Feeds
8716 items (0 unread) in 54 feeds
Welcome to Mashada Blogs! Read all your favourite blogs in one place.
«
Expand/Collapse
29 items tagged "Nairobi"
Related tags:
Jobs [+],
Stock [+],
Exchange [+],
City [+],
Council [+],
planning [+],
bookshops [+],
Trade [+],
International [+],
Fair [+],
of [+],
living [+],
cost [+]
-
-
8:03
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
Urban Inflation Index: December 2008
-
-
2:08
From: bankelele
-
-
7:12
From: bankelele
-
-
9:41
From: bankelele
-
-
11:07
From: bankelele
-
-
4:54
From: bankelele
-
-
5:36
From: bankelele
-
-
5:36
From: bankelele
-
-
5:07
From: bankelele
-
-
10:32
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
Finally have one full year of data on expenses incurred. As part of an experiment I have tried to quantify daily spending over the last 365 days (and categorized them as follows)
Rent 37%, Investments 9%, Education 9% (bound to go up each coming year), Being a good guy 8% (Gifts 4%, Family 3%, Charity 1%), Fuel 7% (offset by more public transport use), Drinks 7% (socializing & entertaining), Dining 5%, Groceries 4% (not my docket) Communications 3% (take that Michael Joseph), Transport 3% (reading novels in the matatu), Utilities 3% (cost may double this year), Furniture 3%, Recreation 2% (I can afford to play more golf and get a decent handicap), Newspapers 2% (keeping up with politics & finance), Clothing 2% (FYI: Dr. Manu Chandaria only has 7 suits), Repairs 2%, Parking 1%, Personal 1%, Electronics 1%.
-
-
10:31
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
a week early, with some changesTracking prices of some urban commodities compared to six months ago and a year ago Fuel: Litre of petrol fuel (at local petrol station) is Kshs. 101.50 ~ $1.50 (up 15.3% in ½ year) 6 months ago: Kshs. 87.99, Year ago: Kshs. 80.79 despite record world oil prices, government joint tender system has cushioned some impact on the economy – even oil companies are not celebratingStaple food: Maize flour (2 kg. Unga pack at Uchumi) is Kshs. 73 (up 40% in ½ year) 6 months ago Kshs. 52, Year ago Kshs. 50 farming woes continue, poor crop expected this yearOther food item: Sugar (2 kg. Mumias pack) at Uchumi is Kshs. 145 (down 3% in ½ year) 6 months ago: Kshs. 150, Year ago Kshs. 150 Kshs new minister trying to clean up notorious sectorEntertainment: Bottle of Tusker beer (at local pub) is Kshs. 130 (up 8.3% in ½ year) 6 months ago; Kshs. 120, Year ago: Kshs. 100 agricultural input costs rising, but post-budget sin tax pushed prices up. You need this to network in Kenya, or switch to Alvaro? Communications: mobile phone promotionThis month Safaricom has Ongea tariff which has phone calls priced Kshs. 10 per minute all day, while Celtel has a Kshs. 3 per minute tariff (and with a conditional ‘free’ call package thrown in). Safaricom is also promoting broadband hotspots for the entire Nairobi and Mombasa areas. - Six months go: Safaricom had extended the hours for Kshs. 8 calls on Saasa tariff, while Celtel had Kshs. 4 per minute calls to 3 preferred numbers - A year ago Safaricom had Super Tariffic tariff which has calls 38% cheaper and SMS 30% cheaper than the previous tariff mobile communications one of the few things that are getting cheaperExchange rate1 US$ equals Kshs. 67.4 (shilling has appreciated 4.7% in ½ year) 6 months ago: 70.7, Year ago: 66.5 strong , but now sliding, shilling has cushioned some impact of high oil prices, but exporters are complainingElectricity costNew additionMy electricity bill in July 2008 is Kshs. 1,860 A year ago was Kshs. 995 Consumption was the same, the culprit was fuel costs adjustment which added Kshs. 820(649c/kwh) to my bill compared to Kshs. 200 shillings (170c/kwh) a year ago as KPLC recently increased the electricity charges which could have some adverse effect on the economy later in the year – already big manufacturers are investing in power plants and alternative generation sources.
-
-
5:00
From: bankelele
-
-
5:43
From: bankelele
-
-
13:04
From: Kenya Imagine
Read This Entry & More At Kenya Imagine
It is far from the most graceful move, but Local Government Minister Uhuru Kenyatta's decision to restrict access into the city centre for matatus is a bold decision (whatever its motivations) and one that bears much potential. The minister cannot, of course, be absolved for his failure to give adequate notice to the matatu owners, or to explain the exemption from his decree of the major bus companies. He cannot either be forgiven the negligent manner in which so far-reaching and disruptive an innovation was implemented, nor for lacking the foresight to adequately manage the consequences of these measures. Still, the policy may yet be redeemed and the city that was once green and in the sun, may live to celebrate a decision that should serve to reduce its overwhelming ambient air pollution and clear its streets of noisy and costly traffic jams. Read more from Angela Wairimu here.
-
-
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.
-
-
2:59
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
Earlier: Thanksgiving 2006 portfolio  The StableDiamond Trust Express ICDCI KCB Scangroup Sameer Stanbic (UG) Total * Uchumi (suspended)What's changed?In: ICDCI Out: None Increase: Diamond Trust (rights), Scangroup Lightened: KCB Dividends expected: no interims Unexpected gains/losses: New listings not taken on: Kenya Re Best performer: Stanbic (Ug) Worst Performer: Total (though the dividend is assured) Looking forward to: none really. I sat out of the Kenya Re IPO, and then didn’t really want it after the shares listed - maybe next year. Same with the Safaricom IPO which is getting dangerously close to the election, but which I expect to sit out again and instead give the money I have to some candidates (2 parliamentary, 1 civic) toward election expenses. Lessons learnt: (i) you should not try and time trades e.g. company books for dividend close on Thursday, so you try and buy shares on Tuesday – just won’t work; think and trade long term (ii) attempts to buy low and sell high by setting a price based on yesterday’s high/low also won’t work; so think long term and don’t worry about intra-day prices Performance Summary: The Motley Fool advises that investors should beat the share index to consider their returns a success. The NSE 20 share index is up 1% in the last six months while my portfolio is down 0.7% from May 2007. The actual share holdings are up about 13% but with the cash taken out from when KCB shares sold, the net position is down.
-
-
0:12
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
The 9th Parliament is over, paving the way for general elections to be held in December 2007. NTV Reporter Robert Nagila had a nice piece on NTV last week about the 222 vacancies in Parliament – terming them among the best jobs in Kenya. [A member of parliament gets 5 years security of tenure (while no CEO job is safe when profits fall), and millionaire status guaranteed from an annual salary of about 10 million shillings ($142,000) a year - higher than most developed countries] Professionals of all sorts are lining up to win the seats this year - including one constituency with over 40 candidates. Looking back over the five years past, this parliament was doomed in the public mind when upon entering the house they immediately raised (almost doubling) their salaries. And as much as they blame the media for carping on each and every salary increase, it struck a nerve with many poor Kenyans. So, long before the government got its act together to tackle civil servants, teacher and police and other workers salaries, MP’s had already taken care of their welfare, and continued to do so as a ritual. And for the good work they did on passing procurement and sexual offences bill, conducting a credible investigation on Anglo leasing, and constituency development funds, and 60 other bills those were overshadowed by the inter-party bickering, lack of quorum (even during passage of some said bills) and needless salary hikes. It has been estimated than over ½ of them will not make it back to parliament in 2008, and for that we hope to have a more sensible crop of leaders. What worries me is that all the MP’s I have personally met are sensible, smart people who are professional with degrees, but when they enter the parliament a herd mentality seems to take over and you see the same people on TV spewing childish taunts and obscenities at their opponents and perceived enemies. For more read the light and the intrigues of parliament Other Pro’s - high self awareness - Can lump even more personal bills onto the tax payer by accepting a useless assistant minister’s post. - You get to sign a whole page in any visitors/condolence book (instead of one line) - Can use the prefix “Honorable ___ ” long after you leave parliament - groupies Some drawbacks - Getting there is expensive and dirty which scares away many decent people. - Vehicle to parliament is called a political parties which has no purpose these, but they have to be paid to secure a certificate. - Low public esteem. - But the public/constituents, still expect MP’s to fund them since they are multi-millionaires - Stalkers other opportunities most from the weekend papersAcumen Fund Fellows: New York, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, India, Pakistan, D/L is 24/10 Barclays Africa Leadership ProgramIFC investment officer, infrastructure advisory. D/L 2/11 Managing Director at KCB Uganda . Apply to recruitement@kcb.co.ke by 5/11 Business writers at Nation media group. Apply to hrrecruit@nation.co.ke by 30/10 Associate editor - business at the Standard Other management vacancies (several each) include Kenya Airways, National Bank, National Oil Corp of Kenya, Safaricom and the Kenya ICT Board (but no web site)? Kenya petroleum refineries (14) trainee refinery operators apply by snail mail
-
-
0:58
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
  Like former Mayor (and now Presidential Candidate) Rudy Giuliani did for New York in the mid 1990’s, John Gakuo, the town clerk of the City Council of Nairobi, is credited with the clean up of the city, making it a cleaner, safer, and a more beautiful place to visit. So how did he do it? He gave a Leadership Forum talk on October 17 on his time at City Hall Who: John Gakuo is a University of Nairobi Graduate and had been an administrator (provincial administration) for over 20 years. He was appointed Town Clerk (effectively CEO) of the Nairobi City Council in 2004. He is inspired by history – France’s recovery since WWI, the Arusha Declaration (Tanzania) - and believes that Nairobi can be restored to its glory, which last shone in the 1970’s. He gave his talk on the challenge of effective resource management and began by saying that resources were not the key to change, noting that some countries with abundant mineral resources, have their citizens living in extreme poverty, while others with less resources, have prudently managed what they have to achieve great things. And that was the theme of his talk – use what you have to get what you want The success he has had at city hall has been though effective resource management and he decried leaders who use the ‘we have no money’ excuse for not doing things, noting that they should solve problems in other ways Beginning: He was transferred there from the Ministry of Health and initially believed someone wanted him fired (from government) by having him posted to the ‘chaotic’ office – one that attracts insults in the media every day, for the poor conditions in the city. He found the city dirty because they had no brooms, and was told there was no money to buy brooms. He thought about it and decided that the staff could not be idle, so he asked them to cut tree branches to sweep up the city. In no time, this led to money becoming available, and soon brooms were procured and work continued. And from that point on he decided to set out priority areas that he could tackle with his limited resource base, and which produced visible results, since he did not have money to do what people wanted most. These included; Recreation areas: Nairobi city was planned for ½ million people, but now had 3 ½ million, and even up to 4 million during the daytime – and there were no places for recreation. Two parks - Central Park and Uhuru Park were very dirty, un-maintained, and controlled by gangs of urchins who molested anyone who dared go near the parks. So he fixed the one tractor and grass cutter and began a long attempt to mow the grass and clean the parks of trash. They also set up lighting for the park and security so that couples and families could begin using the park. He is gratified by the numbers of people (couples, families) who now visit and rest in the park, in relative safety. Later he extended his campaign to Uhuru Gardens (Langata Road) even though it is not under the Council’s jurisdiction – and it is now a popular weekend rest point for people. Statutory (legal) powers as a resource for service delivery: He said, even when you have no money, you still have to be seen to be at work, and that people always want to see new things from leaders. So he undertook measures which were visible and which he could maintain, but which did not require money. He took advantage of very powerful, but dormant, by-laws in the city council code, which he combined with the abundant staff resource at his disposal. These efforts included curbing down on garbage dumping at Kangemi (though it took over 2,000 arrests for the message to sink in), and requiring buildings owners in Nairobi to fix & paint their buildings prior to license renewal. Also littering, public urination, and zebra crossing, and numerous other (unfortunate ‘violations’ were punished by the councils various inspectorate teams. Lighting & beautification Lighting is an essential feature of beautification and security in the city. He set out to put lights that would give visitors a positive impression of the city, right from Jomo Kenyatta airport and into the city, as well as on Langata Road and Waiyaki Way up to the city boundaries – and plans to light up Thika Road up to Kenyatta University. Within the city, lighting, combined with other inspectorate crews were used to rid the streets of urchins who used to snatch women’s purses and who made several parts of the city no-go zones after sunset. They plan to light up the other side of Tom Mboya Street up to Nairobi River and Khoja Mosque as well. In addition to urchins he also cut down on the women who’d beg with children on their back all day, believing that few of them were genuine cases. He does not know where they went, but they are not on the streets anymore as they can be charged with ‘idling’. He joked that when you see him coming up with a new by-law to enforce, you know the City is broke again Trees are relatively cheap to plant; they make the city beautiful and filter the exhaust fumes from vehicles. So the council has planted thousands of evergreen trees in the city and along the major highways Roundabouts and fountains are being resorted in parks and at strategic point in the city after years of disuse Kiosks often harbor undesirables, some can do, but they are a very sensitive political matter and he gets a lot of pressure when he cracks down. However with the ones outside Nairobi Hospital, he was able to accommodate them by asking that they rebuild them in a manner that they were not an eyesore Matatu’s He described the transport minibuses as a menace. Some measures he has taken to reign them in include stationing 2 tow trucks at the Westlands to intercept any matatu dropping of picking up passengers on the road, instead of suing the bus-stop, while on Thika Road, they are digging trenches to prevent matatu’s from driving down the side of the road. Roundabouts are archaic and they will all be ripped up along Uhuru Highway Garbage Disposal The Dandora dumpsite been around for 50 years to the detriment of their residents’ health. They City Council is seeking an international company to tackle solid waste disposal soon partnerships He said business & residents associations have not provided meaningful assistance – all they do is have endless meetings and resolutions with no action thereafter, while most who have pledged to restore/beautify some roundabouts have not done more than put up their own advertising. He welcomes anyone or business that has a plan/action to beautify/restore any project in the City to contact his office, noting that majority of city residents have been impatient but not helpful media relations: He has engaged the public through the media by responding/replying to each accusation of report he read in the news about the City Council. This has helped the media come around to understand the challenges he faces numbers: he was questioned later about revenue and staff numbers. On staff he said that they have about 13,000 staff and ideally should have 7,000. he says when he has enough money he will retrench some of them, but for now he’ll continue to use them as effectively as he can so they earn their keep. On revenue he said when he joined 2 ½ years ago, city was collecting 3 billion, now they are up to 11 billion and growing. Earlier on he took over aspects of the finance department, since treasury was receiving very little of what was collected succession: one questioner dropped a Tom Peters quote on him challenging that ‘leaders are not judged by how many followers they have, but by how many leaders they create’ – to which he replied that all he can do is let others see his strategies and actions and see if they are worth emulating. summary: The Town Clerk is a man who believes in action, not talk. And with his style and achievements, you can expect him to probably, like Rudy Giuliani (minus the personal baggage), step into politics in a few years. Email: townclerk@nairobi.org
-
-
10:03
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
The elections are a few weeks away and assets are disposed of and savings converted into consumer spending and other election-related services. People are being warned to be careful with their SUV’s (lest they are stolen to be used in rural campaigns and dumped) There are 210 constituencies in the country and one estimate of the cost of running a viable campaign is set at about 10 million shillings ($150,000) - and this can be as high as 100 million shillings (where titans are battling it out to enter Parliament) Scenes from the Nairobi show Also known as the Nairobi international trade fair (which ended on Sunday October 7) - Traffic to the showground was so bad along Ngong road, that it was better and faster to detour along Kibera. I asked one very tired policeman about this and he replied that the heavy traffic was not related to the trade fair – just that vehicles never cease coming no matter how long directs the traffic (too many cars) - Visiting an impressive stand, I’m reminded that long before Vice President Moody Awori spruced up the Prisons Department, it was highly regarded for the good quality furniture that they i.e. prisoners used to (and still) produce and which the department would sell to the public - A yellow Humvee is a big draw for all the school kids even though they are not allowed near it - I was able to get my social security statement from the NSSF stand, but my stockbroker could not give me a statement! (They were not online). The NSSF also gave a friendly reminder to patrons to top up their contributions otherwise they would receive very little when they retired - Ice cream vendors almost every 10 yards. And the way it was hot, they were all doing roaring business - JKUAT (University) enterprises produce a variety of juices, jams, soaps and lotions. - A drunk high school student being hauled out of the show grounds by his colleagues. I later passed them outside the showground and noticed they have wisely removed their school uniforms – otherwise they could have bundled into a police wagon to be paraded on the evening news.
-
-
11:30
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
August 07 – changes from 6 months ago - Litre of fuel Kshs. 80.79 ~ $1.21 (up 8.75%) - Maize meal (2 kg. Unga) 50 shillings (no change) - Sugar (2 kg. Mumias pack) 150 shillings (no change) - Tusker beer: 100 shillings at local (no change) - Safaricom promotion: Then: was Saasa - with 8 shillings per minute calls during off peak hour. Now is new shape of Safaricom including a new Super Tariffic tariff which has calls 38% cheaper and SMS 30% cheaper than the previous Tariffic tariff- US Dollar exchange rate: Kshs. 66.50 (5% weaker against the shilling) - Plastics items are not being tracked, but milk and bread have gone up since the budget speech read in June. Personal expenses I tried using various online services to track expenses, but eventually fell back to Microsoft Excel and built a tracker that fit my needs. For July 2007; - Rent 30% (high, but it’s safe and close to town) - Charity 14% (one time event) - Electronics 11% (new phone, but do I say) - Fuel 8% (lower than expected, but my daily commute is short) - Drinks 6% (Rather low, so should not feel guilty) - Relatives 6% (unavoidable, non recurring expense) - Investments 5% (should be higher, but there’s nothing promising till end of August) - Dining 5% - Parking 4% (take that Mr. Mayor) - Newspaper 2% (rather high) - Gift 2% (for every time I visit someone’s’ house) - Utilities 2% (electricity & water) - Communications 2% (mostly Safaricom) - Groceries 2% - Personal 1% sports - I love the new G TV advertisement which compares the three English premiership soccer packages Get 3 games a month for 0 shillings i.e. Nation TV (NTV) Get 6 games a month for $70 ~ i.e. DSTV Or 32 games a month for Kshs 2,750 (i.e. GTV) but this weekend, Supersport will show opening matches of the big four teams Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester Utd-With all the fallout from the Hungarian Grand Prix, it should be pointed out (to non-F1 fans) that Hamilton started the fracas on Saturday when he deliberately ignored a direct order from Ron Dennis (team Boss) to let Alonso past on the track during the early stages of qualifying three.
-
-
23:43
From: Kenya Imagine
Read This Entry & More At Kenya Imagine
L. Akitelek Papakemus on the aggression of the Nairobian. I however know for certain that I am not a big rat by Nairobi standards. This is evidenced in a series of signs posted on several unfortunate trees along Ngong Road: “Hapana kodjoa.”; “Hapana kodjoa hapa!”; “Usikodjoe hapa kabisa”; and finally with all the pent up frustration of an unheeded sign writer, there was, “Usikodjoe hapa mjinga wewe!” When I get to be that big a rat, I’ll put in an application to drop out of the rat race. Meanwhile “if you can’t beat them join them”, and perhaps strive to be the best (but not the “biggest”) rat you can be. Read more here.
-
-
9:39
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
(Premium) Story in the Nation about the Cabinet being presented with a paper to approve the sale of 25% of Safaricom to the public. This is a winning card this election year that will be foremost in the minds of investors and voters. A well managed Safaricom IPO before December could deliver more votes than needless voter expenditure or rhetoric from any leader. Power shift: Meanwhile Bloomberg reports that - for the first time since WWII more money will be raised from European IPO’s than US ones. Stringent regulations, high costs (6.7% of IPO versus 3.3% for Europe) and the weak US$ to blame as 14 or the 15 biggest recent IPO’s were listed outside the US.
-
5:20
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
There have been many columns written about the Media Bill 2007 that was presented in Parliament this month and which seeks to instill responsibility among journalists. However it is missing from the ministry site, there are no PDF’s available (so far) and I was only able to get a copy thanks to a networked bloggger. It was disappointing that so far everyone talks about it, but few (member of the public) have seen it. Even media houses have remained selfish with the document, withholding it and only telling us what’s bad about it. Actually the bill is quite bare, except for providing for the establishment of a media advisory council, media advisory board and a code of conduct for journalists. - Pros: It creates about 20 new jobs (board seats) on two new bodies (media advisory council and media advisory board) - Is not as broad as previously envisioned when it appeared that it would cover cross ownership and content issues. Cons: Much has been written about it - read some ( here, here, and here)  The bill is crafted by people who believe that the media are out to get them so it comes out as something that a media-challenged celebrity may have written - guiding the media on what to do and what not to do via a code of conduct. It seems to be directed at the Standard which is believed to have editorial issues dictated by ownership (the bill calls on journalists to refuse to allow the interests of ownership or management to influence news' judgment and content inappropriately) and therefore one ups the Standard by drafting a bill that seeks to forbid intrusions into individuals private life (without the persons consent), alarming headlines (a staple of tabloids to lure buyers), the use of hidden recordings (ala Githongo) and confidential/unnamed sources – with penalties such as deregistration of journalists. Likely outcome: As bad as the bill is, it may actually pass in parliament because no politician likes the media - they will make a show of opposing the bill, but all will welcome the chance/forum to complain about negative coverage. Jobs from the newspapers over the last weekCommercial and political risks underwriter at Africa trade insurance agency - ATIA. Apply to Recruitment@Africa-ECA.com by 15/6 Marketing manager at nation media group: apply to hrrecruit@nation.co.ke 30/5 National communications secretariat of the republic of Kenya: communication legal expert, accountant, system administrator. Apply to ncs@elimu.net 15/6 Pricewaterhousecoopers: public financial management and procurement specialists. Apply to recruitment.ke@ke.pwc.com by 15/6 Sony (South Nyanza Sugar Company): CEO/ M - details here. Also HR development manager, procurement manager, management accountant, property manager, sales operations manager. Apply by 20/6
-
-
5:50
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
Deloitte 100 years  celebrated inside the Nairobi National park last FridayDeloitte celebrated 100 years of doing business in Kenya last week at the ivory burning site inside the Nairobi National Park. I’m sure Deloitte will exist in another hundred years, but will the Nairobi National Park as we know it be around in a hundred years? This has been debated before but it sure to come up again and again as the city rapidly expands into all open land to the South and East. And with the three hour traffic jams ( more) that some city residents experience daily, each way on roads like Thika Road and Mombasa Road, there is appetite for some improvement. Decision makers may find it easier to hive off land than to radically change other aspects of rapid urbanizations such as taxation (increase tax on cars to reuce their numbers), develop a mass public transport system, or infrastructure (more by-pass roads) which in any case would still have to run thought the park. So it’s likely that in a few years you can expect moves to reduce / encroach on the parks 117 sq km to create more residential and commercial space close to the city. And residents lulled by the offer of more land, easier access to towns, offices and new homes may support absorption of some park space by the city of Nairobi. Though the park has stood the test of time and remains largely intact to past encroachment efforts, the animal numbers have diminished as developments to the south have cut off migration paths. Stories of lions or leopards being seen in the Langata area at night have all but disappeared. The Kenya Wildlife service has proven adept at relocating animals including elephants and rhinos to other parks in the country and would be called up on to do the same here. The park has few forested areas so it’s easy to see quite far in the park. But at night during the Deloitte function you could see lights in the distance all around the park, marking the edge of human activity bursting to enter the park. Good luck to Nairobi National Park over the next 100 years!
-
-
3:13
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
Fund accountants at Alexander Forbes financial services (EA) . Apply to actuaries@aforbes.co.ke by 18/5 DCDM advisor services seeking high caliber individuals to work in audit, business advisory and corporate financial services. Apply to admin@dcdmkenya.com by 18/5 Apply online for dealer (treasury) at Family bank by 15/5 Housing finance relationship manager relationship officer, marketing officer. Apply to human.resources@housing.co.ke by 18/5 Program manager at the Institute of directors (Kenya) . Apply to info@iodkenya.co.ke by 23/5 Kenya Parliament: Seeking a director of information & research services (PSC 14) in charge of hansard, research, ICT, public relation & budget office. Apply by 31/5 to the secretary, parliamentary service commission 41842-00100 Nairobi KPMG: Acknowledging Kenyan talent earlier this year was Haliburton, and this month it’s KPMG UAE that is seeking to Kenyan audit and financial advisory professionals to work in Muscat, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah. Apply to ae-recruit@kpmg.com Nation media group is seeking website designer feature writers and other positions. Various at Safaricom including Forecasting Controller, Management Accountant - Product Analyst, Head of Retail, Head of Customer Management, Materials Inspection Officer – BSS & MW, Senior CRM System Developer, Business Intelligence Developer. Also Chief Business Development Officer and Chief Supply and Administration Officer for which you apply through PricewaterhouseCoopers at ess.ke@ke.pwc.com business writing Business plan opportunities found at Kenyan Pundit and PSD blog
-
-
4:02
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
Be a vultureThe Portfolio review is being done a week earlier than expected as I usually try and update six months from last review. However, in keeping in sync with other blogger portfolios recently released by Odegle Nyang and Riba Capital, here it is: Current portfolio Diamond Trust Express Kenya Kenya Commercial Bank Sameer Africa Scangroup Stanbic Uganda Total Oil * Uchumi (suspended) What’s changed? There are fewer shares and portfolio has less value than before as I sold more shares than I bought back. In: Stanbic (Uganda), Total Out: Crown Berger, Kenya Airways, Kengen Increased: Diamond Trust (Rights) Reduced: - Dividends expected: D-Trust, Express, KCB, Scangroup, Total Unexpected gains/losses: Express bonus share, KCB share split New listings not taken on: Access Kenya, Mumias (Rights) Best performer: Stanbic (Ug) Worst Performer: Sameer Africa Looking forward to: Kenya Airways, Safaricom IPO Performance Summary: The Motley Fool advises that investors should beat the share index to consider their returns a success. The NSE 20 share index is down 10% in the last six months while my portfolio is down 13% from November 2006. I sold Kenya Airways shares at around 120/= and for the first time my portfolio does not have KQ shares. If the price continues to drop, I expect to buy some shares in this great company in the coming days, before they announce their year end results - which should have been finalized, but may be delayed by post-Cameroon events.
-
-
10:55
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
More on the $40 million VC fund set up by the Africa venture capital association and East African development. It will invest $100,000 to $2 million in SME's for expansion & modernization, as well as start-ups led by exceptionally qualified entrepreneurs. Advantages of getting funds is that unlike bank loans, you don't have to pledge assets or incur subsequent loan repayments Jobs The Africa Development Bank is currently accepting applications for its Young Professional Program (YPP). Details at their site and D/L is 10/5. Celtel: Product development manager (Comm-mkt-02/07), Product developer (Comm-mkt-03/07). Apply to hr@ke.celtel.com by 4/5 Kenya Airways: Manager – hub & airport systems (I/065/04-07), Revenue management systems administrator (C/066/04-07) Apply to the group HRD 19002 Nairobi by 14/5 Foundation manager at KCB. Apply to recruitment@kcb.co.ke by 9/5 Safaricom: Head of Retail, Head of Customer Management, Materials Inspection Officer, Senior CRM System Developer, Business Intelligence Developer. Fund manager at the above mentioned VC fund. Apply to EADB@avcanet.com by 14/5 The Young Professionals Program (YPP) of the World Bank. apply online by 15/7
-
-
8:17
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
IPO season is on again and this time its Access Kenya - a leading corporate ISP and telephony company. Am yet to see the full prospectus, which should be an interesting read to see the trend of share capital and profit adjustment that is alluded to in the abbreviated prospectus published in the paper on Thursday – the day the IPO started. The company has learnt from the Eveready listing and set out to limit shareholder numbers by setting a minimum investment for retail investors at a moderately high 50,000 shillings ($715). Industry: The communications sector has so much happening now from - unified licences, the Wananchi ATC deal , Telkom SA/AfOL deal, Telkom Kenya re-engineering itself, EASSY vs. TEAMS cabling, fibre optics everywhere and of course Safaricom at the top of the food chain who have continually reinvested much of their record profits towards infrastructure expansion. Investments in the sector are not cheap and with technology rapidly evolving, the 400 million shillings that will accrue to the company may not be enough for more than a few years at a company that starts off with a marginal balance sheet. IPO results will be out in May and shares will be listed in June 2007. Other opportunities from the daily papers this weekJobsCoca Cola - East & Central Africa business unit: franchise marketing manager, hospitality manager, operations marketing representative, financial services manager financial accountant senior brand manage (2) revenue growth manager commercialization manage (2) strategy development manager, human recourse manager compensation & benefits manager quality improvement manager Apprenticeships for mechanics at DT Dobie: applicants must be under 22 with good grades in maths, physics, English and apply in handwriting by 11/5 to DT Dobie Training Center p o box 30160-00200 Safaricom: head of customer management, head of retail. Apply to chro@safaricom.co.ke. Soon you can dine in the skies as the Kenyatta International Conference Center has set out to revive its roof top revolving restaurant on the 27th & 28th floors of the building.
-
-
4:12
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
It took three stories to make up this post. First was this story that appeared in the Standard last week about a range rover limousine that got messed up by a pothole. Then there was one where TV talk show host and car aficionado Jay Leno bragged about being the only celebrity who can drive a manual transmission SLR Mercedes. And finally this piece from the wall street journal which chronicles how frustrated new car owners are with their high-tech machines Which brings up the question, how much it too much technology for cars? With my budget, I can only to drive a car that Wanjala, my mechanic, can fix at his garage and one whose parts are relatively available and affordable. Yet Kenyans have been buying top of the range cars at an astonishing rate, some without local parts or technical support. And some of the cars are loaded with such gizmos and that make even their owners confused. How many times have you ridden in a car where the owner does not know what half the dashboard gizmos do? There are all wheel drive cars that never leave the city, tiptronic gears that are never used, cars that lock their owner out or in depending on their perception of insecurity, cars that are supposed to avoid collision and others that are supposed to park themselves. Sometimes they break down in strange and sad ways - from cars with blown turbochargers that cause them to crawl or new cars that you see parked at the back of a garage as they await arrival of some obscure engine part or maybe it's because the dealer's electronic diagnostic kit has not discovered what bug is ailing the engine. Other motoring moments: - a VIP accident- arrival of the Chrysler 300 Enough about cars April 13 Jobs most from the daily papers this weekAcademy for educational development: finance manager, finance assistant, administration manager. Apply to regionaloffice@aed.org by 27/4 Investment analyst at British American asset managers. Apply to BAAMHR@baam.co.ke by 27/4 Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. Project manager and a regional director,both in Nairobi. D/L is 30/4 Financial information systems manager at Equity bank. Apply to jobs@equitybank.co.ke by 27/4 Operations officer (Nairobi) at the IFC growth oriented women entrepreneurs (GOWE Kenya) program. D/L is 27/4 Human resource manager at Innscor Kenya apply to recruit@innscorkenya.co.ke by 27/4 Management trainees at KCB. Apply online by 27/4 Kenya national commission on human rights: principal human rights officer - research policy & legislation program, principal human rights officer - campaign & advocacy program, principal human rights officer - complaints & investigation program. Apply to the commission secretary 74359-00200 by 30/7 Magadi soda: senior buyer, product development manager. Apply to recruit@magadisoda.co.ke by 27/4 Microsoft: infrastructure consultant, corporate account manager, partner account manager. Apply to wecajobs@microsoft.com Safaricom: Senior internal auditor, senior information systems auditor, and senior information security officer. Deadline is 18/4 Executive director at Transparency international. Apply to recruit@sadeptsystems.co.ke by 27/4 Regional Program Leader at the World Bank PPIAF Nairobi. D/L is 30/4
|
|
