I completely disagree with him and every MP who voted to gag the media. I was particularly irked by his bitter complaint that NTV didn’t let him talk to Kenyans last week. So they didn’t let you go on air….SO what? Do you have to go on air at NTV? All media take positions, and they should. In the US, everyone knows how biased Fox News is - you don’t see them being regulated, do you? People have choices and they will watch what they want.

Mr. Minister, your conduct last night didn’t do your public image any good. You have to realise that things have moved on - the authoritarian “big man” way of doing things doesn’t work well in a democracy. Stop trying to kill what Kenyans have fought so hard for.

• Do you hate this too? The problem with Old Media
• Heads or Tails?
• Adressing the Rot in Kenya - Attitude is a Reflection of Leadership
• Crowdsourcing & Open Publishing
• Kikulacho Ki Nguoni Mwako

Our struggle for people sensitive, responsible and accountable leadership is firmly on! Kenyans are fired up to use their creativity to dramatize and communicate their dissatisfaction to their leaders. December 10th, 11th and 12th remain our days for civil direct action, the days for display of people power!

The guidelines of expected action is as follows:
On 10th December 2008 at 9.30am, we assembly at Bunge HQ, Jeevanjee Garden Park where we shall short speeches and then start a procession through city centre to Muthurwa market and then head to Huruma sports ground.

At Huruma sports ground we shall have public meeting where grassroot Kenyans shall outline their priority human right issues as part of celebration World Human Rights Day. The meeting shall also serve as mobilization for the next two days’ activity. Similar mobilization activities will take place in other place across the country through our partner and network organization.

On 11th December 2008, to express their anger and discontentment, Kenyans will refrain themselves from using public or private vehicles; and where they have to go to work they shall walk as a sign of solidarity with civil direct action. We beseech employers to show solidarity by allowing Kenyans to stay off work.

On the 12th December 2008, our major direct action day, we must all jam various Jamhuri celebration venues armed with our “mouth” to communicate eloquently our frustrations. Our clarion call to all our issues of discontentment will remain “unga!” “Unga” (maize flour) is the symbol of our people power just like “bread” was a symbol of French revolution. During the celebration speeches at district, provincial and national level, to everything the speakers shall say, we shall respond with “unga!”.

The power to create another Kenya is in your hand do not sit back!”

George Nyongesa, Bunge La Mwananchi.
Bunge la Mwananchi is a social movement and a member of Kenya National Civil Society Congress.

• The Waki List of Shame
• The White Ribbon Campaign - We Must Now DEMAND Our Rights!!
• No Way No How No Amnesty
• HELB has the Obligation to Finance Every Kenyan’s Education Damnit!
• What is Kikulacho?

Many people, especially those of the older generation(s), often argue strongly against all forms of immorality, claiming they are ‘western’ and not Kenyan/African. It is this generation which advocates for a total ban on things they perceive to be immoral. Perhaps you have noticed that certain parts of the movies and programmes that show on Kenyan TV are often censored (normally by skipping those parts). This is a form of moral universalism - the view that what is moral and what is not can be differentiated by everyone and that everyone will agree that some things are moral and others are immoral. Ideally, moral universalism offers a world that will have no moral disagreements due to the fact that universally everyone thinks in the same way and manner about morals in general. As you might agree, this would be unrealistic, but nevertheless a pure society based on moral universalism would uphold those values.

Is this really what we want in our country? Don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating for immorality - all I am saying is that nothing can be universal, not even morality. Invariably, people are different and will view things differently. What is immoral to you may be moral to someone else and, in my view, it would be the height of immorality to force your views and opinions on other people. Live and let live.

(The video I mentioned is currently available here and here.)

• A Political Insurgency in Kenya
• Made in Kenya
• Is Kenya Failing? 9 Steps to Turn Our Country Around
• Kenyan Financial Woes and Bursting Bubbles
• How To Develop Your Critical Thinking Skills

ENVIRONMENT
We Kenyans seem to take a lot for granted. Blessed by a beautiful environment that does not experience harsh weather changes like tornados, tsunamis, earthquakes, etc. Yet what do we do to preserve this environment of ours? Quite the opposite actually, we destroy it. How much land has to be cleared to build a single unit of apartments? How many trees have to be cut down everyday just to get those window frames for your house? I say for every appartment built, 50 trees should be planted in replacement.

As I remember my home like 10 years ago, beautiful scenery with the tall trees where you could just lay under for shade on a cool Sunday afternoon. Now when I go back all I see is bare land cleared for some apartments or 50 year old trees being cut down because some neighbour is worried that it pierced the sewer line. Do we really just work for now or are we not seeing the future mistakes we are all making?

I know that the human species must survive and has needs but with every action there is a reaction and the earth will react in the opposite way to remove the part that is bringing bad change. Most of the change has already been seen with the global warming effects such as undetermined rain, floods, snow in areas where it never used to snow………but whose fault is it? Me and you.

POLITICS
Everyday I see politicians speaking and I ask myself: Who started all this corruption stories, greed, lies, etc. Why cant they just stop for once and agree? I look at it this way: one politician starts something like stealing funds, down the line other politicians adapt to it. What happens 10 or 20 years from now? What happens to the future generation? Wouldn’t they all want to do the same since they saw that no one took serious action in the past?

Its like the Waki report, if we don’t take serious action now, what will happen in the future if something of the same magnitude happens?

TECHNOLOGY AND ENERGY
Have you ever just walked or travelled anywhere in Kenya and not complain about the bad car fumes? Every time I see that lorry(truck) or any other car emitting black clouds of smoke, I ask myself if these car owners really care of the future effects or are they just not bothered. Transportation is the biggest environmental polluter with air transport contributing to 20% and land transport 40%. Humans can be so nasty at times. In Kenya, we only know to complain when either fuel or food prices go up. What about other things like housing costs, poor technological advancements, insecurity, etc.

We all know that Kenyans are known for complaining at the wrong time and when its too late. We are known as those who forget easily. Most of it is true, but what happens when we choose to ignore and end up suffering ourselves?

Take a look at our government offices. I have seen machines there that belong in a museum. At least recently they have upgraded to fast computers, but the manpower is as slow as a falling slug. For example, registration of a company shouldn’t take more than a week. When you go to Sheria house and see the queues, all you can do is have a red bull because standing in line will be the only option. The funny thing is that there are empty tills where employees have not arrived and yet you, the customer who has come to give them money, is made to suffer. The internet is the greatest invention ever but why don’t we as Kenyans maximize it and stop mimicking other countries? What will we do in future when the rest of the world steps up the pace and we are still setting up 3G zones?

No one can start it all but you and me. Set up a company and let things roll. Don’t waste 20 years trying to climb the employment ladder, own that ladder by starting your own company. Millionaires are being born by the age of 29 (facebook owner).
Cause and Effect.

• Kikulacho Ki Nguoni Mwako
• Kenyan Companies
• Where Do We Go From Here?
• Made in Kenya
• Heads or Tails?

This post was submitted by Paul Kevin.

Members of Parliament have let Kenyans down and have refused to enact a law to tax them as Kenyans demanded. They have abused their power to pass laws and have engaged in breach of trust and self-dealing with a public power. Every individual Member of the 10th Parliament was expected to have good working knowledge of public finance, its processes and procedures and was expected to be able to know when the system was not working and what should be done to remedy the situation when the system failed - as it has. After the National Accord of February 28th 2008, the Grand Coalition Government of Kenya, which is the Executive branch, was meant to create the right atmosphere for work and production and economic recovery. They were expected to ensure that the resources of this country were harnessed for the benefit of the neediest and not for themselves exclusively. Parliament was meant to represent their constituents and ensure that there was No Taxation without Representation. Instead they have allowed taxation on Kenyans while deleting taxation proposals which affected them They have given no reasonable explanation for why they did what they did and have arrogantly stated their defiance of public opinion.

Parliament passed this crazy budget! Unscrutinized. They gave away our money to Anglo Leasing Crooks, To the Ken Ren Fertilizer factory Crooks and allowed over 200 Billion shillings of tax money to be allocated in wasteful expenditure.

Politicians don’t care that 1.5 millions Kenyans are starving. Thousands of poor people are dying of hunger. Millions are struggling to survive under great difficulty. To fundraise for campaigns, both Kibaki and Raila collected billions from their friends. We remember when Kibaki’s friends each paid 1 million for lunch. Raila’s friends abroad were also paying millions to dine with him. If both Kibaki and Raila cared about our dying children they would raise funds for food. But even if they don’t care, we can afford to feed the hungry from our taxes if the government stops wasting our taxes on buying and fueling big cars.

If MPs and judges pay taxes, there will be more money for food and medicine for all.

Now they have betrayed their constituents and the country’s tens of millions of taxpayers look to the President to exercise his powers under the Constitution of Kenya to refuse his Assent to the Finance Bill until it is amended to tax MPs and give the poorest Kenyans immediate tax relief.

It is now time to act!!

If Kenya’s Political Class won’t pay their taxes, NO KENYAN SHOULD PAY ANY TAXES ON FOOD, MEDICINE, FUEL OR ELECTRICITY.

On Jamhuri Day, December 12, 2008 we shall demand:

1. That tax relief is given to the poor. All taxes on food, electricity be removed to reduce prices by between 30 and 60% and give relief for millions.

2. That all Kenyans be treated equally. Either all Kenyans, including judges and MPs are required to pay income taxes or NO KENYAN SHOULD PAY INCOME TAX. It is unfair to allow the rich and the powerful to evade tax while misusing the contributions of the poor. Even the poor have the right to withold their tax.

3. That the government stops paying for corruption including Anglo-Leasing and Ken Ren Fertiliser factory immediately. That the money committed to redemption of such “debts” be reallocated to development purposes, and the origin of such debts must be investigated to identify the culprits.

4. That the government spends at least 60% of the budget on development that will benefit all Kenyans instead of spending 85% of our budget on salaries, luxury, travel, allowances, flashy cars and fuel for a few politicians.

5. That the government stops borrowing money to pay for luxuries and corruption. The international community should assist the Kenyan people to clean their external debt register of bogus debts.
TAX BOYCOTT

If the government fails to do that, we ask that all patriotic Kenyans join us in refusing to pay taxes to a cruel and wasteful government that does not care about us. We must withhold our taxes. We pay the most taxes (over 70%) through VAT and we can stop or reduce our payments to the Government.

KULIPA USHURU BILA MASHARTI NI KUWEZESHA WIZI, ULAFI, UFISADI NA UMANGIMEZA!!!

Ordinary Kenyans must not continue to give money to a government that does not spend the money wisely. We have enough problems to take care of with no support from the government.

What you can do:
- Withhold your income and other taxes until changes are made.

- Avoid buying products from shops that have ETRs and avoid buying items that have a bar-code so that you can avoid paying VAT.

- Reduce or avoid consumption of pretaxed products such as beer, sodas and cigarettes .

- Reduce or avoid purchase of luxury goods until changes are made in solidarity with the poor.

- Buy products from local kiosks that do not charge VAT.

- Attend the official Jamhuri Day celebrations and join other Kenyans in demanding for tax relief. Wear a white ribbon or black T-shirt to show support.

- Participate in prayers, demonstrations, processions and other non violent actions.

- Give this message to other Kenyans.

- Communicate your discontent to politicians.

This post, in whole, has been taken from The Mars Group’s excellent call to action: White Ribbon Campaign: No Taxes For MPS, No Taxes For Ordinary Kenyans. Please show up on Jamhuri Day as we start the fight of our lives. Let’s take back our country!! I’ll be there, will you?

• Made in Kenya
• Where Do We Go From Here?
• 3 Easy Steps to Save Kenya from the Financial Crisis (or What Michuki Should Do Instead of Rambling Erratically)
• HELB has the Obligation to Finance Every Kenyan’s Education Damnit!
• Is Zain A Purple Cow?

This post was submitted by Maria.

Torture is not wrong because someone else thinks it is wrong….It is the torture that is wrong. Torture is wrong because it inflicts unspeakable pain upon the body of a fellow human being who is entirely at our mercy. The tortured person is bound and helpless. The torturer stands over him with his instruments. There is no question of “unilateral disarmament,” because the victim bears no arms, lacking even the use of the two arms he was born with. The inequality is total. To abuse or kill a person in such a circumstance is as radical a denial of common humanity as is possible. It is repugnant to learn that one’s country’s forces are engaging in torture. It is worse to learn that the torture is widespread. It is worse still to learn that the torture was rationalized and sanctioned…

Torture destroys the soul of the torturer even as it destroys the body of his victim. The boundary between humane treatment of prisoners and torture is perhaps the clearest boundary in existence between civilization and barbarism. (Adapted from What is Wrong With Torture?)

• Kikulacho Ki Nguoni Mwako
• Crooks and Liars: Who Owns the Stolen Tanks?
• Minister Pogisio
• Is Kenya Failing? 9 Steps to Turn Our Country Around
• A Political Insurgency in Kenya

While this is probably a move for political gain, I wholeheartedly applaud it. At least there are MPs who think straight, and think of us. I thank you and celebrate you, sirs!!

I continue to be ashamed of my MP, Bishop Margaret Wanjiru of Starehe. I voted for her thinking she would bring honest change but all I have seen is more of the same. Bishop Wanjiru, I shall NOT be voting for you, ever.

Who else is ashamed of his/her MP?

• A Political Insurgency in Kenya
• Republicans Want Obama’s Fundraising Investigated
• Is Kenya Failing? 9 Steps to Turn Our Country Around
• Who Else is Ashamed of his MP?
• What is Kikulacho?

This post was submitted by Maria.

They say Kenya is the land of opportunity. We all agree that wherever we go, we always want to come back home. But another thing about Kenyans is that they are sometimes too naive(at least the older generation is). Here’s why:

1. Members of Parliament
Our MPs are the highest paid government officials in the world yet they don’t want to pay taxes. At this point, all Kenyans are complaining, come 2012 it will cease to be a problem. Why do you think we can’t have our own Obama story here in Kenya? Kenyans seem not to want change. Year after year its the very same politicians running for office and its the very same politicians who refuse to pay taxes and commit crimes against Kenyans.
To me, Members of Parliament are like mean prefects bullying us for taxes and keeping it for their own good. Yes, politics is a dirty game, but does it always have to be this way? I mean, even our own president is still an MP. He actually gets 2 salaries when majority of Kenyans go along starving or without a roof over their heads. Why not be like Obama and give up your MP/Senator seat? Total waste of money if you ask me. A Kenyan with power and influence is like a small boy and his toy car, destructive, stubborn and mean.

2. City council
Why is it that every time someone wants to repair a road or build something, THEY HAVE TO GO TO CITY COUNCIL????
Look at these guys, every month they get allowances to repair or build something. When a local citizen wants to take the initiative themselves, its against the law and you have to consult who? City Council. Why does it have to be like this? I must say that the city planners did a very lousy job at it. Some places in town are unpassable yet there they are destroying Nakumatt Thika Road. Ever heard of bridge roads like in Japan? Somethings in Kenya are too late for.

3. Paying for everything
Have you noticed that every time you have to get that legal document, you have to pay for it. Let me ask you, what are our taxes for?
Even if you decide to pay for the service, they act like you are not doing them a favor Government offices are like a graveyard, zombies working and taking a break when the sand gets out of their ears. But not all government offices are bad, at least there is some improvement.

4. Business in Kenya
How many of you have ever tried to start a company in Kenya? Its worse than going to apply for a UK Visa. At least at the Embassy you know the steps and the requirements. Go try register a company and see how round you will get. There should be a guide available either by the government or by an existing firm member. I would buy it.
If registering is not enough, they further have the tax issues. What taxes are there to pay??? Why cant it just be clear at the start?
All licenses should be put as one so that its dealt with faster.

If you have any other comments, write them down because in the end, home is best.

• The White Ribbon Campaign - We Must Now DEMAND Our Rights!!
• The Butterfly Effect
• MPs Must Pay Taxes
• A Political Insurgency in Kenya
• Kenyan Companies

This post was submitted by Paul Kevin.

“They lifted me up and put me on the ground. They were arguing amongst themselves who was going to be the first.

Then one said that if I escaped from the knife and arrows, I would die of AIDS. Some of them held my legs and some held my hands while they raped me. When this was happening my husband and I were both still in the sitting room, but by now I was not watching my husband but pleading my own case.

The last time I had looked at him, it was like he was dead. He wasn’t moving.

One man raped me and then the second one and the third. They put their penises in my vagina. It was either the second or the third man who said they were not able to get inside me: so they cut me.

I think it was the panga they were carrying that they used. They cut my vagina. As they raped me I thought about my children. I remember that when I had my children, my doctor had told me that I had a narrow opening. So both my children were born by cesarean.

They continued raping me. It was when the fourth man was raping me that I went unconscious.” (Read the rest of this heart-wrenching ordeal over at Kumekucha)

“I remember clearly watching KTN news at 9pm the day the Naivasha killings took place. I saw a young man pulled out of a matatu by a mob. It looked like the matatu’s driver was threatened and he sped off (probably for his life) and saved many, or all, of the other passengers. The camera then shifted to the young man. My ears teared as I watched him get beaten up. He finally fell to the ground and all we could see was the backs of the evil that had surrounded him.” (Story as narrated by kayliz)

My own saddest moment during the election violence was when I saw, on national TV, an armed GSU officer/thug stalk an unarmed demonstrator in Kisumu. He shot the demonstrator and proceeded to kick his dying body. I switched off the TV and cried in shame. What can be said about a government killing its citizens?

Clearly, a lot of evil befell our country. A lot of people died and a lot of women were raped. In a country, such as ours, where the rule of law is respected, such crimes cannot and should not go unpunished - it doesn’t matter who did what!!

No way, no how, NO AMNESTY!!!

Image courtesy of DEMOSH

• Adressing the Rot in Kenya - Attitude is a Reflection of Leadership
• Where Do We Go From Here?
• Who Else is Ashamed of his MP?
• The White Ribbon Campaign - We Must Now DEMAND Our Rights!!
• A Political Insurgency in Kenya

This post was submitted by Maria.

M puts it very well, “In terms of appearing to care for the welfare of the Kenyan, few can match the performance of the Kenyan MP. Even when out of office, the Kenyan MP can display a touching concern and affection for the average Kenyan, especially if the average Kenyan is female, has the right dimensions and has access to funds of say, a Nigerian. (How’s it going Raphael?)
Kenyan MPs have no problem playing the David to the working man’s Uriah. In fact if you work in the city and think your MP will reappear at the constituency only at election time you’d better establish and maintain contact with your neighbours so you can be notified when David comes hunting your Bathsheba.

Sadly, this is the only interest your MP may show in you. He however expects you to pay for his fuel, for the roads he travels on, for the sugar cane he eats on the way, for the v1agr@ he pops en route and for the roof over his head. I was very amused when Amos Kimunya tried to tax these garden gnomes. Perhaps his current woes may be traced to this very act.”

Can a country’s leaders live in opulence while the citizens starve?

It is not fair that while the poorest Kenyans struggle to pay their taxes patriotically, a select minority of wealthy men and women refuse to do so. As pointed out inn the Daily Nation, it is also illegal. I have taken the liberty to calculate what my MP must pay in taxes. Please call or write to your MP today. They must all pay taxes!

You can find MP contact details at the following locations:
Mzalendo
Bidii Africa
Wananchi Forums

• Made in Kenya
• Hating The Business Daily Africa
• Kenyan Financial Woes and Bursting Bubbles
• The White Ribbon Campaign - We Must Now DEMAND Our Rights!!
• HELB has the Obligation to Finance Every Kenyan’s Education Damnit!

This post was submitted by Maria.

As I watch the event unfolding many questions crosses my mind :-

Where is the Top Quality coffee that she toils everyday to produce?
Can a nation export crops when its people are starving?
Can a nation’s natural resources become a curse?
Can slavery still be existing in the 21st century even as the children of former slaves rule the world?

The woman quickly prepares breakfast and wakes up her children to start another day under the bright African sun. The children have to travel more than 2km to reach the nearest government school. As the children leave for school, she hurries up to go and till her farm which does not even produce enough to feed her 7 children let alone provide a decent living for her family. She only has the most basic of farming tools: a hoe well balanced on her shoulders and a panga to plough her 2.5 acre piece of land. With the youngest child tightly strapped on her back (to her, employing a house help is like you dreaming of buying a yacht). She continues doing the only thing she only knows how: physically forcing the hard ground to open up, sweat drips from her every pore but she can’t stop or else her household will starve.

Yes you guessed it right, the father is an absentee dad having left for the big city with the excuse of looking for work, but where is the income that he earns? The mother of seven has been left to be the father, mother and anything else in between. Why is this so? How come no one seems to care for the millions of poor subsistence farmers who toil in unproductive farms all day? The many young people who toil producing hand made so called jua kali products. Where are all the young people with brilliant ideas, energy and enthusiasm for bringing economic change to the wretched of the world? Where are the scholars who will come up with academic models for economic empowerment to lift people out of poverty?

The young people are all too busy trying to outdo each other, chasing career progress to care about the young woman, they have their issues too: unemployment, lack of skills, lack of opportunities,
relationships that don seem to work, blah blah blah

The Dons are busy regurgitating 18th century theories to young minds to come up with new knowledge in the name of a Bachelor of ………..no wonder Harvard has the highest number of Professors whose area of specialization is Poverty in the third world.

The politicians are too busy tearing into each other and organising goons to attack the opponent’s supporters to think about the right policy mix to help the poor and plotting how to win the next election.

I am too busy lamenting what others are not doing …………………………………….

These are some of the challenges that developing nations face each and every day until we the young people decide to change the status quo. We must rise above the greed, the fierce urge to achieve economic success at the expense of others, the get rich quick mentality, the politics of exclusion and govt knows it all, the lack of self confidence to build institution, the begging mentality since no one
else will create a future for our continent. We must learn how the international economic game is played and become better than even the current players; we must engrain in our people a passion that is infectious because we only have blood, toil, sweat and cheers to give.

I do not know why natural resources are a curse in Africa, from DRC Congo, Liberia, Nigeria, Angola, Sudan to Papua New Guinea but a blessing to the Qataris, Emirates, Bahrain, Saudis etc. We can blame the MNC, the mercenaries, the greedy politicians but the buck stops with us the young people of Africa. We watch as our natural resources are raped, we are paid peanuts to exploit our mothers, sisters and brothers, we have the knowledge skills and energy to bring meaningful change but we don’t. If you are still reading this just say a prayer since you are an endangered species, a human being who still believes things can be better, still idealist with all the harsh realities of everyday staring in your eyes at every turn.

So let see what we can do if at all there is “anything” we can:
 First we can give hope to the generation after us.
 We can use our skills & knowledge to help farmers, small business owners, Jua Kali Artisans etc build capacity in all Disciplines from production techniques, storage, marketing, branding, Intellectual property and the list is endless.
 We can make volunteering cool for once in this country “the old saying of am not red cross has just helped us retrogress”
 We can come up with business models dedicated to providing goods & services to the bottom of the pyramid where most of Africa is. There are very inspiring examples of this all around us we just need to take the first step.
 AND MANY MORE ………………………that we can come up with.

Finally, this is not a lecture but a call towards more candid and serious discussion on how to lift people out of poverty. Prof Sachs (et al) is doing his part through the millennium villages yet he has never experienced extreme poverty 1st hand, what about WE THE PEOPLE WHO SEE EXTREME POVERTY EVERDAY OF OUR LIVES. JOIN HANDS TO CHANGE THIS SITUATION ONE DAY AT A TIME JOIN Minds and let’s share knowledge and start ACTING NOW.

I REMAIN
Njoroge Maingi

• The White Ribbon Campaign - We Must Now DEMAND Our Rights!!
• A Political Insurgency in Kenya
• No Way No How No Amnesty
• How To Develop Your Critical Thinking Skills
• What is Kikulacho?

This post was submitted by Maingi.

This week, there’s been a furious argument on a Google group for Kenyan ‘professionals’. The debate resolved around the Waki report and the post-election violence witnessed in Kenya earlier this year. Whilst it is important to talk about these things, as we heal, I was saddened by the nature of this particular debate. The debate got so heated that the group’s moderator had to step in to end the debating. Why? Because the discussion had turned nasty and many people had gone ‘tribal’. A few members even sunk as low as being disrespectful to each other.

Now, why would young ‘professionals’ do this? What would make a reasonable person suddenly unreasonable and abusive? I have to say that the answer to this question lies deep within each one who took part in that heated debate.

However, I’d like to point out an important observation. There’s a deep political divide in our country, and it is all too easy to divide people; to get people emotional and angry. Still, one thing everyone seems to agree on is that the blame for much of the wrong that has been done to Kenya and Kenyans lies squarely on the shoulders of a disgusting creature: the Kenyan politician. I don’t think it is necessary that I elaborate on this any further - we all know it: whether ODM or PNU or whatever else, our politicians (especially of the MP variety) have failed us. They have let us down so many times before and they continue to do so.

I have no idea why we keep on re-electing them but I want to urge you to let today be the day that we start to change Kenya. Let’s make the decision today. Let the last elections be the last time we elect thugs to power. Let us say that we shall never again elect ‘leaders’ who bring us little else than shame and pain.

A story is told about a man with a Kenyan father and an American mother. A man who beat all odds to become the president of a country that he loves. If this story teaches us nothing else, it must teach us to have hope. Unending hope. Our country is ruled by ‘big men’. These people who have labored hard to rise to power and men who don’t care about you or anyone you know. These people care only about themselves and will do nothing but cheat and steal from you. We must not let this go on. We must send these people home. We need a political ‘insurgency’ to bring this system crashing down and give Kenya real leaders.

We have five years, we can do this. We can change our country, can’t we?

• Made in Kenya
• Our Own Pandora’s Box - The Waki Report
• Make Money With kikulacho
• Two MPs to be Taxed - Kenyan Heroes
• Is Kenya Failing? 9 Steps to Turn Our Country Around

This post was submitted by Maria.

After falling in love with zuku from all the nice marketing in town, I
had it installed at home. You won’t believe how much trouble it’s
been. Argh!! The wananchi customer care is almost nonexistent, it took
close to a week to get my equipment running and the speeds I am
getting are not comparable to those advertised!! And they had the
audacity to tell me since it is “shared” I cannot get maximum speeds.
Why didn’t they tell me this before? Eh? GRRRRRRRRRRRR

Anyway!

This makes me think about the importance of consumer reviews. There
could be immense value (especially money saved) if we had a way to
access a product’s/service’s reviews (by normal people - not
marketers!). Does anyone agree with me?

Would you find a Kenyan goods/services consumer review website helpful?

• Suffericom
• Is Zain A Purple Cow?
• MPs Must Pay Taxes
• Make Money With kikulacho
• What is Kikulacho?

I don’t think so. I believe the Business Daily Africa wasn’t meant to be a part of the gutter press. I could be wrong, though, as this particular article is straight from the gutter. I quote:

“Obviously you can’t buy a Toyota Prius. Quite apart from the acid rain caused by mining the nickel for its battery, and the fact it uses an enormous amount of fuel to cover incredibly short distances, it looks absolutely stupid.

Enthusiastic homosexuals, for instance, favour the white vest. People who holiday in Cornwall sport Boden swimming trunks. Golfers enjoy dressing as Rupert Bear. And green people have their odd-looking cars.”

It seems someone hates the prius so much that it makes him think of murderers and homosexuals. Goodness! This made me laugh. I mean, seriously?

Not only has he got his facts wrong (including that murderers nod to each other in the street) but his analogy is just silly. The prius no doubt isn’t a perfect car but any negative review should be done more professionally.

Isn’t beauty relative? I love the prius’ look. It needs some work in the interior but it really does save you money on fuel if you live in a city with busy roads. More information on the prius here: The Prius.

The Business Daily is not a well run paper. This particular article should never have been published unless they’re shedding their “Professionally done Business Paper” image. If you read the article carefully, you will notice subtle nuances that suggest the writer is not Kenyan, or at least doesn’t usually live here. Personally, I think he hails from the UK or thereabouts.

What does this mean? Two things:
1. The Business Daily sources articles from freelance writers. Nothing wrong with this, of course.
2. The article was a shameless cut-and-paste by some lazy editor who trusts this particular freelance writer so much that he didn’t bother to read the article fully.

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This post was submitted by kayliz.

Yesterday as I sat down watching the ODM goons trash the Waki report so shamelessly, I could have burst in anger. Can you believe they asked for guys on Waki’s list to be tried in Kenyan courts - the same courts they so very strongly refused to go to in January. Filthy, dirty hypocrisy!!

Who do they think they are? Ati since the evidence was from the public it cannot be “factual”. Doesn’t the report clearly say that the evidence it presents is inconclusive? Moreover, and sadly, trashing evidence given by the victims of the violence is nothing but an ungrateful, disrespectful slap in the faces of all the people who died, were injured or lost property.

Then a few hours later the PNU goons come with ther own weird nonsense (though better than ODM’s) - they want the Waki report and the Waki list of shame to be tabled in parliament so that the alleged perpetrators can “defend” themselves. That’s rubbish - parliament is not a court of law!! Anyone wanting to defend him/herself can do it in The Hague or at the tribunal called for by Waki.

Clearly, these….”people” have failed us but why do we keep electing the same guys year in, year out? Don’t we want the change this country needs so very much? Maybe this has to do with the fact that these same guys have the money to buy into positions of power - many people tell me that getting to be an MP is a very dirty money game. But something has to give. This culture of impunity has to come to an end one way or another. If it has to end at The Hague then so be it! I want leaders I can be proud of.

• Our Own Pandora’s Box - The Waki Report
• Waki: The pride of Kenya
• The Waki List of Shame
• Made in Kenya
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This post was submitted by kayliz.

The list was subjected to review by independent persons at the different stages of compiling the report including by the staff and commissioners as well as by national experts contracted by the National Commission to review the report and critique the same.

KIKULACHO DISCLAIMER: We publish this because we feel it is of public interest. Read and understand our terms of use for this website. We do not know if this is the actual list. Download with caution. Here’s to ending impunity in our country:

• Who Else is Ashamed of his MP?
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• Hating The Business Daily Africa

This post was submitted by Proudly Kenyan.

What is a rational investor to do? It’s never a good idea to sell good stocks during bad times - you will get a raw deal. It’s much better to get rid of bad stocks and use the money to buy other good stocks whose value during bad times should be depressed and hence provides an opportunity to make money. What is a bad stock?

How do you know when a company is at risk of corporate collapse? To detect any signs of looming bankruptcy, investors calculate and analyze all kinds of financial ratios: working capital, profitability, debt levels and liquidity. The trouble is, each ratio is unique and tells a different story about a firm’s financial health. At times they can even appear to contradict each other. Having to rely on a bunch of individual ratios, the investor may find it confusing and difficult to know when a stock is going bad.

Z Marks The Spot
The Z-score formula for predicting bankruptcy was developed in 1968 by Edward I. Altman, a financial economist and professor at the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University. The Z-score is a multivariate formula that measures the financial health of a company and predicts the probability of bankruptcy within two years.

Studies measuring the effectiveness of the Z-score have shown the model to be accurate with more than 70% reliability. The Z-score combines five common business ratios using a weighting system calculated by Altman to determine the likelihood of bankruptcy. The weighting system was originally based on data from publicly held manufacturers, but has since been modified for private manufacturing, non-manufacturing and service companies.

Z = 1.2A + 1.4B + 3.3C + 0.6D + 0.999E

Where:
A = Working Capital/Total Assets - A firm with negative working capital is likely to experience problems meeting its short-term obligations.
B = Retained Earnings/Total Assets - Companies with this ratio high probably have a history of profitability and the ability to stand up to a bad year of losses.
C = Earnings Before Interest & Tax/Total Assets - An effective way of assessing a firm’s ability to profit from its assets before things like interest and tax are deducted.
D = Market Value of Equity/Total Liabilities - a ratio that shows, if a firm were to become insolvent, how much the company’s market value would decline before liabilities exceed assets.
E = Sales/Total Assets - A measure of how well management handles competition and how efficiently the firm uses assets to generate sales.

Strictly speaking, the lower the score, the higher are the odds of bankruptcy. A Z-score of lower than 1.8 indicates that the company is heading for bankruptcy. Companies with scores above 3 are unlikely to enter bankruptcy. Scores in between 1.8 and 3 lie in a gray area.

Click here for an introduction to common financial ratios.

The Z Score in Action - Predicting Uchumi’s Fall
To demonstrate the power of the Z-score, let’s look at how it holds up with a test case: Uchumi. Here’s some information off the face of publicly available Uchumi financial statements in 2004 - two whole years before it went under and into receiversip. Could an average investor have predicted the fall of Uchumi and therefore saved some of his money by selling early?

Current Assets = 1,411,366
Current Liabilities = 2,738,824
Working Capital = Current Assets less Current Liabilities = (1,327,458)
Retained Earnings = (486,097)
Earnings Before Interest and Tax = (629,685)
Market Value of Equity = 2,610,000 (Calculated using information from here)
Sales = 7,962,986
Total Asset = 3,265,097
Total Liabilities = 3,155,132
(All figures in millions of shillings)

From this information, we get a Z-Score of 1.6

What does this mean? A careful investor holding Uchumi shares could have saved himself some money by selling the shares early - and all without any special analysis tool. You just needed a copy of Uchumi financial statements!!

Conclusion
The Z-score is not perfect and needs to be calculated and interpreted with care - it is only as accurate as the data that goes into it. For example, since the Z-score uses information available on the face of financial statements, creative accountants can easily manipulate that information and distort the Z-score. Also, the Z-score also isn’t much use for new companies with little or no earnings; these companies, regardless of their financial health, will score low. Moreover, the Z-score doesn’t address the issue of cash flows directly (and cash is what pays bills!).

Although the numbers that go into calculating the Z-score (and a company’s financial soundness) are sometimes influenced by external factors, it provides a good quick analysis of where your company stands compared to the competition, and a good tool for analyzing the ups and downs of your company’s financial stability over time. Arguably, it’s best to use the model as a quick check of financial health, but if the score indicates a problem, it’s a good idea to conduct a more detailed analysis.

Do you hold any company’s shares? IS that company headed for bankruptcy?

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Ask psychologists, philosophers, and brain scientists what critical thinking is, and you’ll get many definitions. However, all of them seem to agree that it includes challenging and analyzing our own motivations, thought processes and conclusions. Here is a basic definition:

“Reasonable and reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe and/or how to act.”

Reasonable shouldn’t be confused with logical, since many of the most unreasonable ideas result logically from a chosen set of premises and assumptions. A set of premises which include a flat Earth, for example, can lead to the perfectly logical conclusion that a boat will fall off the edge of the planet if it goes too close. Logic is a systematic way to derive conclusions from premises, but the premises themselves may be right or wrong.

Being reasonable then, means allowing for the possibility that reality may not match our premises. Being reasonable means observing, gathering evidence, and using inductive reasoning (all dogs I see have four legs, so dogs must normally have four legs). On the other hand, logic is limited to deductive reasoning, and one bad premise can taint all deductions that come from it. It is reasonable, therefore, to challenge not just our logic, but the premises it is based on.

To be reflective, is to ask questions like, “How could I be wrong here? What assumptions am I making and are they correct? Are there other explanations that may be better?

Suppose on a hot humid day, you think, “Humidity makes the air feel warmer, and it is normally more humid in Montana than in Arizona, so if the temperature is the same in both places, it will normally feel warmer in Montana.” Unassailable logic, but a wrong conclusion, as I and anyone who has lived in both places in winter can tell you. Humid air actually feels warmer when it’s hot and cooler when it’s cold.

To avoid errors like this, you ask if it’s true that humidity makes air feel warmer. A hot day’s experience says yes, but when you look for possible errors you note the hidden assumption that “it’s true at any temperature.” You challenge that assumption,and remember that the hot feeling is partly because your sweat can’t evaporate as fast in humid air, so your body can’t cool itself as well. Reflecting on that, you realize it wouldn’t matter as much when it’s cold, because you sweat less.

Cultivate Your Critical Thinking Skills

You may already have enough knowledge to correct the error, but if not, a bit of critical thought would at least point out the need to gather more information. You can see in this example the kind of mind set you need as a critical thinker. What else can you do to develop critical thinking skills? There are specific exercises and practices for that. Here are three of them.

Evidence

Make it a habit to ask for evidence. That might mean simply asking “where did you read that?” or “Was that speculation, or did they actually do a test?” Be prepared to provide evidence for your own claims as well. We don’t carry our sources with us, of course, but you should be able to get a sense whether there really is some basis for a claim or belief.

Source

Because we don’t carry evidence around with us, we all accept many things said at face value, at least for the sake of discussion. Otherwise our conversations would be more like interrogations, and probably very short. However, we can consider the sources of information and evidence. We can ask if this person usually remembers the facts correctly. We can consider if the source they refer to is reliable.

Motivations

What we believe, what others believe, and what evidence is considered by anyone, is in part a function of motivations. Because of this, a magazine might be entirely biased in it’s reporting, yet have all of their facts perfectly verified. Of course, you should ask yourself if there is enough of a motivation for outright lying, but this isn’t as common as many people think. A more important part of you critical thinking skills is to ask why these certain facts may have been reported (what bias is likely), and what facts are being ignored or passed over.

Copyright Steve Gillman. For six more specific Critical Thinking Skills, and to get the Brainpower Newsletter and other free gifts, visit: http://www.IncreaseBrainPower.com/critical-thinking.html

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This post was submitted by Steve Gillman.

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• Seeking Domination: Safaricom Vs Orange Vs Zain Roundup

Mathew Ingram adds, “Ad revenues for the company’s traditional media operations, including the New York Times newspaper, fell by 14 per cent in September. Ad revenues for the online operations, including About.com, climbed by 14.5 per cent — but those operations still only account for 12 per cent of the business. The bottom line: Online ad revenues in the year to date climbed by about $10-million to $79-million, but ad revenues for the company’s traditional businesses fell by about $200-million to $1.2-billion. Even if online ad revenues were to increase ten-fold, it still wouldn’t make a dent in those losses. Classified sales alone were down by 25 per cent.”

What can Kenyan newspapers learn from this?
There are two important lessons here:
1. The newspaper as we know it is on its deathbed. The New York Times is perhaprs one of the best known and most repspeted newspapers in the world. Its readership is huge. Yet, the traditional media, aka the “newspaper”, section is failing. Why is this so? Answer: the future of news is not in old media.

2. The internet works. Notice that as the old media section of the New York Times is failing, ad revenues for its online operations actually increased. This suggests that the future of news has to be online - that’s where the money is.

What can Kenyan Newspapers do?
I covered this fairly well in another article: How to Save Newspapers - 3 Steps that Work. The basic idea is to shift the focus to online ventures. Of course the internet is yet to really hit Kenya in a big way but it is just a matter of time. Why wait till the last minute?

Read the press release on Yahoo Finance.

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