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22:55
From: White African
Read This Entry & More At White African
Remittances (money sent back home from Africans living abroad) back to Africa constitute some big numbers for Africa. About $10 billion gets sent to sub-Saharan Africa. That’s the official number of course, a World Bank report stated that it’s likely double that amount, due to Africans using non-traditional means to send capital back home.
Even though that is only 4-5% of the global remittance market, it is still no small amount of money. In fact, it constitutes a huge opportunity for both the middleman helping to transfer the funds, and the countries receiving the capital inflows. What I’d like to focus in on is the middleman.
Why is the cost for sending money back to Africa so exorbitant? Compared to other developing nations, Africans abroad are being fined for being African. You’ll pay two times as much to send money from the US to Uganda ($20) than you would to Mexico ($10).
Why does it cost so much?
First, volume. The amount of money being sent back to Africa, and the competition to handle those transactions are smaller than they are to places like Mexico, parts of Asia and South America. So, simple economies of scale weigh in to the equation.
 Second, you have to look at the available options for anyone wishing to send money back to their home country in Africa. Ever since the September 11 attacks in the US, there has been a lot more rules and regulations surrounding any type of capital flow, which has made it harder to operate in this field.
The two largest global companies are Western Union and MoneyGram. Bank-to-bank transfers are a less expensive option for some, unfortunately most Africans don’t have a bank account, so that’s not always feasible.
In the past couple of years, we’ve seen voucher-based companies spring up that provide a third option, allowing Africans abroad to buy vouchers over the internet for their families back home. It’s a very interesting field, examples of this include MamaMikes in Kenya and Zimbuyer in Zimbabwe.
Finally, the third way that we’re starting to see money being transferred is through mobile phone credits. WIZZIT and MTN Mobile Moneyin South Africa; M-Pesa in Kenya; Celpay in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo are leading the charge, and we’re likely to see more innovation in this area soon.
Increasing Competition and African Governments
 The only true way to drive down costs will be increased competition within the African remittance industry. We’re starting to see that with mobile payment options and voucher-based remittances.
What I also expect to see is more African governments finding ways to make this capital inflow easier. We saw this last year when the Kenyan Minister of Finance, Kimunya, came to the US to talk to the Kenyan diaspora.
This is just too much money to have such a high fee places on transfers. It’s large enough that global and local player will continue to compete and drive the costs down over time.
Other Articles and Resources on African Remittances
 
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22:37
From: intricately me
Read This Entry & More At intricately me
Im looking around and all i see is a world destroying itself from within...Kenyans are killing each other because some politician decided to use tribalism to divide and rule... Iraq...where thousands of people have died because another clever politician thought it would help the economy of his country if he instigated a war. the Congo, where several generations have died because of a stone which some tycoon will put on his wife's finger. the gulf where religious wars have plagued their nations and policians seem to think thats its ok to let the divide exist because it aids their cause. and then their is a problem thats similar although different in nature like india where the darker people are untouchables so society looks down upon them[thats an understatement] society goes on with life as if they dont exist...Chad where the rebels rule!!Somalia where in-clan fighting has caused years and years of dissention, destroyed the country and left it an empty hull void of anything but long gone memories of what once was and what could have been[ kenyans should learn from this by the way]
Global warming is now a reality and not a rumour from some scientists mouth, technology has overtaken us and is probably much more advanced than it is now, religion is not what it once was its now a corrupted and convoluted concoction thats used more for financial gain than for the believers... This list is endless my point is am i wrong to be disillusioned?
If there is anyone who knows of anyway i can help anywhere...I would appreciate a comment...
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22:36
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
 Dr Alfred Mutua has given the PR profession a bad nameAs Hardliners In Kibaki Government Reign SupremeIt was here in Kumekucha, early last month that we informed you that the International community was discussing possible Visa bans against prominent Kenyans who have contributed to the crisis in the country. ****&&&& Other top stories Is The Kenyan Economy On The Brink Of Shutting Down?
Plus: What will happen when you meet a Kibaki descendant at some cocktail party 30 years from now.Naivasha Mungiki want all women "cut"****&&&& As you read this 10 Kenyans from both sides of the political divide are already on a list that should be made public soon. This initial list has no surprises and includes mainly individuals who should have had this Visa ban slapped on them years ago. Many of them featured prominently in the infamous Kroll report. As it is some analysts feel that it is too little, too late. However there is no denying the fact that it will hurt the individuals and their immediate families a great deal. Students will be deported from universities and wives who enjoyed frequent London or Dubai shopping will have less to talk and brag about at their next social. But what should be even more interesting is the next list of 30 that the Americans have revealed that they are working on. Unconfirmed reports reaching Kumekucha indicate that the name of one Dr Alfred Mutua the government spokesman may be on that list for issuing inflammatory statements before and after the crisis. Naturally this means that the name of his wife is also on the said list. Read more
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22:33
From: You Missed This
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Plus: What will happen when you meet a Kibaki descendant at some cocktail party 30 years from now. Business and economics is boring to most people, but I will keep this very simple, so please bear with me. This is very important and is bound to affect every Kenyan. Over 300 CEOS based in Kenya recently came out in a strong lobby to political leaders to come back to their senses. Led by the brilliant Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph, the most important part of their message was a warning. Some politicians seem to think that if the violence were to stop today, life would immediately go back to normal. It is not quite as simple as that and after you read through this post, you will begin to understand why. Let’s say you were a chief executive of a company handling consumer products, sitting somewhere in Industrial Area Nairobi. Where would your big markets be? Here I am sure I will surprise you. Read more
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22:13
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
Even as the political crisis in Kenya continues, many are unaware of the activities of the Mungiki terror gang in places like Naivasha. Even as Mwai Kibaki tells the world that the violence is under control and that “there is no problem in Kenya.”.
Apart from forcing all women to wear skirts, the Mungiki terror gangs are also insisting that all women intending to live in Naivasha should be circumcised. Many communities in Kenya, including the Kikuyu have circumcised their women for years. It is still unclear how the Mungiki aim to enforce this.
This barbaric and savage practice has numerous disadvantages some of which you may not have known about.
To start with, later in life women who have been circumcised have little control of urine, meaning that many times they will end up passing urine on themselves long before they can reach a place where they are able to relive themselves. In some cases this may cause a woman to constantly smell of urine. You can imagine what that can do to a marriage.
The whole idea of circumcision in many communities was to considerably dull and possibly destroy sexual pleasure so that chances of a wife straying are drastically reduced. What this does is to make certain sexual positions impossible with a woman who has been “cut.” Many times those positions will cause pain. This has nudged some “cut” women into drugs in a desperate bid to experience their God-given right.
Then there are some serious problems that could occur during child-birth for circumcised women.
Even more interesting is what spiritual experts have to say about the effects of circumcising women on a marriage. Some of them have assured Kumekucha that the practice makes women overly aggressive and determined to dominate their men. Many divorces have been linked to the circumcision of women by these spiritual experts.
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20:13
From: Kenyanentrepreneur.com
Read This Entry & More At Kenyanentrepreneur.com
Imanyara says the first lady smacked him. I believe him. Afterall, she has done it before. However, I am beginning to feel sorry for this woman. She clearly has some kind of mental illness and that must be difficult to deal with for a number of reasons.
First, the complexities of mental illness is not appreciated [...]
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20:06
From: Words Much Like Poetry
Read This Entry & More At Words Much Like Poetry
the midnight hour has passed
and across miles of earth, who is mother,
and ocean, who is her kindred,
your well modulated voice
asks quietly of me,
"what is it that you long for?"
face burning brightly, a star gone nova,
i want to say, "i long to make of my body a haven,
where you might nestle inside of me
and take your respite."
instead, i utter words of prudent nature.
"forgive me, dear one,
but the complexity of my emotions,
which lurk beneath a seemingly wizened veneer,
became, as days and weeks and years elapsed,
difficult to put sensibly into words.
and, as well, there was the fear that time—
disastrous mistress that she is,
who forges her way ever forward,
shoulders rigid, head aloft,
deaf ear turned to my every desperate plea that she halt—
had grown us too far apart
for even the most ambitious of bridges to span.
and that fear kept feelings mine
from lacking proper definition,
kept them as particles of dust
lambent upon destiny's continually changing breeze."
"oh, sweetness," you return,
"time is no longer, to us, a wretched whore.
now, her headlong flight,
through long, soft hours of night,
and bright, incandescent days,
is a thing to be rejoiced.
knowingly or unknowingly,
she speeds us toward that fervently sought after moment
when you will once more become
solid warmth and tender love.
"and, too, that which you cannot now—
in the turbulence of your cynicism,
where hopes and wishes are concerned—say,
will be enticed to spill honeyed from your lips
by the fine tremors that course along
the limbs i will wrap tightly,
in an unending circuit of strength,
about your needful form."
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18:54
From: Black Looks
Read This Entry & More At Black Looks
The Atlanticist : Africa needs tough love, not more aid poured down a rat hole:
There is not a single state on the African continent that would not today be better off administered under a colonial regime, as Hong Kong was by Britain. If the West genuinely cared about Africa and wanted to make a difference [...]
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15:23
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
A time comes when you muat take responsibility for soiling your pants (nay name). Kibaki's time is now and here. Kibaki’s insensitivity to weighty issues is under ultimate test as the international community's spotlight is singularly directed at him. The world has grown more assertive in demanding an end to Kenya’s crisis as induced by Kibaki's belligerence.
The enormous price of STEALING ELECTIONS is being calibrated. But not just yet. The global community may not be aware of the bunch of scoundrels they are dealing with. No amount of fiddling will wash. Kibaki's time of reckoning is nigh. He must carry his heavy and ugly cross.
Bad intentions always walk ahead of us. Packing a negotiating teem with 75% lawyers is to engage in semantics and generate all heat with no light. These are people who thrive as legal scoundrels, erecting side shows with no main act. Smarter lawyers are often those who spin better gimmicks. Their domain is to mouth red herrings which is a sure recipe to failure in resolving any dispute.
PNU negotiators (I wonder what Mutula represents) have their hands tightly tied behind their backs. These cahps negotiate while heavily beholden to a prescribed roadmap. It was no surprise to see them shamelessly (partially) walk out of Annan-led negotiations in the name of consulting higher earthly beings. The unpleasant truth is they cannot fathom sharing leave alone sharing the fraudulent trophy.
Even wild cats only have nine lives. Kibaki will (and must) face the true cost of DECEPTION. You don’t negotiate with folded arms. You must be ready to give as much as you take. Granted, the global community are not bereft of serving sectarian interests. However, WHOLE world cannot be wrong and only you claim to be right. Kibaki must be made to understand (in OLD AGE) that THEFT is a crime anywhere and doesn't pay.
The heat is intense and Kibaki MUST be forced to give in and hand back our country. We owe it to ourselves and future generations. His apologists can rant and rave all the much they care. Unfortunately they will have to migrate to another planet if they intent to succeed. Kenya for all Kenyans. Not an exclusive supplier of backs to be ridden by supremacists.
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15:22
From: Kenyanentrepreneur.com
Read This Entry & More At Kenyanentrepreneur.com
I continue to wonder why Kibaki is pretending to go along with these Annan hot talks. I suppose it’s because he didn’t want to embarrass President Kufuor? And now he doesn’t want to embarrass Kofi? (I had to re-read this sentence because so manyGhanian names begin with the letter “K” & I didn’t want to [...]
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15:04
From: Kikuyumoja's realm
Read This Entry & More At Kikuyumoja's realm
Just a short longer note on something I would actually like to expand into a post for Afrigadget: mobile phone repairs.
Back in 1998 when I first started fixing my mobile phone, things were a bit simpler. Fast forward in 2008, mobile phones have become a commodity and there are at least two or three guys in most rural towns (in Kenya and elsewhere) that will know how to fix such a phone.
So why blog on it? - Because it’s the way ppl are looking for alternative solutions on how to fix an advanced mobile phone based on SMD technology that makes the story interesting.
mobile phone repair booth in downtown Nairobi, picture taken in May 2006
In a world that has become more and more modular, where spare parts are exchangable or product life cycles reduced to a lifetime of about 2-3 years (best example: printers), not all is waste or wasted, and many things may often be repaired with simple and sometimes even very rough methods. Ask any mobile phone repair shop @ Moi Avenue Nairobi and they will tell you how they managed to save this or that phone. This, to me, is especially interesting, as they are using similar tools like other jua kali fundis in Europe - in a different environment. Whereas phones in Europe are often owned and used by one person only, phones in dev. countries are often shared between family members or friends. No wonder Nokia came up with two new phone models for emerging markets the other day, offering more than one phonebook / user profile on a single phone. Hence the need for a different approach to service repairs…or not?
What you see above in the pic - and I desp. tried to get a decent pic of such a booth back in May 2006 when I last tried to cover this subject - are normal flasher cables. Serial & parallel cables, like datacables, ppl use to connect a phone to a computer to unlock a handset, flash the firmware or run some tests. Your handset is blocked by the network? Don’t worry, just reprogramme it (illegally) with a new serial number (~ IMEI). These are things done everywhere in the world - in the Middle East, in Asia, in Europe, Africa, etc. - only: they are all based on reverse engineering.
Modern phones come with some more sophisticated algorithms and require a slightly different equipment - but that’s just a question of money and consequently there are, again, a few guys who will own a Twister Flasher or a BB5 unlock box in town (I really dig this microscope, sigh :-)
Coming back to the initial question - why is it so interesting? Well, because manufacturers like Nokia or SonyEricsson create service manuals for their phones (which are then circulated over the internet), giving the schematics and parameters of each and every part. But they usually don’t train those jua kali fundis. And a licenced Nokia Service Center? Apparently, they often do apply the same techniques and may or may not be equipped with special and better service gadgets. And they are expensive.
In other words: it’s cheaper and much more interesting for manufacturers to produce new phones than to train service staff on how to fix a mobile phone. Simple, new or refurbished phones are sold for something like 20,- EUR. And yet there’s this huge demand for quick & cheap repairs all over the world. This also applies to other electronics, cars or even lighters.
Anyone out there remembers how we used to refill one-way lighters with Butane gas (using a chopped nail and balancing the firestone on the forefinger while reassembling everything)? Back then lighters were sold for something like 25/= Kshs. and a refill was available for 10/= Kshs…
Now, while reverse engineered / alternative / jua kali (phone) repairs are interesting and will most def. make a good story on Afrigadget, I am constantly asking myself how manufacturers like Nokia will profit from this niche and use such knowledge for further engineering? Yeah, well, maybe Jan Chipchase’s research may be part of that, but then: who will fill this gap between new products and broken gadgets (leave this market to jua kali fundis and private individuals only?) and will a break-even point be the only criterion to define this approach on when it makes sense to invest in new equipment? What about environmental damage (during production) and how is this accounted for?
The fast growing mobile phone sector is an interesting example to see how the world has changed, and I am currious to see when the majority of customers in places like Nairobi will prefer buying another phone instead of having the old one repaired.
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14:54
From: Eyes on Kenya
Read This Entry & More At Eyes on Kenya
With an article at Reuter’s AlertNet, Joanne Tomkinson from Oxfam followed up the issue of the responsibility of local Kenyan radio stations in inciting ethnic hatred before and after the general election. We previously reported about the role of Kenya’s media in our article: Eyes on the Media in Kenya; Kenya’s Wolf in Sheep skin or her redemption?
MEDIAWATCH: Kenyan media inciting ethnic hatred
Written by: Joanne Tomkinson
Messages of hate aired on radio stations and the internet are partly to blame for the post-election bloodshed in Kenya. There are worrying echoes of the Rwandan genocide when local radio stations urging people to “kill the Inkotanyi [cockroaches]” were widely thought to have contributed to the slaughter of 800,000 people in 1994.
Kenya has been convulsed by bloodshed since President Mwai Kibaki’s disputed re-election at the end of December. More than 1,000 people have been killed and an estimated 300,000 people have fled their homes.
Even before the election, many radio stations broadcasting in Kikuyu, Luo and Kalenjin languages were airing inflammatory comments about members of other communities, according to the Inter Press Service (IPS), a global news agency.
“The ethnic hate our radio station was propagating about those from outside the community was unbelievable,” one Kenyan journalist told the IPS.
David Ochami, a commissioner with the Media Council of Kenya, says that long before the elections radio stations were inciting ethnic consciousness “making people support leaders from their own tribe and harbour bad feelings about people from other communities“.
Call-in shows have provided a very vocal platform for “hate speech”, as callers are not always vetted before being put on air, writes the IPS.
Insults of “baboons”, “weeds” and “animals of the west” are common and though comments rarely call for violence, they do often draw on cultural differences and long-standing disputes about access to land, according to Caesar Handa of Strategic Research, an organisation monitoring the airwaves after the election.
The chilling power of these comments is very worrying in a country where many people trust their local stations and take what they broadcast as the truth, Handa says in Kenyan newspaper The Nation. The Mashada forum, an online chatroom, has been forced to close due to the large number of inflammatory messages posted on its pages.
“The majority of interaction on Mashada.com has begun to reflect the negative aspects of what is happening in Kenya,” the forum’s moderator is quoted as saying on the White African blog.
“Facilitating civil discussions and debates has become virtually impossible,” he writes.
By banning all live political broadcasts after the election, the government forced many people to turn to radio stations and internet sites to get updates, according to Eyes on Kenya, a non-governmental organisation analysing events in the country.
Such is the power of these stations, they “should be closed with immediate effect,” writes the Eyes on Kenya commentator.
But the problems with the Kenyan media go beyond call-in shows and chatrooms.
Although he praises the courage of many Kenyan journalists, Antony Otieno Ong’ayo, a researcher at political think tank Transnational Institute, says the local media is prone to partisan reporting in its news coverage.
Writing for Pambazuka, a pan African news site, Ong’ayo says that media owners, blog sites, and local newspapers have failed to be open about the other reasons for the violence - poverty, inequality, corruption and unequal distribution of resources.
“Such bias will direct attention in the wrong direction, and could be used to gang up against other communities,” Ong’ayo says.
International coverage of the violence comes in for similar criticism from Kenya expert, David Anderson, an Oxford University professor. The media’s focus on inter-tribal violence doesn’t tell the whole story, he tells Reuters.
“Describing it as ethnic violence is not quite right. This is political violence of the most classic kind. Ethnicity is how you mobilise it: that’s the modus operandi, not the rationale.“
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13:00
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
back to normalCompared to a year ago This shows that not much changed for those in Nairobi able to travel around and shop properly at Uchumi that life is pretty normal as far as shopping is concerned. Litre of petrol: 87.99 shillings (~$5.50 a gallon) and up 18% from a year ago (then 74.29) when you drive around Nairobi you can get prices from about 85 to 92 this week For petrol prices, I have been tracking a brand name station that tends to have slightly lower prices than may parts of the city where the price is at around 91 shillings. And these are expected to go up this year as are electricity bills which are already being billed at 12% higher for residential house. Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi sounded out another warning yesterday to petrol companies to adjust the prices downwards when international oil prices drop – but the companies have, over the years ignored previous warnings from Ministers and government officials, and not passed on any savings to motorists. Maize meal ugali (2 kg. unga) 52 shillings (50 a year ago) Sugar (2 kg. Mumias pack) 150 shillings (no change from a year ago) Fresh food prices have gone up also. Milk and bread have increased by a few shillings depending on where you shop. The prices of vegetables have gone up, some even up to 4X what they were before the election, but vegetable prices are seasonal and once supplies and fresh harvest kick in, the prices should adjust downwards. Tusker beer: 120 shillings at local pub - up 20% (from 100 a year ago) some pubs experienced shortages in the post-election period until the only beer they were left with was Guinness(Safaricom) Mobile phone promotion: a year ago Safaricom had introduced Saasa - with 8 shillings per minute calls during off peak hours. This year they have extended the hours that off-peak applies, while rival Celtel has lowered the bar with 4 shilling per minute calls to 3 preferred numbers What i really want from mobile company is for one tariff to focus on cheap data charges – SMS, Internet browsing – while voice can remain expensiveUS Dollar exchange rate: 70.7 shilling to the dollar - unchanged (was 69.97 a year ago). But this is abnormal as it does not capture the the strength of the Kenya shilling which had appreciated to about 63 just before the election – from December it has lost 10% against the dollar and 17% against the Euro (overall it is 15% weaker against the Euro a year ago.
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11:49
From: Kenyan Pundit
Read This Entry & More At Kenyan Pundit
I had a uuum, visa mishap.
Relied on online site for visa information and didn’t notice that only “official” passport holders from Kenya as opposed to “ordinary” passport holders didn’t require a visa. I’ve been to Turkey several times when no visa was required so there was also a bit of ujuaji on [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Not off to Istanbul", url: "http://www.kenyanpundit.com/?p=454" });
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11:21
From: Rants, Raves & Reviews
Read This Entry & More At Rants, Raves & Reviews
I wonder if these folks live in same Kenya most of us do...
Amos Kimunya - Finance Minister (illegitimate government?): Expects economic growth of 7%. Probably his pocket but not most other Kenyans!
Njuguna Ndungu - CBK Governor: Expects 6% economic growth. His own staff (Prof Terry Ryan) was at 4%. Is Alan Greenspan available?
Kiraitu Murungi - Energy Minister: Blames the Oil Marketers for high fuel prices while conveniently ignoring that 50% of the fuel price comprises government TAXES. To add insult to injury, the transport costs are pushed much higher due to Kenya Pipeline Company & Kenya Petroleum Refinery - both government owned/controlled - inefficiencies. Poor roads & insecurities adds to the problem!
Kenya Revenue Authority: Implements new taxes & rules on Kenyans in 2008 while most Kenyans & their businesses suffer. Example: Forms to report property losses can only be gotten from district offices who have to approve the same. Many of the displaced persons whose properties were destroyed/vandalized could be killed if they returned to the districts!
Eric Kiraithe - Police spokesman: "Love triangle" theories & "Rambo-movies" comparisons for police violence & murders. Its a pity none of his family is in harm's way.
Hussein Ali - Police commissioner: Talks of peace being "restored" when people are escorted AWAY from their homes! Same idiot who didn't have the guts to hold the Armenian brothers in Kenyan jails thus had them deported. He couldn't even fire the CID director (joseph kamau) who told ali to go pound sand!
Alfred Mutua - Government Goebbels: He missed his calling as a jester. I can't believe the crap he spews. Claims John Kufuor flew 6 hours for a cup of tea with kibz. Producer of poor-quality TV shows.
Evan Gicheru - Chief Justice: Calls Kenya's legal system "efficient & reliable". Is he joking? It takes YEARS for simple cases to be resolved. Corruption is still a problem. Of course, don't forget the expense! Unless he thinks the receipt of his outrageous salary & perks is "efficient & reliable".
You Know Who - The Serial Slapper: Slap, slap & more slaps. Cameramen, MCs, MPs... Slappity, slap, slap.
In the meantime, the inflation rate is on a tear, job losses continue, properties are being destroyed, lives lost & destroyed, businesses are closing down, exports are down, transport is paralyzed... the woes continue...
Of course, the MPs get paid, the ministers get paid, the government employees get paid. The idiot samuel "my mommy didn't teach me to count" kivuitu gets paid.
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7:37
From: What An African Woman Thinks
Read This Entry & More At What An African Woman Thinks
For a long time, this country has been rearing the monster that is our country’s growing numbers of unemployed, disenfranchised youth. They're deeply discontent, they are angry and they're everywhere.
And now our erstwhile politicos have, inadvertently or otherwise, unleashed this monster from its cage thinking that they can control it at the crack of their whip.
I fear they will not be able to do so.
Already, in the wake of the chaos a couple of weeks ago in Nakuru, gangs of youth have emerged there and have began to extort businesspeople and homeowners for what they’re calling a “youth levy.”
A young man approaches a businessperson and tells them that henceforth, they’ll have to pay a “youth levy” in order to secure the protection services of these youth should trouble break out. It’s not an offer, it’s a threat. The businessperson understands that if they do not pay this “youth levy,” then their business under risk of attack by these very youth.
A friend tells me that Kisumu is also being run by gangs of youth and that, to a large extent, the looting, stealing and damaging of property continues.
Elsewhere, marauding gangs of young people armed with crude weapons continue to set up roadblocks at will on Kenya’s main roads, extorting the motorists plying these roads. The best case scenario is when they extort money without causing any passenger any bodily harm. The best case scenario.
And a week ago in Kinoo, Uthiru and parts of Ngong, Mungiki dropped leaflets, warning those belonging to specific ethnic communities to vacate the region or face dire consequences.
The blame for the provocation and the incitement lies elsewhere for the most part. But, those who bear the weapons, those cause the destruction, those who kill, are the youth. Everywhere you turn, our young people are the hands and feet of the violence.
Good people, this, more than anything that is happening in Kenya right now, worries me.
I’ve said elsewhere that to look into the faces of our young people is to glimpse the future. To grossly understate it, I’m not particularly thrilled at this sneak preview.
I empathise with their plight. This country has failed them. We have marginalized them instead of integrating them. We’ve consigned them to periphery, unwilling to allow them penetrate to the centre of power, or participate in our economy in any meaningful way.
We have done this.
And we're soon going to discover that it is a lot more difficult to put off a bushfire than it is to light it in the first instance.It's my window, but I don't own the view.
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5:39
From: You Missed This
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When the US government announced that it had slapped a visa ban on a group of 50 Kenyans suspected to have instigated post-election violence, it also effectively turned 10% of Kenya’s national assembly into ‘genocide suspects’. It will be a big shame and embarrassing to these foreign governments if no arrests are made soon. Government spin-doctor Alfred Mutua could not hide his glee and has already posted a statement at his official website ‘welcoming’ this visa ban. Mutua went as far as urging the US and Canadian governments to name these suspects so as end speculation. In his excitement, Mutua went further to encourage other global powers to emulate the USA and Canada. It seems Mutua is making an assumption that the action by US and Canadian embassies hurts the ODM more than the government. Mutua conveniently forgets that nearly all vernacular FM stations are pro-government and as well as the PNU pre-election rallies were the main channels of hate speech that, other than the stolen presidential vote, have been the single most contributor of the sad state of affaris in Kenya right now! However, speaking at Hon. David Too’s memorial church service earlier today, ODM supremo Raila Odinga said: “The only crime ODM has committed was to win a general election”. Not to be left behind, the Kenya Police Commissioner has also enticed the public with monetary rewards if they could come forward with information that will lead to the arrest and successful prosecution of the instigators of post election violence. One wonders if TV footage that captured young men armed with crude weapons attacking their neighbours right in front of the eyes of Ali’s police officers were Tom & Jerry cartoon shows. Why should our ‘duly elected’ government and police who retain the power to investigate, arrest and prosecute the so-called suspects sit on their laurels and wait for foreign governments to mete out punishment to these criminals? Observers find it strange that those who are suspected of having instigated 1992 and 1997 tribal clashes that killed an estimated 3000 people and displaced nearly a million are roaming freely while also dining and wining with Kenya's spoilt cabinet ministers. These are the same characters who have milked the public coffers dry through Goldenberg and Anglo leasing scams! Is it not government-sponsored Mungiki adherents who beheaded tens civilians including children just a few months ago? No one has ever been charged with these heinous crimes to this day. The fact of the matter is that the (former?) Mungiki National Chairman is an avowed political supporter of the PNU side! Mungiki itself has claimed responsibility of killing an MP and they stand accused of murdering tens of civilians in Nakuru and Naivasha areas. Individuals who should otherwise be locked inside a maximum security prison are now privileged to grace PNU high tables at presidential functions and lead demonstrations in down-town Nairobi in support of an illegitimate government! It is certainly not lost on observers that the culprits of ethnic clashes are strongly against ODM lawfully assuming power and are firmly on the side of PNU government! This is not to say that those responsible for instigating the current clashes (if at all they did) should be let scot-free! Infact, it seems justice is going to be selectively applied because it has already been forgotten there exists a group known as Sabaot Land Defense Force and those who they have been killing in Mt. Elgon are not human beings and their case does not deserve to be discussed at the UN Security Council. Even as the mediation efforts go on, people are dying in Mt. Elgon without anyone raising a finger! The so-called ethnic cleansing is an agenda that PNU are pushing forward so as to sabotage the Annan peace process and divert the attention of the international community from their own serious crime of stealing an election and killing innocent MPs. This is a serious issue that requires to be analysed and resolved from a historical, social, political and economic point of view. Perhaps if PNU would pay attention to what Njoki Ndungu had to submit to the US congress then we could begin to move forward as a united and peaceful nation.
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4:04
From: Cock And Bull
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A person has a spot on the dress at the back at a place that a quick glance in the morning mirror did not show. And that person will walk through the streets without being aware of the presence of the blemish. However, no matter how smartly dressed the person is, he will feel unsure of himself since he will sense that everything is not quite right. The person might even notice others staring or pointing. What a relief it would be if a friend or even a stranger were to make the effort of helping to correct the anomaly? The spot would then be removed and the person will be able to walk with confidence once again.
God is the friend who sees something that we cannot see and is not afraid to tell us. To a Christian, reading the Bible – God’s word - will inform the person about all the things that need changing in their lives. And when a person heeds the word and implements the changes, he or she will be able to make things right once again with the self.
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0:01
From: Kenya Imagine
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I was never good with the machine gun. With a cyclic rate of fire of 1150 rounds per minute (give or take 150, depending upon the age of your recoil spring), my bursts from the bipod would never be as short as the sergeant would have liked them, and they would invariably spread up and down over the target rows, instead of keeping the impacts nicely clustered in each mini-silhouette. Read more from Vitalis Oyudo here.
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Second, you have to look at the available options for anyone wishing to send money back to their home country in Africa. Ever since the September 11 attacks in the US, there has been a lot more rules and regulations surrounding any type of capital flow, which has made it harder to operate in this field. 
The only true way to drive down costs will be increased competition within the African remittance industry. We’re starting to see that with mobile payment options and voucher-based remittances. 
