Some stories sound stranger than fiction. When a whole senator is mentioned on social media as having misbehaved at an international airport and causing a security breach simply because he refuses to follow procedure of producing correct identification documents because he is a big shot yet such demands should be made on the hoi polloi ‘watu’ then we need to get really scared.
When an MP in obvious disregard of firearms handling protocols discharges his gun accidentally at an airport then we must ask ourselves some questions regarding his competence to carry a dagger let alone a loaded firearm. When another MP is accidentally shot by his own trained body guard who should be last person to shoot his charge then we must ask ourselves some searching questions about whether there was more to this saga than meets the eye!
When a senators wife is sensationally on national TV complaining to the world how her husband has made her life a living hell by removing all the furniture in the house, cutting off the water and electricity and even carting away the gas cylinder from the house just so that she can be forced to vacate a property where she resides courtesy of a court order, then brethren we need to ask ourselves what kind of leadership we have while running for the hills at full tilt!
When other elected leaders blatantly and in the full view of the world are named as beneficiaries of grabbed parcels of land worth billions of Kenya shillings from Lamu, Kisii, Makueni, Nairobi and other parts of the country then surely we must all be dreaming and shall soon wake up to find that it was indeed all just a bad nightmare!
I could go on and on with various examples of a leadership run amok but these examples should suffice being the most recent ones that come to mind because all this is happening while we are wide awake, sober, of sound mind and in a state of righteous indignation! Whether the stories are true or false is neither here nor there because as responsible leaders, like Ceaser’s wife, our leaders should be above suspicion and reproach. However, the regularity and continued mentions of scandalous behavior among one or other of our leadership gives rise to a probable likelihood of some truth in the tales to be believed even by their most diehard supporters!
Wikipedia describes leadership as "a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". For example, some understand a leader simply as somebody whom people follow or as somebody who guides or directs others, while others define leadership as "organizing a group of people to achieve a common goal". But, do our leaders really fit into this description of leadership based on the few examples portrayed above?
Looked at another way, and going by the popular adage that the people choose the leaders they deserve, does it mean that we are really no better than those that we elect from the hundreds of leaders that try to convince us that they are our best bet to get us from Sodom & Gomorrah to the Promised Land be it at the county or national level? Are we so narrow minded and parochial that we cannot elect any other leaders other than the same ones guaranteed to embarrass us one more time as their last hurray?
Many of the antics of the leaders (that we have collectively chosen) are nothing short of criminal and a blatant disregard for the rights under the constitution of those that have elected them and for which they have taken an oath to defend since they continue to trample us underfoot, ride roughshod on us and generally get away with literally murder.
Many of their antics would result in an immediate arrest for those less connected in the hallowed precincts of the corridors of power as has been demonstrated time and time again from as far back as any of us can remember and many of our retired politicians must be surely gnashing their teeth and tearing off their hair (where it exists) when they see these excesses whether they be still alive and (barely) kicking or somewhere in heaven, hell or that in between place called purgatory!! There must surely be two sets of criminal laws in existence in Kenya today, for the leaders and then for the rest of us hoi polloi ‘watu’ otherwise how else do you explain the apparent disconnect in the application of the law?
In the Kenyan context, we need to redefine leadership to include some of the antics and excesses portrayed by our leaders because why should be keep making the same mistakes year in year out of electing people with similar characteristics if they do not fit into the mold of responsible leaders and as per the universally accepted description from Wikipedia unless we are the perfect example of doing the same thing day in day out and hoping for different results!! It is likely that other countries out there also suffer from a dearth of good leadership but as good Africans we must firstly be intent on cleaning up our own leaders within our homestead before venturing out to correct the leadership in the next homestead!
I know we have some hard working and genuine leaders out there who are as unhappy with the state of affairs in our country as the majority of us voters are to whom I apologize to in advance. I am miffed and feeling utterly helpless about our predicament and a ‘ventfest’ was long overdue. If it is not one drama, it is another and twice on weekends just to piss us off more by Monday.
I shall not blame the devil for our predicament nor ask God for his intercession for that matter because we are where we are because we chose those that now lead us today - dirty socks, torn undies and all!!
Friday, 24 October 2014
Tuesday, 14 October 2014
The inexorable march of progress along Mombasa Road:
I drove down to the Coast recently where I was a guest in a friend’s family villa for 3 days at Vipingo Ridge in Kilifi. The villa was my wife’s idea to celebrate my birthday and also get in a few days of golf and R&R. The villa is a modern 5 bedroom all en-suite place with a swimming pool and Jacuzzi and set in a well landscaped garden all fit for a king and his queen! We were well taken care of by the resident cook, housekeeper and gardener during our stay clearly more than eager to have visitors whom they could take care of. That’s a story for another day though!!
We always prefer to drive to the coast otherwise you are forced to hire a car for the duration of your stay so as to get around or worse still use a taxi cab at horrendous rates since taxis in Mombasa are so expensive. The drive down is an exercise in infinite patience and driving skill as you navigate the 500 odd kilometers or so of Mombasa Road from Nairobi competing with the heavy commercial vehicles transporting goods and commodities to and from various East African countries like DRC, Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda & Burundi along with the long distance passenger buses racing to their destinations to pick up yet more passengers for the return journey from whence they set off.
Unlike other times we have driven to and from the Coast, this time there were few personal vehicles on the road and no tourist vans suggesting that Mombasa has taken a beating from the terrorism activities witnessed there over the past few months where hotels are struggling in terms of business…………..or most tourists are choosing to fly!
What struck me the most as we travelled down (and back) was the amount of ongoing projects along the route all seemingly geared towards the standard gauge rail project whose first phase is scheduled for completion in 2017 and whose construction was touted to commence in October 2014. Well folks I am happy to say that there is indeed some action happening on the ground in this regard.
I am sure that any project of such magnitude would have serious logistics in place to ensure that the tight timelines are met from land compensation issues, materials supplies, human resource needs, heavy equipment sourcing, security and so forth. This is evident wherever they have set up some camp or another along the entire route as they also create access roads and construct prefabricated structures and other necessities for the comfort and safety of their assets. A lot of heavy construction equipment is evident in many of the camps, possibly the main central supply camps to other smaller camps/work sites within a specified area. So as others choose to play politics with this very important project, stuff is definitely going on!!
We could also not help noticing the sheer volume of flatbed trucks laden with all sorts of heavy construction equipment as we drove to the Coast. Whether these are solely for the standard gauge rail project or for other projects across the country is not certain, but one thing is clear, the levels of investment in heavy construction equipment is impressive, as well as being a pointer to intense construction projects happening in the country. We also came across several convoys of extra-long trucks carrying wind generator towers and rotor blades (for probably Turkana Wind Farm). The sheer size of this equipment is mind boggling and a sight to behold with each blade being all of 50-70 feet or more in length. You can imagine the length of the truck transporting such equipment. Somewhere along the way, a convoy of trucks carrying boilers (or silos) slowed us down to a veritable crawl no doubt destined for one of the factories in the region
No doubt all this activity shall translate into business opportunities for a large number of people either directly involved in the actual projects as skilled laborers and suppliers or indirectly as beneficiaries of economic activity associated with large scale projects from accommodation facilities, hotels and restaurants, retail shops, mobile money, phone repairs, watch repairs etc along the planned routes. These kinds of projects have the potential to turn around whole communities that are located in the immediate neighborhood of the ongoing projects and any right thinking citizen should be as anxious to see that these projects are a success simply because of the physical changes that follow in their wake. India as an example, with its 60,000 kilometers of rail tracks has probably grown into an economic giant partly because of the ease of transporting, goods, services and people cheaply and over long distances thanks to the Indian Railways the largest public sector employer in that country.
Ironically, this project to some extent also spells doom to the main purveyors of the tonnes of equipment, supplies and materials required by the standard gauge project, the thousands of long haul trucks that have been the main transporter of goods and commodities from Mombasa to hundreds of industrial, commercial and institutional companies across East Africa once the cheaper and faster option of rail transport becomes a reality. But for now, the truck rules supreme as it cargoes its precious commodities and machinery to drive the economies of the East African Community member countries.
I am glad I drove down to the Coast and back notwithstanding the slow 7 hours journey thanks to the hundreds of trucks on the road because it gave me an opportunity to see the progress made in this mega project costing billions of shillings, probably the largest one in Kenya since independence as well as observe first-hand the movement of vast quantities of machinery, industrial goods and other commodities. Brace yourselves for emerging business opportunities when the Nairobi to Mombasa phase of the standard gauge rail project is completed because with journey times estimated at 4 hours one way to Mombasa, it shall be possible to live in Nairobi and run a comfortable and profitable business venture somewhere in Mtito Andei and yet commute daily back to Nairobi.
14/10/14
We always prefer to drive to the coast otherwise you are forced to hire a car for the duration of your stay so as to get around or worse still use a taxi cab at horrendous rates since taxis in Mombasa are so expensive. The drive down is an exercise in infinite patience and driving skill as you navigate the 500 odd kilometers or so of Mombasa Road from Nairobi competing with the heavy commercial vehicles transporting goods and commodities to and from various East African countries like DRC, Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda & Burundi along with the long distance passenger buses racing to their destinations to pick up yet more passengers for the return journey from whence they set off.
Unlike other times we have driven to and from the Coast, this time there were few personal vehicles on the road and no tourist vans suggesting that Mombasa has taken a beating from the terrorism activities witnessed there over the past few months where hotels are struggling in terms of business…………..or most tourists are choosing to fly!
What struck me the most as we travelled down (and back) was the amount of ongoing projects along the route all seemingly geared towards the standard gauge rail project whose first phase is scheduled for completion in 2017 and whose construction was touted to commence in October 2014. Well folks I am happy to say that there is indeed some action happening on the ground in this regard.
I am sure that any project of such magnitude would have serious logistics in place to ensure that the tight timelines are met from land compensation issues, materials supplies, human resource needs, heavy equipment sourcing, security and so forth. This is evident wherever they have set up some camp or another along the entire route as they also create access roads and construct prefabricated structures and other necessities for the comfort and safety of their assets. A lot of heavy construction equipment is evident in many of the camps, possibly the main central supply camps to other smaller camps/work sites within a specified area. So as others choose to play politics with this very important project, stuff is definitely going on!!
We could also not help noticing the sheer volume of flatbed trucks laden with all sorts of heavy construction equipment as we drove to the Coast. Whether these are solely for the standard gauge rail project or for other projects across the country is not certain, but one thing is clear, the levels of investment in heavy construction equipment is impressive, as well as being a pointer to intense construction projects happening in the country. We also came across several convoys of extra-long trucks carrying wind generator towers and rotor blades (for probably Turkana Wind Farm). The sheer size of this equipment is mind boggling and a sight to behold with each blade being all of 50-70 feet or more in length. You can imagine the length of the truck transporting such equipment. Somewhere along the way, a convoy of trucks carrying boilers (or silos) slowed us down to a veritable crawl no doubt destined for one of the factories in the region
No doubt all this activity shall translate into business opportunities for a large number of people either directly involved in the actual projects as skilled laborers and suppliers or indirectly as beneficiaries of economic activity associated with large scale projects from accommodation facilities, hotels and restaurants, retail shops, mobile money, phone repairs, watch repairs etc along the planned routes. These kinds of projects have the potential to turn around whole communities that are located in the immediate neighborhood of the ongoing projects and any right thinking citizen should be as anxious to see that these projects are a success simply because of the physical changes that follow in their wake. India as an example, with its 60,000 kilometers of rail tracks has probably grown into an economic giant partly because of the ease of transporting, goods, services and people cheaply and over long distances thanks to the Indian Railways the largest public sector employer in that country.
Ironically, this project to some extent also spells doom to the main purveyors of the tonnes of equipment, supplies and materials required by the standard gauge project, the thousands of long haul trucks that have been the main transporter of goods and commodities from Mombasa to hundreds of industrial, commercial and institutional companies across East Africa once the cheaper and faster option of rail transport becomes a reality. But for now, the truck rules supreme as it cargoes its precious commodities and machinery to drive the economies of the East African Community member countries.
I am glad I drove down to the Coast and back notwithstanding the slow 7 hours journey thanks to the hundreds of trucks on the road because it gave me an opportunity to see the progress made in this mega project costing billions of shillings, probably the largest one in Kenya since independence as well as observe first-hand the movement of vast quantities of machinery, industrial goods and other commodities. Brace yourselves for emerging business opportunities when the Nairobi to Mombasa phase of the standard gauge rail project is completed because with journey times estimated at 4 hours one way to Mombasa, it shall be possible to live in Nairobi and run a comfortable and profitable business venture somewhere in Mtito Andei and yet commute daily back to Nairobi.
14/10/14
Wednesday, 1 October 2014
I have been on leave:
I have just completed my leave and it was a well-deserved two weeks of rest and recreation – R&R. as my family is based in Nairobi, the Nairobi traffic was my biggest irritant and I now even more than ever before wonder how I was able to survive all that time in the big city. I also found out that we are now a nation of tortoises and sloths driving around at zero speed and clogging up the roads in the process.
On one memorable drive along the Nairobi-Limuru Road while on leave, there was a solid line of traffic on both outbound lanes as private vehicles tried to keep up with the long distance trucks just below the 50 kilometers per hour speed limit. How ridiculous you might think until you are the one facing a roadside magistrate and being slapped with an over speeding fine!! Nowadays people are so scared of being caught over speeding that they would rather err on the side of caution and therefore crawl through life at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour or less……..only in Nairobi!!
The issue of speeding is now one of the conversational topics you are likely to have when you meet up with friends as well as warning anyone new into the country to be aware of the speed rules and therefore they should drive sloooowly!! Alcoblow comes a close second in favorite topics for discussion.
But I am now back to Nyeri and what a difference two weeks has made. The main road into town is now being re-carpeted and in some sections being completely redone. The abandoned section of the road just after Gatitu at Wambugu Farm has also been completed. Traffic flows have been seriously affected as they have closed off parts of the road and diverted traffic to use alternate (almost none existent) roads as the asphalt laying machine does its thing. It almost feels like a mini Nairobi what with the resultant traffic jams.
I am not sure if road closure notices are a legal requirement as I have not seen any notice of intention to close the roads to vehicular traffic in Nyeri but all seem to be taking it in their stride though I would like to bash someone over the head for increasing my commute time to work by a factor of almost 4 – from 4 minutes to 15 minutes!!
All in all I am well refreshed and raring to go through this rat race called life even as we hurtle to a crescendo in this final quarter of the year 2014. Before we know it we shall be celebrating Christmas and the New Year!!
On one memorable drive along the Nairobi-Limuru Road while on leave, there was a solid line of traffic on both outbound lanes as private vehicles tried to keep up with the long distance trucks just below the 50 kilometers per hour speed limit. How ridiculous you might think until you are the one facing a roadside magistrate and being slapped with an over speeding fine!! Nowadays people are so scared of being caught over speeding that they would rather err on the side of caution and therefore crawl through life at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour or less……..only in Nairobi!!
The issue of speeding is now one of the conversational topics you are likely to have when you meet up with friends as well as warning anyone new into the country to be aware of the speed rules and therefore they should drive sloooowly!! Alcoblow comes a close second in favorite topics for discussion.
But I am now back to Nyeri and what a difference two weeks has made. The main road into town is now being re-carpeted and in some sections being completely redone. The abandoned section of the road just after Gatitu at Wambugu Farm has also been completed. Traffic flows have been seriously affected as they have closed off parts of the road and diverted traffic to use alternate (almost none existent) roads as the asphalt laying machine does its thing. It almost feels like a mini Nairobi what with the resultant traffic jams.
I am not sure if road closure notices are a legal requirement as I have not seen any notice of intention to close the roads to vehicular traffic in Nyeri but all seem to be taking it in their stride though I would like to bash someone over the head for increasing my commute time to work by a factor of almost 4 – from 4 minutes to 15 minutes!!
All in all I am well refreshed and raring to go through this rat race called life even as we hurtle to a crescendo in this final quarter of the year 2014. Before we know it we shall be celebrating Christmas and the New Year!!
Tuesday, 2 September 2014
How government services have evolved:
It was dog-eared; its spine broken and separating and it looked pitiful. The almost two decades of poor handling had definitely taken its toll and it showed. Years of being neglected and confined to a small space with the occasional break to be scrutinized as necessary were showing and it was at the breaking point and almost giving up the ghost. It was just a matter of time and the inevitable would happen and it would be rejected as undeserving of being considered of any positive use any more.
It was my national ID card that vital document that all Kenyans over the age of 18 are expected to acquire so as to give them access to jobs, services and recognition as bona fide citizens of the Republic of Kenya. It had spent the last 18 years in one wallet or another, constrained to spend more time than necessary in a cramped compartment a victim of circumstances that demanded that I have it on me and in its original form at all times to enable me identify myself at the MPesa agent, when entering a building or government establishment, cashing a cheque or when required to identify myself by a competent authority.
On its occasional forays out of its compartment squeezed in between ATM card, NSSF Card, Club membership card, business cards and other assorted flotsam unfortunate enough to find their way into my wallet, it had lain in countless pigeon holes in one building reception or another no doubt enjoying the fresh air it had been denied while in the wallet, had been photocopied countless times for one reason or another warming itself on the photocopier’s afterglow and its time was surely up. I had to get a replacement.
So it was with some trepidation that I visited the Huduma Centre in Nyeri when I saw the sign had been put up announcing its arrival intent on obtaining a replacement ID as soon as possible. I was however first time unlucky as they were just setting up shop and not yet ready to serve the public as I was informed. I was however taken aback by the friendliness of the staff with one particular guy engaging me with promises of WOW! services devoid of the usual sloth and delays within the government bureaucracy that we had all come to accept as the hallmark of service in government.
The set up was also warm, inviting, pleasant and welcoming with the usual government issue furniture replaced by decor and color schemes more suited to a busy commercial office of a successful mobile service provider, with the staff resplendent in smart uniforms. I was told that the centre would be ready to serve customers in another two weeks and was requested to go back then.
I gave it three weeks and I was back. Would they now be ready to serve me or was it just the usual long on promises and short on commitment business? After being given a numbered token from the token machine which even lets you know how long you may be expected to wait based on others ahead of you in the queue, I was ushered in and ask to wait the inevitable newspaper reading material under my armpit as I did not know how long my stay would be but had enough experience to know that it could be a long wait.
However to my surprise and in less than a minute my number was rang up to be served at the appropriate counter and after stating my case and getting sage nods that indeed my ID required replacement after proffering the offending document, I was taken through the process that required copying my details from the system (thank God my identity was intact) and signing on the dotted line, taking messy finger prints (electronic finger print capture not yet available) and then having a digital photo taken all of which took less than 5 minutes. I was then offered the acknowledgement slip from the application form and asked to wait two weeks after which I would receive a text message advising me that the document was ready for collection and requesting me to go with the dilapidated excuse of an ID that I had to be surrendered to its rightful owners the government of the Republic of Kenya in exchange for the new one!
On the 14th day I received a text message requesting that I go and collect my ID Card at the Huduma Centre which I promptly did not believing that they were actually able to deliver on their promise and true to their word it was ready and waiting, a brand spanking new ID card with a color digital photo and in laminated plastic much like the debit card issued by my bank. It really was possible for the service charter of the government despite the thousands of bureaucrats that serve in this colossus employer to be met in regards to a simple thing as getting a replacement ID card. Would this also be possible in the myriad other requests that we make at government offices daily but that then take an inordinately long period of time to process frustrating budding businessmen, potential investors and others?
I think the Huduma Centre concept where all government departments are represented under one roof is a brilliant idea as you can be served at specific counters handling issues relating to a service managed by a particular government ministry rather than going office hopping from one to another. The beauty of the whole concept also is that the centres appear networked either to their parent ministry data base or through a portal where all relevant records are retrievable as necessary. If the level of service that I witnessed can be sustained and the levels of comfort, cleanliness and decorum maintained then we are surely on the right track for government to compete effectively in service provision with the private sector.
If this is the way that things shall be done then surely the backbone of poor customer service in government has been broken and corporates better watch out. It is hats off from me and should the need ever arise for me to seek the services of a government ministry or department in future then the Huduma Centre it shall be.
Kudos and well done!!
It was my national ID card that vital document that all Kenyans over the age of 18 are expected to acquire so as to give them access to jobs, services and recognition as bona fide citizens of the Republic of Kenya. It had spent the last 18 years in one wallet or another, constrained to spend more time than necessary in a cramped compartment a victim of circumstances that demanded that I have it on me and in its original form at all times to enable me identify myself at the MPesa agent, when entering a building or government establishment, cashing a cheque or when required to identify myself by a competent authority.
On its occasional forays out of its compartment squeezed in between ATM card, NSSF Card, Club membership card, business cards and other assorted flotsam unfortunate enough to find their way into my wallet, it had lain in countless pigeon holes in one building reception or another no doubt enjoying the fresh air it had been denied while in the wallet, had been photocopied countless times for one reason or another warming itself on the photocopier’s afterglow and its time was surely up. I had to get a replacement.
So it was with some trepidation that I visited the Huduma Centre in Nyeri when I saw the sign had been put up announcing its arrival intent on obtaining a replacement ID as soon as possible. I was however first time unlucky as they were just setting up shop and not yet ready to serve the public as I was informed. I was however taken aback by the friendliness of the staff with one particular guy engaging me with promises of WOW! services devoid of the usual sloth and delays within the government bureaucracy that we had all come to accept as the hallmark of service in government.
The set up was also warm, inviting, pleasant and welcoming with the usual government issue furniture replaced by decor and color schemes more suited to a busy commercial office of a successful mobile service provider, with the staff resplendent in smart uniforms. I was told that the centre would be ready to serve customers in another two weeks and was requested to go back then.
I gave it three weeks and I was back. Would they now be ready to serve me or was it just the usual long on promises and short on commitment business? After being given a numbered token from the token machine which even lets you know how long you may be expected to wait based on others ahead of you in the queue, I was ushered in and ask to wait the inevitable newspaper reading material under my armpit as I did not know how long my stay would be but had enough experience to know that it could be a long wait.
However to my surprise and in less than a minute my number was rang up to be served at the appropriate counter and after stating my case and getting sage nods that indeed my ID required replacement after proffering the offending document, I was taken through the process that required copying my details from the system (thank God my identity was intact) and signing on the dotted line, taking messy finger prints (electronic finger print capture not yet available) and then having a digital photo taken all of which took less than 5 minutes. I was then offered the acknowledgement slip from the application form and asked to wait two weeks after which I would receive a text message advising me that the document was ready for collection and requesting me to go with the dilapidated excuse of an ID that I had to be surrendered to its rightful owners the government of the Republic of Kenya in exchange for the new one!
On the 14th day I received a text message requesting that I go and collect my ID Card at the Huduma Centre which I promptly did not believing that they were actually able to deliver on their promise and true to their word it was ready and waiting, a brand spanking new ID card with a color digital photo and in laminated plastic much like the debit card issued by my bank. It really was possible for the service charter of the government despite the thousands of bureaucrats that serve in this colossus employer to be met in regards to a simple thing as getting a replacement ID card. Would this also be possible in the myriad other requests that we make at government offices daily but that then take an inordinately long period of time to process frustrating budding businessmen, potential investors and others?
I think the Huduma Centre concept where all government departments are represented under one roof is a brilliant idea as you can be served at specific counters handling issues relating to a service managed by a particular government ministry rather than going office hopping from one to another. The beauty of the whole concept also is that the centres appear networked either to their parent ministry data base or through a portal where all relevant records are retrievable as necessary. If the level of service that I witnessed can be sustained and the levels of comfort, cleanliness and decorum maintained then we are surely on the right track for government to compete effectively in service provision with the private sector.
If this is the way that things shall be done then surely the backbone of poor customer service in government has been broken and corporates better watch out. It is hats off from me and should the need ever arise for me to seek the services of a government ministry or department in future then the Huduma Centre it shall be.
Kudos and well done!!
Monday, 25 August 2014
Those bleating goats were a real nuisance!!
I and my four siblings grew up in a peri -urban area of Nairobi. The family home was on a 5 acre parcel of land as were many of the neighboring properties. The surrounding area also had coffee farms and dams so it was a paradise for adventurous children to walk, fish, ride bicycles and so on. Wild dik diks, rabbits, squirrels, snakes, chameleons, tortoises and monkeys were all over the place including occasional rumors of leopard sightings. In view of the size of the property, my parents kept the occasional domestic animals more specifically cows and goats. Some neighbors even had chickens, pigs, sheep and horses. Like most of the other neighbors, my folks also cultivated maize, beans, carrots, potatoes, bananas, sukuma wiki, spinach etc for home consumption with part of the land left for the cows and goats to graze on the luxuriant grass.
While the cows had an attendant to look after them and to milk them when needed, the goats were another story altogether. During the school holidays and when it was particularly dry the duty of taking the goats out to look for grazing pasture fell on me and my brother and there was nothing as frustrating as this chore which we absolutely hated with a passion!
Much as people say that a sheep could easily be one of the most stupid and stubborn animal alive, I think the goat is a close second if not the outright champion of stupidity. You see these animals would take the slightest opportunity to raid the maize or beans planted in the shamba (usually someone else’s shamba) at the expense of the grass they were supposed to feed on so that we spent a frustrating afternoon shooing them out of the shamba only for others to make their way back the moment our backs were turned.
At the end of a tedious day we would herd the animals back into their shed for the night, single out the most notorious maize grabbing ones and then cane them mercilessly as a punishment for taking us round and round in circles as the others watched in shocked discomfort their pitiful bleating notwithstanding. This apparently did little to change the thieving ways of the diehard goats that would the very next day stray back into someone else’s shamba to run riot on their crops. Day in day out caning did nothing to stop the goats from raiding yet another shamba and we soon saw the futility of it all and just shooed them out of the shamba when the strayed there. We wished death on all of them so that we would be freed from the misery and tedium of herding those damned animals.
Now fast forward 35 years and the same goats are now wandering into people’s shambas and making a beeline for the choicest crops, the low hanging fruit so to speak. Not even the caning that the shepherds are inflicting on them and the uproar that has arisen will get them to see their wayward behavior. Every attempt to tame them has been a miserable failure and they continue to pillage and roam unfettered in the people’s shamba unfazed and unapologetic. We wish them a thousand painful deaths because we are tired of looking after them in their wayward ways and we have been reduced to shooing them out of the shamba but knowing that tomorrow they shall be back to eat to their hearts content.
Who are these goats you may wonder? Off course it is our top heavy political class both elected and rejected who see nothing wrong in taking us round and round in circles blaming each other for their political failures while seeking our attention as they demand more and more from us by way of meeting their expensive habits as they demand recognition, status and more and more bells and whistles to boost their already bloated egos. On top of it all some are beating the drums of a referendum the cost of which shall be met from the public coffers as if we do not have other more pressing issues to deal with such as drought ravaging some in the country, illnesses and disease affecting many, the threats to our tourism industry due to the terrorism threats by Al Shabab and other disgruntled elements of society, good schools infrastructure for our children etc etc.
These goats have even raised uproar in other foreign shambas where they have been declared persona non grata for their cheap theatrics and notoriety as they eat their way through those shambas devouring the best bits as they have been doing while at home and collectively shaming us all.
I wish these goats would all go to hell while the rest of us go on with our lives for surely we cannot be eating, sleeping and drinking politics day in day out as if we have nothing better to do much to the chagrin of many Kenyans who are fed up with the political din and sabre rattling by all these bleating goats!!
While the cows had an attendant to look after them and to milk them when needed, the goats were another story altogether. During the school holidays and when it was particularly dry the duty of taking the goats out to look for grazing pasture fell on me and my brother and there was nothing as frustrating as this chore which we absolutely hated with a passion!
Much as people say that a sheep could easily be one of the most stupid and stubborn animal alive, I think the goat is a close second if not the outright champion of stupidity. You see these animals would take the slightest opportunity to raid the maize or beans planted in the shamba (usually someone else’s shamba) at the expense of the grass they were supposed to feed on so that we spent a frustrating afternoon shooing them out of the shamba only for others to make their way back the moment our backs were turned.
At the end of a tedious day we would herd the animals back into their shed for the night, single out the most notorious maize grabbing ones and then cane them mercilessly as a punishment for taking us round and round in circles as the others watched in shocked discomfort their pitiful bleating notwithstanding. This apparently did little to change the thieving ways of the diehard goats that would the very next day stray back into someone else’s shamba to run riot on their crops. Day in day out caning did nothing to stop the goats from raiding yet another shamba and we soon saw the futility of it all and just shooed them out of the shamba when the strayed there. We wished death on all of them so that we would be freed from the misery and tedium of herding those damned animals.
Now fast forward 35 years and the same goats are now wandering into people’s shambas and making a beeline for the choicest crops, the low hanging fruit so to speak. Not even the caning that the shepherds are inflicting on them and the uproar that has arisen will get them to see their wayward behavior. Every attempt to tame them has been a miserable failure and they continue to pillage and roam unfettered in the people’s shamba unfazed and unapologetic. We wish them a thousand painful deaths because we are tired of looking after them in their wayward ways and we have been reduced to shooing them out of the shamba but knowing that tomorrow they shall be back to eat to their hearts content.
Who are these goats you may wonder? Off course it is our top heavy political class both elected and rejected who see nothing wrong in taking us round and round in circles blaming each other for their political failures while seeking our attention as they demand more and more from us by way of meeting their expensive habits as they demand recognition, status and more and more bells and whistles to boost their already bloated egos. On top of it all some are beating the drums of a referendum the cost of which shall be met from the public coffers as if we do not have other more pressing issues to deal with such as drought ravaging some in the country, illnesses and disease affecting many, the threats to our tourism industry due to the terrorism threats by Al Shabab and other disgruntled elements of society, good schools infrastructure for our children etc etc.
These goats have even raised uproar in other foreign shambas where they have been declared persona non grata for their cheap theatrics and notoriety as they eat their way through those shambas devouring the best bits as they have been doing while at home and collectively shaming us all.
I wish these goats would all go to hell while the rest of us go on with our lives for surely we cannot be eating, sleeping and drinking politics day in day out as if we have nothing better to do much to the chagrin of many Kenyans who are fed up with the political din and sabre rattling by all these bleating goats!!
Friday, 22 August 2014
The positive side of being old:
An 89 year old man just the other day told me that he shall live for another 11 years and go to be with his maker at 100 years of age. He challenged me to note this in my diary so that I could be a witness to this remarkable feat that a doctor (as he told me) guaranteed him shall happen at his last medical checkup a year ago!
Now this man has a very active lifestyle despite his failing eyesight and memory. He is proud that he has no serious physical ailments at this ripe old age despite a hip injury a while back that forced him to use a cane while walking. He is also proud to have lived to see his grandchildren and was recently made a great grandfather by one of them. He is still involved in commodity trading and purchases commodities on wholesale basis four times a month from importers in Mombasa which he sells to traders and other business men making a small profit in the process. His truck driver makes the long journey to Mombasa on his behalf in case you wonder how he does it!!
He is also actively involved in shares trading and has a healthy portfolio of investments in some of the best blue chip companies in Kenya. He told me that he is not motivated by huge profits but by the desire to stay active, sharp and focused though he wants to add fertilizer trading to the commodities that he trades in as it has better profit margins! I am sure his sons have tried to get him to relax but he seems to want none of that!!
He has endured a chequered life and business career spanning the past 70 years and has seen and done it all. His day commences at 7.00 am with a cup of tea with three……yes three heaped spoons of sugar (no heightened blood sugar levels for this guy I tell you). He then goes to visit his clients to collect what they owe him as well as to sell them his commodities. I bet few people will tell an 89 year old man that they can’t pay him his money so I guess this is a good strategy on his part. Once done with his rounds he goes back home by 1.00 pm, has his lunch and rests. He was very categorical that he does not sleep but rests until 4.00 pm after which he watches television until dinner time and sleeps thereafter.
He also very often accompanies his son and daughter in law, whom he lives with, to social functions at the Club and other places where they have been invited something that I have been witness to at some of the bank functions that we have organized. They leaves early though on his account no doubt!
A few years back he was attacked by robbers who wanted to shoot him dead for God knows what reason. He prayed to God that they would spare him and they instead shot at one of the security guards responding to the alarm and then they ran off. Who would be so callous as to shoot an 80 something mzee and again I guess his age was his good fortune!
What I have learnt from this remarkable mzee is that positive thinking, a healthy life style and frequent medical checkups are vital to longevity as is continual activity in something you enjoy doing as in his case commodity and shares trading. There is also nothing wrong with sugar so long as your body can handle it or so he seemed to suggest.
I shall be around when the whistle blows for this mzee in 11 years’ time for I too plan on being around for a long time till the ripe old age of 100. At his age few people will want to embarrass themselves by refusing to pay you or shooting you dead so there is a positive side to age as well!!
Now this man has a very active lifestyle despite his failing eyesight and memory. He is proud that he has no serious physical ailments at this ripe old age despite a hip injury a while back that forced him to use a cane while walking. He is also proud to have lived to see his grandchildren and was recently made a great grandfather by one of them. He is still involved in commodity trading and purchases commodities on wholesale basis four times a month from importers in Mombasa which he sells to traders and other business men making a small profit in the process. His truck driver makes the long journey to Mombasa on his behalf in case you wonder how he does it!!
He is also actively involved in shares trading and has a healthy portfolio of investments in some of the best blue chip companies in Kenya. He told me that he is not motivated by huge profits but by the desire to stay active, sharp and focused though he wants to add fertilizer trading to the commodities that he trades in as it has better profit margins! I am sure his sons have tried to get him to relax but he seems to want none of that!!
He has endured a chequered life and business career spanning the past 70 years and has seen and done it all. His day commences at 7.00 am with a cup of tea with three……yes three heaped spoons of sugar (no heightened blood sugar levels for this guy I tell you). He then goes to visit his clients to collect what they owe him as well as to sell them his commodities. I bet few people will tell an 89 year old man that they can’t pay him his money so I guess this is a good strategy on his part. Once done with his rounds he goes back home by 1.00 pm, has his lunch and rests. He was very categorical that he does not sleep but rests until 4.00 pm after which he watches television until dinner time and sleeps thereafter.
He also very often accompanies his son and daughter in law, whom he lives with, to social functions at the Club and other places where they have been invited something that I have been witness to at some of the bank functions that we have organized. They leaves early though on his account no doubt!
A few years back he was attacked by robbers who wanted to shoot him dead for God knows what reason. He prayed to God that they would spare him and they instead shot at one of the security guards responding to the alarm and then they ran off. Who would be so callous as to shoot an 80 something mzee and again I guess his age was his good fortune!
What I have learnt from this remarkable mzee is that positive thinking, a healthy life style and frequent medical checkups are vital to longevity as is continual activity in something you enjoy doing as in his case commodity and shares trading. There is also nothing wrong with sugar so long as your body can handle it or so he seemed to suggest.
I shall be around when the whistle blows for this mzee in 11 years’ time for I too plan on being around for a long time till the ripe old age of 100. At his age few people will want to embarrass themselves by refusing to pay you or shooting you dead so there is a positive side to age as well!!
Thursday, 21 August 2014
The theory of speed:
“Hiyo gari ilikuwa inaenda kasi sana”! (that vehicle was moving very fast!) is a statement you very often hear every time there is an eye witness describing a road accident to a television news crew.
Having talked about ‘speeding’ trucks on Mombasa Road recently it got me thinking that speed is one of the most misunderstood concepts probably universally. Without going into the tedious descriptions of speed in physics that many of us have long forgotten, speed is a relative concept and it is always relative to something else. That means that where an object is stationery, then something moving past it is moving at speed. On the opposite end, two objects moving towards each other will have a closing speed of the combined speed of both of them (perhaps double speed would be an apt descriptor of such a scenario).
A tortoise plodding along would therefore consider a rabbit running past it to be moving very fast while a rabbit would consider a cheetah to be moving at great speed if the cheetah were to hypothetically be running in a race alongside the rabbit or even come to think of it the rabbit was running for its life from a cheetah out to make a meal of it! Similarly, a cyclist would be moving at speed when passing a walking pedestrian while a car would be at speed when passing a cyclist at top speed on his bicycle traveling along the same road. Ergo, a policeman waving down a truck that refuses to stop would consider the truck to be ‘speeding’ in relation to his relative position in regards to the truck!
However, this fascination with speed makes one think that all drivers in Kenya cause accidents by perennially speeding the concept of a speed limit not withstanding! Is it correct to state that an accident was caused by a ‘speeding’ vehicle (as would be reported by a watching bystander) which was travelling at 50 km/h while the maximum speed on that section of the road is 80 km/h? If the reaction by our overzealous police officers is anything to go by then they too believe that speed is the root cause of all road accidents and hence the recent crackdown on over speeding in various parts of the country.
They forget that decrepit and poorly serviced vehicles, poor road surfaces, careless pedestrians, slow moving trucks, foggy weather, tired drivers etc all contribute to the accidents on our road. If speed were the defining factor then those German autobahns with no speed limits would be a veritable disaster zone though access is restricted to motor vehicles with a top speed of more than 60 km/h meaning that many of our ‘speeding’ behemoth trucks would not be allowed on these roads.
Recent statistics sourced from Wikipedia indicates that the autobahn fatality rate in Germany is 1.7 deaths per billion-travel-kilometers and is much better when compared with the 5.1 rate on urban streets and 7.6 rate on rural roads in that country. On autobahns 22 people died per 1000 injury crashes; a lower rate than the 29 deaths per 1,000 injury accidents on conventional rural roads. I am sure these numbers are much higher in our speed deprived nation of Kenya.
So don’t believe any eye witness reports that an accident was caused by an over speeding vehicle in the absence of facts to back this up and to the detriment of other contributing factors. Similarly don’t believe any policeman who says that speed is the main cause of accidents on our roads because the well-built autobahns in Germany would be veritable killing fields if this were the case.
My take is that if the governement were to build us better roads, get those ‘speeding’ trucks of those roads and then leave us free to get to our destinations as fast as possible they would see the accident rate plummet!!
Having talked about ‘speeding’ trucks on Mombasa Road recently it got me thinking that speed is one of the most misunderstood concepts probably universally. Without going into the tedious descriptions of speed in physics that many of us have long forgotten, speed is a relative concept and it is always relative to something else. That means that where an object is stationery, then something moving past it is moving at speed. On the opposite end, two objects moving towards each other will have a closing speed of the combined speed of both of them (perhaps double speed would be an apt descriptor of such a scenario).
A tortoise plodding along would therefore consider a rabbit running past it to be moving very fast while a rabbit would consider a cheetah to be moving at great speed if the cheetah were to hypothetically be running in a race alongside the rabbit or even come to think of it the rabbit was running for its life from a cheetah out to make a meal of it! Similarly, a cyclist would be moving at speed when passing a walking pedestrian while a car would be at speed when passing a cyclist at top speed on his bicycle traveling along the same road. Ergo, a policeman waving down a truck that refuses to stop would consider the truck to be ‘speeding’ in relation to his relative position in regards to the truck!
However, this fascination with speed makes one think that all drivers in Kenya cause accidents by perennially speeding the concept of a speed limit not withstanding! Is it correct to state that an accident was caused by a ‘speeding’ vehicle (as would be reported by a watching bystander) which was travelling at 50 km/h while the maximum speed on that section of the road is 80 km/h? If the reaction by our overzealous police officers is anything to go by then they too believe that speed is the root cause of all road accidents and hence the recent crackdown on over speeding in various parts of the country.
They forget that decrepit and poorly serviced vehicles, poor road surfaces, careless pedestrians, slow moving trucks, foggy weather, tired drivers etc all contribute to the accidents on our road. If speed were the defining factor then those German autobahns with no speed limits would be a veritable disaster zone though access is restricted to motor vehicles with a top speed of more than 60 km/h meaning that many of our ‘speeding’ behemoth trucks would not be allowed on these roads.
Recent statistics sourced from Wikipedia indicates that the autobahn fatality rate in Germany is 1.7 deaths per billion-travel-kilometers and is much better when compared with the 5.1 rate on urban streets and 7.6 rate on rural roads in that country. On autobahns 22 people died per 1000 injury crashes; a lower rate than the 29 deaths per 1,000 injury accidents on conventional rural roads. I am sure these numbers are much higher in our speed deprived nation of Kenya.
So don’t believe any eye witness reports that an accident was caused by an over speeding vehicle in the absence of facts to back this up and to the detriment of other contributing factors. Similarly don’t believe any policeman who says that speed is the main cause of accidents on our roads because the well-built autobahns in Germany would be veritable killing fields if this were the case.
My take is that if the governement were to build us better roads, get those ‘speeding’ trucks of those roads and then leave us free to get to our destinations as fast as possible they would see the accident rate plummet!!
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