So who was the smarter one? almost one week after ODM presidential candidate Raila Odinga visited the NSE, the value of shareholder wealth continues to rise. And if Kimunya's argument is to be held then it appears that investors have also discovered some love for the fish monger. so its not true that the market fears either fishermen or bee keepers. Raila took the fight to the floor of the bourse but no one was there to fight back. only his relative was there to recieve raila's son and daughter in law. the market rose for the first time in as many weeks that day and has continued to rise. Mr. Jimnah Mbaruh who had started all this in the first place was away somewhere in the land of former colonialists telling them that raila presidency was bad for the economy! He said the NSE does not need the man. when he came back and found that numbers from the bourse were suggesting otherwise, he now declared that politicians must keep out of the market! what an about turn! never rattle a snake mr mbaruh! your friend michuki knows better. if you invite politics you will be stung and badly. in fact the unfortunate careless insults by the finance minister are more dangerous to the NSE than anything else.
but looking at it again criticaly, between ODM and PNU whose govt would threaten the NSE and investors more? me thinks PNU is worse. why? becuase should Kibaki win, his PNU will not have the numbers needed in parliament to pass any bills. all the important house committees will be full of opposition members. he will be forced to horse trade with ODM-K. horse trading means expanding the cabinet, creating positions not needed by the country and basicaly blackmail. what that means is that there will be a lot of uncertainty. now thats the word that a stock market fears most. uncertainty.
on another note yesterday, on KTN, Mutula kilonzo brought himself down by showing open confusion on the question of majimbo. he could not decide whether or not he was for the idea. kimunya was forth right and stated that PNU was for national unity and central governance. he claimed like Moi that majimbo was recipe for chaos. well for moi anything he doesnt like is normally recipe for chaos, he told us as much during the clamour for multy party, and even when we rejected uhuru. he said that electing Kibaki was recipe for chaos.
and while that was happening, John Njue was appointed cardinal of the Holy Roman catholic and apostolic church. only the second in kenya after the late Maurice cardinal Michael Otunga.
funny quote of the day: Kids all over kenya are up in arms against the kenyan politicians for taking over their mchongoanos, insults and games. the kids through spokeschild claimed the shifty old men have also denied them the chance to have role models, grandparents or greatgrandparents!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
coffee break
When the whole country was busy getting charged by both railaphobia and railamania, (am told sinners have railaphobia and the righteous have railamania :- according to Joe Nyaga!), two , nay 3 nice things slipped in unnoticed by many. both NTV and citizen introduced new local productions in their menu. i must say that citizen continues to make me proud. they continuously show their confidence in Kenya and our kenyanness.
While NTV's production 'The Cobra Squad' looks like a Hollywood's production replete with stunts, guns, accent, glamour launch and all that goes with it, citizen, stole my love with their down to earth, truly Kenyan story of papa shirandula and inspekta mwala. well i dont like inspekta mwala as the jokes are rather stale and far fetched. but papa shirandula looks very real and most of the people i have talked to can quickly identify with one or two aspects of show. i know most people will cite the accent and watchman role of 'papa' as being a perpetuation of the stereotype of luhyas being only watchmen and cooks. however we must give it to Bukeko and co for a production well done, good storyline, acting and production.
on the other hand the cobra squad written by none other that the government spokesman (thumbs up to the man for leading from the front) is to me a disappointment and reminds me of the likes of prezo, nonini, nameless etc who represent artists who opt to be copy cats instead of doing things that appeal to our local taste. citizen TV is the only station that has a show for local musicians who do real local music, the likes of ken wamaria, emily nyaimbo, dola kabrry et al. NTV would not be caught dead show casing such talents preferring instead to go for copy cats in their shows.
on top of 'papa' and 'mwala' citizen also has a 'tahidi high', which according to me is very well done actually.
ooh sorry i forgot to mention that KBC has also always had 'local' flavor in vitimbi, vioja, makutano etc. but KBC destroyed their brand with too much partisan politics and its forgivable to forget them!
While NTV's production 'The Cobra Squad' looks like a Hollywood's production replete with stunts, guns, accent, glamour launch and all that goes with it, citizen, stole my love with their down to earth, truly Kenyan story of papa shirandula and inspekta mwala. well i dont like inspekta mwala as the jokes are rather stale and far fetched. but papa shirandula looks very real and most of the people i have talked to can quickly identify with one or two aspects of show. i know most people will cite the accent and watchman role of 'papa' as being a perpetuation of the stereotype of luhyas being only watchmen and cooks. however we must give it to Bukeko and co for a production well done, good storyline, acting and production.
on the other hand the cobra squad written by none other that the government spokesman (thumbs up to the man for leading from the front) is to me a disappointment and reminds me of the likes of prezo, nonini, nameless etc who represent artists who opt to be copy cats instead of doing things that appeal to our local taste. citizen TV is the only station that has a show for local musicians who do real local music, the likes of ken wamaria, emily nyaimbo, dola kabrry et al. NTV would not be caught dead show casing such talents preferring instead to go for copy cats in their shows.
on top of 'papa' and 'mwala' citizen also has a 'tahidi high', which according to me is very well done actually.
ooh sorry i forgot to mention that KBC has also always had 'local' flavor in vitimbi, vioja, makutano etc. but KBC destroyed their brand with too much partisan politics and its forgivable to forget them!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
child abuse
My kids came back from school the other day looking very worried. One of them told me that she had bad news from the teacher. upon inquiry, she said that the teacher had told them that Raila's hummer was given to him by Devil worshipers! the teacher went on to say that should Kenya elect the ODM flag bearer, then he would have to return the satanic money and we would all be subject to the Devil!
and as if that abuse was not bad enough, another told me the teacher separated them into two groups based on the name, luos on one side (they happened to be only two in that class) and the rest in another group. she then proceeded to teach them a song in a local language which i later learned was a C-song.
but other warnings were milder though, like telling the young minds that Cocao, soda, meat, chicken, crisps, biscuits etc kill! poor kids could not eat anything the whole evening and the whole day yesterday.
they were also told that the man who represents some of the poorest in Kenya and also some of the richest Kenyans all in one constituency is the one who has caused all the poverty and suffering in our beloved nation.
and as if that abuse was not bad enough, another told me the teacher separated them into two groups based on the name, luos on one side (they happened to be only two in that class) and the rest in another group. she then proceeded to teach them a song in a local language which i later learned was a C-song.
but other warnings were milder though, like telling the young minds that Cocao, soda, meat, chicken, crisps, biscuits etc kill! poor kids could not eat anything the whole evening and the whole day yesterday.
they were also told that the man who represents some of the poorest in Kenya and also some of the richest Kenyans all in one constituency is the one who has caused all the poverty and suffering in our beloved nation.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
online entertainement
With a lull in the investor activity. Safaricom sale facing hurdles both internal and external , i have been spending many hours reading very entertaining 'thoughts and analysis' in various blogs and sites. such hitherto respected sites as stockskenya has been reduced to a public shouting arena with tribalists going over themselves to get the filthiest insults to hurl at one another. the other interesting site is Mashada. on blog front, i am finding kumekucha very comical indeed. i am told that these sites are modorated by 'right' thinking and professional Kenyans mainly in the diaspora. They give one a very good picture of how Kenya wants to develop!
Thursday, October 04, 2007
selling self
The political landscape is charged! thats what the media says. indeed, yesterday was just another day i was invited to yet another launch by yet another young friend. its amazing many young people i know are really going into siasa. and all of them promising to change the old view of things that has been hopelessly based on tribe, circumcision, dialect, horse trading and many other low things. panafric hotel seems to be the hotel of choice for most aspirants. and this past day there were about 3 of them at the same time. however i was only going to attend Chaacha's launch. it started with a nice dinner. you had to pay 5K at the door, then get a slip with which you go get dinner. on the way to the dinner tent, i met a guy with a plate full of vegie salad, and i couldn't help but hear the guy in front of me congratulating the herbivore: 'Thats very good food. very healthy. in fact thats what am going for. where did you get that?" i waited to see if i could spot another carnivorous Kenyan eat veggy in one night. when we reached the buffet, the man went straight to the sumptuous mbuzi choma, topped it with beef, before pilling choice helpings of chicken drumsticks! so much for the healthy food.
anyway, then i went in to the hall. shock! the hall was packed to capacity. no extra table. i wondered how i was going to eat standing in my immaculate suit. Chaacha is the immediate former group managing editor and so there were many high net worth individuals in attendance as well as several cameras. the place was expensively and deliciously decorated and even the serviettes had the orange symbol on them. i found Mr. James Shikwati the director of Iren Kenya giving his praises of the young aspirant. Shikwati himself is quite young compared to the articles he pens in the Africa executive.
However it was when the man himself got up to speak that i got the challenge. he started with his difficult childhood, then went on to show us the poverty in kuria , his constituency, before letting us know about his impressive CV. at his age, he was Kenya's youngest group managing editor. he suffered a lot in the hands of Kibs govt following some funny stories and was at the helm when the infamous raid took place. consequently he had several sympathizers in the dinner as well. another interesting thing ; there were very many of his classmates who were here and most of them are now professors. (i thought to be a professor you had to have grey hair...)
i was amazed how this man had surmounted this much hardship to become a GME of a leading media house at only 31. and at 34 he is ready to become a minister in an ODM government as he put it. but again come to think of it. Matiba became a senior civil servant at a very tender age. only that our current 'leaders' will not let go even when they can hardly see and have to limp due to age even when walking with a stick.
However Chaacha's speech, even though refined was missing out significantly on action points , timeliness and solutions. he only talked of what the problem was in Kuria, kenya and Africa but no solutions to those many problems.
anyway, then i went in to the hall. shock! the hall was packed to capacity. no extra table. i wondered how i was going to eat standing in my immaculate suit. Chaacha is the immediate former group managing editor and so there were many high net worth individuals in attendance as well as several cameras. the place was expensively and deliciously decorated and even the serviettes had the orange symbol on them. i found Mr. James Shikwati the director of Iren Kenya giving his praises of the young aspirant. Shikwati himself is quite young compared to the articles he pens in the Africa executive.
However it was when the man himself got up to speak that i got the challenge. he started with his difficult childhood, then went on to show us the poverty in kuria , his constituency, before letting us know about his impressive CV. at his age, he was Kenya's youngest group managing editor. he suffered a lot in the hands of Kibs govt following some funny stories and was at the helm when the infamous raid took place. consequently he had several sympathizers in the dinner as well. another interesting thing ; there were very many of his classmates who were here and most of them are now professors. (i thought to be a professor you had to have grey hair...)
i was amazed how this man had surmounted this much hardship to become a GME of a leading media house at only 31. and at 34 he is ready to become a minister in an ODM government as he put it. but again come to think of it. Matiba became a senior civil servant at a very tender age. only that our current 'leaders' will not let go even when they can hardly see and have to limp due to age even when walking with a stick.
However Chaacha's speech, even though refined was missing out significantly on action points , timeliness and solutions. he only talked of what the problem was in Kuria, kenya and Africa but no solutions to those many problems.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Real Lean times
the situation really is grim in the stock brokers front. my favorite standard investment bank had expanded and moved into a new large office in the center of the town. the expansion informed by the huge volume of business and euphoria witnessed last year. but now most of their 14 teller booths are empty and those occupying them are visibly bored and yawning. but standard investment bank still is a good broker and their orders are still executed within 3 working days. they still are able to right checks as immediately the sale is effected without awaiting settlement. so the bank is good. However the employees know all too well who is causing them all this pain. its one Raila Amolo Odinga. they reckon that the market is doing poorly since it fears the prospect of Raila presidency. and the steadman is not making life any easier by declaring that the man really is ahead. its all too funny. voters are ignoring the noise about economic growth, creation of jobs etc.
But Kibaki should have known, you cannot sell economic gains alone, or even free primary education and the like. why ? because if you talk about economy then the pre-indepence economy was probably kenya's best. the roads were superb, security top notch, education high class. in fact students at the university were living very well without paying a cent for it instead, they could get married and support their families on the boom. but why did kenyans 'fight' against the colonialists and send them off? only one reason: DISCRIMINATION
People will not buy the story of growth unless you demonstrate to them how you plan to make them benefit from that growth. what is the need for great roads if you cant buy a car to drive on it? or why would you need great wealth if its not secured? and so on.
ok. am sure that attempt of mine at political analysis has fallen flat on the face. i rather leave better analysts and politicians to talk politics. talking of which , am getting quite a number of invites to dinners and bid launches by some very close friends of mine who have decided to give this country 'professional, ethical and competitive leadership' that it has lacked for the past 44 years. in short they want to be elected MPs. and am parting with some really tidy sums to send these friends to the House. all i ask tell them is if they need a PS they need not look any further!
Elsewhere politics keeps on dividing families. while Biwot looks poised to support Kibaki for a second term in office, his wife and our former principal Prof. Margret Kamar, who rose from a nobody to a professor in a record 5 years is saying its Raila who has the magic wand for all the countries ills!
quick question; what makes an oil company to sell petrol at 85/= a litre when every one else is selling at 79?
But Kibaki should have known, you cannot sell economic gains alone, or even free primary education and the like. why ? because if you talk about economy then the pre-indepence economy was probably kenya's best. the roads were superb, security top notch, education high class. in fact students at the university were living very well without paying a cent for it instead, they could get married and support their families on the boom. but why did kenyans 'fight' against the colonialists and send them off? only one reason: DISCRIMINATION
People will not buy the story of growth unless you demonstrate to them how you plan to make them benefit from that growth. what is the need for great roads if you cant buy a car to drive on it? or why would you need great wealth if its not secured? and so on.
ok. am sure that attempt of mine at political analysis has fallen flat on the face. i rather leave better analysts and politicians to talk politics. talking of which , am getting quite a number of invites to dinners and bid launches by some very close friends of mine who have decided to give this country 'professional, ethical and competitive leadership' that it has lacked for the past 44 years. in short they want to be elected MPs. and am parting with some really tidy sums to send these friends to the House. all i ask tell them is if they need a PS they need not look any further!
Elsewhere politics keeps on dividing families. while Biwot looks poised to support Kibaki for a second term in office, his wife and our former principal Prof. Margret Kamar, who rose from a nobody to a professor in a record 5 years is saying its Raila who has the magic wand for all the countries ills!
quick question; what makes an oil company to sell petrol at 85/= a litre when every one else is selling at 79?
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
back to scene
exactly one month after the car incident, i went back to the home through which we escaped. i wanted to just go and see it again and probably also know the owner and thank him. it is in a very posh part of lower kabete just off lower kabete road and i was made to understand belongs to a mr. muriithi. this neighborhood also houses strong people like MJ of safaricom, several embassies and the like. the groundsman told me they knew about the incident since they had seen our 'nyayo' around the home. this area is normally guarded 24 /7 through armed response units. however the grounds man went on the say that his 'boss' was carjacked just the other day right at his lighted and guarded gate. however his story was different since the car ran out of petrol when they were at gathiga. so they dumped him there and carjacked another poor soul again at the latter's gate.
but the man went on to say that this particular area is a thug corridor. those who rob on the lower kabete side use it to cross to the loresho side and vice versa. gun battles are an almost weekly occurrence here. that ran chills down my spine. one thing you don't want to find yourself in is a gun battle between thugs and police.
away from such sad stories to depressing ones. yesterday, i was at the standard investment bank after quite a while. the last time i was here, i could hardly find anyone to attend to me. every one was so busy and pre-ocupied. yesterday, all those idle tellers were all too eager to attend to me. the banking hall was virtually empty and the investment advicers were just lazying about. everyone here was blaming elections for their predicament. i asked them to advice the old man to call a snap election. after all according to him elections is only one day. then we can go on with our lives.
but the elections have some bad things as well. after the president and his trade minister lied to the western voters that sugar quota was extended by 4 more years, it was revealed that in fact the government had not even sent a formal request to comesa as yet!
maybe another cause of the depression of prices is the many recently rich young kenyans who are liquidating their shares to run for elective positions. in Kenya, politics is the apex of the need hierarchy and once you make some money you normally run for a parliamentary seat.
lakini, the truth is that this time is a perfect time to acquire as much shares as you can. things will look up next year when sanity returns to home.
but the man went on to say that this particular area is a thug corridor. those who rob on the lower kabete side use it to cross to the loresho side and vice versa. gun battles are an almost weekly occurrence here. that ran chills down my spine. one thing you don't want to find yourself in is a gun battle between thugs and police.
away from such sad stories to depressing ones. yesterday, i was at the standard investment bank after quite a while. the last time i was here, i could hardly find anyone to attend to me. every one was so busy and pre-ocupied. yesterday, all those idle tellers were all too eager to attend to me. the banking hall was virtually empty and the investment advicers were just lazying about. everyone here was blaming elections for their predicament. i asked them to advice the old man to call a snap election. after all according to him elections is only one day. then we can go on with our lives.
but the elections have some bad things as well. after the president and his trade minister lied to the western voters that sugar quota was extended by 4 more years, it was revealed that in fact the government had not even sent a formal request to comesa as yet!
maybe another cause of the depression of prices is the many recently rich young kenyans who are liquidating their shares to run for elective positions. in Kenya, politics is the apex of the need hierarchy and once you make some money you normally run for a parliamentary seat.
lakini, the truth is that this time is a perfect time to acquire as much shares as you can. things will look up next year when sanity returns to home.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
pre-election business
some business will do quite well this time of the year. yesterday, several school children were given 5 exercise books each. the children were expressly told at school to tell their parents that those books were bought for them by the president! i wonder why presidents buy school books in the second week of third term. however some children are even cleverer than the president and told their parents that the books are from the free primary education program. the program is a Kenya government initiative and not the presidents sponsorship. talk of sharp kids!
Anyway book vendors will love it if this will be the way back to power. other business that will do well include sugar business since the man announced that the quota against duty free sugar will be extended by 4 more years. that news will be very sweet to MSC share holders. i dont know whether it will be good to the farmers who normally have to wait for 18 months to be given their meager earnings. but graphic designers will soon be going to town with posters , t-shirts and the like as will be hooligans defacing the posters of rivals. election time is boom time. even taxis and other luxury vehicles will enjoy. taxis will even be even happier with the return of the alcoblow.
talking of taxis, i saw that in dubai, they have tried to solve the public transport crisis using taxis. i stood 1 hour in a queue waiting for a taxi! i have never seen such a thing. even though the taxis were well kept, professionally driven and even have GPS installed, they simply don't solve the public transport crisis. in fact they worsen it by introducing traffic jams. and so Dubai which now proudly has the worlds tallest man made physical structure, is working on the only known solution to public transport - the metro. by the way did you know you could buy Kenya in Dubai? then u could be president without having to declare a party of national unity. but i digress.
kengen will report a reduction in profit in the neighborhoods of 35%. i think thats massive for a company which has literally no competition and a huge demand for its products. mtu amelala kazini!
other ways to make money this electioneering period is to compose songs in praise of the contestants or follow them up and provide a back up crowd. campaigns are anxious moments and one can almost pay to be given that assurance that he is going to win. Otherwise if you want to quit your job to become the CEO of a state corporation or a PS, then the time to lick boots is now!
Anyway book vendors will love it if this will be the way back to power. other business that will do well include sugar business since the man announced that the quota against duty free sugar will be extended by 4 more years. that news will be very sweet to MSC share holders. i dont know whether it will be good to the farmers who normally have to wait for 18 months to be given their meager earnings. but graphic designers will soon be going to town with posters , t-shirts and the like as will be hooligans defacing the posters of rivals. election time is boom time. even taxis and other luxury vehicles will enjoy. taxis will even be even happier with the return of the alcoblow.
talking of taxis, i saw that in dubai, they have tried to solve the public transport crisis using taxis. i stood 1 hour in a queue waiting for a taxi! i have never seen such a thing. even though the taxis were well kept, professionally driven and even have GPS installed, they simply don't solve the public transport crisis. in fact they worsen it by introducing traffic jams. and so Dubai which now proudly has the worlds tallest man made physical structure, is working on the only known solution to public transport - the metro. by the way did you know you could buy Kenya in Dubai? then u could be president without having to declare a party of national unity. but i digress.
kengen will report a reduction in profit in the neighborhoods of 35%. i think thats massive for a company which has literally no competition and a huge demand for its products. mtu amelala kazini!
other ways to make money this electioneering period is to compose songs in praise of the contestants or follow them up and provide a back up crowd. campaigns are anxious moments and one can almost pay to be given that assurance that he is going to win. Otherwise if you want to quit your job to become the CEO of a state corporation or a PS, then the time to lick boots is now!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
technology is talent
the sweet chinese lady takes my digital foto, removes the memory card and puts it in the family foto lab, edits the picture, adds background, frame, captions, brightness, removes red eye etc. then prints. takes about 5-10 minutes. perfect thats the same amount of time taken by an emiratee to caricature me! free hand plus add a few funny things in the background. i wonder how long it would take our own Gathara to do the same
but AMD probably took longer time to research and come up with the worlds first true quod core processor. the gaming experience including FIFA 2006 is perfect. the chip is for high end servers, so if you are still not at the mind range level then you must wait to grow up first. whats more, it doubles your server performance without necessarily requiring more power (electricity) even your data center size remains pretty much the same.
ou etes vous intel?
but AMD probably took longer time to research and come up with the worlds first true quod core processor. the gaming experience including FIFA 2006 is perfect. the chip is for high end servers, so if you are still not at the mind range level then you must wait to grow up first. whats more, it doubles your server performance without necessarily requiring more power (electricity) even your data center size remains pretty much the same.
ou etes vous intel?
shows galore
ever heard of smart city? as in you can 'browse' or to use a similar term , tour the whole of the city in 3-D from the comfort of your chair! works in the same way as touring a planned house the way arthitects do it. you will be able to see, in correct dimensions and scale, all the parts of the city and that way plan your shortest route from point A-B.
more shows, the new OLED TV (organic light emiting diode display ) on show plus the on demand TV image procesing. your camera processes images immediately! this TV is connected to your other applicances eg phone via bluetooth and you can even 'TV' call your wife (or significant other)and see her on TV as you talk.
on the other end, oracle poineering Fusion middleware with its state of the art identity management.
shock: these technologies are not only used by big cooporates, but also by the dubai police service! to add salt, police patrol vehicles are top of the range, BMWs etc. and to brag a little from my hotel, am taken around by a lexus. my first time in a new model lexus stretch and am back left!
more shows, the new OLED TV (organic light emiting diode display ) on show plus the on demand TV image procesing. your camera processes images immediately! this TV is connected to your other applicances eg phone via bluetooth and you can even 'TV' call your wife (or significant other)and see her on TV as you talk.
on the other end, oracle poineering Fusion middleware with its state of the art identity management.
shock: these technologies are not only used by big cooporates, but also by the dubai police service! to add salt, police patrol vehicles are top of the range, BMWs etc. and to brag a little from my hotel, am taken around by a lexus. my first time in a new model lexus stretch and am back left!
Monday, September 10, 2007
Gitex
am currently representing my company and the country (grin!) in this years global conference on emerging technologies ( yes thats the league where i play (wider grin))
to say the least its amazing. fast quick lesson: kenya is doing well so far, but we need to fix just two things for further quick gains
1. infrastructure (namely roads first)
2. security . Its bliss being in a rich country and not having to worry that any of your possesions will be lost and knowing that you wont be mugged, or robbed, or even conned!
shock on me! i meet very many kenyans working as expatriates here mostly in hospitality industry. ( i know bad press would call them life gaurds, cooks, waiters or even sex workers. stupid press!) am reliably told they are making loads of money and most drive at least BMWs or are chauffeur driven.
quick embarassment: these guys have made an artificial island in the shape of a palm tree, in the violent waters of the ocean. the island has about 500,000 extremely high networth individuals as its tenants who include David Beckam. back at home we cant even tame a seasonal ndhoya (river Nzoia)
economy shock! i go to this mall touted as the second largest in the world. first shop, i see a beautiful blazer, price tag? 9135 in their country or about 180,000 kenya shillings. ils sont fous ces gens!
to say the least its amazing. fast quick lesson: kenya is doing well so far, but we need to fix just two things for further quick gains
1. infrastructure (namely roads first)
2. security . Its bliss being in a rich country and not having to worry that any of your possesions will be lost and knowing that you wont be mugged, or robbed, or even conned!
shock on me! i meet very many kenyans working as expatriates here mostly in hospitality industry. ( i know bad press would call them life gaurds, cooks, waiters or even sex workers. stupid press!) am reliably told they are making loads of money and most drive at least BMWs or are chauffeur driven.
quick embarassment: these guys have made an artificial island in the shape of a palm tree, in the violent waters of the ocean. the island has about 500,000 extremely high networth individuals as its tenants who include David Beckam. back at home we cant even tame a seasonal ndhoya (river Nzoia)
economy shock! i go to this mall touted as the second largest in the world. first shop, i see a beautiful blazer, price tag? 9135 in their country or about 180,000 kenya shillings. ils sont fous ces gens!
Friday, September 07, 2007
of TV and shocks on me
sometimes people really shock me, nay TV really shocks me. And just yesterday, TV showed me the ever green Julie Gichuru confront the minister for finance with the tough question on the Kroll report. the man who has won my respect over time denied on camera that he knew anything about it. shock! julie then said but its all over, the man said well am not the author. we know that. so what? he went on : "i didn't receive it . i didn't even commission it" so? it was commissioned by your government sir! the fact that it was commissioned before you became minister for finance doesn't make a difference. he then said he hadn't even seen it. good old Julie had the report in her hand and promptly handed it over to the cornered minister. he declined to even take a look! he said he wants to receive it officially, from the KACC.
But Julie was wasting her breath since the same TV said that the MPs had 'horse traded' and got 333 million golden handshake in place of forgiving all past economic criminals. thats all economic crimes commited before 2004 were all forgiven! that means, goldenberg, anglo leasing, ndungu land report , etc were all trashed.
but TV was not done with me, more shocks awaited me. the PS for transport a mr. Ikiara, said on camera that "....only 30 Kenyans were dying every week in road accidents ..." that is a senior government official! yet we all know that these deaths can be avoided. michuki showed us that in 2003-2004. Kenyans don't have to put their lives at risk each time they get out to look for the daily bread.
then TV went on to say that 11 kenyans were killed as they went to rob a bank in TZ. TV mentioned that they were innocent robbers
further TV also said that Jirongo, the man who almost took kenya to Zimbabwe some time back will become our president since Mudavadi was not nominated ODM candidate. there were more shocks that TV gave me yesterday, but again i remember it always does that!
But Julie was wasting her breath since the same TV said that the MPs had 'horse traded' and got 333 million golden handshake in place of forgiving all past economic criminals. thats all economic crimes commited before 2004 were all forgiven! that means, goldenberg, anglo leasing, ndungu land report , etc were all trashed.
but TV was not done with me, more shocks awaited me. the PS for transport a mr. Ikiara, said on camera that "....only 30 Kenyans were dying every week in road accidents ..." that is a senior government official! yet we all know that these deaths can be avoided. michuki showed us that in 2003-2004. Kenyans don't have to put their lives at risk each time they get out to look for the daily bread.
then TV went on to say that 11 kenyans were killed as they went to rob a bank in TZ. TV mentioned that they were innocent robbers
further TV also said that Jirongo, the man who almost took kenya to Zimbabwe some time back will become our president since Mudavadi was not nominated ODM candidate. there were more shocks that TV gave me yesterday, but again i remember it always does that!
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
business lessons from thugland/cops
My primary school football hero Bakari used to tell us one thing, if you miss the ball , never miss the man. he used this belief with lots of success. but when i came of age i thought it was rather cruel so i decided to change the second part to '...never miss the lesson'.
there were many lessons to be learnt from first, the thugs and second the cops.
1. Know your customer: the thugs did a good job profiling me, they asked about my place of work, level of education, number of kids etc. that way they would easily tell what to expect and how to treat me
2. train your customers: there were several things i did not know. they first of all asked me whether i knew what a gun was and how it was used. they then went on to teach me that if i cooperated and they got what they wanted , no one would be hurt.
3. efficiency: i still marvel at the efficiency with which these guys bundled us into the car. it was so fast and neat. even when i got the car , i marveled at how they had removed the stereo without damaging the ignition, EFI system, lamps etc. only the dome lights and central locking were affected. and they also left the wires neatly cut and folded
4. leadership and order: the other two thugs obediently followed their leader. and there was a clear pecking order as well. the leader, the deputy and the third who seemed like a "mtu wa mkono". i also saw utmost order and respect at the police station
5. core business: these thugs stuck to the goal of robbery. they never tried funny things that others do these days such as sodomy and rape. they also never hit any one of us at all. they never stole the lights or the wheels
6. bureaucracy never works: i suspect the police would have been more efficient had they abandoned the process of saying that boundaries must be respected and that they cannot do someones elses job. also the time we spent waiting for the duty officer was too much. it gave the thugs enough time to escape had they wanted.
7. Always deliver on your promise: those guys promised not to harm me and they didn't. they also promised to dump my car that very day and they did!
in other news, Mumias and EABL have both declared handsome bonuses. MSC may have wanted to cover up the reduced profitability but still it was a good show. they effectively reduced the initial cost of the share. but remember you don't benefit until after the register is closed. if you sell now you lose out on the bonus and dividend.
what lessons do we learn from these two? that kenyan firms will be looking at greater expansion as opposed to dividend payout. kengen has 2 billion issued shares. and they are at 30 /= that means most firms with less than a billion shares may decide to go on a split, bonus issue spree until they have at least 1 billion shares issued.
there were many lessons to be learnt from first, the thugs and second the cops.
1. Know your customer: the thugs did a good job profiling me, they asked about my place of work, level of education, number of kids etc. that way they would easily tell what to expect and how to treat me
2. train your customers: there were several things i did not know. they first of all asked me whether i knew what a gun was and how it was used. they then went on to teach me that if i cooperated and they got what they wanted , no one would be hurt.
3. efficiency: i still marvel at the efficiency with which these guys bundled us into the car. it was so fast and neat. even when i got the car , i marveled at how they had removed the stereo without damaging the ignition, EFI system, lamps etc. only the dome lights and central locking were affected. and they also left the wires neatly cut and folded
4. leadership and order: the other two thugs obediently followed their leader. and there was a clear pecking order as well. the leader, the deputy and the third who seemed like a "mtu wa mkono". i also saw utmost order and respect at the police station
5. core business: these thugs stuck to the goal of robbery. they never tried funny things that others do these days such as sodomy and rape. they also never hit any one of us at all. they never stole the lights or the wheels
6. bureaucracy never works: i suspect the police would have been more efficient had they abandoned the process of saying that boundaries must be respected and that they cannot do someones elses job. also the time we spent waiting for the duty officer was too much. it gave the thugs enough time to escape had they wanted.
7. Always deliver on your promise: those guys promised not to harm me and they didn't. they also promised to dump my car that very day and they did!
in other news, Mumias and EABL have both declared handsome bonuses. MSC may have wanted to cover up the reduced profitability but still it was a good show. they effectively reduced the initial cost of the share. but remember you don't benefit until after the register is closed. if you sell now you lose out on the bonus and dividend.
what lessons do we learn from these two? that kenyan firms will be looking at greater expansion as opposed to dividend payout. kengen has 2 billion issued shares. and they are at 30 /= that means most firms with less than a billion shares may decide to go on a split, bonus issue spree until they have at least 1 billion shares issued.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
adventures of economic boom
about a week ago Friday, i experienced what would put the reality TV programs to shame. It just started after i decided it was time to benefit from the kibaki economy and acquire an image boosting state of the art automobile with superior road handling, performance, comfort et al (ok am pushing that a little...) Well, so i come home after spending a few more Kenyan shillings and while am waiting for the gate to be oppened, what do i hear? a metallic tap on the drivers window, before i can breathe i hear another on the left and am being asked if i know what those tools are for. i nod and mumble yes to both questions and i can also see our guard being man handled. before i know it, i have been bundled in the back seat next to the watchie and the car is zooming on the rough stretch that went to our estate. interestingly, i had passed two armed policemen about 50 meters from where i was robbed of the car, and now again the thugs have driven past them without even a flinch. they are warning me against pressing any button or screaming or doing anything related to raising alarms. the watchie has been asked how many they are, whether there are alarms etc. i am trying not to do anything to offend these enterprising young men of kibaki administration. they are simply reaping the benefits of improved economic environment. we turn onto tarmac, drive a few metres then onto another rough road, they are going fast. in fact they are simply demonstrating to me how good this machine is. i got value for my money! after a long, rough drive where my thoughts have gone from my lovely kids, to my wife , my funeral and the pain of seeing this new car take such a beating, we stop and they declare that they have nothing to do with the watchie. its me they want. they have already asked about my marital status, number of kids, job description,level of education, salary and allowances,when do we get paid,the cost of car and mode of acquisition
At the bush where we have stopped, my pockets have been emptied.my ATM cards taken and i have been forced to jot down my PIN number at gun point. then one of the young men has given me a torch and asked me to look for more money in the car and hand over to them. no more. but now they look at my fingers and order me to remove the wedding ring with my wife's name on it. these guys can easily see gold. so the leader tells me he is now going to withdraw the money , the other two thugs guard us in the coffee plantation. meanwhile they are communicating with each other thanks to safaricom; confirming if everything is alright and the money has been withdrawn.
after what seems like eons, the guy is back and we start off again to God knows where. twists, turns, high speed, reversing. hills, gulleys, mounds, rough road, smooth road...! we stop again and they are now removing my original kenwood stereo. they have no screw driver. funny thugs. by this time both the guard and myself have been bundled in the boot of the car. after some struggle they ask me for a screw driver which i helpfully give to them. they then remove my stereo and we are on again. back to tarmac and we drive for eons. we are meanwhile in the boot with the old man. i never knew my six-foot-two figure could fit in the boot but the gun just showed me it was possible. actually the boot ride was rather comfortable. the car must have very good suspension. again we stop. am thinking this must be somewhere in nyeri of thika. since we have been driving for nearly two hours at top speed and the car has been handling the ride well. two of them step out. there is one of them who keeps on being bullied by the other two. he is not allowed to be near them and they keep ordering him about. i can pick a few words of the thug tongue. we lie in the boot for like donkey years. each time i try to turn, i hear warning that i will be shot!
well then all of a sudden the boot opens rudely and we are told to get out. "Walk that way straight on and you will reach the road" they offer. "and mzee, we dont really want your car, we will give it back to you. dont look for it too much. we will leave it at Limuru golf club"
we start off and realize we are in deep inside a forest with very tall trees. we are thanking the Lord all along for our lives. we dont know where we are going or where we are. straight on. we get a gate secured with a padlock. so we go round and climb the fence. further on we meet another fence and climb only to end up at a fast flowing river. after much struggle and search we get a make shift bridge and use it across. finally we end up at another tall fence this time unsurmountable. we trace our steps again and get another fence , lower than the other. we have been walking for about 45 minutes. we climb this fence and land into a home. Hell! the curse of Murphy. from the pan unto the fire. 4 ferocious dogs come charging. their loud backs alone have turned me into jelly. they are very big. but the guard tells me that the dogs wont attack if we slouch and remain still. i couldn't believe that but upon doing like the guard said. the dogs stop at their 'paws' but continue backing like their life depends on it. finally the watchie in the home comes slowly and asks who we are, we tell the guy our story but he doesn't believe us. he goes back and presses the alarm. before long, the patrol has come. we tell our story again and they take us to the police.
The police station is empty. do we knock shout or what? we wait and finally one officer comes and asks us our problem. we tell our story. the guy takes about 1 hour recording the incidence. but he says he cannot 'circulate' the car because he is not the duty officer. that thing can only be done by the duty officer who is out at the moment we must wait for him. its now going to 6AM. the guy aint coming. the car hasn't been circulated and i can imagine that if the thugs wanted to take the car to tanzania, they must be in namanga by now. the guards who had been good samaritans to us declare that their limit of their kindness has arrived and they can no longer wait with us. they had wanted to take us home once we report the crime. so they leave us at the station where we wait for one more hour and the duty officer is still not arrived yet. finally i decide to get 911 to take me home so that i can tell my family whats up and come back later (by the way 911 is very handy in case of trouble) just at that time the duty officer comes and starts asking me the questions all over again. after listening to our story, he declares that the area where we were car jacked in not in his jurisdiction and so he cannot take any action! am speechless. i stare at the man blankly but he intones that i must go to the police station near my place of residence where the crime took place and report. i don't reply and i just stare blankly at him like a fool. he then tells me he will just help anyway and he then talks onto the radio to the other policemen to tell them about he robbery. after that am told to come later for the police abstract.
after just an hour, i go to my friends house near the station, we get a call that my car is at the traffic headquarters. i go there and they even give me the description of the thugs who took my car. the police tells me even where to get my stereo. where it will be sold etc. but they want chai for the chief who found the car in park road. another chai is needed for the police who went for it. and a third chai for the wazee who are going to sit after work! well thats after paying for towing. i thought i told these guys that i was robbed of the money i had plus some from two banks?
anyway am happy to be re-united with my car and all i want is get home and rest. its now 12 midday. retrieving the car from the police took about 4 hours. bureaucracy. no sooner do i get into the car than i realize that i am very very hungry!
At the bush where we have stopped, my pockets have been emptied.my ATM cards taken and i have been forced to jot down my PIN number at gun point. then one of the young men has given me a torch and asked me to look for more money in the car and hand over to them. no more. but now they look at my fingers and order me to remove the wedding ring with my wife's name on it. these guys can easily see gold. so the leader tells me he is now going to withdraw the money , the other two thugs guard us in the coffee plantation. meanwhile they are communicating with each other thanks to safaricom; confirming if everything is alright and the money has been withdrawn.
after what seems like eons, the guy is back and we start off again to God knows where. twists, turns, high speed, reversing. hills, gulleys, mounds, rough road, smooth road...! we stop again and they are now removing my original kenwood stereo. they have no screw driver. funny thugs. by this time both the guard and myself have been bundled in the boot of the car. after some struggle they ask me for a screw driver which i helpfully give to them. they then remove my stereo and we are on again. back to tarmac and we drive for eons. we are meanwhile in the boot with the old man. i never knew my six-foot-two figure could fit in the boot but the gun just showed me it was possible. actually the boot ride was rather comfortable. the car must have very good suspension. again we stop. am thinking this must be somewhere in nyeri of thika. since we have been driving for nearly two hours at top speed and the car has been handling the ride well. two of them step out. there is one of them who keeps on being bullied by the other two. he is not allowed to be near them and they keep ordering him about. i can pick a few words of the thug tongue. we lie in the boot for like donkey years. each time i try to turn, i hear warning that i will be shot!
well then all of a sudden the boot opens rudely and we are told to get out. "Walk that way straight on and you will reach the road" they offer. "and mzee, we dont really want your car, we will give it back to you. dont look for it too much. we will leave it at Limuru golf club"
we start off and realize we are in deep inside a forest with very tall trees. we are thanking the Lord all along for our lives. we dont know where we are going or where we are. straight on. we get a gate secured with a padlock. so we go round and climb the fence. further on we meet another fence and climb only to end up at a fast flowing river. after much struggle and search we get a make shift bridge and use it across. finally we end up at another tall fence this time unsurmountable. we trace our steps again and get another fence , lower than the other. we have been walking for about 45 minutes. we climb this fence and land into a home. Hell! the curse of Murphy. from the pan unto the fire. 4 ferocious dogs come charging. their loud backs alone have turned me into jelly. they are very big. but the guard tells me that the dogs wont attack if we slouch and remain still. i couldn't believe that but upon doing like the guard said. the dogs stop at their 'paws' but continue backing like their life depends on it. finally the watchie in the home comes slowly and asks who we are, we tell the guy our story but he doesn't believe us. he goes back and presses the alarm. before long, the patrol has come. we tell our story again and they take us to the police.
The police station is empty. do we knock shout or what? we wait and finally one officer comes and asks us our problem. we tell our story. the guy takes about 1 hour recording the incidence. but he says he cannot 'circulate' the car because he is not the duty officer. that thing can only be done by the duty officer who is out at the moment we must wait for him. its now going to 6AM. the guy aint coming. the car hasn't been circulated and i can imagine that if the thugs wanted to take the car to tanzania, they must be in namanga by now. the guards who had been good samaritans to us declare that their limit of their kindness has arrived and they can no longer wait with us. they had wanted to take us home once we report the crime. so they leave us at the station where we wait for one more hour and the duty officer is still not arrived yet. finally i decide to get 911 to take me home so that i can tell my family whats up and come back later (by the way 911 is very handy in case of trouble) just at that time the duty officer comes and starts asking me the questions all over again. after listening to our story, he declares that the area where we were car jacked in not in his jurisdiction and so he cannot take any action! am speechless. i stare at the man blankly but he intones that i must go to the police station near my place of residence where the crime took place and report. i don't reply and i just stare blankly at him like a fool. he then tells me he will just help anyway and he then talks onto the radio to the other policemen to tell them about he robbery. after that am told to come later for the police abstract.
after just an hour, i go to my friends house near the station, we get a call that my car is at the traffic headquarters. i go there and they even give me the description of the thugs who took my car. the police tells me even where to get my stereo. where it will be sold etc. but they want chai for the chief who found the car in park road. another chai is needed for the police who went for it. and a third chai for the wazee who are going to sit after work! well thats after paying for towing. i thought i told these guys that i was robbed of the money i had plus some from two banks?
anyway am happy to be re-united with my car and all i want is get home and rest. its now 12 midday. retrieving the car from the police took about 4 hours. bureaucracy. no sooner do i get into the car than i realize that i am very very hungry!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
road trips
It was two weeks ago that i had to take the dreaded road trip to the west of the country. that part of the country which is both the grain basket and thorn in the flesh for kenya. well to be political the grain comes from the northern west and the thorn has always come from the southern west. the trip was necessary even though the roads are presently lunar landscape. i had to deliver a van to a client in k-city. I was clever so i took the narok detour,going all the way to narok, then kisii, oyugis, ahero and finaly kisumu.
The journey was smooth until mai mahiu, then branching to the ODM infested areas of narok all the way was as rough as can be. i met very many tourist vans coming from the mara. they were being driven at very high speed in spite of the rough terrain. i wonder why we cant sort out even a road to a seven wonder of the world. anyway from narok all the way to kisii is smooth sailing. the road is so good you can go to sleep. and its closed to heavy trucks and buses are very few and far between, secondly you can see more than a kilometer ahead given the open fields.
I stoped at bomet for a quick bite. i quickly located a hotel called Western Comfort. a 24 hour travelers cafe according to the sign. went in and ordered the days special. the days special wasn't ready. ok then, roasted chicken and chips, not ready, ok rice and vegie stew, not ready! what then is ready? tea. ok bring tea and mandazi. mandazi was displayed on the counter boss utangonja tu dakika kama kumi ndio chai iive! so much for the 24 hour economy of bomet.
Kisii was a cool town, rather sleepy but green and comfy.
on reaching oyugis i was rudely awaken by the change of populace. on the road side i could see the real life models! beautiful people with the coveted figure eight that i see my oblong colleagues struggling to achieve in the gymn back in Nai. only difference was the packaging. i couldn't help but imagine my office neighbor's new hairstyle on the lady on the left or our managers new skirt suite on the one ahead of me. but even oyugis beauty did not deter me and soon i was riding high speed to kisumu once more. no major incidence till the city of the lake. the van was in a state so i decided i would wash it first then deliver it next day. i went ahead to the hotel to rest. the following day i was at lwangni beach at about 11am. This beach is a one stop shop and you can get mostly anything. to wash the whole van in the great lake, i was charged only 100 bob (thats in and out!) the van is driven right into the water, i thought for a moment it would drown. and boy there were plenty of activities for those waiting for their vehicles to be washed. among them was swimming in the murky water, or taking a camel ride. or even a boat ride. the boat were actually the old wood canoes that had been fitted with a juakali engine. the boat was obviously leaking since there was a small boy constantly scooping the water with a tin and pouring it back to the lake. a 200 metre circle in the lake cost just about 10 bob. even though people were being fitted with life jackets and there were many enthusiastic families waiting their turn,(langni beach is a great spot for family rendez vous over the weekend) i decided, i was not that kind of swimmer and simply watched the excited faces. but its not only humans who frequent the beach, even harders brought their cattle to browse and drink water.
well then you can also enjoy what this beach is best known for. the makeshift kiosks where fish is sold the same way goat meat is sold at olepolos. when you walk in, you are taken to the 'karai' where all the fish are. you then point at the one which whets your appetite most after that you sit and wait for it to be deep fried. when it comes, it actually ambushes you. a large helping of fish, steaming and covered in your favorite local vegetable, and kachumbari is thrust right in front of you with an equal generous potion of ugali. the aroma itself is enough to drown you in your own saliva. ok lwangni hotel is not where you bring your everyday chips-and-sausage-eating sweetheart. here you bring someone who wants to eat and eat hard! but i saw many expensive looking people all over. even big SUVs with red plates and white occupants kept on driving in and out. its simply an experience
by the time the fish disappears from your tray (they actually serve you on a tray. its a very big fish) the van is ready for your collection it has been wiped so well you feel like coming here everyday. only that you work in Nairobi.
well then i delivered the vehicle with neither ceremony nor funfair and headed to the airport to take a flight (i promised myself that i would not use that road on the way back. in any case there were no vacancies in the buses) the Kisumu airport was packed like a normal bus stop and even though there were security checks, it was only being done on those who were traveling. otherwise to buy a ticket you just pass the security without much questioning. but there were no tickets for flight that evening. not in any of the airlines, KQ, jet link, east African or even 540. i only managed to get one for the following day.
as long as the west remains in opposition, the country's leadership remains myopic and paranoid, the roads will remain the same and the airlines will laugh all the way to the bank! buy KQ shares pronto.
but one thing you get in Kisumu that i have never been able to get anywhere else is the warmth, the respect for guests and the richness of culture!
The journey was smooth until mai mahiu, then branching to the ODM infested areas of narok all the way was as rough as can be. i met very many tourist vans coming from the mara. they were being driven at very high speed in spite of the rough terrain. i wonder why we cant sort out even a road to a seven wonder of the world. anyway from narok all the way to kisii is smooth sailing. the road is so good you can go to sleep. and its closed to heavy trucks and buses are very few and far between, secondly you can see more than a kilometer ahead given the open fields.
I stoped at bomet for a quick bite. i quickly located a hotel called Western Comfort. a 24 hour travelers cafe according to the sign. went in and ordered the days special. the days special wasn't ready. ok then, roasted chicken and chips, not ready, ok rice and vegie stew, not ready! what then is ready? tea. ok bring tea and mandazi. mandazi was displayed on the counter boss utangonja tu dakika kama kumi ndio chai iive! so much for the 24 hour economy of bomet.
Kisii was a cool town, rather sleepy but green and comfy.
on reaching oyugis i was rudely awaken by the change of populace. on the road side i could see the real life models! beautiful people with the coveted figure eight that i see my oblong colleagues struggling to achieve in the gymn back in Nai. only difference was the packaging. i couldn't help but imagine my office neighbor's new hairstyle on the lady on the left or our managers new skirt suite on the one ahead of me. but even oyugis beauty did not deter me and soon i was riding high speed to kisumu once more. no major incidence till the city of the lake. the van was in a state so i decided i would wash it first then deliver it next day. i went ahead to the hotel to rest. the following day i was at lwangni beach at about 11am. This beach is a one stop shop and you can get mostly anything. to wash the whole van in the great lake, i was charged only 100 bob (thats in and out!) the van is driven right into the water, i thought for a moment it would drown. and boy there were plenty of activities for those waiting for their vehicles to be washed. among them was swimming in the murky water, or taking a camel ride. or even a boat ride. the boat were actually the old wood canoes that had been fitted with a juakali engine. the boat was obviously leaking since there was a small boy constantly scooping the water with a tin and pouring it back to the lake. a 200 metre circle in the lake cost just about 10 bob. even though people were being fitted with life jackets and there were many enthusiastic families waiting their turn,(langni beach is a great spot for family rendez vous over the weekend) i decided, i was not that kind of swimmer and simply watched the excited faces. but its not only humans who frequent the beach, even harders brought their cattle to browse and drink water.
well then you can also enjoy what this beach is best known for. the makeshift kiosks where fish is sold the same way goat meat is sold at olepolos. when you walk in, you are taken to the 'karai' where all the fish are. you then point at the one which whets your appetite most after that you sit and wait for it to be deep fried. when it comes, it actually ambushes you. a large helping of fish, steaming and covered in your favorite local vegetable, and kachumbari is thrust right in front of you with an equal generous potion of ugali. the aroma itself is enough to drown you in your own saliva. ok lwangni hotel is not where you bring your everyday chips-and-sausage-eating sweetheart. here you bring someone who wants to eat and eat hard! but i saw many expensive looking people all over. even big SUVs with red plates and white occupants kept on driving in and out. its simply an experience
by the time the fish disappears from your tray (they actually serve you on a tray. its a very big fish) the van is ready for your collection it has been wiped so well you feel like coming here everyday. only that you work in Nairobi.
well then i delivered the vehicle with neither ceremony nor funfair and headed to the airport to take a flight (i promised myself that i would not use that road on the way back. in any case there were no vacancies in the buses) the Kisumu airport was packed like a normal bus stop and even though there were security checks, it was only being done on those who were traveling. otherwise to buy a ticket you just pass the security without much questioning. but there were no tickets for flight that evening. not in any of the airlines, KQ, jet link, east African or even 540. i only managed to get one for the following day.
as long as the west remains in opposition, the country's leadership remains myopic and paranoid, the roads will remain the same and the airlines will laugh all the way to the bank! buy KQ shares pronto.
but one thing you get in Kisumu that i have never been able to get anywhere else is the warmth, the respect for guests and the richness of culture!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
oversubscribed .... again
Its now official, every IPO in kenya will have more takers than there are shares. even kenya re which had so much mystery has been oversubscribed. but like i thought, the number of shares were few and you saw that coming. in fact the demand was more than that of kengen. its disappointing though that investors may end up with only 100 shares or about 1000 shillings worth of investment meaning they will be refunded at least some 18K shillings! what a waste of time and oportunity!
if this then how about safaricom? how will they ensure that these little money refund headaches dont happen?
elsewhere i discovered that nakumatt actually did their homework about the 24 hour thing. i went to the late night shop to get some light bulbs and to my shock and awe, i found that there was absolutely no parking! even the new pavements that nakumatt constructed the other day were packed with cars and some were on the road. there was no space all the way up to the new westgate. so there are shopers at night as well!
if this then how about safaricom? how will they ensure that these little money refund headaches dont happen?
elsewhere i discovered that nakumatt actually did their homework about the 24 hour thing. i went to the late night shop to get some light bulbs and to my shock and awe, i found that there was absolutely no parking! even the new pavements that nakumatt constructed the other day were packed with cars and some were on the road. there was no space all the way up to the new westgate. so there are shopers at night as well!
Friday, August 10, 2007
of the 24 hour economy
There has been lots of talk lately about the need or lack of for a 24hour economy. i thought the economy was always 24 hour anyway. maybe they meaning business operations around the clock. like the matutus that ply route kariobangi south or kahawa west. meaning that the 24hour economy has been around. but the place where i shockingly saw the real deal was at isich and gikomba. most of the shops in isich operate normally at night and the streets are full of people. unfortunately the roads are pathetic and streets lights dont work. however at gikomba market, i saw that the activity is very much alive and fortunately there is some bit of good light as well. but probably the place where the 24hour thing is most required is at the port of Mombasa! clearing a cargo at the port the other day took me a whole one week because of congestion, confusion and sheer numbers. by the second day, there were 1000 people ahead of me. then at the end of it all i still had to pay charges for the delay in the form of storage charges!
there is so much work yet these guys only work till 5pm after which they chase everyone away. how much better would it be if they worked in shifts even at the customs and container terminals with operations going on around the clock?
actually there are some businesses that are better after hours like supermarkets, banks, etc. when i used to work for this company in my first job, i never understood why it the bosses used to close during lunch hour. yet that was the time some people who are busy in offices would have gotten time to make a quick purchase or a quick inquiry
there is so much work yet these guys only work till 5pm after which they chase everyone away. how much better would it be if they worked in shifts even at the customs and container terminals with operations going on around the clock?
actually there are some businesses that are better after hours like supermarkets, banks, etc. when i used to work for this company in my first job, i never understood why it the bosses used to close during lunch hour. yet that was the time some people who are busy in offices would have gotten time to make a quick purchase or a quick inquiry
Monday, August 06, 2007
Business Oportunities
these scenarios:
1 a dilapidated road network between nakuru and busia
2. a huge commuter population plying a route on a daily basis
3. large business opportunities in food transits
4. collapse of the largest public transport company
5. airfare still too higher for a good majority
well these are what has fueled the expansion of Easy coach bus services. i only saw this last saturday when i escorted someone to take a 'flight' to the lakeside town. the easy coach offices were full to the brim and there was no parking inside. in the compound they had laid out benches where commuters sat as they waited for their buses. i saw that each bus carried 38 people and each passenger paid no less than 800/=. doing quick arithmatic made me very jalous. if each bus does one round trip a day, it makes no less than 2.1 million shillings a month on this route.
this is because, kenya bus colapsed and akamba bus service is literaly on its knees with old rickety buses breaking down all the time in very lonely and dangerous places and at night!
because of the bad road in the 'opposition' areas of between nakuru and kisumu, most motorists would not risk using their private cars so buses are the in thing. come the high season of december this route will be raining money!
but another interesting thing i noticed on the Kenyan roads; i wonder why Kenyans buy powerful and fast cars. the roads are very narrow and they are not dual carriage so over taking is not possible most times. another thing is that the slim roads are shared with old slow cars as well as overloaded trailers and trucks. so the fast cars are forced to move as slowly as the slow cars hence surely there is no need investing in a 3 litre engine car!
1 a dilapidated road network between nakuru and busia
2. a huge commuter population plying a route on a daily basis
3. large business opportunities in food transits
4. collapse of the largest public transport company
5. airfare still too higher for a good majority
well these are what has fueled the expansion of Easy coach bus services. i only saw this last saturday when i escorted someone to take a 'flight' to the lakeside town. the easy coach offices were full to the brim and there was no parking inside. in the compound they had laid out benches where commuters sat as they waited for their buses. i saw that each bus carried 38 people and each passenger paid no less than 800/=. doing quick arithmatic made me very jalous. if each bus does one round trip a day, it makes no less than 2.1 million shillings a month on this route.
this is because, kenya bus colapsed and akamba bus service is literaly on its knees with old rickety buses breaking down all the time in very lonely and dangerous places and at night!
because of the bad road in the 'opposition' areas of between nakuru and kisumu, most motorists would not risk using their private cars so buses are the in thing. come the high season of december this route will be raining money!
but another interesting thing i noticed on the Kenyan roads; i wonder why Kenyans buy powerful and fast cars. the roads are very narrow and they are not dual carriage so over taking is not possible most times. another thing is that the slim roads are shared with old slow cars as well as overloaded trailers and trucks. so the fast cars are forced to move as slowly as the slow cars hence surely there is no need investing in a 3 litre engine car!
Thursday, August 02, 2007
two sides of the kenyan coin
This morning i had a rather interesting encounter at the posta sarit. first, i thought they opened at 8:30; well i gave them the benefit of being a state corporation. when i went, i found that they actually open at 9:00. (truly i never knew in this day and age there are still people who start work at 9:00) with this booming economy why cant u take the advantage and catch customers early. anyway so i hovered around, waiting for time, i even went upstairs to uchumi to browse. i saw a nice collection of old Kenyan music of the likes of kaikai kilonzo, goerge omolo, Guta Lie Bobo, Baraka Mwinshehe etc. i am told this collection is there courtesy of Mr. Makali. the CDs are going for quite a good price. the most being only 800 bob. well then i got back to posta and noticed it was only remaining 2 minutes to nine however the cleaner walked out of the door and left it slightly open and i went in. to my shock and horror the employees shouted at me to go back out since it was not yet time! i adamantly ignored them and went straight to posta pay. after filling the form and waiting for the 2 minutes (the lady refused to look at her computer only pointing at the old clock hang on the wall) when she finally did, she discovered the software wasn't working. tried several times an even restarted the machine to no avail. so i wasted all that time waiting for a service which was down! i wish they had used the waiting time to make sure all their equipment was in order!!!!
but on the other side of the coin, other Kenyans are maximizing on the boom, nakumatt holding have opened the first ever 24/7 shopping mall in kenya. the convenience! and more things from nakumatt and equity now you can withdraw your cash from a nakumat till if you are an equity customer. the only thing is the the riders are rather confusing. you can only withdraw 10,000 if your shopping was worth 1000 and so on.
Meanwhile, kenyans are ahead of others and are wondering how safaricom will hold their AGMs. i suggest they set up a 0900 number where shareholders can call up and listen to deliberations. if you want to vote for Mr. X press 1 else press 2 . how about that?
the price of safaricom shares? will definitely depend on how many. if they decide to issue 4b shares then it will be about 9 /= per share and they may go the route of Kenya Re and insist on batches of say 1000 or even 10,000.
but on the other side of the coin, other Kenyans are maximizing on the boom, nakumatt holding have opened the first ever 24/7 shopping mall in kenya. the convenience! and more things from nakumatt and equity now you can withdraw your cash from a nakumat till if you are an equity customer. the only thing is the the riders are rather confusing. you can only withdraw 10,000 if your shopping was worth 1000 and so on.
Meanwhile, kenyans are ahead of others and are wondering how safaricom will hold their AGMs. i suggest they set up a 0900 number where shareholders can call up and listen to deliberations. if you want to vote for Mr. X press 1 else press 2 . how about that?
the price of safaricom shares? will definitely depend on how many. if they decide to issue 4b shares then it will be about 9 /= per share and they may go the route of Kenya Re and insist on batches of say 1000 or even 10,000.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Freedoms et al
the events of the past weekend really shook me to reality as far as freedom and related issues are concerned. starting last Friday, i was broke but my Congolese friend insisted that he takes me out. he suggested that we could go to a relatively affordable joint and take strictly two beers then rush home by 11. sounded plausible so we chose amaica, that lovely classy joint. amaica normally doesn't have too many people. but what i saw there shocked me. there was this young lady who was quite decently dressed. smart black trouser suite. (could have been blue or a close shade) she was in the company of some grayed men. we could see those men doing orders and dancing with her and making merry. but towards the end there seemed to be disagreements and eventually the chick acrimoniously left the two men and joined another one. the man who seemed to be the 'friend' struggled to contain his anger and injured ego but could not manage, they simply walked out in disgust. Hey men the shoe is in the other foot women have taken that freedom of choice thing a notch higher!
well then we left amaica coz they close at midnight, we went to hillbreeze for a few, when it was time to leave, i found a couple at 'it' in the parking. i could place them since they had been in the next table back in the pub. the lady had appeared hopelessly drunk. thats another freedom i found disgusting. before , ladies were not expected to get this drunk especially in public. now they can but if the consequences are such as what i saw in the car park that night then i wonder at the freedom. am sure that lady wouldn't have agreed to do that had she been sober.
Well that was the night, the following day, Sunday i went to my 'favorite' church for Sunday mass. i always get fulfilled at this church but this Sunday was going to be diff. no sooner had i taken my position at the pew than i noticed that in front of me were two seemingly young women in rather small tops and low waist jeans trousers. the trousers were so low that their B-cracks were always exposed. i wondered where the pantys were. i thought that when there is low waist trouser, at least there should be a panty to cover that part of the body. i wonder whether B-crack is a pleasant sight in church. so for the next 2 hours i struggled with concentrating on the sermons, the adoration, the consecration and the nice church songs. we men are hopelessly visual and such a scene was very distracting. when i was younger, women didn't have freedom to be this exposed. now they got the freedom!
and finally The Young Kenyan man just tagged me but thank God for small mercies, al simply copy and paste my earlier tag post!
1. I am actually an IT professional, and i have done IT all my life! have got several years experience in major enterprise systems, ERP systems, major databases including Oracle and SAP. I also have major industry certifications. but my absolute favorite flavors are HP-UX , AIX etc. basically UNIX
2. I believe am good at what i do since i have bagged some major industry awards of excellence
3. I am multi lingual, i speak 4 major international languages: Luo;- spoken in kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan and parts of west Africa, Kiswahili;- spoken in most of east and central africa, English;- the official language of business and bureaucracy the world over and finally French;- the language of love , peace romance and fun! (my wish language is luhya the language of culture, laughter, arts and faith, i hope to learn it soon)
4. i love blogging finance, investment and economy related issues because of my passion. (anyway i also have a masters in finance) but my pet discipline is mathematics and all its relatives
5. I believe the only necessary ingredient for success in any field of choice is passion. if you have a goal , all you have to calculate is a passion for what you want to do and go get it done.
6. i am a poet and an actor. i was also once a choir teacher( i still hope to get back to it some day i love choral music) i also once acted with phoenix players theater under the great jamo (James Falkland)
Am a failed fine artist, though i once used to do some great portraits and landscapes.
7. I am tall and of athletic build. people who see me often suppose i would be a great footballer or basket baller. there is this time we had an inter-departmental soccer tournament, i took a strikers position. the opponents gave me two markers. they thought from my physique, that i would be lethal. needless to say it took them only 5 minutes to realize they didn't even need to mark me! i was benched after only 10 minutes. ( i have no passion for sports)
well then we left amaica coz they close at midnight, we went to hillbreeze for a few, when it was time to leave, i found a couple at 'it' in the parking. i could place them since they had been in the next table back in the pub. the lady had appeared hopelessly drunk. thats another freedom i found disgusting. before , ladies were not expected to get this drunk especially in public. now they can but if the consequences are such as what i saw in the car park that night then i wonder at the freedom. am sure that lady wouldn't have agreed to do that had she been sober.
Well that was the night, the following day, Sunday i went to my 'favorite' church for Sunday mass. i always get fulfilled at this church but this Sunday was going to be diff. no sooner had i taken my position at the pew than i noticed that in front of me were two seemingly young women in rather small tops and low waist jeans trousers. the trousers were so low that their B-cracks were always exposed. i wondered where the pantys were. i thought that when there is low waist trouser, at least there should be a panty to cover that part of the body. i wonder whether B-crack is a pleasant sight in church. so for the next 2 hours i struggled with concentrating on the sermons, the adoration, the consecration and the nice church songs. we men are hopelessly visual and such a scene was very distracting. when i was younger, women didn't have freedom to be this exposed. now they got the freedom!
and finally The Young Kenyan man just tagged me but thank God for small mercies, al simply copy and paste my earlier tag post!
1. I am actually an IT professional, and i have done IT all my life! have got several years experience in major enterprise systems, ERP systems, major databases including Oracle and SAP. I also have major industry certifications. but my absolute favorite flavors are HP-UX , AIX etc. basically UNIX
2. I believe am good at what i do since i have bagged some major industry awards of excellence
3. I am multi lingual, i speak 4 major international languages: Luo;- spoken in kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan and parts of west Africa, Kiswahili;- spoken in most of east and central africa, English;- the official language of business and bureaucracy the world over and finally French;- the language of love , peace romance and fun! (my wish language is luhya the language of culture, laughter, arts and faith, i hope to learn it soon)
4. i love blogging finance, investment and economy related issues because of my passion. (anyway i also have a masters in finance) but my pet discipline is mathematics and all its relatives
5. I believe the only necessary ingredient for success in any field of choice is passion. if you have a goal , all you have to calculate is a passion for what you want to do and go get it done.
6. i am a poet and an actor. i was also once a choir teacher( i still hope to get back to it some day i love choral music) i also once acted with phoenix players theater under the great jamo (James Falkland)
Am a failed fine artist, though i once used to do some great portraits and landscapes.
7. I am tall and of athletic build. people who see me often suppose i would be a great footballer or basket baller. there is this time we had an inter-departmental soccer tournament, i took a strikers position. the opponents gave me two markers. they thought from my physique, that i would be lethal. needless to say it took them only 5 minutes to realize they didn't even need to mark me! i was benched after only 10 minutes. ( i have no passion for sports)
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