Economist use such language to describe European leaders?
Apart from the "Hippos" who were offended, calling someone a Cheetah (young reformer) is complimentary! BTW, apologies to the hardworking real (animal) Hippos who bring us valuable foreign exchange! And it is TRUE. We need the old geezers who are senile (mugabe comes to mind...) to give way to the young, brainy generation!
BTW, the reference to Hippos & Cheetahs was not the Economist's original thinking but it was from a speech by George Ayittey, a blogger, journalist, entrepreneur and much more.... Here is more on that...
The story says Nairobi does not operate at night because of insecurity. It adds that tens of billions of dollars of aid have been spent yet the country’s infrastructure is worse than it was 40 years ago.
Hmmm... so last time I checked... many folks get their heads chopped off... Now what would you call this if not insecurity? Of course, Nairobi is relatively unsafe... esp some of the seedier areas... so its is true... erm, Nairobbery is not called Nairobbery without a reason!
The writer says in the early 1970s, it was possible to drive from Nairobi to Mombasa in four hours. But now, because of potholes, diversions and hold-ups, it could "take eight hours".
So we have a lousy Nbi-Msa highway... It is true... It takes over 8 hours (I think the Economist was being generous) for one to travel from Nairobi's CBD to Mombasa's CBD... So you are offended by the truth?
I can attest to the poor condition of the road, the potholes (Mariakani/Miritini), the diversions, the hold-ups because of accidents & lousy drivers... So what was the counter-point to the truth the Economist said?
The article says the mess is a result of misguided economic policies, mismanagement, poor maintenance, sloppiness, tribalism and corruption.
Oh, yes where should we start?
The lousy economic policies of moi's government?
Mismanagement of most resources e.g. Telkom monopoly that led to Kenya missing out on IT/BPO opportunities?
- Poor (if any) maintenance of the vital Nbi-Msa highway or the Railway system?
- Sloppiness - the poorly drawn up contracts for Anglo-fleecing among other scandals like Goldenberg?
- Tribalism - what about the Likoni clashes, Burnt Forest & now Elgon clashes?
- What about the dominance of illiterate kalenjins in the govt during moi's days?
- Corruption - does Goldenberg, Anglo-fleecing, All-Africa Games scandal, etc ring a bell?
Economist Conferences have over the years built their reputation on the ability to deliver the highest quality events with government leaders. The conference would have brought together the President, key ministers, the Central Bank Governor and Nairobi Stock Exchange chairman, among others.Granted, Kenya, like many other African countries, has had its fair share of mediocrity, decay and backwardness. But any analyst who fails to recognise efforts of recent years is unfair.
Recent UN and World Bank reports have not failed to notice a silver lining in the cloud. Is it that foreign media are still stuck to the old template of Africa? In this report, like many others, one does not fail to see and feel the tinge of the ‘heart of darkness’, the failed continent.
The Economist is a respected magazine and should not publish articles which do not reflect Kenya’s situation. The meeting would have brought foreign and local investors to exchange ideas. We hope that opportunity has not been lost for good.
BUT its does reflect Kenya's situation... we might have blackouts due to power shortages, Railways has/had almost collapsed, the KPC's capacity is woefully inadequate, we have no undersea fibre optic cable connection thus relying on expensive & less reliable satellites... So what is not true?
Or kimunya thinks mungiki is an urban myth?
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0:12
VOTE OR DIE
» assidous I was just talking to a newly registered voter who did so after i prodded him incessantly to get a vote. My was it not a hard job. Trying to convince someone that a vote is absolutely necessary and as they say in the ECK advert, you literally get your voice.
Now that got me thinking. Why the apathy to register as voters, why the apathy to actually cast the vote when the day comes? Why is there no apathy to condemn the actions of the fools that lead us?
This year, as i told my friend, the slogan should be 'vote or die' and ECK should criminalise failure to vote as the only way to curd that kind of voter apathy! At least it will solve some problems like someone having to make up his or her mind on the candidate to vote for.
And for those who are waiting for money from the charlatans who wish to be kanjuras and MP's, get the money and vote with your head! These morons need to be taught a lesson.
Remember that voting impacts on your life literally.
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