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18:54 Kenya Airways Safety Record: Enough With The Emotionalism
» Kenyanentrepreneur.com I was reading Bankele’s blog and there is a heated discussion on Kenya Airways (it’s mainly about the coming competition and it’s safety record). As I’m reading through the comment section, I started getting a headache (particularly from comments left by “Me” — “it’s the pride of Africa”, the pride of Africa, the prrrr; I couldn’t [...]
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17:05
You Cannot Judge A Politician By His Cover
» You Missed This With the type of politics we have in Kenya today and the politicians whose names feature prominently in playing that game, every Kenyan needs to become a bargain hunter of sorts, with that rare and special talent to be able to spot a rough diamond from just any odd rhombus-shaped stone or object lodged in the political landscape. Come December 2007, voters in our country must show that they have stopped taking comedians seriously and politicians as a joke
A true politician is one who will always be there when you need them and not vice versa. Colourful oratory or charismatic appeal is no substitute for lacking in substance and principles(especially integrity). We as voters know that every 5 years during election campaigns it is necessary for our politicians to fool us, and to be honest sometimes it tastes great to swallow morsels of well told lies like a new constitution in 100 days or 1 term presidency. But Kenya is not yet Utopia
However, what we can no longer live by are the worst lies which we make ourselves believe. "my MP does not represent my hopes, dreams and aspirations for my life, and his role is not an example i'm proud for my kids to model lakini nani hana makosa? " I hope the first 100 children who can say "mavi ya kuku" answers your question
You reading this. Yes you. do you know the price of that voter's card you have in your hand right now? Its value is not equivalent to nothing!Use it wisely! The true value of every Kenyan depends entirely on the quality of Bunge we will compare ourselves to when we wake up on the morning of January 1st 2008
We must never tire of walking down that weather-beaten and well-trodden path of reasoning, logic and sense As we approach December, keep the ruling faculty of your mind sound and do not let your vote degenerate into the equivalent of ethnic voting in the false name of kupiga kura kiasi.
vote PANU, vote ODM, vote ODM K, vote Kenya!
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14:09
ICT acheivers awards.......
» REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG Dear African ICT Achievers Participant
Congratulations, you have been chosen as a African ICT Achievers Finalist in the following category : Excellence in ICT Journalism
Face-to-Face Adjudication will take place from 8 -12 October 2007, at ForgeAhead offices in Rivonia, Johannesburg, South Africa. Finalists who cannot attend the face-to-face interviews will have video- or telephonic conferencing with judges. At the interview sessions, the marketing department of ForgeAhead will conduct video interviews with all finalists for media purposes. Please ensure that you are available after your interview for the video interviews. A photographer will be at the interviews to take your photograph for the Commemorative Publication. All finalists profiles will be published in the Commemorative Publication. Please note if you will do a video- or telephonic interview you must supply ForgeAhead with a Hi-Res Photograph of yourself.
Below, the interview schedule for the different categories. Please ensure that you open your diary for the times indicated. The interview session will be 30 minutes and judges will use your CV submitted online and the criteria as a guideline for questions.
KPMG, official Auditors, and ForgeAhead Research Department might do follow-ups on information. Finalists will be announced to the media at the Finalist Breakfast on 16 November 2007. At this event, certificates signed by the Minister of the Department of Communications will be handed over to all finalists. ForgeAhead will invite all finalists to the event. Winners will be announced at the Banquet in November 2007. All finalists will receive formal invitations to the banquet. A trophy and certificate will be handed over by the sponsors of the category at the banquet. The Gala Banquet will take place 17 November 2007 at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa.
In 2008, ForgeAhead hosts a Golf Day for all partners and finalists. We will send a formal invitation to you to join us for a day of golf and to launch the 2008 programme. The Golf Day is scheduled for March 2008.
Please note that each Finalist is responsible for their own travel & accommodation expenses, unless other arrangements have been made.
Interview Schedule
MONDAY 8 OCT
09h00 - 10h30, Top ICT Company
10h50 - 12h20, Top ICT SMME
13h30 - 15h00, Most transformed ICT Company
TUESDAY 9 OCT
09h00 - 10h30, Top ICT Workplace provider
10h50 - 12h20, Most Innovative ICT Company
WEDNESDAY 10 OCT
09h00 - 10h30, Top Civil Society / NGO
10h50 - 12h20, Top Public sector CIO
13h30 - 15h00, Top Private sector CIO
THURSDAY 11 OCT
09h00 - 10h30, Top ICT Business Woman
10h50 - 12h20, Top ICT Business Man
13h30 - 15h00, Top ICT Educator
FRIDAY 12 OCT
09h00 - 10h30, Top ICT Youth Innovator
10h50 - 12h20, Top ICT Young Entrepreneur
13h30 - 15h00, Excellence in Journalism
Kind Regards
Shirley Jacobs | Events Manager | ForgeAhead
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Will The Raila-Bashing Strategy Work For Kibaki?
» You Missed This 
The president’s campaign strategy has begun to take shape.
It is rather clear that it will involve a lot of Raila-bashing. The idea will be to put fear and anxiety in the hearts of voters on the dangers of a Raila presidency. The message is that he is not to be trusted with such an important seat and with so much power. The most likely thing that will happen, those handling the president’s campaign want to tell Kenyans, is that Raila will use the presidency to seek revenge and thus slide the country into chaos.
This strategy has many similarities to the strategy that was used by Karl Rove the legendary campaigner of President George Bush who against all odds got his man back to the White House in 2004 despite widespread discontent with the Bush handling of the Iraq war and other issues. It worked very well, especially when Osama Bin Laden released one of those video tapes of his right on cue, very shortly before Americans went to the polls. The message to American voters was simple; can you trust John Kerry to deal with Bin Laden and the war on terror? Bearing in mind that the events of 9/11 were still very fresh on the minds of many Americans many of them felt that their better option and the lesser evil was George Bush. That is one presidential election that political scientists will study and analyze for many years to come.
But back to Kenya. Can President Kibaki’s strategy work in closing the gap between himself and Raila Odinga in the presidential race? Can it give him victory?
My answer is that the president urgently needs a strategy if he is to win these elections. In other words the current approach will fall flat on its’ face.
Clearly it is the kind of strategy that has struck a chord with my dad who is over 70 and an ex-senior policeman. However how many voters do we have in Kenya of that age and background?
The other thing this strategy does not address is the Kikuyu back-lash caused by 5 years of arrogance and too many appointments from the house of Mumbi in a country that boasts of at least 42 tribes. The president’s strategists have tried to address this issue by placing full page advertisements in the press listing senior appointments in government and their tribes.
Again the president’s men have missed the point completely. In these matters perception counts much more than actual numbers. What do you expect when you appoint a Kikuyu as governor of the Central Bank denying a popular lady who has done an excellent job as acting governor? And that is just one example. Take for instance another highly visible appointment like that of director of CID which Kenyans have observed is always a tribal appointment. During Kibaki’s tenure two appointments have been made—both Kikuyu.
What I really wonder about is what else President Kibaki can talk about when he is not talking about that unnamed leader who has done nothing over the last 5 years. While it is true that both Raila and Kibaki are uninspiring speakers, the president is obviously in a very difficult position because his main opponent has a lot to talk about which will get many more Kenyans listening to him than to the president.
Right now things look rather bleak for the Kibaki camp according to all the reports and analysis I have in front of me, some of which I cannot even talk about here. I don’t see how the president’s campaign can be saved. Anyway, I will sleep over it and see if I can come up with a brilliant counter strategy for the Kibaki camp tomorrow.
ODM supporters I hear you and I can see you making faces. Please don’t throw barbs at me. I am after all like Taabu and Luke, still horseless and they say that this thing is a game don’t they? So let’s play. -
Mary Bryant and Simon Mbilu (Kenya Betrayed)
» You Missed This 
Chapter 1 - Part 2 -
Mary Bryant and Simon Mbilu (Commander Kenya Navy)
Although I normally used to rent a house when my daughter was staying with me during her summer holidays, I preferred to stay in a hotel when I was alone. One of my favourite places was the Ocean View Hotel just next to the Bamburi State House.
Here I met at the end of 1978 for the first time Mary Bryant. She had a small Safari Business and lived with her husband and two of their three children on a 300 acre farm near the Bamburi Cement Factory.
We became friends and I got to know that the big love of her life was Simon Mbilu, the Commander of the Kenya Navy. They had fallen in love with each other very young coming from the same village near Kitui. But her parents gave her to Phil Bryant, a white teacher and about 30 years older. Simon got then also married to somebody else and joined the Navy. (*)
Mary then even invited me to come to stay with her and her family at their farm.
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(*) When I came to Kenya in 1987 with a big Delegation from Italy, Simon and Mary invited us to their official Residence (the former Cathrin Bibi House) in Nyali for Lunch. They proudly showed me their wedding pictures since finally – after so many years of waiting - they got married after Mary’s husband Phil had passed away and also Simon had then divorced his wife. At that occasion I then also saw a photo of William Kivuvani (before Special Branch) together with his wife Dana (one of the Ugandan girls I will talk about later).
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This was then the first time that I came into contact with the ‘real’ life in Kenya after having enjoyed before only the privileges of first-class hotels.
There was a telephone - but the line was many times cut especially during raining season because the cables were passing over some trees and unsafe poles which broke under the rain.
There was no electricity - only a generator was giving some light during the night. But not enough to also supply a television-set and not even a radio. Sometimes the generator did not work at all (it was quite old or the workers had forgotten to buy the fuel). So we had to use candles instead - quite romantic but also quite dangerous.
There was no real road leading to the farm and passing it was quite an adventure especially at night and during Raining Season. I had a Golf Cabriolet, but soon exchanged it for a small Jeep making it a bit easier to pass these ‘roads’, where snakes used to cross in front of me attracted by the light of my car. This was at the beginning quite scary ….. but I got very fast used to it.
So I should have felt afraid and even unsafe - but funny enough - I never did.
I had to pass some villages before reaching the farm. The way was very dark, without any lights - quite lonely - but I was never afraid.
The village people got used to see me passing. They started to greet me, children waving their hands and after I used to have always some sweets for them, they always came to say ‘jambo’ with an open wide smile….. this was then also the first time that I heard the word ‘mzungu’ which they started to shout at each other whenever they saw my car arriving.
So when driving back to the farm, I always felt like ‘coming home’ - much more than I later felt in Nairobi when going back to my luxurious home in Karen …….
I also got to know that there was sometimes a shortage of rice, sugar, flour or ugali (white maize – the local dish which I started to love).
All these daily problems were totally new to me since the hotels always got their supplies making sure that the tourists never knew what was really going on in the country.
I also learned how important it was to secure the water supply and to have a reservoir to make sure that there was water not only for private use but mainly for irrigation and the animals during the dry season.
Phil Bryant (Mary’s husband) was a kind and gentle man. He adored his wife – although he knew about her still existing love for Simon.
He was very proud of their children and the children loved him. He was still teaching although he should have retired some years before. But their oldest daughter Wendy studied already in the States and the two younger ones (Timothy and Leah) went to private schools in Mombasa. So Phil’s salary was still needed to pay for their education.
The farm was then supplying most of their daily living costs added by some income from Mary’s Safari Business – and I think, also my money was a big help (I had insisted to pay to them the same amount I would have had to pay in the hotel).
At that time she had only one small bus and a driver to organize safaris. This bus was quite old and I learned how difficult it sometimes was to get spare parts. I think that Simon supported her via the Navy and helped to organize these repairs.
They grew some vegetables, sold mangos to the hotels and supermarkets. They kept some cattle and slaughtered calves supplying their meat to the hotels.
I even learned how to make cream since Mary had managed to get a small hand-driven equipment from Australia and we used to produce cream every evening from the fresh cow milk. This was then sold to the supermarkets like Uchumi in Mombasa.
When the American 7th Fleet started to come to Mombasa I also received together with Mary invitations for the official and private parties given by the American and Kenyan Navy.
I was then even allowed to visit the famous Aircraft-Carrier ‘Midway’ and later also introduced to Rear-Admiral, R.E. Kirksey.
But some people must not have liked this. Especially some women must have become jealous because the Kenyan Officers normally did not bring their wives to these venues and being a ‘white’ made my presence even more notable.
They started to distribute the rumor that I must be a spy working for the American CIA ………………………..
Chapter 1 - Part 3 - William Kivuvani (Special Branch)
These rumors about me reached such a level that the Special Branch had to intervene and I was asked to come to their office in Mombasa.
Here I met then William Kivuvani for the first time. He was at that time the Chief of Special Branch, Mombasa. He was also related to Mary and Simon.
We agreed that I should not attend the functions at the Navy Base anymore since he was sure that then all these funny rumors would stop. I understood and accepted.
So Mary started instead to invite some of the American Commanders who had in the meantime also become friends on a private basis. I remember, we once even made a ‘picnic’ party at a drive-in cinema together with Mary’s children…..
During our meeting at his office, Kivuvani had also asked me about my personal background. I told him that I had dual Citizenship (Swiss and German). He was very interested to learn that I spoke besides German and English also French and Italian.
Tomorrow: Ben Gethi
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12:30
"A noose lesson": the only worthwhile news from Grambling State University??
» Marian's Blog "Grambling had football. Southern had football and academics." These were my words as I described to a lady my view of the legendary, continuing rivalry between two Louisiana schools, both historically Black: Southern University and Grambling University. Each fall Southern...
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11:04
bloctivism! oh yeah….
» Kikuyumoja's realm About “Free Burma!”
International bloggers are preparing an action to support the peaceful revolution in Burma. We want to set a sign for freedom and show our sympathy for these people who are fighting their cruel regime without weapons. These Bloggers are planning to refrain from posting to their blogs on October 4 and just put up one Banner then, underlined with the words „Free Burma!“./irony off
PLEASE…how pathetic is that?
disclaimer:
- Burma hasn’t only been under siege by a military regime since last week
- Blog activism is a good practice
- Nothing will change for the better except maybe that a few uninformed blog readers will become aware that there’s a state called Burma (Myanma Naingngan)
- I am generally having a problem with this….ah…“Live8-approach”
- Dear Burmese, you’re having my sympathy…oh wait, Internet access has been cut of, so you won’t be able to read this. Sorry. Again, my sympathy for these circumstances.
- It takes such a situation to come up with some political activism within the otherwise so often unpolitical (German!) blogosphere? oh c’mon..
- It is easy to criticize and while I won’t take part in this activism (well not on Oct 4th), I also admire how some other bloggers around the world took some of their time to prepare an online action plan for October 4th. I wish we could also use this kind of activism for some other, sometimes also urgently needed, actions that require some community feedback.
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9:20
Kutwa Tuesday: death of the cyber café
» bankelele Once, long ago, I wrote a paper about a business case to put up a cyber café in an airport terminal – for transit passengers to browse there as they waited for the flight to connect. That model is in place today in airports all over the world (not my doing) but its’ time may already have passed with wi-fi zones and wireless laptops whose users don’t need to use cyber cafe facilities anymore.
But even cyber cafes’ that are in town may be under threat.
Until three months ago I’d spend about an hour in a cyber cafe each Saturday and Sunday. I’d go there to my check my-email and then browse quite a bit when I was done.
But all that has stopped as I now check my email and browse for information I need to know instantly – from hotmail, gmail, sports scores, stock prices - using a plain old phone (not bambanet, or blackberry) as the Safaricom EDGE service is available on most of their phones even some of the cheaper ones. I get the information wherever I am and don't have to visit a cyber cafe unless it's to print a document or download a PDF report.
Oil slick
The sale of Somken petrol stations to the National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK) has been put on hold ever since the previous NOCK MD resigned from the company. Haggles remain over the high price bid for the stations.
BAT smoke-out
BAT Ghana has voluntarily de-listed from the Ghana Stock Exchange.
Does that portend anything for BAT Kenya one of the blue chip stocks on the Nairobi stock exchange and one of the highest paying dividend stocks? Cigarette smokers have had their smoking freedom curtailed in Nairobi and other urban areas (Nairobi city has less than a half dozen outdoor smoking points) making them clandestine smokers who hide on staircases and bathrooms (but at least most bars retain a smoking section). What impact will that have on sales?
BAT Kenya manufactures cigarettes here and exports a significant amount to other regional countries (who have not curtailed smoking) which should cushion it slightly from the new laws.
Stockbroker still frozen
The statutory management of Francis Thuo stockbrokers (by the Nairobi Stock Exchange) has been extended for another six months.
the pyramids that collapsed
Much has changed in the one year since nyramid schemes were highlighted here. Since then they have come under increasing pressure from the government, SACCO’s and most important the banks who frozen account necessary for their operations (and who probably still hold the schemes ‘missing billions’ that investors are crying for).
The latest collapse was Amity and it was preceded by Sasanet investment co-op (suspended operations), Spell investments (suspended operations), Circuit investments (suspended operations), CLIP (suspended operations), DECI (suspended operations), and the Kenya business community savings & credit society (Kenya akiba) (suspended operations)
Kenya news on Youtube
Some people say they are tired of political news, while others can’t get enough of it. But the Nation Media Group has gone ahead and made their new clips available on Youtube
Pesa point wins
Two yard ago Pesapoint was launched and it began a battle with Kenswitch - another network of banks sharing ATM facilities. But today Pesa Point has signed up most mid-size banks and have a network of almost 200 ATM machines – and last month added corporate banking giant Standard Chartered to their network.
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8:08
Shopping At Sam's Club
» For Love and Money Shopping At Sam's Club
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The Press Filter
» bankelele A glance at the weekend newspapers shows government departments putting up paid advertisements in the newspaper. These include the permanent secretary - Ministry of Finance setting the record straight on the country’s domestic debt position, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Justice on parliament’s recent amendment to curb powers of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission and even the government spokesman (who’s the equivalent of a permanent secretary) on thetribal balance of the government (through an ad placed in all papers including the Nairobi star)
Of course its’ not just the government that has trouble getting their ‘facts’ out before the media – the Kenya land alliance on the Land Bill, former MP Basil Criticos claiming the government 'grabbed' his sisal farm, the National Bank of Kenya defending the government in the Criticos land sale etc.
With four major TV stations and a dozen newspapers and radio stations, the amount of stories churned out by the media is endless. But with politics dominating most of the media channels during this election year, it is easy for important facts to be addressed by interested parties – and the only way they can be assured that their story will be transmitted verbatim - no editing, slanting, filtering, or even buried by the media - to the public is by paying for an advertisement themselves - at a cost of about 70,000 shillings (about $1,000)
However, there’s a flip side to this. A media story is supposed to be balanced – and by placing a statement in the papers, they are telling their side of the story without challenge, or argument – and without an opposing view, a paid up statement is just an advertisement.
Election briefs
- The Electoral Commission of Kenya has enabled registered voters to check on the status of their vote eligibility online - just by entering a nation ID number or voter’s card number.
- Botswana residents living in Kenya have been invited to register to vote at the country's high commission in Nairobi this month. That’s something Kenyans in the Diaspora can pressure for their local embassies to do for them also in future.
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4:30
How does this person get to be a travel writer?
» Kenyan Pundit Via Kenyanentrepreneur, what I wish was atypical but it is not…just outright biased writing when it comes to reporting on Africa ati Nairobi does not have one decent hotel???? Butler? Overflowing, impoverished population? Thank God for the well-meaning white folk who are in a tough struggle to save the giraffes. Someone [...]
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Election Time Myths and Facts
» You Missed This
Myth: "an idea or story that many people believe, but which is not true"
Fact: "a piece of information that is known to be true"
MYTH: An ODM government will result to Kenyans’ living standards being worse. ie "the same as those of residents of Kibera Slums in Langata constituency".
FACT: Of the approximately 33 million strong Kenyan population, only 43% (ie. 14.1 million persons) have access to adequate sanitation and only 61% (20 million persons) have access to clean water. Do the rest live in Kibera?
MYTH: By voting in an ODM government it would set a dangerous precedent and create an insecure/unstable living environment in Kenya!
FACT: Presently, Kenya has the highest number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) for a country not at war. 1.5% of the Kenyan population are IDPs. That is; nearly half a million people living as refugees in their own country. If truth be told, hundreds of thousands have died, thousands more lost their property and were scarred for life due to politically instigated violence. This social injustice continues to present time.
MYTH: The Kibaki regime has brought economic growth and Kenyans are generally happier than 5 years ago.
FACT: With a per capita income of about US$400, that is a little more than a dollar per day, Kenya is one of the poorest countries in Africa with widespread endemic poverty as well as gross inequalities. In actual fact, only less than 10% of the population (3.3 million persons) control national assets, while the remaining majority 90% (30 million persons) have been fighting double digit inflation for the last five years and are at a great disadvantage in terms of access to wealth, health, education and justice.
MYTH: The Kibaki regime has improved Kenyans’ general life styles and the population is healthier than it was previously.
FACT: Life expectancy for Kenyans has fallen from 58 years in 1986 to 48 years in 2006, and the cost of living has skyrocketed with Nairobi now ranking 107th costliest city globally in 2006, up from position 117th in 2005.
MYTH: That the Kibaki regime has improved infrastructure and infrastructure is generally efficient and well maintained.
FACT: Nearly 80% of Kenyans, comprising small scale farmers, traders and manufacturing enterprises rate road and rail services as ‘poor’, ‘very poor’ or ‘not available at all’. Dilapidated, congested or inadequate infrastructure (ie, roads, rail, telecoms, etc) affects the poverty stricken citizens most. That is; those who cannot fly or afford other means of communications. Poor Kenyans, (those living on less than a dollar per day) are 18 million persons, at last count.
MYTH: The current government has satisfactorily managed land distribution and there is absolutely no need to implement the Ndungu Land Commission Report recommendations as it will result to civil strife.
FACT: In Kenya, some 3600 large scale holdings control a staggering 780 million hectares of arable land (ie. each having an average 217,000 hectares) against a meagre average size of one hectare of land for each 3.5 million small holding peasant farmer. The rest of the population makes do with unfertile, arid and semi arid land.
MYTH: That the ODM is unpopular, cannot form government next term and it is does not offer a worthwhile alternative to the current government.
FACT: Recent opinion polls (Sept 2007) puts the ODM candidate ahead by nearly 10% of registered voters. That is nearly 1.4million votes. The same opinion polls rate ODM the most preferred party with more than half of registered voters supporting it.
MYTH: That the current regime has satisfactorily tackled corruption in public offices.
FACT: According to TI, Kenyans still rate 'corruption' as the number one problem in their country, followed by 'poverty' and 'unemployment'. Corruption remains a national problem and that which is directly responsible for promoting poverty and inequality, which is in turn breeding discontent and instability. Corruption is a real threat to democracy and uniform economic and social development.
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0:42
Humanity will not come of age with science, but rather by shedding religion!
» assidous Food For Thought.
** Perhaps the greatest sin of the Western churches (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) has been the particular brand of narcissism that impels so many to feel they have God all sewn up and put in their back pocket. People who think that they not only have a ticket to heaven, but anyone who disagrees with them is going straight to hell!
They believe in God, but do not believe that God is bigger than their own theology. In their arrogance they do not realized that God is not theirs to possess! -Paraphrased from M. Scott Peck
sourced from [god-101.blogspot.com] by allan.
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