Last Friday, i saw a cop in a sunda (trouser worn around the tummy instead of the waist) at the museum hill round about. it brought back very nostalgic memories. back in the day when i was in forth form in high school, we went on strike in our second term to demand that the school introduces long trousers instead of the shorts also known at the time as paper bags. many great men had passed through this school and they all had used those paper bags but what drove our quest that time was the fact that most schools around us had introduced the new trouser based uniform, even those schools we considered 'below' us. in short we wanted to fit in! when the new uniform was eventually adopted, most of my classmates came in the high waist trouser called sunda popularized at that time by kanda bongo man and arlus mabele ; great zairean musicians at the time. However my mum went and bought for me a 'decent' Raymonds' long trouser fitted at the waist. even though i didn't want to hurt my loving mum , I always felt out of place.
It was all about the Kenyan desire to be uniform. to do what other Kenyans are doing. sort of crowd mentality. thats why when people are 'investing' in pyramids, all Kenyans do it. when people are getting saved, ditto. thats also why if you open a kiosk on street X today, you will wake up tomorrow and find 100 more lined next you selling the same things as you. I even saw it when it was time for every Kenyan worth his salt to buy a silver Mitsubishi saloon car. they were so many you would have thought they were being given free. even when it was the vogue to sport shiny alloy rims, or watch full seasons of pirated 24 and Prison Break series. i always wonder what happens that the killer fad just dies out on its own like that. like when all nairobi women would put on trousers that exposed their thongs. I wonder whether it was the pressure to prove that they were compliant with the thong fad or the low waist trouser fad.
And if I thought that the crowd thing was only with individuals. i was dead wrong, i was at gaucho restaurant in westi the other day and i discovered that they are very much trying to ape carnivore's meat experience. its really a failed imitation. carnivore is ahead with their unique service. you can see the meat being roasted on swords before carvers walk around with pride serving you till you drop the little white flag. well at gaucho, the meat is roasted elsewhere and you have a little card on the table which you flip to the green side to signal you want meat and red to stop the servers. i saw the same kind of thing at panari sky center but when it comes to 'meating' carnivore still does it for me.
However its not only 'meating' that is being copied, bankelele reports on KCB having already 'xeroxed' equity bank's pay day loan product. just the way barclays aped their roll out in remote and the hitherto 'risky' areas such as jua kali joints, universities and so on. it only tells us that even corporates are truly Kenyan not only young schools boys!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
looking back
I have been looking back at the very first blog entries i made some time in 2006 and am just amazed at them. i am not even beginning to believe i did that! Its called being inspired by the past. I have also noted that the comments were really uplifting. the ego boost has been amazing.
A number of bloggers and comments have positively shaped my thinking and even investments for which am really glad. And i had an investor tip of the day which also look tight maybe its time to revive all that :-)
A number of bloggers and comments have positively shaped my thinking and even investments for which am really glad. And i had an investor tip of the day which also look tight maybe its time to revive all that :-)
Monday, April 14, 2008
Can Mpesa do a 'safaricom'
If i recall well, safaricom was an experiment by Telkom Kenya to provide cellular phone services. the offices were tiny and the service was exclusive. everyone probably knows the story though so no need bothering with it. fast forward, 2008, mpesa which is supposed to be safaricom's product for mobile money transfer seems to be suggesting to its 'mum' that it already has the balls to go it alone. if the queues at mpesa joints , the partnerships with major players and the adverts are anything to go by, am seeing that this product may soon just become a company on its own and move away from home. already postapay which is also a very good service is feeling the pinch given the convenience that comes with mpesa. but on top of it is the additional benefits of paying bills from the comfort of your bed, bar, office or even car. (even in a wedding actually) that, besides being safer than carrying an atm card in case you are mugged. more benefits of mpesa were clear during the january violence when safaricom's priced airtime was hard to come by and some people actually sold them for double their value. those with mpesa simply bought airtime conveniently from the phone. i am told some banks are also not very comfortable with the service since its bound to take away all those small savers and employers of casual workers. I think when considering safaricom IPO, mpesa will be one major thing to help you make up your mind.
other good stories are on the revelation of the cabinet. i am happy with the selections apart from mwakwere. we have too many problems and we needed someone with a will for this key ministry be it from PNU or ODM. mwakwere should have been put in the deputy mayors position (ministry of nairobi) which was comically given to mutula kilonzo. the other guy i find misplaced is michuki. hate him or love him, i think that old man is a performer. in just 2 months in roads ministry, we were already seeing a difference.
from ministers and deputy mayors to a sad story of mungiki reigning terror on nairobians. ati revenging the killing of the mungiki first lady. actually i never knew mungiki also felt pain. i was surprised to see them shed tears when that woman was killed. so thugs also cry?
from pain to fun, the project fame finally launched yesterday. it made me proud that 'we' Kenyans were able to broadcast 'live' to East Africa. the show looked sweet and beautiful. is it true that Tanzanians cannot speak English even if their fame depended on it or was that thing i saw stage managed?
still on entertainment and infotainment, the new CNBC Africa has become my stable channel but the best shows come late at night when they have this news comedy where they make fun of highly placed people. its just priceless!
other good stories are on the revelation of the cabinet. i am happy with the selections apart from mwakwere. we have too many problems and we needed someone with a will for this key ministry be it from PNU or ODM. mwakwere should have been put in the deputy mayors position (ministry of nairobi) which was comically given to mutula kilonzo. the other guy i find misplaced is michuki. hate him or love him, i think that old man is a performer. in just 2 months in roads ministry, we were already seeing a difference.
from ministers and deputy mayors to a sad story of mungiki reigning terror on nairobians. ati revenging the killing of the mungiki first lady. actually i never knew mungiki also felt pain. i was surprised to see them shed tears when that woman was killed. so thugs also cry?
from pain to fun, the project fame finally launched yesterday. it made me proud that 'we' Kenyans were able to broadcast 'live' to East Africa. the show looked sweet and beautiful. is it true that Tanzanians cannot speak English even if their fame depended on it or was that thing i saw stage managed?
still on entertainment and infotainment, the new CNBC Africa has become my stable channel but the best shows come late at night when they have this news comedy where they make fun of highly placed people. its just priceless!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
God of small mercies
Its a time when its becoming increasingly difficult to accept being an African in Africa. With two grand corrupt men refusing to let go of power whether their people want it or not. one zimbabwean man refusing to even announce the results and another hated Kenya holding on after stealing the vote. the fact that in both cases thousands of their country men are suffering untold miseries does not move either of them an inch. what matters is the here and now! My heart goes to those poor people
However God has not lost his humor side and just last week and this one, we have been treated to the comical results of two music reality show auditions. I love listening to music especially good music. but in those two auditions, it was not the good music i found entertaining. it was the unbelievable confidence that most young and not so young ambitions showed on the TV screens these past days. most simply thought that to be an 'idol' or fame all you have to do is ape the black American artists or accents. words like 'men, i wanaa be and am gonna' were spoken the most number of times per square kilometer in kenyan history. well i dont know whether that made me proud or sad. lakini everything was just so hilarious and the judges didnt help matters either. the mix is great fun. all in all thousands kenyan youth turned up but only 14 got chosen
the staged show however normally disappoints me on one issue , that the songs are mostly western. only a few kenyan songs are sung. like in the last competition, i was looking forward to Tony nyadundo's hit song 'isanda gi hera' after all oliver's song was part of the repertoire so why not also have some local hits?
in the fame audition, there were these two old men from nyeri who had tried their luck in mombasa with no success. they then went straight to nyeri (nyuba ini) to try again their shot at the old 'nadina' song. i almost died laughing.
but that was not the only break i had from the kibaki greed. the other day my friend took me to their 'local joint'. this time not for booze but for lunch. its a popular kiosk where people eat 'african dish'. boy! it was struggle all the way . first to get to the water dripping from a bucket that served as the hand wash tap, then get space in the bench next to one of the tables and then to get to be served, the waiters shout and order people while passing with plates dripping with hot oily soup. i was in morbid fear of the hot delicacies pouring on me any time. space was a luxury and it was their discretion who they serve first.
'weee! , mchele mododo hapa, matumbo ya ugali, chapo mbili supu' etc. those are the waiters orders to the cooks who we could see constantly wiping sweat from their brow. even in these hard times, there are people doing brisk business. my guy was rather pleased with himself and at the end he asked me how i found the place
and it was also the same week when my colleague bought a new Mercedes e-class and drove it straight to Nairobi university. why ? i asked later. to avenge the pain he suffered when he was in second year in the same university some 8 years before. his girlfriend had dumped him for a dude who was spinning a Peugeot 504. he vowed then to make sure in his life he bought a stronger car and also went to Nairobi uni to take someone else's girlfriend. just to show might (its all about power) I asked the colleague how he felt after showcasing his latest toy to those young and clueless girls on the campus and he said he felt really uplifted. the guy who had taken his girlfriend back then had really deflated his ego! does it mean girls only fall in love for the cars? i dont know, i have never been a Nairobi university girl before
but some other guys are looking for a different kind of break. some are coming to our bank to ask for huge loans to buy shares and no, they are not buying safaricom shares. they want to buy other counters at the NSE!
However God has not lost his humor side and just last week and this one, we have been treated to the comical results of two music reality show auditions. I love listening to music especially good music. but in those two auditions, it was not the good music i found entertaining. it was the unbelievable confidence that most young and not so young ambitions showed on the TV screens these past days. most simply thought that to be an 'idol' or fame all you have to do is ape the black American artists or accents. words like 'men, i wanaa be and am gonna' were spoken the most number of times per square kilometer in kenyan history. well i dont know whether that made me proud or sad. lakini everything was just so hilarious and the judges didnt help matters either. the mix is great fun. all in all thousands kenyan youth turned up but only 14 got chosen
the staged show however normally disappoints me on one issue , that the songs are mostly western. only a few kenyan songs are sung. like in the last competition, i was looking forward to Tony nyadundo's hit song 'isanda gi hera' after all oliver's song was part of the repertoire so why not also have some local hits?
in the fame audition, there were these two old men from nyeri who had tried their luck in mombasa with no success. they then went straight to nyeri (nyuba ini) to try again their shot at the old 'nadina' song. i almost died laughing.
but that was not the only break i had from the kibaki greed. the other day my friend took me to their 'local joint'. this time not for booze but for lunch. its a popular kiosk where people eat 'african dish'. boy! it was struggle all the way . first to get to the water dripping from a bucket that served as the hand wash tap, then get space in the bench next to one of the tables and then to get to be served, the waiters shout and order people while passing with plates dripping with hot oily soup. i was in morbid fear of the hot delicacies pouring on me any time. space was a luxury and it was their discretion who they serve first.
'weee! , mchele mododo hapa, matumbo ya ugali, chapo mbili supu' etc. those are the waiters orders to the cooks who we could see constantly wiping sweat from their brow. even in these hard times, there are people doing brisk business. my guy was rather pleased with himself and at the end he asked me how i found the place
and it was also the same week when my colleague bought a new Mercedes e-class and drove it straight to Nairobi university. why ? i asked later. to avenge the pain he suffered when he was in second year in the same university some 8 years before. his girlfriend had dumped him for a dude who was spinning a Peugeot 504. he vowed then to make sure in his life he bought a stronger car and also went to Nairobi uni to take someone else's girlfriend. just to show might (its all about power) I asked the colleague how he felt after showcasing his latest toy to those young and clueless girls on the campus and he said he felt really uplifted. the guy who had taken his girlfriend back then had really deflated his ego! does it mean girls only fall in love for the cars? i dont know, i have never been a Nairobi university girl before
but some other guys are looking for a different kind of break. some are coming to our bank to ask for huge loans to buy shares and no, they are not buying safaricom shares. they want to buy other counters at the NSE!
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
of peace and greed
so the reports are on that the talks have collapsed. ODM have thrown in the towel and said that they will not talk until kibaki understands the accord. I simply don't get it. is it that Kibaki normally has his eyes closed when signing agreements or is he just mean? he argued very strongly to dishonor the gentleman's agreement 5 years ago. people agreed with him that we were not aware of the contents. however this time the situation is different. the agreement was in the press. we all read it and understood. the old man is coming back claiming that he did not know about the details of the accord!
so again we risk what happened in January or worse. already there are reports of chaos in some parts of nairobi as well as tension in kisumu and eldoret. Kibaki insists on holding on to what he stole whether we all die or not.
and these chaos will come at a worse time, when people are lining up to take up their positions in safaricom IPO. what that will mean to us is for any one to guess
so again we risk what happened in January or worse. already there are reports of chaos in some parts of nairobi as well as tension in kisumu and eldoret. Kibaki insists on holding on to what he stole whether we all die or not.
and these chaos will come at a worse time, when people are lining up to take up their positions in safaricom IPO. what that will mean to us is for any one to guess
Monday, April 07, 2008
...grand expectations ...grand disappointments!
I have borrowed the title of a book i read in my youth. great expectations. it suggested that great expectations always led to great disappointments. and it seems rather clear why that should happen. since to every action there must be an equal opposite reaction force. However i never expected the grand disappointment of yesterday. i expected the cabinet to be named. i expected kibaki to for one time in his life, respect the wishes of the majority kenyan people and do the right thing. i expected him to honor what they agreed on with Raila odinga. i was wrong. 5 years after lying to kenyans over the mou, supported by former reformists, religious leaders and all the former 'men of good will' , Kibaki was at it again. even after messing our lives by stealing the vote. its really salt unto injury.
And i am left to wonder. whats worse that a country can have? an obtuse president or an indecisive one? leaders, managers and CEOs are often paid to decide. thats all. they get heavy paychecks just to make decision of where people should be going. kibaki has been failing in that particular objective of his job day in day out. the man still sits in state house as the head of more than 34 million kenyans not because he performed his job well but only because of the tribalism of our nation.
last week i was upbeat. and i was not alone, even the stock market jumped for joy. the kenyan shilling grew stronger. we looked forward to sunday. only for the man to do what he does best. go back on his word. its so sad. but why? why must all this happen. the animal called portfolio balance is not scientific. it cant be measured. its so grey and amorphous. why cant we just go back to elections? back to make a firm decision. of course after seeing off the other obtuse old man called kivuitu, kihara mutu and their kith.
we cannot go on like this. its already quite heart rending to see people of all ages hurdled like chicken in IDP camps in their own country. children who cannot be registered for exams since their parents are fighting. fighting for what? killing their neighbors, wives, husbands friends for what , for whom? nothing. and at that time some old men and woman somewhere hold on to power like a drowning man to a straw!
on another note though, i have been asked severally how far up safaricom will go on the first day of trading. and whether i can guarantee that if you put 100K you can get 300K by 1st of june. Well i dont know.
And i am left to wonder. whats worse that a country can have? an obtuse president or an indecisive one? leaders, managers and CEOs are often paid to decide. thats all. they get heavy paychecks just to make decision of where people should be going. kibaki has been failing in that particular objective of his job day in day out. the man still sits in state house as the head of more than 34 million kenyans not because he performed his job well but only because of the tribalism of our nation.
last week i was upbeat. and i was not alone, even the stock market jumped for joy. the kenyan shilling grew stronger. we looked forward to sunday. only for the man to do what he does best. go back on his word. its so sad. but why? why must all this happen. the animal called portfolio balance is not scientific. it cant be measured. its so grey and amorphous. why cant we just go back to elections? back to make a firm decision. of course after seeing off the other obtuse old man called kivuitu, kihara mutu and their kith.
we cannot go on like this. its already quite heart rending to see people of all ages hurdled like chicken in IDP camps in their own country. children who cannot be registered for exams since their parents are fighting. fighting for what? killing their neighbors, wives, husbands friends for what , for whom? nothing. and at that time some old men and woman somewhere hold on to power like a drowning man to a straw!
on another note though, i have been asked severally how far up safaricom will go on the first day of trading. and whether i can guarantee that if you put 100K you can get 300K by 1st of june. Well i dont know.
Friday, April 04, 2008
so be it
Ok so the cabinet has been agreed on. 20 ODM 20 PNU. many people are calling this a shocker but this is where we differ. i have always said that we in Kenya often fail to get the point. the point is not really the size of the cabinet, their salary and so on. what matters to me is the delivery. to say the least i dont have a problem with the size. maybe the type, like when they talked of ministry of nairobi, i found that funny. but if we have 50 cabinet posts which we need i would not have a problem at all. just like if we had 100 ministers and they all delivered on what we required and made all of us prosperous why would it bother me.
Like someone said one time, people do not grow by lowering costs or controlling them. people grow by creating opportunities and wealth. its like i used to wonder back in college why it was so difficult to get to medical school yet health workers are what Kenyans need most. most lecturers argued that they did not want to dilute the profession. and they thought that that funny thought could hold water. so they chose instead to churn thousands of history and English literature graduates who were of no use to the country than getting more engineers, medical personnel , chemists, pharmacists and the like. its all so misguided. i heard the same argument upon my graduation. that they did not want too many M.Sc students in Science in order to control 'quality'
just as when people claimed that the president had too much powers and so the powers needed to be trimmed. i disagreed. the issue was not the president having too much power, it is actually that the people have too little power. instead of lowering the prezo lets grow the people. Let the people be able to decide on their lives, be able to criticize the prezo etc. empower people so that they dont sell their land without a plan on how they intend to live their lives thereafter. empower them to refuse to die in the name of someone else and so on.
But i have another reason to be happy with the decision. Even if bloated, it will calm nerves now, the market is rearing to go. safaricom IPO is already seeing an avalanche. the signs are good. the only thing we were waiting for was for the government to start functioning. roads to be built, hospitals and schools to be in place and staffed. security to be assured and so on.
another good news is that Zimbabwe have lived up to their claim to be more mature than Kenya. the judiciary did not fraudulently swear in mugabe. mugabe did not claim victory. simba makoni (his Kalonzo) did not take the VP position and its reported in some media that mugabe wants out but his hardliners are still playing hard ball wanting the poor old man to go for a re-run. are they genuinely convinced he will win or they just want to embarrass him as a repayment for his past wrongs?
it sure must be lonely at the top!
Like someone said one time, people do not grow by lowering costs or controlling them. people grow by creating opportunities and wealth. its like i used to wonder back in college why it was so difficult to get to medical school yet health workers are what Kenyans need most. most lecturers argued that they did not want to dilute the profession. and they thought that that funny thought could hold water. so they chose instead to churn thousands of history and English literature graduates who were of no use to the country than getting more engineers, medical personnel , chemists, pharmacists and the like. its all so misguided. i heard the same argument upon my graduation. that they did not want too many M.Sc students in Science in order to control 'quality'
just as when people claimed that the president had too much powers and so the powers needed to be trimmed. i disagreed. the issue was not the president having too much power, it is actually that the people have too little power. instead of lowering the prezo lets grow the people. Let the people be able to decide on their lives, be able to criticize the prezo etc. empower people so that they dont sell their land without a plan on how they intend to live their lives thereafter. empower them to refuse to die in the name of someone else and so on.
But i have another reason to be happy with the decision. Even if bloated, it will calm nerves now, the market is rearing to go. safaricom IPO is already seeing an avalanche. the signs are good. the only thing we were waiting for was for the government to start functioning. roads to be built, hospitals and schools to be in place and staffed. security to be assured and so on.
another good news is that Zimbabwe have lived up to their claim to be more mature than Kenya. the judiciary did not fraudulently swear in mugabe. mugabe did not claim victory. simba makoni (his Kalonzo) did not take the VP position and its reported in some media that mugabe wants out but his hardliners are still playing hard ball wanting the poor old man to go for a re-run. are they genuinely convinced he will win or they just want to embarrass him as a repayment for his past wrongs?
it sure must be lonely at the top!
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
its a brave (greedy) new world
Its really a brave new world. with few inhibitions, only justifications. this brave world is what makes some driver hold up a whole line of vehicles which may include an ambulance with a patient near his death because the driver is waiting for a parking slot. its this world that allows one to squeeze through the traffic and disobey all the laws of nature and state to get to where he wants.
this new world is good. its what made science to stand out and save lives through transplants, compassion abortions, euthanasia and the like. This brave near world made kings irrelevant with people choosing to succeed in their own names as opposed to doing everything in the name of the king or queen of England, Babito, Baganda or any other king. But this new world has taken off without others who still are willing to die defending what their leaders (or what they perceive them to be) believe in or eat.
I love the new world for one, that everyone knows what he/she wants and gets it. not like the old where women were not supposed to eat chicken, or pegion or quail. the world has released the flavors of those delicacies to everyone for some that food went straight to the hip and tummy. but still there were free to choose. in this world, no one is afraid of getting rich. no need to feel guilty for throwing a tone of half eaten burgers even if million others starve in the next city. this new world is the one that has created billionaires in dollar terms. great sportsmen and women earning a dream a month.
the new world has questioned old order. creeds and pacts. its what has made people shun the slow methodical traditional catholic worship for the fast paced wealth focused Pentecostals which promise instant answers from God. promising that God works just like the stock market. invest now reap tomorrow. the more you put the merrier. and those who approached God like they approached a slot machine went to court to sue the evangelists, bishops, prophets etc of God. could they do it if they weren't brave? That even God is expected to deliver at the promised time lest he faces court cases.
Brave new world has seen a skinny man born of Kenyan dad and white woman in America dare the status quo and declare that he has all the answers to the problems in the greatest nation on earth.
this is the world where my little kid dares to ask me whether i will buy her the Safaricom IPO for her birthday and also why i haven't considered getting her a blackberry. This happening while other people wait for their MPs to decide whether or not to invest in their future.
Its a funny new world too. for others agree to kill innocent Americans and themselves with a belief that that will win them 70 virgins in heaven. I thought a man cannot manage one virgin!
this new world is good. its what made science to stand out and save lives through transplants, compassion abortions, euthanasia and the like. This brave near world made kings irrelevant with people choosing to succeed in their own names as opposed to doing everything in the name of the king or queen of England, Babito, Baganda or any other king. But this new world has taken off without others who still are willing to die defending what their leaders (or what they perceive them to be) believe in or eat.
I love the new world for one, that everyone knows what he/she wants and gets it. not like the old where women were not supposed to eat chicken, or pegion or quail. the world has released the flavors of those delicacies to everyone for some that food went straight to the hip and tummy. but still there were free to choose. in this world, no one is afraid of getting rich. no need to feel guilty for throwing a tone of half eaten burgers even if million others starve in the next city. this new world is the one that has created billionaires in dollar terms. great sportsmen and women earning a dream a month.
the new world has questioned old order. creeds and pacts. its what has made people shun the slow methodical traditional catholic worship for the fast paced wealth focused Pentecostals which promise instant answers from God. promising that God works just like the stock market. invest now reap tomorrow. the more you put the merrier. and those who approached God like they approached a slot machine went to court to sue the evangelists, bishops, prophets etc of God. could they do it if they weren't brave? That even God is expected to deliver at the promised time lest he faces court cases.
Brave new world has seen a skinny man born of Kenyan dad and white woman in America dare the status quo and declare that he has all the answers to the problems in the greatest nation on earth.
this is the world where my little kid dares to ask me whether i will buy her the Safaricom IPO for her birthday and also why i haven't considered getting her a blackberry. This happening while other people wait for their MPs to decide whether or not to invest in their future.
Its a funny new world too. for others agree to kill innocent Americans and themselves with a belief that that will win them 70 virgins in heaven. I thought a man cannot manage one virgin!
Friday, March 28, 2008
it is today!
finally the official opening day for the purchase of safaricom shares has arrived. its a great day and the insert in the dailies has captured it very appropriately.
'We are oppening our doors to new owners ... YOU'
of course safaricom has always been good at adverts. very appropriate, emotional and captivating. indeed now the time has come for every kenyan to own a piece of the most profitable and respected firm in east and central africa. and may be soon in africa. Safaricom is a great going concern, and the profits have been good. And i have been encouraging everyone to take a piece of this pearl.
The only fear is that the shares on offer are too many and they may be an overwhelming supply once they start trading since the retail investors have just about 3.5 billion shares at their disposal. that translates to 17.5 billion shillings. i hope it wont be too much.
however sadly some quarters are still arguing about the owners of mobitelea who own part of vodafon kenya. for me i find this to be an argument whose strength is the same same as that of the shadow of a cockrel who had been starved to death. (or something like that to copy my friend argwings kodhek) its a real lame argument really. since in the first place these guys arent asking the owners of vodafone kenya or even vodafone UK. and again, am aware that its the Govt or Kenya that is selling their shareholding in safaricom and not mobitelea or vodafone Kenya. so its really a non issue to me. Further, am focused on the prize, i cant wait for the situation to be perfect before i plunge. the world belongs to risk takers and not people who are puritan!
the sad part is that ODM may have convinced most of their supports to avoid the IPO. what will happen is that one year down the line, safaricom will be majority owned by investors from PNU region (here read as Kikuyu) and these same guys will come out and say that Kikuyus own everything. just the same way they sold their farms to those investors only to turn years later and cry foul ( ok in some cases coz we also know of unfair allocation of land to some guys from central)
But seriously, this year is a year of great decision making. its upon you as an individual to decide. Does the argument put forward by Ruto, Nyongo and the like convince you? are you going to stop buying this share from GOK just because you dont know who the other owners are? and when you normally buy shares at the NSE, do you normally insist on knowing the others million shareholders before placing a bid?
YOU DECIDE
'We are oppening our doors to new owners ... YOU'
of course safaricom has always been good at adverts. very appropriate, emotional and captivating. indeed now the time has come for every kenyan to own a piece of the most profitable and respected firm in east and central africa. and may be soon in africa. Safaricom is a great going concern, and the profits have been good. And i have been encouraging everyone to take a piece of this pearl.
The only fear is that the shares on offer are too many and they may be an overwhelming supply once they start trading since the retail investors have just about 3.5 billion shares at their disposal. that translates to 17.5 billion shillings. i hope it wont be too much.
however sadly some quarters are still arguing about the owners of mobitelea who own part of vodafon kenya. for me i find this to be an argument whose strength is the same same as that of the shadow of a cockrel who had been starved to death. (or something like that to copy my friend argwings kodhek) its a real lame argument really. since in the first place these guys arent asking the owners of vodafone kenya or even vodafone UK. and again, am aware that its the Govt or Kenya that is selling their shareholding in safaricom and not mobitelea or vodafone Kenya. so its really a non issue to me. Further, am focused on the prize, i cant wait for the situation to be perfect before i plunge. the world belongs to risk takers and not people who are puritan!
the sad part is that ODM may have convinced most of their supports to avoid the IPO. what will happen is that one year down the line, safaricom will be majority owned by investors from PNU region (here read as Kikuyu) and these same guys will come out and say that Kikuyus own everything. just the same way they sold their farms to those investors only to turn years later and cry foul ( ok in some cases coz we also know of unfair allocation of land to some guys from central)
But seriously, this year is a year of great decision making. its upon you as an individual to decide. Does the argument put forward by Ruto, Nyongo and the like convince you? are you going to stop buying this share from GOK just because you dont know who the other owners are? and when you normally buy shares at the NSE, do you normally insist on knowing the others million shareholders before placing a bid?
YOU DECIDE
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Its a roller coaster
I think lately am on a roller coaster. Just last week i was reading all the good stories and even blogged on it. but now this week starts with all the sad stories. I first of all read about the unbelievable human situation in Zimbabwe. I did not believe what the writer was talking about. that bread costs what? about 2000/= and a kilo of lemon goes for just over 4000/=. i never wanted to believe that until i watched the story on CNBC Africa. They said the inflation rate in that sorry country is upwards of 100,000 meaning that cost of production is anything you can easily guess. yet as he did with the currency, mugabe has set an 'official' price for all commodities. any one selling above this price limit is liable to imprisonment. so the poor business people are forced to sell their produce at a price below the cost of production. i cant believe it, or maybe i don't want to even imagine the situation down there. what baffles me ever more is that in spite of this, mugabe enjoys overwhelming support in zimbabwe. Kwani what is wrong with us Africans!!!
and only in the evening, was i to discover that the Zim story was just a preparation for more bad news. that back home the two 'principals' of our peace agreement could not agree on how to share their wealth (read our money) one wanted 44 ministries complete with two assistants each, permanent secretaries and their under-secretaries. each of the above with 2 or 3 armed body guards! meaning in essence that of the 210 elected men and women in the 10th parliament, 132 would have ministerial duties in one way or another. some portfolios include minister for Nairobi, minister for fish, minister for beef!
it just reminds me of a true story told to me by a friend. Her uncle was in a dug out canoe with 12 other men on lake Victoria. the uncle was a perfect swimmer. when they were in the 'middle of the lake' (chuny nam) a storm started and the boat capsized. the man quickly put his swimming skills to use to try and save his life. unfortunately all the other 12 could not swim and instead hang on him. one holding his upper arm, another his lower arm, his legs, waist and even some people climbing on his back. the poor man drowned with all those 12 people. when they were found, they were all clutching onto him in one way or another. Just what we do in Africa, no one wants to create but every one wants to consume!
but what do we make of ODMs recent outburst on safaricom IPO? treat it with the contempt it deserves. These guys are telling us that we must wait for the coast to be clear before we can pounce. the world is imperfect as it is and anyone who waits for hidden owners to be revealed before making a plunge onto safaricom will have himself for a consoler. my thinking is this: i dont care if that phantom shareholder makes 10billion or 20 billion or whatever there is for such people to make. What matters to me is that this is a great company and will continue to grow.
and only in the evening, was i to discover that the Zim story was just a preparation for more bad news. that back home the two 'principals' of our peace agreement could not agree on how to share their wealth (read our money) one wanted 44 ministries complete with two assistants each, permanent secretaries and their under-secretaries. each of the above with 2 or 3 armed body guards! meaning in essence that of the 210 elected men and women in the 10th parliament, 132 would have ministerial duties in one way or another. some portfolios include minister for Nairobi, minister for fish, minister for beef!
it just reminds me of a true story told to me by a friend. Her uncle was in a dug out canoe with 12 other men on lake Victoria. the uncle was a perfect swimmer. when they were in the 'middle of the lake' (chuny nam) a storm started and the boat capsized. the man quickly put his swimming skills to use to try and save his life. unfortunately all the other 12 could not swim and instead hang on him. one holding his upper arm, another his lower arm, his legs, waist and even some people climbing on his back. the poor man drowned with all those 12 people. when they were found, they were all clutching onto him in one way or another. Just what we do in Africa, no one wants to create but every one wants to consume!
but what do we make of ODMs recent outburst on safaricom IPO? treat it with the contempt it deserves. These guys are telling us that we must wait for the coast to be clear before we can pounce. the world is imperfect as it is and anyone who waits for hidden owners to be revealed before making a plunge onto safaricom will have himself for a consoler. my thinking is this: i dont care if that phantom shareholder makes 10billion or 20 billion or whatever there is for such people to make. What matters to me is that this is a great company and will continue to grow.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Happy Easter
On 28th of Dec, it never appeared possible that we would be celebrating the sacrifice of our lord this year. Not after everyone went of everyone else's throat. but now we remember the salvation with much renewed hope , belief and future. Tomorrow in the via crucis, i will be remembering those whose lives were snapped up during the moment of madness. the same kind of madness that visited the jews and decided to murder an innocent man, for what? POLITICS. for even Jesus who came from that obscure part called Nazareth was as unelectable as the other guy. and his death was to stop him from claiming to be King.
Happy Easter to all
Happy Easter to all
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Good signs for the times
The past few weeks have had very good signs for the nation of Kenya. We have been seeing genuine commitment towards rebuilding a country which was torn apart by tribal rivalries and competition. i have also seen leaders choosing not to be selfish and agreeing to accede substantial ground to others. very good
other good news include the formation of the brand kenya board to market the country not only to outsiders but also to Kenyans themselves
But the news all Kenyans were waiting for was the announcement of the safaricom IPO. the mother of all IPOs in Africa after the govt valued the mobile service provider at more than 200 billion shillings. i say more than since the offer price of 5 bob is actually a discount. All one has to do is buy 2000 shares. What will happen? people will sell their cattle, land, shares etc to participate in the deal of a life time. In the eye-shot (he he) one cannot see any other company which will grow at the same rate as safaricom. in fact safaricom is not great because of its size or its 10 million subscribers and counting, its great more for rate of its growth. netting just about 1/3 of kenyans in 8 years in no mean feat. And from the look of things, safaricom appears not to be done just yet. what with their offensive into the data market, E1 lines et al. their mpesa product is fast becoming another must have commodity in the country after they forced their airtime in that category over the decade.
But what will happen when you place 10billion shares in the market? will it generate the same excitement kengen did. will it cause the market to collapse? will the rouge stockbrokers have even a better field day? will it renew interest in get rich quick schemes and pyramid schemes?
whatever happens however some things are certain
one that safaricom will get unparalleled mileage from free advertising during the offer. and two that the kenya shillings will really get a boost. another sure thing is that the market will lose substantially as investors position themselves for the 'nyamami'
and i am really looking forward to another bull run like the one of 2006. it will be possible since everything will be just right. politics , fine etc
in fact another refreshing news was the sponsorship by supersport and GTV of the local football premiership. Now the local game will at least breathe. and another event that will help the game is Raila's appointment as Prime minister. since he has shown intention to continue attending the games, his spectator ship will give the game the much needed high profile publicity it requires and drive back the all important gate fees. and talking of sports, last week i again accompanied my rugby mad nephew to the bamburi series. the games were very entertaining but another thing which was more entertaining was the audience , sorry the fans. very funny jokes flying left and right. loud 'insults' on players and the referee. but my nephew assured me that ruj players are gentlemen and the insults last only as long as the game. after the game all the players congregate in the bar for binge drinking! and he was right since as we stood to go, the public address asked people to bring in their cars and proceed to the party!
other good news include the formation of the brand kenya board to market the country not only to outsiders but also to Kenyans themselves
But the news all Kenyans were waiting for was the announcement of the safaricom IPO. the mother of all IPOs in Africa after the govt valued the mobile service provider at more than 200 billion shillings. i say more than since the offer price of 5 bob is actually a discount. All one has to do is buy 2000 shares. What will happen? people will sell their cattle, land, shares etc to participate in the deal of a life time. In the eye-shot (he he) one cannot see any other company which will grow at the same rate as safaricom. in fact safaricom is not great because of its size or its 10 million subscribers and counting, its great more for rate of its growth. netting just about 1/3 of kenyans in 8 years in no mean feat. And from the look of things, safaricom appears not to be done just yet. what with their offensive into the data market, E1 lines et al. their mpesa product is fast becoming another must have commodity in the country after they forced their airtime in that category over the decade.
But what will happen when you place 10billion shares in the market? will it generate the same excitement kengen did. will it cause the market to collapse? will the rouge stockbrokers have even a better field day? will it renew interest in get rich quick schemes and pyramid schemes?
whatever happens however some things are certain
one that safaricom will get unparalleled mileage from free advertising during the offer. and two that the kenya shillings will really get a boost. another sure thing is that the market will lose substantially as investors position themselves for the 'nyamami'
and i am really looking forward to another bull run like the one of 2006. it will be possible since everything will be just right. politics , fine etc
in fact another refreshing news was the sponsorship by supersport and GTV of the local football premiership. Now the local game will at least breathe. and another event that will help the game is Raila's appointment as Prime minister. since he has shown intention to continue attending the games, his spectator ship will give the game the much needed high profile publicity it requires and drive back the all important gate fees. and talking of sports, last week i again accompanied my rugby mad nephew to the bamburi series. the games were very entertaining but another thing which was more entertaining was the audience , sorry the fans. very funny jokes flying left and right. loud 'insults' on players and the referee. but my nephew assured me that ruj players are gentlemen and the insults last only as long as the game. after the game all the players congregate in the bar for binge drinking! and he was right since as we stood to go, the public address asked people to bring in their cars and proceed to the party!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
fast earners!
I could just be plain naive or daft, slow, old fashioned or any other thing but the story about Spitzer and the 22 year old Dupre has simply shocked me. not so much for the moral hazard though. ok lets say i have heard of some strip bars in Nairobi where old potbellied men pay upwards of 1K entry fees to see young women remove their clothes. I even read in the Nairobi star of some place in eastleigh where men pay upto 20,000 shillings for a night with a woman. Even about some high class middle level manager at barclays bank who doubles as a passion worker for upto 50K a night in some cases. but nothing prepared me for this one, 1000 dollars each hour??? on top of paying for her travel across 3 states, top notch hotel , mini bar , exit fees of more than 2000 dollars etc. What !!!
what i dont know is whether i find it shocking that some people make this kind of money or that some spend this kind of money or some are this rich.
maybe thats why my friend says kuna watu na viatu, with some getting accorded 120, 500 able bodied men and women to protect them while the scum of society languish in despair.
its a steep learning curve for sure
what i dont know is whether i find it shocking that some people make this kind of money or that some spend this kind of money or some are this rich.
maybe thats why my friend says kuna watu na viatu, with some getting accorded 120, 500 able bodied men and women to protect them while the scum of society languish in despair.
its a steep learning curve for sure
Monday, March 03, 2008
too much rat race
Just the other day when i was enjoying a lazy-after-lunch ride in a colleagues car, we almost had a fatal crash, why because the other car which should have given us way decided that the split second was enough to give him the much needed lead in any traffic jam ahead. in fact i must thank the colleague's very good brakes and his alertness and presence of mind else i would not be blogging today. the other car got 'its' way and we followed only for us to meet the inevitable jam but now we were in a different 'lane' and we had an advantage.
that small incidence reminded us just how competing we Kenyans are. people always want to be ahead. even when walking along the hawker packed roads in the CBD, people push and shove just to get ahead but for what gain. in fact i normally marvel why even when coming out of a plane, people shove and push yet you still have to spend almost your whole life waiting for the luggage. and at that time first come is not always first served.
But competition is not only in the roads, alleys and airplane, even after the historic signing of the peace deal between Raila and Kibaki, Kenyans are asking themselves whether Raila or Kibaki lost in the deal. Was is it about winning and losing or about peace and drafting a way forward for the country!!!
it is this obsession with winning and losing that makes parents invest whole life saving on their kids to go to the 'best' schools. best here meaning schools that will appear in the papers as top 10s, top 50 or 100. it doesnt matter if the kids become all books but no substance. some even fail to make relationships even though they are 'academic giants'.
But if you don't have it you cant get it and so most schools that find themselves under intense pressure sometimes involve themselves in dirty tricks including 'loaning' academic superstars from other schools to boost their mean grade. some teachers enforce very high 'pass marks' which must be attained if you are to sit the national exam. enough kids have been forced to repeat and consequently had their lives ruined due to this madness. some teachers openly steal exams for their students with very negative consequences. last week the minister for education showed us a case where the student had written whole notes on his shirt. reminding me of a time in the university when some girls were caught with notes on their inner thighs. problem was the invigilator did not know how to show that evidence to the university senate!
And yesterday i was talking to some parents whose kids got Ys in last years KCSE. meaning that the results were canceled due to cheating. the school had more than 15% cheating cases and so all the kids, innocent or otherwise were affected. the penalty is a 2 year ban. the parents are wondering what to do with 18year-olds for 2 good years before they can go back to redo the papers. All for what? just because the Teachers wanted their school to shine. schools which have had such incidences in the past like Kisii high face very strict marking and invigilating which also affects the students performance.
All for what ? Winning and losing!
that small incidence reminded us just how competing we Kenyans are. people always want to be ahead. even when walking along the hawker packed roads in the CBD, people push and shove just to get ahead but for what gain. in fact i normally marvel why even when coming out of a plane, people shove and push yet you still have to spend almost your whole life waiting for the luggage. and at that time first come is not always first served.
But competition is not only in the roads, alleys and airplane, even after the historic signing of the peace deal between Raila and Kibaki, Kenyans are asking themselves whether Raila or Kibaki lost in the deal. Was is it about winning and losing or about peace and drafting a way forward for the country!!!
it is this obsession with winning and losing that makes parents invest whole life saving on their kids to go to the 'best' schools. best here meaning schools that will appear in the papers as top 10s, top 50 or 100. it doesnt matter if the kids become all books but no substance. some even fail to make relationships even though they are 'academic giants'.
But if you don't have it you cant get it and so most schools that find themselves under intense pressure sometimes involve themselves in dirty tricks including 'loaning' academic superstars from other schools to boost their mean grade. some teachers enforce very high 'pass marks' which must be attained if you are to sit the national exam. enough kids have been forced to repeat and consequently had their lives ruined due to this madness. some teachers openly steal exams for their students with very negative consequences. last week the minister for education showed us a case where the student had written whole notes on his shirt. reminding me of a time in the university when some girls were caught with notes on their inner thighs. problem was the invigilator did not know how to show that evidence to the university senate!
And yesterday i was talking to some parents whose kids got Ys in last years KCSE. meaning that the results were canceled due to cheating. the school had more than 15% cheating cases and so all the kids, innocent or otherwise were affected. the penalty is a 2 year ban. the parents are wondering what to do with 18year-olds for 2 good years before they can go back to redo the papers. All for what? just because the Teachers wanted their school to shine. schools which have had such incidences in the past like Kisii high face very strict marking and invigilating which also affects the students performance.
All for what ? Winning and losing!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Hurray!
At last! at a longed for last, the peace deal has been signed and what makes me happier is the fact that the pact has been celebrated across the board leaving me to wonder who really was against us. it appears like every kenyan wanted just this so how come it took so long? Well that doesn't matter now.
and congratulations to all those youth who did exceptionally well in the last KCSE. enjoy your victories the future is even brighter!
and congratulations to all those youth who did exceptionally well in the last KCSE. enjoy your victories the future is even brighter!
Monday, February 25, 2008
flying without perching
It was okonkwo who said (or should we say chinua achebe) that since men had learnt to shoot without missing , the bird (i forget its name) had learnt to fly without perching. So last weekend i decided to use that wisdom after realizing that the crude street thugs of Nairobi had learnt to steal car lamps even when the car was in motion. well i still dont get how they do it. but i went to the same mechanics who apparently give those thugs the orders for such things for a solution. they were more than willing to help me secure the lamps. it involved screwing a thin plate over the lamp. it makes it look ugly but at least its safe. at that time i also heard such bizare stories as of those who can steal even your drive shaft while you are in a traffic jam!
but something nice passed when we all fought our former neighbors. it seems gakuo was going on with his work at the city center and there are many new traffic lights put in strategic places. they also look very beautiful. now all we have to do is obey them otherwise they will become just another street flower like the ones in museum hill round about.
the only other thing Gakuo needs to fight is for the state to remove the GSU personnel from uhuru park. the inconvenience these guys are causing lovers is immense. yesterday, i passed several couples at the roadsides bordering uhuru and cetral parks since the usually sweet lawns are still out of bounds.
but something nice passed when we all fought our former neighbors. it seems gakuo was going on with his work at the city center and there are many new traffic lights put in strategic places. they also look very beautiful. now all we have to do is obey them otherwise they will become just another street flower like the ones in museum hill round about.
the only other thing Gakuo needs to fight is for the state to remove the GSU personnel from uhuru park. the inconvenience these guys are causing lovers is immense. yesterday, i passed several couples at the roadsides bordering uhuru and cetral parks since the usually sweet lawns are still out of bounds.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Kuna watu ....na viatu!
i was mesmerized to see the amount of importance that America attaches to her top diplomat Condi rice. the security detail was so high that it reminded one of those exaggerated American movies. when after talking to our kibaki condi was being escorted by her Kenyan equivalent Moses wetangula, our own man looked like a school boy in his own country! the sheer respect that the Americans in kenya accorded that small body woman was just amazing. And If i thought condi would be 'diplomatic' i was dead wrong, she was the most straight talking westerner yet in this crisis. insisting that grand coalition and not a mirage of it was the only option. so our president elect Raila odinga has no option but to share power with the losers. the losers however had in their true fashion insisted like a mugger that "you know what i have already thugged it and its now mine go get another one!" just like they do when they mug you of your valuables.
so what will be next for the miracle man? i had thought that his was a move of wit and strategy but people are increasingly proving me wrong and condemnation is rising. and in all this what we hope for is speedy resolution so that we can get back to our lives, our stocks, our buses and our other biasharas.
elsewhere Kenyans feel that the country can do with one less sermon. it appears that after the fracas broke out, every Kenyan turned into a peace preacher telling other Kenyans to refrain from violence, hate, disrespect. they have reminded each other on the need to live as brothers just as they have lived before. songs have been sung to tell people just that. talk shows, interviews of people in the street name it. but all of that is just a sermon! no one is coming up to say "this is what am going to do or this is what i have done, or this is what am doing" each person is busy talking to the other person about what the other person ought to do to avert the crisis! just a sermon
but what continues to worry me is the increasing unrest in schools. does it have anything to do with the election theft? they say where leaders lack vision people perish. so if leaders show that robbery with violence in front of camera is legitimate, why cant youth become violent in schools? which brings me to my shock of the year so far. that in this day and age, kids still bully each other in schools?! I went to secondary school almost 20 years ago and among the first things the headmaster told us was that isf anyone as much as called you a 'mono' (a derogative for a freshman), he would face the 6 of the best from him! well no one ever wanted to face those dreaded 6 from that HM in fact no one wanted to face even 1 from him or lets put this way , you never wanted to cross his path in a negative way! so i was never bullied and never saw any bullying in the 4 years i spent in that school. so i was rather shocked that such acts were tolerated in some schools to an extent that one boy had to lose his life! and this was only after another boy suffered grave harm last year after he was sodomized by senior students as a freshman in a school in Nairobi. quite shocking.
but the good news is that the ministry has put rogue teachers who over charge parents on notice. i hope they make good their threat
so what will be next for the miracle man? i had thought that his was a move of wit and strategy but people are increasingly proving me wrong and condemnation is rising. and in all this what we hope for is speedy resolution so that we can get back to our lives, our stocks, our buses and our other biasharas.
elsewhere Kenyans feel that the country can do with one less sermon. it appears that after the fracas broke out, every Kenyan turned into a peace preacher telling other Kenyans to refrain from violence, hate, disrespect. they have reminded each other on the need to live as brothers just as they have lived before. songs have been sung to tell people just that. talk shows, interviews of people in the street name it. but all of that is just a sermon! no one is coming up to say "this is what am going to do or this is what i have done, or this is what am doing" each person is busy talking to the other person about what the other person ought to do to avert the crisis! just a sermon
but what continues to worry me is the increasing unrest in schools. does it have anything to do with the election theft? they say where leaders lack vision people perish. so if leaders show that robbery with violence in front of camera is legitimate, why cant youth become violent in schools? which brings me to my shock of the year so far. that in this day and age, kids still bully each other in schools?! I went to secondary school almost 20 years ago and among the first things the headmaster told us was that isf anyone as much as called you a 'mono' (a derogative for a freshman), he would face the 6 of the best from him! well no one ever wanted to face those dreaded 6 from that HM in fact no one wanted to face even 1 from him or lets put this way , you never wanted to cross his path in a negative way! so i was never bullied and never saw any bullying in the 4 years i spent in that school. so i was rather shocked that such acts were tolerated in some schools to an extent that one boy had to lose his life! and this was only after another boy suffered grave harm last year after he was sodomized by senior students as a freshman in a school in Nairobi. quite shocking.
but the good news is that the ministry has put rogue teachers who over charge parents on notice. i hope they make good their threat
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
of youth and risks
Of late i have been having many people asking me what i think about the business environment in Kenya, like prof Ndungu, i have been saying that the future is so bright you may need shades. but yesterday, i met a real challenger. she started by saying that she had just over 5 million shillings in foreign currency stashed away in a safe foreign bank and wanted to to know the best investment for the time. i quickly suggested that with that kind of money she was better off in Mpesa agency especially in nyanza or rift valley. am told that queues in the Mpesa agents offices in kisumu are stretching several kilometers and the agents are capping withdrawals at 4K only. in those joints you can also sell safaricom airtime which is almost the next most priced commodity after food in that city. so i suggested that she could open several of those. but she said that she was afraid, the employees would defraud her of the money and people would not tell her the truth. even though i tried to assure her that its impossible to be defrauded since the commission is paid by Safaricom directly to the agents, she had a thousand and one reasons why that would fail.
so next i told her that transport is doing very badly in the region and i even know someone who had to pay 450 shillings for a distance of 80KM on the Kisumu busia road. it normally costs only about 120 shillings. I therefore suggested that if she was investor enough, then she was better off in the public transport. but she said that it was too risky to contemplate and in any case public transport never has good returns. the vehicles will break down, fuel is too costly, drivers cheat and touts are hopelessly corrupt. in any case she did not want to be involved in anything that can cause accidents and death.
i then said the next best alternative is to invest in a funeral home and hearse especially in Siaya or busia since such services are non existent. "Good Lord! Whats wrong with you!!!"
Ok so what else? i next suggested that since wholesale businesses in north rift were burnt down and their owners expelled , she could acquire a large truck and operate a mobile wholesale to target small scale kiosk owners etc. again she brought in the high cost of running the business, monitoring, management, she claimed you need experience with wholesale and FMCG etc etc! phew so i said get away satan if you cant see the light then just head directly to stock market and place your money in equity. still she said that brokers were corrupt and singled out thuo, nyaga, munge and the like. she also said that the market may crush, she better wait until things started going up! ok so what of bonds? she asked whether i really really believed the interest rates would go up and if i really believed that confidence would come back to enable people to get back to those things. ok so why did you come to ask me for my advice then my dear? she asked why i did not mention fixed deposit account!
"sigh!" why should such a young person not even in her thirties put money in fixed deposit accounts? if the youth cannot take risks who will?
Another young person who refused to take risk is one Danson Mungatana who sees that a coalition government is too risky for his ambitions. the prospect of a re-run after 2 years is even unthinkable.
as that was happening, another young and brand new MP who floored my guy Mutahi Kagwe (the guy did a brilliant job in the ministry lets admit) was showing the world the consequences of risking other peoples lives. he has vaguely been accused of fanning violence so he has to risk exposing himself by writing an essay. surely Americans have a way with humiliating us Africans. how can they say that to our 'honorable' MPs? but after the man made me proud by rejecting the letter, he went ahead and threatened to sue. i agree these guys need to be investigated and punished but writing an essay? lol
so next i told her that transport is doing very badly in the region and i even know someone who had to pay 450 shillings for a distance of 80KM on the Kisumu busia road. it normally costs only about 120 shillings. I therefore suggested that if she was investor enough, then she was better off in the public transport. but she said that it was too risky to contemplate and in any case public transport never has good returns. the vehicles will break down, fuel is too costly, drivers cheat and touts are hopelessly corrupt. in any case she did not want to be involved in anything that can cause accidents and death.
i then said the next best alternative is to invest in a funeral home and hearse especially in Siaya or busia since such services are non existent. "Good Lord! Whats wrong with you!!!"
Ok so what else? i next suggested that since wholesale businesses in north rift were burnt down and their owners expelled , she could acquire a large truck and operate a mobile wholesale to target small scale kiosk owners etc. again she brought in the high cost of running the business, monitoring, management, she claimed you need experience with wholesale and FMCG etc etc! phew so i said get away satan if you cant see the light then just head directly to stock market and place your money in equity. still she said that brokers were corrupt and singled out thuo, nyaga, munge and the like. she also said that the market may crush, she better wait until things started going up! ok so what of bonds? she asked whether i really really believed the interest rates would go up and if i really believed that confidence would come back to enable people to get back to those things. ok so why did you come to ask me for my advice then my dear? she asked why i did not mention fixed deposit account!
"sigh!" why should such a young person not even in her thirties put money in fixed deposit accounts? if the youth cannot take risks who will?
Another young person who refused to take risk is one Danson Mungatana who sees that a coalition government is too risky for his ambitions. the prospect of a re-run after 2 years is even unthinkable.
as that was happening, another young and brand new MP who floored my guy Mutahi Kagwe (the guy did a brilliant job in the ministry lets admit) was showing the world the consequences of risking other peoples lives. he has vaguely been accused of fanning violence so he has to risk exposing himself by writing an essay. surely Americans have a way with humiliating us Africans. how can they say that to our 'honorable' MPs? but after the man made me proud by rejecting the letter, he went ahead and threatened to sue. i agree these guys need to be investigated and punished but writing an essay? lol
Friday, February 08, 2008
....hutakuja kwetu!
one grand ban we feared in our childhood days was the 'usikuje kwetu' ban. well you see only a few households had the all important TV set. as little kids, we loved to watch Ojwang and his vitimbi antics. the show would come on Saturday and the following week, every other kid in school would be talking about the last episode. it would be thoroughly humiliating if you had missed it since it meant you would not talk where 'people' were in the subsequent week. it meant therefore that the kids whose fathers or mothers had the great box lived princely lives, they were not to be touched. even if they insulted you, stepped on your foot or took your marbles or polythene paper ball, you just looked the other side since you never wanted to be told "usikuje kwetu!"
But with time, that ban threat, lost its scare. I dont know whether it was Ojwang losing his joke or the east bringing in cheaper TV sets. a change is always good and in 2003, one hated sweaty man called murungaru showed us that you did not need a land rover to govern a country. we for the first time learnt that police in Nissan xtrail, or toyota land cruiser or even Mercedes Benz can still shoot to kill. well for that he got the "usikuje kwetu" ban.
And this week, the Americans also seem to have forgotten the existence of the Chinese block and are telling kenyan leaders that the ban is in the corner. but give it to Martha Karua, she told them to the face "adak ma kata ionge" (my life is fine even without you!) well sometimes i love Martha for forthrightness. she told the UK to define who was whose donor since trade relations were very skewed. the poor old clay did not have any answer. and this time she retorted that the US is no heaven!
and Martha can afford to talk like that coz she knows, that china just loves it when the west behaves that way. they welcome African leaders with wide open arms. their problem is one, they have billions of products but no market. so to Africa they only say slaughter each other if you must but please buy our goods! well that was the policy of the western nations in the years of mobutu sese seko, kenyata, idi amin, bokasa, mengistu , kamuzu banda name it.
But with time, that ban threat, lost its scare. I dont know whether it was Ojwang losing his joke or the east bringing in cheaper TV sets. a change is always good and in 2003, one hated sweaty man called murungaru showed us that you did not need a land rover to govern a country. we for the first time learnt that police in Nissan xtrail, or toyota land cruiser or even Mercedes Benz can still shoot to kill. well for that he got the "usikuje kwetu" ban.
And this week, the Americans also seem to have forgotten the existence of the Chinese block and are telling kenyan leaders that the ban is in the corner. but give it to Martha Karua, she told them to the face "adak ma kata ionge" (my life is fine even without you!) well sometimes i love Martha for forthrightness. she told the UK to define who was whose donor since trade relations were very skewed. the poor old clay did not have any answer. and this time she retorted that the US is no heaven!
and Martha can afford to talk like that coz she knows, that china just loves it when the west behaves that way. they welcome African leaders with wide open arms. their problem is one, they have billions of products but no market. so to Africa they only say slaughter each other if you must but please buy our goods! well that was the policy of the western nations in the years of mobutu sese seko, kenyata, idi amin, bokasa, mengistu , kamuzu banda name it.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
of jinis and jinxes
Ok maybe i got jinxed after posting on the coastal jinis. i have simply been unable to blog! a case of what we used to call brain lock.
but yesterday was the traditional ash Wednesday. the beginning of a 40 day period of reflection, silence repentance and supplication in the catholic and other orthodox faiths also known as lent. I think I saw Philo Ikonya in a fashionable sack cloth during the mass. i remember seeing her on TV the previous day talking about the need for Kenyans to wear sack cloth or even a small piece of sack to mourn the more than 1000 lives we lost but more so to mourn the loss of democracy and justice in our country. the lent period couldn't have come at a more opportune moment, that all will be called to truthfully reevaluate their souls and give this country a chance. As they say Kenyan does not have enough resources to satisfy for one man/womans wants but it sure does have all we need to satisfy all our needs. this time should help us to exorcise the jini of tribalism. it already helped people build careers, get land, loans, wives etc but now that jini must go!
elsewhere, the media is finding itself between the proverbial rock and a hard place. on the one hand its being urged to help attract tourists by reporting Kenya positively, not to show the deaths, the fire burning , the police shooting etc. but others insist the media failed to show the plight of the weak and the dying, even some IDPs are suffering more coz their plight is not being brought to the fore by the media. again, do we gain more by hiding the image denting truth or by highlighting the crimes of state on its own people?
and finally, i heard that patrons in my favorite joint were the other day arrested by police for drinking past the hour also known as a crime of thirst!
but yesterday was the traditional ash Wednesday. the beginning of a 40 day period of reflection, silence repentance and supplication in the catholic and other orthodox faiths also known as lent. I think I saw Philo Ikonya in a fashionable sack cloth during the mass. i remember seeing her on TV the previous day talking about the need for Kenyans to wear sack cloth or even a small piece of sack to mourn the more than 1000 lives we lost but more so to mourn the loss of democracy and justice in our country. the lent period couldn't have come at a more opportune moment, that all will be called to truthfully reevaluate their souls and give this country a chance. As they say Kenyan does not have enough resources to satisfy for one man/womans wants but it sure does have all we need to satisfy all our needs. this time should help us to exorcise the jini of tribalism. it already helped people build careers, get land, loans, wives etc but now that jini must go!
elsewhere, the media is finding itself between the proverbial rock and a hard place. on the one hand its being urged to help attract tourists by reporting Kenya positively, not to show the deaths, the fire burning , the police shooting etc. but others insist the media failed to show the plight of the weak and the dying, even some IDPs are suffering more coz their plight is not being brought to the fore by the media. again, do we gain more by hiding the image denting truth or by highlighting the crimes of state on its own people?
and finally, i heard that patrons in my favorite joint were the other day arrested by police for drinking past the hour also known as a crime of thirst!
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