Very interesting article which I found in Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper. Couldn't agree more.
By DONALD B. KIPKORIRemail the author
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Posted Friday, July 25 2008 at 22:06
The more I look at where we stand as a country, the more I realise we are dancing on the same spot if not backwards.
For the past two months, our secondary schools have gone up in smoke, literally, and as usual we form committees to tell us what happened. To every national crisis, scandal, accident and emergency we form committees, commissions, taskforces and probe teams. Do we really need all these? Isn’t this culture of “investigations” reflective of a failed national leadership?
On December 12, 1963, we were gifted self-rule and bequeathed a country that was at par with countries of South East Asia and above average in Africa.
Since then and through the three administrations of Jomo Kenyatta, Daniel arap Moi and now Mwai Kibaki we have barely managed to retain our place of pride in Africa, a continent of poverty and civil strife.
Time and again, the three governments have reminded Kenyans that we are an island of peace and a prosperous economy; a cynical truth.
Middle income
And now we are being told that by 2030, we shall be a middle-income country. World Bank divides world economies into four: lower, lower middle income, upper middle income and high income.
Lower income countries are those whose gross national income (GNI) per capita is $765 and below, lower middle income have GNI per capita between $766 and $3,035, upper middle income are between $3,036 and $9,385, and upper income are those over $9,385.
Is Kenya able to pull itself from its current GNI per capita of $580 to $3,036 in 22 years, nay, even in 100 years? I doubt. I maybe wrong.
In 22 years, with its current population growth rate of 2.6 per cent, our population will be around 65 million. To have a per capita of $3,036 in 2030, we ought to have developed our economy to have a GNI of $197 billion! Our GNI now is $18.7 billion.
Can we grow our economy 10 times in 10 years? Let us put it another way; how did Singapore grow its economy 53, yes, 53 times between 1965 and now?
In 1965, Britain as it did in Kenya, gifted the people of Singapore with independence. I use the word gifted knowingly and deliberately. Independence came to both Kenya and Singapore around the same time and not because of active war of liberation as some always want us to believe.
Mau Mau was vanquished in 1952 and it would, therefore, have never been the reason for our independence. We got independence because of deliberate change in British colonial policy. At independence, Kenya and Singapore had nearly same economies, but what happened that we took opposite directions?
When Singapore got independence, its economy was entirely based on income it received from serving as a British military base and also in serving as an entrepot. An entrepot is merely a point in sea routes that doesn’t materially change the port of call.
The islanders were illiterate and lived in squalor. Its per capita was $303. A modern example is Djibouti which is a French and an American military base and once in a while, an entry point for Ethiopian goods and nothing more.
Singapore had its economy transformed from a squalor entrepot into a highly sophisticated society in one generation, thanks to Lee Kuan Yew.
Lee established People’s Action Party (PAP) with which he won the elections in 1959 and became a dictator prime minister until 1990 when on his own volition stepped down to allow his family and surrogates to continue, but calling himself Chief Mentor!
On becoming prime minister, Lee set himself only three goals: national security, growing the economy and tackling social issues. Singapore suffered from problems of a small population, limited land space and absence of natural resources.
Lee had to come up with strategic plans to achieve his dreams by using his people and location of the island. He began this path of transforming his country by despotic but benevolent leadership. The government became the ultimate if not the sole determinant of land allocation, labour and capital resources. Anyone had to toe the government line or jump into the sea.
As a dictator, Lee set up efficient and transparent government institutions, removed all protection and subsidies to industry, encouraged and facilitated an education system that churned out highly-skilled and trained manpower, and offered an enabling environment to local and foreign investors.
The port of Singapore was transformed into a class of its own offering shipping services that are efficient, quality and on timelines. Singapore’s port and airport are now must ports of call in South East Asia.
By using gloved fists, Lee transformed Singapore in one generation and according to World Bank statistics, made it the fifth richest country in the world with a GNI of $132 billion and GNI per capita of $28,730. Lee never promised democracy. And he did not deliver democracy. He made three promises and he fulfilled them all.
Our three successive governments have done to us the opposite of what Lee did: Each made promises to give us heaven and when we looked up, we found the earth beneath us had moved! Examples abound connecting the three governments that none of them was or is inspired leadership. Kenyatta sowed the seeds of tribalism, corruption, impunity and nepotism, Moi watered it and Kibaki is enjoying the harvest.
In a land of pygmies, a man standing 4 feet is a giant and that is what Kenya has been for a long time in Africa.
Singapore is bereft of natural resources and with less than 1.47 per cent of its land arable, yet visionary leadership has made it one of the richest countries in the world. Kenya is endowed with more people, more arable land, wildlife and scenic beaches but we compete with Uganda, Somalia and Sierra Leone in bottom ranking of UN human development indices.
Kenya has a highly respected trained manpower, near sufficient institutes of higher learning, a functioning Judiciary and a plethora of regulatory bodies but national leadership lacks to gel them together.
History shows that it is leaders who make nation-states realise their dreams. Think of Alexander the Great who made a backwater Macedonian principality conquer the then known world creating the Greek Empire.
Stated vision
Kenya sorely needs a leader to take it to the next level. Some people may support President Kibaki’s laid-back style but it is a style that will take us nowhere. It is because of this style that ministers sing different tunes and a culture of impunity allowed to permeate across all strata.
In civilised countries, ministers whose dockets exhibit weaknesses like they have been experienced in the ministries of Finance, Education, Internal Security, Defence and Immigration, would have had the ministers resign before they are fired. Not in Kenya; here ministers beg the President to allow them to “step aside”!
Across Africa, the only country with the kind of leadership needed is Rwanda. Under President Paul Kagame, Rwanda has undergone a real paradigm shift in her people and leadership attitude to what they want. And Rwanda will be the only country to achieve its stated vision of being middle-income economy by 2020, 10 years before Kenya’s pyrrhic target.
Kenya will continue with its usual business of producing papers, reports and visions, and setting up committees, commissions and probe teams and 2030 will find us where we are, if not worse. Till we get inspired and get visionary leadership in the mould of Lee and Kagame, we can as well go to sleep.
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/442756/-/item/2/-/15o38hv/-/index.html
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
Will any action be taken against Ole Ntimama?
I've just finished watching the Nation Television video clip on Youtube showing Kenya's Minister of National Heritage, (not-so-honorable) William Ole Ntimama "fessing up" to being behind the death of over 600 people between December 2007 and February 2008. The clip was posted on one of the Mashada forums. The confession took place during a heated exchange between the minister, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, and Minister of Agriculture, William Ruto, over the issue of evictions in the Mau forest. Now, you would think that a confession of this magnitude would make headline news in all the local daily's, right? WRONG! None of the newspapers have reported on, or even alluded to, the incident. Also, the clip has disappeared from Nation Television's youtube page. Interesting, isn't it?
I spoke with a friend last night about this, and he wondered why Kenyans were acting shocked over this confession. After all, the minister's sponsorship of ethnic cleansing isn't exactly a big secret, what with his famous "lay low like envelopes" and "cut down to size" threats. Also not suprising is the fact that no statement has come from the PM (who was present) or any other authority in government.
So, what does this all mean? It simply means that Ntimama will continue to sit pretty, untouched. A lot of people are baying for his blood. I hate to disappoint them but, more likely than not, nothing is going to happen to him.
Either way, by this time next week, no one will be discussing this issue (if the collective amnesia of Kenyans is anything to go by). Ntimama will be sitting pretty behind his big desk enjoying his fat paycheck (and likely plotting how to organize "his people" for the next big attack), and life will go on.
I spoke with a friend last night about this, and he wondered why Kenyans were acting shocked over this confession. After all, the minister's sponsorship of ethnic cleansing isn't exactly a big secret, what with his famous "lay low like envelopes" and "cut down to size" threats. Also not suprising is the fact that no statement has come from the PM (who was present) or any other authority in government.
So, what does this all mean? It simply means that Ntimama will continue to sit pretty, untouched. A lot of people are baying for his blood. I hate to disappoint them but, more likely than not, nothing is going to happen to him.
Either way, by this time next week, no one will be discussing this issue (if the collective amnesia of Kenyans is anything to go by). Ntimama will be sitting pretty behind his big desk enjoying his fat paycheck (and likely plotting how to organize "his people" for the next big attack), and life will go on.
Of East African Idols and Displaced Loyalties...
I must confess, i was esctatic when i found out that "Idols" was finally coming to east and southern africa. i have been religiously following the show online, from the auditions till now. the 24 contestants have slowly dwindled to 3. the prize at stake? $80,000. quiet some change aye?
now, this is the point at which i express my disappointment at the way in which africa has voted. it's funny that the most talented are the ones who have been voted out. that is, with the exception of the kenyan beauty, cynthia. cynthia, oh cynthia! she who never should have made it to the contest in the first place (and i do blame the judges for this), but who was sustained by the votes of thousands of kenyans and others who were obviously blinded by her beauty, or who felt an obligation to keep her in the competition out of a sense of national loyalty.
actually, this is what happened. at the beginning of the contest were 6 kenyans out of 24 contestants. in my opinion, only 4 out of the 6 kenyans could sing well enough to qualify to be in the competition (i don't think katungulu is that gifted either). for whatever reason, kenyans (yes, kenyans, since i think they bear the most guilt), lost the plot somewhere along the way and started voting as if this was a Miss Africa competition. they sent the talented 4 packing and kept the one who could not deliver a decent note (okay, maybe that's a bit over the top. she wasn't that bad, but she wasn't up to par for a competition of this calibre). My heart dropped when they sent priscilla and doris home, since, in my opinion, these were the best of the kenyan bunch. life really isn't fair, is it? can you imagine how jittery the other top 10 contestants felt, having realized that talent, or a lack of it, didn't have anything to do with who went home?
so, finally, africa woke up from their "cynthia-spell' and sent her packing. and the judges said, "let the real competition begin." well, has the real cometition really begun? a look at the final three contestants will show that no, it hasn't. of the three finalists, the only person who deserves to be there (and i'm sure many will concur) is eric. ammara, who was no doubt the most talented (even though her participation in the competition was disputed by many to begin with) was sent home. and so were mkhulili and and adiona. it seems to me that ugandans are busy voting en-masse to ensure that their nicolette stays put, even though it's obvious that she is definitely no competition for many of the others who've been sent packing. trinah is okay, but no match for adiona or ammara, in my opinion. eric is definitely talented (though i think he growls a little to much). so the big question is, who will walk away with the big benjamins?
let's hope that africa does all the other fallen (talented) contestants justice by ensuring that the best man really does win. one thing's for sure - nothing is assured in this competition. i guess we'll just have to wait and see, right?
to watch videos of the performances, go to www.mnetafrica.com/idols
P.S. In spite of what I think of Cynthia's singing, I salute her for her graciousness and composure in spite of all the negative comments and ill feelings of some towards her. I wish her all the best, and I know she will go far.
now, this is the point at which i express my disappointment at the way in which africa has voted. it's funny that the most talented are the ones who have been voted out. that is, with the exception of the kenyan beauty, cynthia. cynthia, oh cynthia! she who never should have made it to the contest in the first place (and i do blame the judges for this), but who was sustained by the votes of thousands of kenyans and others who were obviously blinded by her beauty, or who felt an obligation to keep her in the competition out of a sense of national loyalty.
actually, this is what happened. at the beginning of the contest were 6 kenyans out of 24 contestants. in my opinion, only 4 out of the 6 kenyans could sing well enough to qualify to be in the competition (i don't think katungulu is that gifted either). for whatever reason, kenyans (yes, kenyans, since i think they bear the most guilt), lost the plot somewhere along the way and started voting as if this was a Miss Africa competition. they sent the talented 4 packing and kept the one who could not deliver a decent note (okay, maybe that's a bit over the top. she wasn't that bad, but she wasn't up to par for a competition of this calibre). My heart dropped when they sent priscilla and doris home, since, in my opinion, these were the best of the kenyan bunch. life really isn't fair, is it? can you imagine how jittery the other top 10 contestants felt, having realized that talent, or a lack of it, didn't have anything to do with who went home?
so, finally, africa woke up from their "cynthia-spell' and sent her packing. and the judges said, "let the real competition begin." well, has the real cometition really begun? a look at the final three contestants will show that no, it hasn't. of the three finalists, the only person who deserves to be there (and i'm sure many will concur) is eric. ammara, who was no doubt the most talented (even though her participation in the competition was disputed by many to begin with) was sent home. and so were mkhulili and and adiona. it seems to me that ugandans are busy voting en-masse to ensure that their nicolette stays put, even though it's obvious that she is definitely no competition for many of the others who've been sent packing. trinah is okay, but no match for adiona or ammara, in my opinion. eric is definitely talented (though i think he growls a little to much). so the big question is, who will walk away with the big benjamins?
let's hope that africa does all the other fallen (talented) contestants justice by ensuring that the best man really does win. one thing's for sure - nothing is assured in this competition. i guess we'll just have to wait and see, right?
to watch videos of the performances, go to www.mnetafrica.com/idols
P.S. In spite of what I think of Cynthia's singing, I salute her for her graciousness and composure in spite of all the negative comments and ill feelings of some towards her. I wish her all the best, and I know she will go far.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
I've always considered myself the queen of giving sensible, level-headed, pragmatic advice. Especially when it comes to relationships. A very close friend of mine came to me for some relationship advice (I won't air her dirty linen in public). To me, the solution to the problems she was experiencing seemed rather obvious. After listening, I got on my soap box and proceeded to preach my "Just leave him" gospel, quite convincingly, in my opinion. I believe she already knew what she needed to do about the situation but was just looking for someone to nudge her in the right direction. So you can imagine how frustrated I felt when, a couple of weeks later, she came and presented me with the very same dilemma. Huko pulling out my hairs and grinding my teeth, lol.
Well, ironically, I now find myself at the same crossroads as my dear friend. I'm in a situation where I kind of know what I need to do, but I'm having the hardest time executing it. Those wahengas were right when they said "mganga hajigangi". Some times, matters of the heart are not as simple and straightforward as they appear to be. There are past histories and strong bonds and countless memories which we accumulate over time, which we hold on to and which hold us back from taking action. The uncertainty of the future and the comfort of familiarity paralyzes us with fear. I cringe when I think about the decision I'm faced with. Is there anyone out there who will help me, give me some sensible advice to nudge me in the right direction? One thing I've learned from this experience is that, I have to wait till I'm ready to take that leap. I can't allow anyone to push me over that cliff if I'm not ready to jump.
Lord, please give me the wisdom to make the right choice.
Well, ironically, I now find myself at the same crossroads as my dear friend. I'm in a situation where I kind of know what I need to do, but I'm having the hardest time executing it. Those wahengas were right when they said "mganga hajigangi". Some times, matters of the heart are not as simple and straightforward as they appear to be. There are past histories and strong bonds and countless memories which we accumulate over time, which we hold on to and which hold us back from taking action. The uncertainty of the future and the comfort of familiarity paralyzes us with fear. I cringe when I think about the decision I'm faced with. Is there anyone out there who will help me, give me some sensible advice to nudge me in the right direction? One thing I've learned from this experience is that, I have to wait till I'm ready to take that leap. I can't allow anyone to push me over that cliff if I'm not ready to jump.
Lord, please give me the wisdom to make the right choice.
Friday, August 25, 2006
home away from home
last week had me packing my viragoz and loading them into my little car as i prepared to relocate to the little town of terre haute. left on thursday and drove through texas into arkansas, missouri, tennessee, illinois and finally into indiana. took me two days to arrive here. by the way, for those of you who haven't been on a road trip, you don't know what you're missing. this country offers some extremely beautiful sights. so anyways, i'm now settled down in my new home town and i'm actually falling in love with it. it's a little country town and for some strange reason it reminds me of home. most stores here close at 6:00 pm except for the bigger ones. at 8:00 pm the streets are virtually empty as the city prepares to go to sleep. the temperatures drop in the evening in a manner very similar to nairobi weather. it's a sunny little town. for some strange reason it feels almost like a sea side town and i keep expecting to steal a glimpse of the ocean in the horizon. i absolutely love it.
i'm also kind of excited about once again experiencing snow. it's been a while. i was tiring of the extreme houston heat and humidity and i'm ready to cross over to the other extreme. but i'm sure in a few months i'll be wishing i was in houston. we'll see how that goes. for now i just need to stock up on sweaters and jackets. i wish someone would knit me a sweater or two.
gotta go now but i'll be back soon. keep in expectation.
i'm also kind of excited about once again experiencing snow. it's been a while. i was tiring of the extreme houston heat and humidity and i'm ready to cross over to the other extreme. but i'm sure in a few months i'll be wishing i was in houston. we'll see how that goes. for now i just need to stock up on sweaters and jackets. i wish someone would knit me a sweater or two.
gotta go now but i'll be back soon. keep in expectation.
Friday, July 28, 2006
muhana's niche
muhana's niche
yaani kusema kweli, i had completely forgotten about this here blogspot until some kindly soul emailed me to tell me he thinks the crap i post here is entertaining. and i thought to myself, "how sweet, someone actually reads this stuff". so i'm back. to be honest i'm a bit disappointed at myself for having managed only a meager, measly two posts in the more than one year this blog has been in existence. that's PATHETIC.
so having said that, it's good to be back. i'm taking a breather from life's usual hussle and bustle, the latest of which is trying to come up with a good source of funding for shule. why, oh why, do i have to be so broke? especially now, of all times??? hopefully though i'll find a way to lick this goliath-like obstacle of brokeness...
by the way in case any of you are wondering about my lack of use of caps in my typing, mezeni wembe. it's just too much work, having to bonyeza the "shift" key to insert caps maan, too much work! and anyway, this is my trademark, this marked absence of caps.
yaani kusema kweli, i had completely forgotten about this here blogspot until some kindly soul emailed me to tell me he thinks the crap i post here is entertaining. and i thought to myself, "how sweet, someone actually reads this stuff". so i'm back. to be honest i'm a bit disappointed at myself for having managed only a meager, measly two posts in the more than one year this blog has been in existence. that's PATHETIC.
so having said that, it's good to be back. i'm taking a breather from life's usual hussle and bustle, the latest of which is trying to come up with a good source of funding for shule. why, oh why, do i have to be so broke? especially now, of all times??? hopefully though i'll find a way to lick this goliath-like obstacle of brokeness...
by the way in case any of you are wondering about my lack of use of caps in my typing, mezeni wembe. it's just too much work, having to bonyeza the "shift" key to insert caps maan, too much work! and anyway, this is my trademark, this marked absence of caps.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Return of the Muhana
yaani it's been a minute since I dropped in to check on things over here. Ok, I confess, I did stop by a couple of times and I was tempted to post some upuzi or other but I could not for the life of my recall my password. But today I experienced some sort of lightbulb moment and it came back to me. So here I am, posting some more crap for the bored and weary who may somehow find themselves traversing this space in their search for God knows what.
So let's see, what's new? Nothing really. Same ol masomo na job, job na masomo. I am, however, quite excited about the upcoming elections on the constitution - been following the whole banana-orange saga like I'm being paid. I wonder how guys are gonna vote...Some dude (friend of mine) was telling me how his mathe is going to vote bananas ati so the luo's don't take over (OH, BEWARE THE BIG BAD LUO!!!). I was like jeez! whatever became of those civic education classes they were supposedly giving? It's how guys have once again managed to turn this into a kyuk-jango feud? Woooiii, mpaka lini? Poor us.
anyhoo, duty calls. watch this space guys. hopefully I don't loose my password again.
So let's see, what's new? Nothing really. Same ol masomo na job, job na masomo. I am, however, quite excited about the upcoming elections on the constitution - been following the whole banana-orange saga like I'm being paid. I wonder how guys are gonna vote...Some dude (friend of mine) was telling me how his mathe is going to vote bananas ati so the luo's don't take over (OH, BEWARE THE BIG BAD LUO!!!). I was like jeez! whatever became of those civic education classes they were supposedly giving? It's how guys have once again managed to turn this into a kyuk-jango feud? Woooiii, mpaka lini? Poor us.
anyhoo, duty calls. watch this space guys. hopefully I don't loose my password again.
Sunday, February 06, 2005
my very first post.
please don't ask what the hell this post is about cuz even I don't have the answer to that one! truth is i'm here by mistake. honest! enyewe being idle is a bad thing. having said that, i hope you'll all excuse the "lack of content", so to speak, of this particular post. i promise more posts za maana in the future, hehheh.
so how did i end up here?
i just happened to be at work surfing the net illegally, indiscriminately clicking on links when i came across one very interesting blogspot. i'm not gonna say whose it is though. anyways, this individual had posted something very interesting and being the person that i am (your typical loudmouth) i figured i'd throw in my penni mbili. so i bonyezaad the "post a comment" button but alas! i was confronted with a message that states something to the effect that "this blogger does not allow anonymous posters" or something close to that. i was like "ahaaaaaaaaa! so it's like that, eh?" and i proceeded to click on the "register" button thinking that all i had to do was just choose a username, password - you know, the regular drill. kumbe! punda si punda (or is it punde si punde?), next thing i know i'm on my way to becoming a blogger! and although it wasn't my original intention i figured why not, since i always have something to say i might as well have a place to say it (especially when it's something the rest of the world does not care to hear, hehhehheh! I WILL NOT BE SILENCED! BWAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA!)
so, having said that, i'd like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to my world. make yourselves comfortable and feel free to thrown in your two cents. since i have nothing of maana to say right now i'ma bounce.
baadayes ma peoples.
muhana.
so how did i end up here?
i just happened to be at work surfing the net illegally, indiscriminately clicking on links when i came across one very interesting blogspot. i'm not gonna say whose it is though. anyways, this individual had posted something very interesting and being the person that i am (your typical loudmouth) i figured i'd throw in my penni mbili. so i bonyezaad the "post a comment" button but alas! i was confronted with a message that states something to the effect that "this blogger does not allow anonymous posters" or something close to that. i was like "ahaaaaaaaaa! so it's like that, eh?" and i proceeded to click on the "register" button thinking that all i had to do was just choose a username, password - you know, the regular drill. kumbe! punda si punda (or is it punde si punde?), next thing i know i'm on my way to becoming a blogger! and although it wasn't my original intention i figured why not, since i always have something to say i might as well have a place to say it (especially when it's something the rest of the world does not care to hear, hehhehheh! I WILL NOT BE SILENCED! BWAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA!)
so, having said that, i'd like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to my world. make yourselves comfortable and feel free to thrown in your two cents. since i have nothing of maana to say right now i'ma bounce.
baadayes ma peoples.
muhana.
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