Items by volt

Voltaire's

  • Donde Bill must be revisited if bank rates are to come down

    Posted: March 31, 2010, 12:09 pm by volt

    DAILY NATION Blogs Jaindi Kisero

    Jaindi Kisero

    By JAINDI KISERO (email the author)

    Posted Tuesday, March 30 2010 at 20:10

    The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Kenya has put out new statistics which should be of interest to policymakers.

    Here are a few highlights. First, the Government has revised its domestic borrowing programme for the current financial year by a massive Sh50 billion.

    Clearly, we are still on track with the strategy of reflating against the slump. The debt mountain is growing bigger and bigger. The positive side to it is that the debt-financed government spending strategy is beginning to make an impact at least in terms of the take-up of loans by the private sector.

    According to the statement by the MPC, private sector borrowing is beginning to pick up both in the volume and in the number of loans.

    The number of loan accounts increased from 1.6 million to 1.8 million between December 2009 and February this year. Gross loans increased from Sh717 billion in December 2009 to Sh783 in the same period.

    MPC has consequently reduced the bank rate to signal to commercial banks that they should reduced lending rates.

    The MPC has no powers to dictate rates to commercial banks. But no commercial bank will respond to the signal coming from the Central Bank of Kenya.

    Banks routinely ignore the MPC, thus undermining the monetary policy. The latest MPC statement has more numbers and statistics. But I will not cram this column with more statistics. Ours is a society with a deep-seated phobia for numbers and economic statistics.

    You cannot single out one MP you can describe as having a sharp antenna for economic issues. The Tenth Parliament has more or less relegated economic policy to the back burner.

    Admittedly, the strengthened parliamentary committee system has become more vigilant in interrogating the expenditure side of the Budget — in exposing graft and summoning State bureaucrats to appear before them to answer questions and defend their decisions.

    But in the macro-economic policy arena, Parliament is yet to make a major mark ever since Mr Joe Donde literally forced major changes in the conduct of monetary policy.

    The MPC as presently constituted has the fingerprints of not only Mr Joe Donde but also of the Eighth Parliament.

    Today, a significant happening such as publication of a new monetary policy statement will happen without as much as a whimper from Parliament.

    THE POLITICAL CLASS ONLY GETS excited and passionate when it comes to the issue of tribe. See how they have reduced the constitutional review process to a matter of ethnic calculus of power.

    Indeed, the obsession of the moment for our leaders is how the constitutional review process might affect their tribes. Which tribe will end up with more counties?

    Which tribe will have more senators? How can the incumbents ensure that they will still wield effective power even after they have relinquished the presidency to another tribe?

    Why aren’t we debating capacity for fiscal management at the devolved levels of government before discussing issues to do with revenue and expenditure authority? Will we need a framework decentralisation law?

    On public platforms, leaders will make high-minded statements. It is all presented as principled argument. But in reality, our leaders cannot think beyond tribe.

    I have digressed in a major way. The point I wanted to stress is that Parliament should revisit the whole question of strengthening the effectiveness of monetary policy.

    If Parliament does not revisit Donde, banks will not bring lending rates down. In the past, the standard refrain from banks was that the level of non-performing loans in the economy was too high.

    In those days, non-performing loans were in the region of 20 per cent. Today, they are at 2.6 per cent, yet banks still don’t want to reduce interest rates.

    They used to argue that the cash ratio, which was then at double-digit levels, was too high. The rate has been progressively reduced. But banks still insist on maintaining huge lending spreads.

    The Treasury Bill rate is trending downwards, the inter bank rate is low, inflation is at single digit. The argument by banks that the cost of funds is high has no merit. They pay savers peanuts for deposits and charge an arm and a leg for the same money to the borrow.

    This economy needs to experience dynamic and durable recovery. It will not happen if what the Government is doing on the fiscal side — and what the Central Bank is doing on the monetary side — is not supported by commercial banks.

    The current high interest rate spreads is why banks are reporting huge profits even in the context of sluggish economic conditions. They must be slashed.

    jkisero@ke.nationmedia.com

  • Only seven can speak dying language

    Posted: March 21, 2010, 5:35 pm by volt
    DAILY NATIONNews

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    Ms Eunice Sirankasio displays the Yakunte dictionary. Ms Sirankasio has been distributing the dictionary, a glossary of Yakunte words translated into the Maasai language, in an effort to preserve the language of her Yaaku people. Photo/MWANGI NDIRANGU

    By SAMWEL KUMBA and MWANGI NDIRANGU
    Posted Friday, March 5 2010 at 22:30

    The death of an elderly woman last week may have gone unnoticed to many, but to those fighting to preserve the culture of the Yaaku community, it was a big blow. Not many Kenyans have heard of the Yaaku community in Laikipia North district, or the fact that their total population is just 6,000.

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    The Yaaku have been struggling to keep their culture, language and tradition alive, and the death of their matriach, Ms Naruato Matunge, aged 105, could not have come at a worse time. Until two weeks ago, Ms Matunge was among the only remaining eight people who could speak pure Yaaku language — Yakunte — fluently without using words borrowed from the Maasai community, which is dominant in their region.

    In fact, her grandson, Manasseh Rux Ole Matunge, himself a Yaaku and a Yakunte speaker, is now struggling to revive the language. All the seven people left alive who speak the language are aged over 70. Yakunte speakers occupy two administrative areas; Mukogondo and Sieku locations, and are represented in Parliament by Mwangi Kiunjuri of Laikipia East.

    “There are only about 30 whom I can call semi-speakers because they can communicate in Yakunte only to a certain extent. The rest can only respond to a word or two,” says Mr Matunge. According to an official of Yaaku People Association, Gabriel Sipuko, the Yaaku have four clans spread in Laikipia North district. The four clans are Orondi, Sihalo, Losos and Luno, which is the smallest.

    According to Mr Sipuko, said there are about 4,000 people with Yaaku genes but pure Yaaku people are slightly over 1,000 in number. “We are about 1,500 pure Yaaku but we still cannot communicate in our Yakunte language,” said Mr Sipuko, adding: “We still consider our language inferior to the Maasai and I am sure even if the language was to be taught in schools, many would still prefer to speak Kimaasai and Kiswahili.”

    Evidently, Yakunte is among the languages which have since been declared endangered by the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation. The Yaaku people resemble the Cushites of northern Kenya but in the last one century, they have been assimilated into the Maasai culture and lifestyle that they have discarded the language of their forefathers.

    They are believed to have migrated from Ethiopia and settled in Mukogodo forest over 100 years ago. In terms of physical appearance, including the hair texture, there is a noticeable resemblance between the Yaaku, Rendile and Borana, who are cushites unlike the Maasai who are nilotes.

    “My father and mother are both Yaaku but I only know a few words from this language. I am very fluent in Maasai language and in the past few years, I have been struggling to learn my mother tongue with little success,” says Ms Eunice Sirankasio. Ironically, Ms Sirankasio heads the campaign to have pupils at local schools learn the language of their ancestors together with her husband, Mr Matunge.

    The mother of five has been distributing what she calls a Yakunte dictionary where words are translated to Maasai language. The dictionary was produced three years ago by a Dutch researcher, Fleur Wensveen, through assistance of one of the three remaining women who could speak the Yakunte language fluently led by Ms Yapanoi Moraati.

    Sadly, Ms Moraati died in 2008 aged over 100 years and today; only one woman, Ms Riano Leitiko, can speak the language among the seven remaining Yakunte speakers. The remaining Yaaku elderly men and women are convinced that after their demise, the language will die since children and youth are not interested in learning it.

    “We have been teaching children of Kuri Kuri Primary Schools located near Dol Dol town the language but, honestly speaking, many do not seem interested,” confesses Ms Sirankasio. Though she knows the meaning of several Yaaku words, she cannot construct a sentence in the language of her parents who live about five kilometers from Dol Dol town, the headquarters of Laikipia North.

    But her father, Leteyon Leitiko, speaks the language fluently and is among the elders who have been visiting pupils in neighbouring schools to encourage them to learn the language. “Our language and culture are considered inferior to the Maasai and that is why many children are not willing to learn it because they think it is of no use,” says the 70-year old elder.

    He adds that the launch of the “Yakunte dictionary” was aimed at encouraging youngsters to learn the language but no strides have been made towards that direction. “My own grandchildren do not show any enthusiasm whenever I try to teach them the language,” says the elder who speaks Swahili, Kimaaasai and Yakunte languages fluently. But why did the Yaaku abandon their culture and traditions?

    According to documented research carried out by various local and international researchers, the Yaaku people were hunters and gatherers who lived in Mukogodo forest located about 10 kilometers from Dol Dol town. When the Maasai, who are pastoralists, were pushed out of their vast grazing lands by white farmers at the beginning of last century, they drove their animals to Mukogodo forest in search of pasture. It is here they came into contact with the hunters and gatherers, their staple food being honey.

    The Maasai people derogatorily referred to them as Ntorobo, meaning poor people who do not own livestock. The Maasai could ask men from the Yaaku to herd their livestock and this way, the forest dwellers came to admire the language of the intruders. According to documents compiled by Mr Maarten Mous, linguistic researcher at Leiden University in the Netherlands, Hans Stoks, pastoral worker with the Maasai in Kenya, and Matthijs Blonk, a filmmaker, the Maasai traded in milk and meat for honey.

    But in this trade, the Maasai were the ones who stated the terms because of their military superiority and eventually, the Yaaku people started copying the lifestyle of the pastoralists. Eventually, when they were fully assimilated to the Maasai culture, they moved out of Mukogodo forests and some started keeping cattle.

      However, they still value honey as their staple food and consider Mukogodo forest as their rightful home. Among the seven people who speak fluent Yakunte is Stephen Leriman Leitiko, who was, however, not co-operative when the Saturday Nation sought to speak to him. “I have vowed that anyone who wants me to speak the language must pay me first,” Mr Leitiko said as he dismissed efforts to have an interview with him.

      Other elders still alive are spread across Dol Dol and Nandung’oro areas of Laikipia North district. They include Kitarpei Matunge, Roteti, Legunia, Jomo Lelendola and Kitime. Over the years, they have watched their children and grandchildren abandon their culture to become fully adapted to the Maasai.

      According to Mzee Leitiko, the young generation is ashamed of their Dorobo origin and struggle to hide anything that might disclose their historical origin. The name Dorobo has gained the meaning and now refers to people who live in the in the forest. According to the research documented by Mr Mous, the Yaaku are not the only Dorobo in East Africa.

      In Kenya there are the Ogiek, Akiek and Aasax or l’Aramanik, and other small marginal peoples who try to live off the land, like the Dahalo. Over the years, the Yaaku have not taken education seriously and only a few have gone past primary education.
      One of the prominent people from the community is the Ms Jennifer Koinante, who was a teacher before she founded Yaaku Peoples Association seven years ago.

      She also vied for a parliamentary seat in 2007 but lost. Another prominent person from the community is Mr Peter Matunge, who was a district officer in Kirinyaga district before he moved to a state corporation. Ms Koinante has been articulating the rights of minority groups in international fora, her main concern being the preservation of the Yakunte language and Mukogodo forest.

    • Vision for Africa

      Posted: March 21, 2010, 12:51 pm by volt

      From left: Prime Minister Raila Odinga, His Highness the Aga Khan, President Kibaki, Rwanda President Paul Kagame and former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa after the opening of the first Pan Africa Media Conference and the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Nation Media Group at the KICC, Nairobi on Thursday. Photo/LIZ MUTHONI

      By Nation Team
      Posted Thursday, March 18 2010 at 22:30

      Africa’s economic future and the challenge of uniting people and nations drew eminent politicians and scholars into a historic public debate in Nairobi on Thursday.

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      They examined the role of a free Press in Africa, debated the path to regional integration and spoke out on the continent’s quality of leadership as the curtain rose on the Nation Media Group’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

      A sharp warning was sounded against the dangers of foreign aid by former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, who came out strongly against a proposed free trade agreement between Europe and Africa — the Economic Partnership Agreement — which he described as “another form of the Berlin agreement”.

      Birthday festivities

      The round table of eminent persons set the stage for the Pan Africa Media Conference, the centre-piece of the Nation’s birthday festivities, expected to last to the end of this month. The two-day conference, which is being attended by nearly 1,000 delegates from all over the world, was opened by President Kibaki.

      Among the dignitaries were Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Mr Mkapa, former Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano, and Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai. They had all been received by the Mkapa, former Mozambique President Joachim Chissano, and Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai.

      They had all been received by His Highness the Aga Khan, founder of the Nation Media Group and spiritual leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, who defined the essence of responsible media and warned against covering mediocre journalism under the cloak of partisan agenda.

      The Aga Khan announced plans to establish a graduate school of media and communications at the Aga Khan University and, later, a faculty of Arts and Sciences to be based in Arusha, Tanzania. President Kibaki, in his opening address, said the government had upheld media freedom for the past seven years and cited the increasing number of media outlets in the country.

      “The growth of the media is a good positive indicator for our nation. We must, however, continually challenge industry players on the use and application of media freedom they currently enjoy,” he said. “The media must rise up from the current understanding of media freedom and embrace the concept of responsible journalism.”

      Leading newspaper

      In a robust debate captured live on television, Mr Mkapa, himself a former journalist, described the Nation as a leading regional newspaper adding that the paper is balanced and provokes thought.

      In Tanzania, he said, politicians, the media and civil society had agreed on common vision, purpose and need for unity out of diversity of the country. Prof Maathai said a vibrant media exposes ills in society and holds leaders accountable.

      She recalled that it was after the Nation exposed the grabbing of land at Karura Forest that the country’s leadership noted the menace. President Kagame received accolades for announcing that he has been holding monthly press briefings for the last four years.

      “It has continued up to this day and will continue. We are not too young for that in our own experience,” he said. In Kenya, Mr Odinga said the government spokesman holds weekly press briefings.

      The PM also said he usually holds regular discussions with the media in his office for them to raise issues. Mr Mkapa said while he was President he had a reputation of not talking to local media.

    • The Cotonou agreement

      Posted: March 17, 2010, 10:40 pm by volt
      Overview of ACP-EC-Partnership Agreement (”The Cotonou Agreement”)

      The “Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States of the one part and the European Community and its Member States of the other part” was signed on 23 June 2000 in Cotonou, Bénin – hence the name ” ACP-EC Partnership Agreement” or “Cotonou Agreement”. It was concluded for a twenty-year period from March 2000 to February 2020, and entered into force in April 2003. It was for the first time revised in June 2005, with the revision entering into force on 1 July 2008.

      The Cotonou Agreement is a global agreement, introducing important changes and ambitious objectives while preserving the ‘acquis’ of 25 years of ACP-EC cooperation.

      Compared to preceding agreements and conventions shaping EC’s development cooperation, the Cotonou Agreement represents further progress in a number of aspects. It is designed to establish a comprehensive partnership, based on three complementary pillars:

      • development cooperation,
      • economic and trade cooperation, and
      • the political dimension.

      The objectives of the Cotonou Agreement
      The partnership is centred on the objective of reducing and eventually eradicating poverty consistent with the objectives of sustainable development and the gradual integration of the ACP countries into the world economy (Art. 1 of Cotonou Agreement).

      The fundamental principles of the Cotonou Agreement

      • equality of the partners and ownership of the development strategies;
      • participation (central governments as the main partners, partnership open to different kinds of other actors)
      • pivotal role of dialogue and the fulfilment of mutual obligations
      • differentiation and regionalisation

      The actors of the Cotonou Agreement

      • The actors of cooperation are:
      • States (authorities and/or organisations of states at local, national and regional level);
      • Non-state actors (private sector; economic and social partners, including trade union organisations, civil society in all its forms according to national characteristics).

      The implementation of the Cotonou Agreement
      The European Development Fund (EDF) is the main instrument for providing Community assistance for development cooperation under the Cotonou Agreement. The EDF is funded by the EU Member State on the basis of specific contribution keys. Each EDF is concluded for a multi-annual period.

      The 10th EDF covers the period from 2008 to 2013 and has been allocated € 22.7 billion; it was established between the EU Member States by Internal Agreement. In comparison to the 9th EDF which covered the period 2000 to 2007, the initial amount available has increased by almost 65 % (the 9th EDF was initially allocated € 13.8 billion for 2000-2007).

      The cooperation with the ACP States funded from the EDF is complemented by development cooperation funded from the EC budget, through budgetary instruments - the Development Cooperation Instrument, the Instrument for Stability, the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights and the European Humanitarian Aid Instrument.

      Revision clause:
      The Cotonou Agreement provides for a revision clause which foresees that the agreement is adapted every five years. The second revision of the Cotonou Agreement is anticipated to take place in 2010.

      In accordance with Article 95 Cotonou Agreement, the main reasons for the Second Revision of the Cotonou Agreement are:

      • to preserve the relevance and the outstanding character of the Partnership between ACP and EU countries;
      • to adapt the Agreement to recent major changes in international and ACP-EC relations;
      • to further develop several themes that are essential for both parties:
        • the political dimension, institutional issues and sector specific policy issues;
        • economic cooperation, regional integration and trade;
        • development finance cooperation, including humanitarian and emergency assistance and new development advances in aid programming and management.

      The contracting parties and the “ACP Group of States”
      The Cotonou Agreement established a unique partnership between the ACP States on the one hand, and the European Community and its Member States on the other hand.

      The notion of “ACP States” goes back to the “ACP Group of States”, formally established in 1975 with the Georgetown Agreement , which was initially signed by 46 African, Caribbean and Pacific states. Today, the ACP Group of States counts 79 countries , 78 of them signatories of the Cotonou-Agreement (with Cuba being the exception). S outh Africa is a contracting party of the Cotonou Agreement, but not all the provisions apply to the cooperation between South Africa and the EC (see protocol 3 of the Cotonou Agreement).

      The ACP Group of States has its own institutions and decision making processes. It relates with the European Community through the joint institutions of the Cotonou Agreement.

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      Historical background and revisions

      Relations between the European Community (EC) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States are a particularly important aspect of the EC development cooperation policy and, more widely, of its external action.

      The Community support to Sub-Saharan Africa received a more structured approach through the successive Yaoundé Conventions (1963 - 1975). The accession of the UK to the European Communities broadened the geographic scope of the partnership to African, Caribbean and Pacific Commonwealth countries. The “ACP Group of States” was founded by the Georgetown Agreement in 1975.

      From 1975 until 2000 the ACP-EC relations were governed by the regularly adapted and updated Lomé Conventions (Lomé I – Lomé IV bis). However, important developments on the international stage, and socio-economic and political changes in the ACP countries highlighted the need for a re-thinking of ACP-EC cooperation. A green paper on the relations between the EC and the ACP countries was launched in 1996 (COM(96)570 final of 20 November 1996).

      Against a background of an intensive public debate, negotiations started in September 1998 for a comprehensive revision of the ACP-EC relations. These negotiations were successfully concluded in early February 2000 and led to the conclusion of the Cotonou Agreement.

      The first revision to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement

      In accordance with the revision clause, negotiations to revise the agreement for the first time were launched in May 2004 and concluded in February 2005. The overriding objective of revision process was to enhance the effectiveness and quality of the ACP-EU partnership. The revised Agreement entered into force on 01 July 2008.

      The revision in 2005 focussed on the following aspects and amendments:

      • Political dimension: strengthening the political dimension by placing greater emphasis on effective dialogue and results (Art. 8, 9, 96, 97, Annex VII); inclusion of a provision on the International Criminal Court,of a reference to cooperation in countering proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,of a clause which confirms partners’ international cooperation in the fight against terrorism, and of provision relating to the prevention of mercenary activities.
      • Development strategies: amendments relating to sectoral strategies; a reference to the promotion of the fight against poverty-related diseases and protection of sexual and reproductive health and rights of women; insertion of provisions to facilitate non-state actor access to indicative programme resources; facilitation of cooperation between ACP States and other developing countries (regional cooperation); promotion of traditional knowledge as part of sectoral economic development; strengthening of existing provisions on island ACP States.
      • A more flexible and more effective implementation of the investment facility, which is managed by the European Investment Bank.
      • Implementation and management procedures: the first revision provided, among others, g reater flexibility in the allocation of resources; possibility to use resources for policies to promote peace and to manage and settle conflicts, including post-conflict support; reformulation of the responsibilities of managing and executing agents.

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    • The 8 Millennium development goals

      Posted: March 17, 2010, 9:34 pm by volt

      Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

      Achieve Universal Primary Education

      Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

      Reduce Child Mortality

      Improve Maternal Health

      Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other Diseases

      Ensure Environmental Sustainability

      Develop a Global Partnership for Development

    • National Broadband Plan, March 2010

      Posted: March 17, 2010, 5:47 am by volt

      Published March 16, 2010

      The FCC released this report on a plan for national broadband access to Congress on March 16, 2010. The press release states,

      “Today, the Federal Communications Commission delivered to Congress a National Broadband Plan setting an ambitious agenda for connecting all corners of the nation while transforming the economy and society with the communications network of the future — robust, affordable Internet.

      …the Plan found that while broadband access and use have increased over the past decade, the nation must do much more to connect all individuals and the economy to broadband’s transformative benefits. Nearly 100 million Americans lack broadband at home today, and 14 million Americans do not have access to broadband even if they want it. Only 42 percent of people with disabilities use broadband at home, while as few as 5 percent of people living on Tribal lands have access. Meanwhile, the cost of digital exclusion for the student unable to access the Internet to complete a homework assignment, or for the unemployed worker who can’t search for a job online, continues to grow.

      Other gaps threaten America’s global competitiveness. A looming shortage of wireless spectrum could impede U.S. innovation and leadership in popular wireless mobile broadband services. More useful applications, devices, and content are needed to create value for consumers. And the nation has failed to harness broadband’s power to transform delivery of government services, health care, education, public safety, energy conservation, economic development, and other national priorities.

      …The Plan was mandated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February 2009 and produced by an FCC task force that set new precedents for government openness, transparency, and rigor.”

      Essential Documents are vital primary sources underpinning the foreign policy debate.

    • Focus on quiet graft, WB urges Kenya

      Posted: March 16, 2010, 3:29 pm by volt
      Capital News

      Posted Tuesday, March 16 2010 at 08:26

      BY SARAH WAMBUI

      NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 15 - A report released by the World Bank indicates that if Kenya and other African countries focused on ‘quiet’ corruption with as much vigor as they did to grand corruption shams, they would achieve their Millennium Development Goals on time.

      The report dubbed African Development Indicators 2010 showed that in Kenya nearly four out of five firms expected to make informal payments to obtain government services.

      Chief Economist for the World Bank’s Africa region Shanta Devarajan who defined quiet corruption as the failure of public servants to deliver services paid for by government said African countries were off track in realising their MDGs.

      “Quiet corruption does not make headlines the way bribery scandals do, but it is just as corrosive to societies,” he said.

      He further added that tackling corruption required a combination of strong and committed leadership as well as strong policies and institutions.

      “The track record of these anti corruption commissions that people have set up to fight grand corruption has mixed; I don’t say they are all bad but they have probably been disappointing. None of these institutions concern themselves with quiet corruptions. I have never seen an anti corruption commission saying we are going to go after absentee teachers,” he said.

      Mr Devarajan who also proposed tighter mechanisms to fight corruption at all levels further maintained that the vice remained a big impediment to development in Africa. He explained that the vice derailed efforts by government to ensure that resources reached the grass root levels.

      “When countries try to solve the problem of accountability they actually make progress. For instance in Rwanda in the health sector they introduced a system called results based financing; where doctors were paid a bonus depending on the number of children they immunised or the number of pregnant mothers they saw and this was verified by an independent NGO,” he said.

      Mr Devarajan however commended African countries for their efforts this far in trying to achieve their MDGs saying all was not lost. He said Africa’s poverty levels had decreased from 59 percent to about 50 percent between the years 2000 and 2010.

      “What’s remarkable is that over the last 10 years the progress that Africa has made on the MDGs has been among the fastest that we have ever seen. For instance the poverty rates in Africa have been declining at about one percent per year. That’s a faster rate of poverty reduction than India’s,” he said.

      Jorge Arbache an economist working under Mr Devarajan also explained that effects of small scale corruption would eventually take their toll on society further emphasising the need to stop them from getting out of hand.

      “Think about the consequences that a child who drops out of school because of teachers’ absenteeism may have. After a long period the consequences may be significant not only for the child and his family but also for the economy as well because of low productivity,” he said.

      According to the report 38 percent of government resources in Kenya did not get to their destined places while 99 percent of the same resources did not get to recipients in Chad. The report also indicated that corruption had gradually extended to practices that did not necessarily involve monetary transactions such as teacher absenteeism.

      28.75 percent of Kenyan firms expected to give gifts to get operating licenses while 32.25 percent of firms expected to give gifts in meetings with tax officials. Still in Kenya 71.2 percent of firms expected to give gifts to secure a government contract and 38.35 percent of firms identified corruption as a major constraint.

      The largest population in Sub Saharan Africa was Nigeria’s which had a population of 151.3 million while the smallest was Seychelles whose population stood at 0.1 percent.

      Sub Saharan Africa with its over 819 million people in 47 countries continues to present the world with formidable development challenges. The number of people living in abject poverty continued to rise with the number of people living on less than $2 a day had nearly doubled. In 1981 it stood at 292 million and rose to about 555 million in 2005.

      The 2010 African Development Indicator contained more than 450 macroeconomic, sectoral and social indicators covering 53 countries.

    • Beautiful to look at? Not for this girl

      Posted: March 13, 2010, 8:51 pm by volt
      Saturday
      March 13,  2010

      Rampaini Letereuwa at her parents’ home at Ol Dubai village in Ol Donyiro. Letereuwa, 13, became pregnant after a temporary marriage to a moran she is related to, a taboo among the Samburu, and her baby risks being killed when it is born. Photo/MWANGI NDIRANGU

      By MWANGI NDIRANGU
      Posted Friday, March 12 2010 at 21:00

      In Summary

      • Beads are fascinating for the visitor, but for the girls of Samburu they signify bondage

      Visitors often marvel at the beauty of the colourful beads worn by women in the Samburu community. For Rampaini Letereuwa, however, the red beads that adorn her neck are a source of big trouble.

      The 13-year-old is pregnant, and her relatives intend to kill the baby when it is born this month.

      “I know my baby will be thrown away into the forest to die or be killed like many others who have been subjected to a similar fate,” said Letereuwa, through an interpreter at her parents’ home near ol Donyiro market in Isiolo district.

      She has never been to school and, like some other girls her age or even younger, Letereuwa is a “child bride,” having been temporarily married off to a Samburu warrior (moran) in a traditional practice known as aishontoyie saen (beading).

      Bead colours

      Once a girl is beaded, which literally means being adorned with necklaces by a moran, her parents build her a house where the moran, usually a relative, is allowed to engage in sexual activity with her.

      Different beads carry different meanings. Engaged girls wear red beads.

      Girls who are not engaged and those who are married wear beads of mixed colours. White beads signify purity and health, black means hardship while orange plus yellow is a sign of hospitality.

      “A certain colour of beads is used by a moran to temporarily marry a girl from his clan,” says councillor Moses Lerosion of ol Donyiro ward.

      He adds: “When a girl is beaded, she is not supposed to become pregnant because she is not circumcised and our community believes that an uncircumcised woman should not give birth.”

      The practice of Female Genital Mutilation remains prevalent within the Samburu community.

      The necklaces to bead the girls cost about Sh10,000 and are normally purchased in Nairobi shops.

      Great respect

      “The morans normally conduct raids and steal animals from neighbouring communities to enable them raise money to buy the beads,” Peter Lekurtut, the Kipsing ward councillor, said.

      An ol Donyiro elder, Loitipitip Lemantile, 69, says a majority of parents in the area still consider the beading of their daughters by morans as a show of great respect.

      “After successful raids, the moran could give his in-laws cattle and give the girl’s mother nyiri nyiri (special meat boiled in fat),” explains Mr Lemantile.

      He added that the beaded girl is always free to get married to any other suitor because in all cases, the girl and the moran are from the same clan and marriage is prohibited.

      Ms Orietta Lemungesi, a woman leader, says an impregnated girl is seen as an outcast, leading to induced abortion using crude methods such as pressing the womb with rough objects, the knees and elbows.

      In case an ‘unwanted’ child is born, it is either abandoned in the forest or given up for adoption in another community.

      Ms Lemungesi is currently taking care of a four-month-old baby who was born through beading and rejected by its relatives.

      However, not all girls end up conceiving as a result of beading.

      Marion Nalarin, 26, she was beaded for six years from 1992 by a moran named Samaki Lepalo.

      In 1998, she got married to Nalarin Lepiranto and they now have three children.

      Marion told Saturday Nation that it was miraculous that she did not conceive all that time.

      “During sex, Samaki used the withdrawal method. I did not understand what it was all about then. I only came to learn what he was doing a few years later when he explained that if I had conceived, the baby was not supposed to live,” she said through an interpreter.

      She says she is now happily living with her husband at Mlima Chui village, about three kilometres from Ol Donyiro.

      The moran who beaded her also got married and now lives in Kipsing with his family, 20 kilometres away.

      Some girls, like 19-year-old Sylvia Kirendi, were forced to flee their home to escape the practice.

      “I ran away from home and went to a Catholic priest who took me to a missionary school many miles away from home,” she said.

      She has now completed her primary school education at Tinderet School in Nandi District.

      Some elites in the area are worried that the oppressive culture of beading has refused to fade away.

      A local religious leader, Father Angelo Guchu, termed the practice inhuman. “This practice dehumanises the girls and the killing of the babies is tantamount to murder,” said Father Guchu.

      Ol Donyiro area chief, Joseph Leparmorijo admitted that the culture of beading is prevalent in the area.

      “This issue of beading will only go away when we encourage our people to be educated,” said Josephine Kulea, a nurse from the Samburu community.

      “In our community, a girl child is like an object. It is high time our people came out to fight these outdated practices, which have no meaning in modern life.”

      Ms Kulea, 27, has rescued 13 girls from forced marriages in the last two years.

      “My dream is to start a rescue centre where girls who stand up against these cultural rites can find refuge away from their parents and community,” she said.

      “Isiolo County Council has given out a piece of land for that purpose and, with donor support, we are sure we shall have a rescue home soon,” said the officer.

      Isiolo district children officer Mr Maube Nabakwe says beading is against the Children’s Act of 2001.

      However, he is quick to point that his office is ill equipped in terms of personnel and facilities to fight the vice so rampant in the remote areas of the expansive Isiolo district.

      “We can have the parents arrested and jailed. But if we do not have a home where we can take the rescued girls, then it might turn out to be a futile activity.

      However, Mr Nabakwe says there is hope since local leaders have come together and there are plans to put up a centre for victims of beading in the district.

      Meanwhile, young Letereuwa remains worried about her growing bulge.

      “After impregnating me, the moran went away,” she said. “Although my parents have pledged to support me bring up the child once it is born, I don’t believe this will happen.”

    • Kenya rail set for major changes

      Posted: March 12, 2010, 8:25 am by volt
      Capital News

      Posted Tuesday, March 9 2010 at 12:44

      BY EVELYN NJOROGE

      NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 8 - Citadel Capital, the Egyptian private equity firm has said it plans to overhaul the Kenya Uganda railway line and have it operating efficiently in the next two years.
      More from Capital Business

      Managing Director of Africa and Middle East Karim Sadek told Capital Business that they plan to start rehabilitating the 2,350 kilometre line in sections with the Nairobi-Mombasa track getting priority.

      “It has to start from the source. The first section of improvement would probably be Nairobi and we are hoping to have that done in a few months but it will be a function of our negotiations with our lenders on when to release the loan. My guess is maybe late 2010 or early 2011,” he said.

      Citadel Capital confirmed its acquisition of a 49 percent shareholding in Sheltam Railways Company, which is the largest shareholder at the Rift Valley Railways late last month in a move that saw it indirectly have a 17.5 percent interest in the concessionaire.

      At the time, the MD hinted that they were looking at acquiring the remaining stake at Sheltam but that now is almost a done deal. Mr Sadek explained that they are only awaiting the nod from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) so that they can assume the 100 percent control of Sheltam.

      “We signed a two-tier agreement with the first part being that we have acquired 49 percent (at Sheltam) which is done and we have a conditional sale and purchase agreement with (Roy) Puffet of Sheltam for our acquisition of the remaining 51 percent. It is conditional because that is what is stipulated in the shareholder agreement of RVR and in the loan agreement with the IFC,” he explained.

      He added that they had already sought the approvals from the IFC and were hoping to hear from them soon.

      “We are not going to negotiate again on the 51 percent nor do a new contract. It’s one document with two parts. One is 49 percent, the other one is effective once the two conditions are met,” he emphasised.

      Citadel will become the largest shareholder with three representatives to the RVR board up from the current two.

      IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank which has been involved in this project in several areas, has been leading the project financing although it has been accused of delaying funding for the revitalisation of the rail line.

      The private firm has indicated its intention to inject $150million (Sh11.5b) into RVR to turn around the company. This money is expected to be generated from one third equity, one third debt and the remainder from internally generated profits.

      Mr Sadek was optimistic that once the railway line was fully operational, they would break even after two years.

      He added that Citadel Capital plans to ensure that RVR is well funded which would enable them to achieve their goal of having an efficient rail network for East Africa and at the same time ensure a good return on investment for their shareholders.

      “We are going to work closely with the shareholders and with the lenders to start unlocking the loans which are sitting there and have not been used alongside other subsequent capital injection,” he added.

      At the same time, Mr Sadek downplayed boardroom wrangles that have plagued the concessionaire since it was formed in 2006 saying it was not their plan to own 100 percent at RVR.

      “Our intention is to make sure that we have enough leverage inside the company to make sure that the story of the last few years is not repeated meaning that when the company needs funds, there’s a capital called on and the funds come in,” he said adding that they had consulted all the shareholders who had agreed to work together to ensure the success of the firm.

      Currently, Trans-Century has a 20 percent shareholding in RVR while Prime Fuels of Kenya holds a 15 percent stake. Centum Investments Kenya, Tanzanian Mirambo Holdings and Australia’s Babcock and Brown each own a 10 percent share.

    • Kenya hosts IMF forum on Africa

      Posted: March 12, 2010, 7:32 am by volt
      Capital News

      Posted Tuesday, March 9 2010 at 08:25

      BY SARAH WAMBUI

      NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 8 - Prime Minister Raila Odinga has maintained that politicians and leaders implicated in corruption must be held to account for the government’s war against graft to succeed.

      Mr Odinga on Monday told an International Monetary Fund forum on Africa’s Economic transformation that corruption had been the biggest impediment to development.

      The Premier who insisted that the war on corruption must not be personalised also said Kenyans should single out individuals who swindled public property for their selfish gains. The PM who last month clashed with the President over the suspension of Ministers William Ruto and Sam Ongeri over corruption allegations further added that African countries continued getting financial aid which was fraudulently lost.

      “Corruption actually removes the necessary resources from public to private hands; it is committed by individual people even if they are politicians and when you point them out you are not politicising it you are fighting it. Most of the aid money finds itself into private pockets; some of it into private bank accounts in Europe and here the giver and the taker are equally guilty,” he said adding that global financiers also needed to put in place measures that would ensure money was rightly used.

      Mr Odinga further observed that bad governance and tribalism were also big threats to Kenya’s economic potential as they hindered development.

      “It is a paradox that the richest continent is also the poorest. Brazil was a former colony of Portugal, India was a former colony to Britain but they are way ahead of us. When we got independence Kenya’s economy was equivalent to South Korea but right now their economy is almost 46 times bigger than ours. What did they do right that we did wrong? We have the power to change this country” he said.

      Nobel Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai who was also present added that financial prudence remained Africa’s biggest challenge. She cautioned Kenyans against waiting for external intervention to sort out the country’s matters saying home grown solutions would work best.

      “The point I want really to emphasise and what I have experienced in my three decades of work here is that money has never really been the problem. It is not as if IMF will not give us the money. It is not as if any governments represented here will not give us the money. It is what we do with that money; it is how we spend that money and that’s the challenge that we have,” she said.

      IMF Managing Director Dominique Kahn however hails efforts by African governments to address the vice saying more should be done.

      “The reality at least here in Kenya is that the government is really committed to addressing this problem and that is also something totally new. Not so many people have been convicted yet but the change is enormous,” he said.

      Bob Geldof an international political activist known for his anti poverty campaigns in Africa also asked African governments to increase their anti corruption efforts and also challenged African countries to rise up and reach their economic potentials.

      “We all want our turn to eat but we don’t have to gorge ourselves ladies and gentlemen; we don’t have to get fat and stuff ourselves so we no longer think clearly. There is enough to go around and when we rob a country for personal gain we commit the greatest theft against a nation’s future destiny. And that is why corruption is such a hideous, despicable and abominable thing,“ he said.

      Mr Odinga also said ethnicity had led to the unfair distribution of resources terming it ‘the disease of the elite’. He said it divided the country and equally hindered the nation’s development.

      “The elite in competition for resources usually resort to ethnicity to discriminate against their fellow country men and this has been in this country from regime to regime and it is a big enemy to the people of this country. The real Kenya will not emerge until we have dealt with it as well as corruption,” he said.

      The PM also noted that Africa had survived the global recession however adding that remittances from the Diaspora into Kenya had declined and that trade and investment opportunities had also been affected.

      “It had been reasoned that the crisis would be confined to the developed countries whose economies were intertwined financially; that Africa would be insulated from this. But this of course turned out very wrong. It is said that when the United States sneezes, Europe catches a cold, Asia develops influenza and Africa gets TB or HIV/AIDS and that is how it actually turned out,” he said.

    • Kenya focused on economic recovery

      Posted: March 9, 2010, 9:15 am by volt
      Capital News

      Posted Tuesday, March 9 2010 at 08:19

      REBECCA NDUKU

      BY SARAH WAMBUI

      NAIROBI, Kenya, March 8 - The government says Kenya will prioritise trade and investment as part of its economic recovery plan after the global meltdown.

      At a forum where the International Monetary Fund engaged Kenyan leaders on economic matters and the effects of the global recession, it was noted that Africa’s recovery was so far commendable but more needed to be done.

      Prime Minister Raila Odinga who spoke at the forum on Monday said external financial aid should be directed towards improving infrastructure to enable the country and the continent remain independent.

      He said time had come for the continent to start relying on its resources and increase its sovereignty.

      “We are trying to open up our economies through massive investment in infrastructure but our economies are still too weak to attract financing from the international financial market which is why we need aid. But ultimately, it is more trade and the access of our goods to the international market which is very crucial,” he said.

      Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta on his part said African governments should change focus from the west and explore possible inter-trade relations. He emphasised the opening up of regional markets as a means of boosting the continent’s economic strength.

      “We need to looking at ourselves and comparing ourselves with being giants where real giants play and that’s not going to happen unless we focus ourselves on regional integration. With regional integration it means a great deal more emphasis on regional infrastructure. The trade must not only be trade with the developed countries but trade with ourselves- within the African context,” he said.

      IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn however challenged African governments to look within as opposed to reaching out to donors. He said poverty had flourished because African countries had for long been reduced to fixing disasters.

      “I’m afraid that what we have been doing so far was just not enough; just coping with the immediate problem and looking forward to reaching the level of middle income economies is perfectly normal. But we need to look further and it won’t happen by relying solely on foreign aid,” he said.

      The IMF chief who lauded Africa for coping through the challenges of the global recession however warned that the continent might not be able to recover from the effects posed by climate change. He said the threat posed by climatic changes was so great that the continent needed to put in place measures to cushion it from the effects.

      “Certainly it is not the time to rest. Africa remains highly vulnerable to economic dislocation. Africa will continue to face large, consistent and costly shocks and those shocks have not only to do with economic stability. I speak to you this morning with a sense of urgency; unfortunately climate change will hit developing incomes soonest and hardest and we need urgent action,” he said.

      The Finance Minister also added that subsidies given by international trading partners were a hindrance to trade for African countries as they promoted unfair competition. He asked the international community to promote the development of free and open trade saying it would provide an equal playing ground for developing countries.

      “We have suffered as a continent not so much as a result of the subsidies that we give because we cannot afford subsidies. But I think Africa has suffered as a result of the subsidies that developed countries give their own farmers; cotton farmers and sugar farmers. If we were allowed to compete in a completely free world I honestly believe that Kenya and Africa do not need aid but we can actually stand on our own two feet,” he said.

      Mr Kahn also explained that the IMF would keep in check business between China and African countries saying to ensure the super power did not take advantage of the developing African countries.

      “It is very useful that a country having a lot of resources may help Africa. The only problem is that the deals between China and African countries have to be fair deals. When you are small and are dealing with a big animal then you have to have a long spoon and try to look at what is really at stake,” he said.

      Mr Kenyatta also asked African countries to develop their human capacities saying that other than mineral resources, Africa’s human capacity was their greatest asset.

      “Our ability to merge our mineral resources and the human capacity with the opportunities that we have prevail upon on our people- especially the young to take advantage of the networks that have been built to be able to deal with the rest of the world. We need to take advantage of these opportunities,” he said.

      Other issues that were discussed at the forum were tribalism and ethnicity and corruption.

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