As Kibaki steers the country ahead to pass it to the next generation, will his name and legacy be damaged forever if there is no control of the government spending? The ink of the National Housing Insurance Fund (NHIF) is not even dry and the Independent Electoral & Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has now shaped itself to the equivalent of a scandal. The IEBC budget for elections is at Kshs 36 billion about Kshs 1,600 per voter or $20 if 20 million are registered. According to published reports it costs the Ghana tax payer $0.70 to elect and if Kenya cost is at $20 this will be about 30 times more for same product. No wonder Ghana economy is growing by 13% when Kenya economy grows at 4%.
To improve in public life, we need to continually incorporate the lessons of our experience. Every meeting, every discussion, every significant public event becomes an opportunity for evaluating changing power relationships, the effectiveness of our actions, even our goals. We can ask ourselves and each other: How do you feel about what happened? Answers to this question need to be one word emotions; no intellectualizing. What worked? What didn't work? What could we do better?...
2009 Kenya census established the country having a population of 38.6 million people and allocated this population to the 47 counties. The constitution further states that 290 constituencies are to be established to represent the people based on Article 89 that gives guidelines like, “as nearly as possible to quota” and other considerations. The Independent Electoral & Boundaries Commission IEBC has allocated constituencies and the debate has started. In trying to find out where the discussion will head to, we asked Hon Njoroge Baiya the Chairman of Justice Committee and current Member of Parliament for Githunguri and John Macharia, currently based in Florida, who has expressed interest to serve as Senator of Nairobi County through the Kenyans Abroad 2012 - 2017 Platform the same questions on this topic....
An astounding achievement is a mind blowing fact, or set of facts, of something that is created. It is an achievement that when run through the mind leads to questions like: How was this achieved? What made all the pieces work and all the people achieve the results so fast? How did a person think of such a big idea and keep building on it without fear of looking back? Where did they get all the money to achieve this massive amazing project? It is an achievement that has given the brain a headache just in trying to figure out how a person or persons conceptualized and accomplished an idea. It is an achievement so remarkable that researchers have and continue to use million of hours trying to understand how the decisions were made. ...
Ask what the most precious thing in the world is and you will get as many varying answers as the colors of the rainbow. From Money to a Mercedez Benz 320 ML; from Uhuru’s $500 million wealth to a my beautiful wife; from winning Miss Africa to becoming a Professor; from owning a private jet to becoming president; from owning real estate in a prime region like New York city to having children and family; from becoming a great musician to becoming a professional sports player; from wining the marathon to winning a ‘Mary Kay’ pink Cadillac. Surprisingly, most people will forget to name the most precious of all things. ...
In a period of 15 years, that is, from 1995 to 2010, the Kenyans in Diaspora sent over $10 billion dollars, which is about Kshs 700 billion, to buy family food, pay for education, develop real estate, pay hospital bills, make donations to hunger relief and other needs. This remittance factored at average pay of $10 an hour mean, which means Diaspora Kenyans worked 1 billion hours so as to send this money. As 2012 approaches the debate is whether the Diaspora should continue the passive role and continue sending money in next 5 years to Kenya with little or no return or should play a more developmental, management and investment role and channel their money to well tailored investments that can grow their remittances to become new wealth. ...
“To us, they will always be foreigners and no way can we let our country be ruled by foreigners. How sure are we that they have not acquired the mindset of colonialists? It will be a tragedy if we go back to the colonial era just because we seek change, just like Obama, we too can do it, we do not need outsiders,” is an opinion by a Kenyan who would like a Kenyan born citizen who have lived abroad not to present themselves for consideration in the 2012 elections in a survey with 1,100 responses from Kenyans in 5 counties: Nairobi, Kiambu, Machakos, Nyandarua and Nyeri. ...
300 Kenyans in Kenya asked if they would welcome party started by Kenyans abroad, 292 out 300 respondents said, "Yes." Asked whether they would support the party, 291 of the 300 respondents said, "Yes." Asked whether they would become members of the party, 290 of the 300 respondents said, "Yes." A sample of those who answered “Yes” further made the additional comments in reference to Kenyans abroad starting party: Yes, they come with new innovations. Yes, they will help rid our country of corruption. Yes, it will put an end to recycling of old ideas which do not work. Yes, they live in a developed world and have acquired new ways of doing things which add value and benefit the majority instead of self. Yes, a new way of thinking might bring the change we so badly need. Yes, though it may take time, we are safer with them since they really understand how to make an economy grow as they live in developed ones. ...
Kenya current per capita income, of about $1,700 according to International Monetary Fund, places Kenya as Number 154 out of 183 world countries. Per Capita income is a way of measuring the quality of life for a person in a country. The higher the per capita of a country, the higher the quality of life and security expected in that country. According to our table, Kenya is placed as a very poor country in the per capita income level $1,001 - $2,000. As Kenya approaches the 2012 elections the projected 19.4 million voters will have to decide on the quality of life they want going forward. The Kenyans will have to decide if they want to go up the scale and cross the world average like, Equatorial Guinea No. 48, Botswana 55, Gabon 56 and Libya 64, the 4 countries in Africa above the world per capita average of $10,900. ...
The Lamu to Sudan highway is about 880 kilometers. If a radius of 5 kilometers on both sides was measured this would result to a land area of 8,800 sq kilometers along the highway. If 4,000 sq km of this land was allocated toward private land leases of 99 years then 1 million acres would be available for leases. If the land bill set the terms of private leasehold at minimum 50 acres, one person employed for every 10 acres applied, Kshs 10,000 lease rate per acre with 5 year incentive/grace period then the government would be in a position to generate about Kshs 10 billion every year once all lands taken and put to use. A minimum of 100,000 Kenyans would be put to work. If the average assessed income tax was Kshs 50,000 per person this would be another Kshs 5 billion. The land bill would therefore generate Kshs 15 billion to government revenue and this money can go toward paying loans, interest and maintenance of this road into the future. ...
