Daily Round-up

How to Cross the Digital Divide, Rwanda-Style
A look at how Rwanda is positioning itself to be the IT hub of Sub-Sahara Africa– by strategically building the necessary infrastructure and training it’s young people.

Rwanda Rising: A New Model of Economic Development
A move from merely seeking foreign aid to seeking private investment.

Bush’s theological discourse:Bible “probably not” literally true

Jipange, Gutuka: Please, please, not another party!

It is heart breaking to see some of our young promising politicians fall by the wayside because of impatience and lack of judgment. It would be sad to see KJ and the group fall into this same trap that some politicians have fallen into. I leave it to you to count the victims.

read also a piece by jamaapoa

It almost goes without saying that the only solution our politicians see these days is either to jump from one party to the other or to form their own party. Well, the political party bill is going to tighten things a little bit, this may not be an option any longer. One wonders, what happened to the idea of reforming from within? Where are the mavericks?

KJ and the group may have the best of intentions, but if they are not shrewd enough to navigate the murky political waters they will be drowned into political oblivion.

Obama whom they say is their inspiration is known to be smooth operator. He did not win because of the youth vote alone. KJ and the group should remember that the challenges facing Kenya cannot be solved by the youth alone as much as they should be in the forefront of the nation building.

What Kenyans and young Kenyans in particular need is not another party or “movement” that serve no other purpose but the interest of its founders. What they need are leaders who will champion their cause at all costs, not out of convenience or only when it doesn’t touch their pockets as many of them have shown as recently, but out strong conviction to serve.

KJ and the group should read carefully the mood of the public before they make any major moves. Yes, we do need a focused movement, but please! Not another party.

Jipange, Gutuka, you have my vote as long as you agitate for the issues that really matter for the Kenyan youth.

Remittance in the Midst of Economic Downturn

 

If you are a Kenyan living anywhere in the United States  you might have atleast felt a pinch at  the pocket by now. From rising prices to housing meltdown things are not looking good. In spite of all these,remittances from Kenyans abroad have been steadily increasing since the beginning of the year. According to the Central Bank of Kenya, Kenyans remitted about 22 billion ($330,000,000) in the first half of this year and increase of 23% above last year over the same period.These figures do no include informal remittances.

 

If you are like me, sending money home has become so much part and parcel of me-its like a bill I have to pay every month or else….It’s sad to say, there are people back home who actually look forward to receiving from me on a consistent basis. 

While a few Kenyans might have climbed the economic ladder, many hard working Kenyans struggle just to get by; parents struggle to feed and take their children to school. The situation is exacerbated by  chronic unemployment -most youths cannot find jobs however hard they try. Those with relatives abroad, look forward for a boost. So, even in the midst of the economic down-turn, Kenyans overseas nevertheless find ways to send money home.

Let our politicians who would rather serve themselves than serve Kenyan borrow a leaf from the diaspora.

VIP lane for Kibaki, Raila and Kalonzo

The minister for metropolitan Mutula Kilonzo announced the other day that the President, PM and VP will get their own lane if the new plan for Nairobi is implemented. In my estimation, I think this is the biggest joke so far. Is this the best idea that they can came up with?-Really!

The argument  that this lane will also be used by the fire engines, police and ambulances is not up to snuff. How many fire engines  and ambulances do we have in Nairobi? Don’t even get me started on the police. 

Give us break Mr. Kilonzo! come up with something more sensible, who did the cost and benefit analysis anyway. Think about Nairobians first. These leaders are not special breed of people in need special treatment while-or are they?

Resurrection

To me Easter is always a time of reflection and re-examination of the claims of Christianity. Ingrained in the Christian faith is the tenet of Jesus’ death and resurrection- without which it is baseless and meaningless. While many attest to the fact that Jesus lived in the first century, the nature of his death and most importantly his resurrection is still debated. A recently released Iranian film “the messiah” depicts the Islam version of this phenomena.

Art has an interesting piece on resurrection here.

Lee Strobel also has an interesting discussion in the piece below.

It’s power play, stupid.

Any clear thinking political observer would agree that the recent press by the head of the civil service (Muthaura)was orchestrated by the forces that be within the PNU in order to usurp the perceived power and control from the soon to be PM. It is hard to imagine that Muthaura acted without the knowledge of the PNU bigwigs. Sentiments from Kilonzo and Wentangula supports this idea.

The coming of Raila into the government seem to have caused a lot of uneasiness within the PNU. The fear is that Raila may mess the rigid system that is already in place where accountability is non existent. It seems Muthaura and company will fight hard not to be answerable to anybody …not Raila. The so called clarification of the accord by Muthaura was meant to send a message to ODM that a boundary has already been set. Raila and ODM are coming into the government not as equals as in a coalition but at the discrection of the President… forget what the parliament is yet to ratify.

The the power play and the media circus is just beginning.

Tourists Wanted

Apparently the Kenyan tourism industry dropped about 90 percent in terms of hotel bookings over the last two months. Experts predict that the income of the billion dollar industry will drop by at-least half.

To keep their business running the hotels in Mombasa and other tourist areas have slashed their prices to attract both domestic and foreign tourists.

It’s was interesting to watch Raila plea for the tourist to come back. He “sort of” led by example by taking a short vacation to Mombasa.

This industry needs an aggressive and ambitious leadership that will make bold moves and put Kenya on the tourism map once again. I hope the new government will give t the tourism ministry to somebody who is able to produce results. It would be nice to start seeing ads on cnn promoting Kenya as tourist destination as Tanzania is already doing.

According to this year’s WEF’s Travel and Tourism Report Kenya scored 3.53 on the Tourism and Competitiveness Index (TTCI) and ranked 101 out of 130 countries down from position 98 the previous year. Kenya lagged behind South Africa (60),Botswana (87),Tanzania (88) and Namibia (92).

On the domestic front the government needs to intervene in ways that would make domestic tourism more affordable. As it stand now many of these tourists areas are beyond reach for locals. I bet you there are many people who have never gone to the National Park but live just a few miles away.

I have traveled extensively throughout Kenya, thanks to my job- I don’t think I would have done on my own volition as much as I like traveling. My personal experience is that other than seeing the beauty that this country has to offer, traveling beyond ones own enclave makes one appreciate his/her country more and even more importantly other people.

So, how about promoting domestic tourism as a way of peace building and reconciliation- just a thought.

Kenya: deal or no deal

Even as a Kenyans heaved a euphoric sigh of relief after the signing of the deal between the two protagonists, we still have “doubting Thomases”. It understandable that that some are doubting, we have seen so many times agreements trashed without remorse that it is difficult to believe that this deal will come to fruition.The question is, can we trust our MPs to pass this deal through parliament? There is a lot at stake,we cannot afford to allow the situation to slide back to anarchy . We have to thank Annan for a job well done, even though the deal could have come much sooner. I think the experience he has gained during this process is worth a bestselling book. To those who feel short changed- get over it! Lets begin the healing process and built our country.

Raila,Kibaki body language