I am surprised that President Kibaki did not look at all ashamed receiving a donation of relief food from Egypt a few hours ago. See story here.
I mean Egypt is literally a desert and gets much less rain than Kenya (actually the country hardly receives rain and South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years.) However they have been able to use their limited resources to become self sufficient in food to the extent where they can afford to donate food stuffs to the Kenyan government worth Kshs 10 Million. To be honest I hung my head in great shame when I saw this news clip just now. I was so ashamed I just had to make a post.
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Kumekucha titbits: After your long flight into
Kenya, do you want to seat in a traffic jam for
hours as you try to get into chaotic Nairobi? Or
would you prefer a budget hotel in the outskirts of Nairobi?
============================
Actually apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a desert. The country includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. Compare that to Kenya with Lake Victoria (the source of the great River Nile that passes through Egypt) and several rivers and lakes in the country. Not to mention plenty of fertile soil in idle land that if utilized properly can create great wealth for the country.
I have said it here before and will repeat it for the sake of our newer readers. By simply making serious efforts to harvest rainfall and creating enough storage facilities, the lives of Kenyans can be revolutionized. Digging boreholes is not the best solution for the environment and depletes underground water resources with devastating long term consequences.
See also: No Ugali? Why Don't the People Eat Chapati?
What future for Kenya?
To be honest, it is a shame. Big shame. With more than five rivers and millions of gallons pouring into the Indian Ocean. I think it is a shame. Egypt has only one river. Blame the PLANNERS.
ReplyDelete-Derek-
Chris,
ReplyDeletePersonal....Date of renewal (You know what...). You are not replying my mail...(Deroo. Sorry I logged out)
-Derek-
Very typical of leaving everything in your house to go on the streets to beg. Or is it a case of NOT knowing that you possess and have all you will ever need?
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame.
Enyewe ufala na kukosa haya ni kitu mbaya.
This is like a man asking a mosquito to share some of its blood (the mosquito's) with him. Hii ni issue dedli vi dedli (dedli --deadly!)
ReplyDeletebest solution: dissolve parliament;have no elections for 20yrs; heve a 2 yr rotating president from odm, pnu, kanu - yeah! moi can be president again....he would bring peace and enough food...
ReplyDeletemaybe India can provide help on how to use arable land to increae maize yield; maybe they will send agriculturalists and scientists who were kicked out of kenya in the 1970's.......
ReplyDeleteHow is life in Kenya?
ReplyDeleteI heard Kenyan people practice cannibalisms????
Sarah Palin
Governor of Alaska
Folks, we must appreciate every donation received at this time, however, do we really need a whole president of Kenya to accept a gift of assorted foodstuffs worth only 10 million Kshs? That is the petty job of the messenger working with the Under Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture.
ReplyDeleteOn top of that the president issues a blatant lie; ati he’s putting in place mechanisms to enhanced production of food to feed the citizens and have surplus for the market. Nonsense!! Kwani what has he been doing since 2002? Because of theft, we are about to spend billions upon billions renovating a building in the city to the comfort of the PM….at the same time we are kissing Egypt on the ass for sinking boreholes. The cost of Kibaki’s suit alone can employ 100 youth to dig holes in Kitui for a week.
And worst of all, he salivates at the cordial relationship with Egypt. FOR TEN MILLION SHILLINGS??!!! Doesn’t this idiot realize that a cordial relationship with Egypt really means never ever tapping the waters of Lake Victoria? The very water we need to grow more maize.
Kibaki needs a doctor.
there is lot's to eat in Cuba tonight
ReplyDeleteAnon 11.28AM. Please stop exposing your ignorance here.
ReplyDeleteThis is a serious issue that demands thoughtful presentation. I will address your ignorances first.
1. India may have industralists and multimillionares but they are no better than Kenya! What with all those poor indians in slums of Mumbai, Delhi, Poona, etc. Charity begins at home. Haven't you haeard of the latest movie craze named Slumdog millionare? Where is the theme story from? India of course. India leads in corruption anyway. What about Yagdish(sp) Devani of Triton petrol scandal? And who imports chalk in the name of drugs to Kenya? Indians!
Secondly you claim that some indians were kicked out of Kenya in the 1970s? Where did you get this fiction from? Are you mistaking Kenya for Uganda or do you think that the 2 countries are the same?
These are just signs that you don't know what you are writing about or have any facts!
And on the issue of the foods given to Kibaki. That goon does not have any shame! How can Kibaki have shame when he has 700,000 acre farm - Gingalili- yet IDPs aka IDKs are suffering all over rift valley? This man is never charitable! If he were it will be to his corrupt cronies Kiraitu Murungi, Murungaru etc, Devani, golfing buddies only. Shame? that geezer is shamelss indeed.
More food aids is on the way from Burkina Faso in west africa and Uganda has pledge 10 million bags of maize and 200 green bananas (matope)
ReplyDeleteThese other African countries are really laughing at us.
ReplyDeleteb'coz of Kivuitu at KICC.
Haiya, Kenyans like to die!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEINO_sKBvA&feature=channel
"Chriso"
ReplyDeletelet us all stop being greedy please.Dr.Kibaki says Kenyans are all greedy
to anonymous 12.11pm
ReplyDeletethese are the facts:
this is from wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Revolution
In 1961 India was on the brink of mass famine. Norman Borlaug was invited to India by the adviser to the Indian minister of agriculture M. S. Swaminathan. Despite bureaucratic hurdles imposed by India's grain monopolies, the Ford Foundation and Indian government collaborated to import wheat seed from CIMMYT. Punjab was selected by the Indian government to be the first site to try the new crops because of its reliable water supply and a history of agricultural success. India began its own Green Revolution program of plant breeding, irrigation development, and financing of agrochemicals.[5]
India soon adopted IR8 - a rice semi-dwarf variety developed by the International Rice Research Institute(IRRI) that could produce more grains of rice per plant when grown properly with fertilizer and irrigation. In 1968, Indian agronomist S.K. De Datta published his findings that IR8 rice yielded about 5 tons per hectare with no fertilizer, and almost 10 tons per hectare under optimal conditions. This was 10 times the yield of traditional rice.[6] IR8 was a success throughout Asia, and dubbed the "Miracle Rice". In the 1960s, rice yields in India were about two tons per hectare; by the mid-1990s, they had risen to six tons per hectare. In the 1970s, rice cost about $550 a ton; in 2001, it cost less than $200 a ton. India became one of the world's most successful rice producers, and is now a major rice exporter, shipping nearly 4.5 million tons in 2006.[7]
Famine in India, once accepted as inevitable, has not returned since the introduction of Green Revolution agriculture.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Revolution#Problems_in_Africa
Problems in Africa
There have been numerous attempts to introduce the successful concepts from the Mexican and Indian projects into Africa. These programs have generally been less successful, for a number of reasons. Reasons cited include widespread corruption, insecurity, a lack of infrastructure, and a general lack of will on the part of the governments. Yet environmental factors, such as the availability of water for irrigation, the high diversity in slope and soil types in one given area are also reasons why the Green Revolution is not so successful in Africa[12].
to anonymous 12.11 pm
ReplyDeletegiven India's success in food production Kenya should turn to India for help for the long run; instead of always turning to the west....
who cares about Indian Industrialists and millionaires or their corruption; kenya should just be looking for their scientific help to increase food production
one way out for kenya is to look after it's human resources and stop it's brain drain... when you have skilled people in the country you have to find ways of keeping them in the country and encouraging them to contribute to development as opposed to what happened as described below:
ReplyDeleteany ethnic group has it's bad apples; you can't condemn the whole group because of a few who are engaged in corruption together with corrupt government ministers..
see:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/uk-indians-taking-care-of-business/2006/03/07/1141701511987.html
There was much instability in Kenya in the 1960s and early 1970, and the Kenyan Government passed laws requiring foreigners wanting to work to have permits. Many local Indians were not citizens and were classed as foreigners. Many could not get permits, and this led to another exodus
the history of persecution of Indians including 2nd or 3rd generation kenyan born Indians who had kenyan citizenships is not generally well known and is kept under wraps ... the struggle of the mau mau fighters was also kept under wraps...never taught in Kenyan schools ...just another form of domination/subjugation by the ruling class (regardless of their race) so as to further entrench their economic position; a people that do not know their history don't know the extent of their current mistreatment.
ReplyDeleteI knew a Baluchi Indian muslim 3 or 4 generation kenyan that spoke kiswahili fluently who worked in the kenyan government but who was never promoted because of his race.
Shame on our leaders. Can't feed the nation can't protect it ether. While kibaki was streaching his hands to receive sadaka from egypt, Ugadan forces were busy harasing kenyan fishermen. Still no word from the government's spokesman in regard to what happen at the island.
ReplyDeletehttp://kenyachronicles.blogspot.com/2008/06/elly-omondi-odhiambo-we-should-treat.html
ReplyDeleteexercepts:
because for far too long, no Kenyan worth their salt has come out in the shining daylight to say one or two good things about our brothers and sisters of Asian descent. In fact, the political elite of the post-colonial era has been the most culpable side in this debate about fear or hatred of the Asian community
Under some benign but cruel sounding Parliamentary Act (Trade Licensing Act) of 1967 linked to issuance of new trade licences to Africans, our country’s history has been written in such a way to make the expulsion of Asians in Kenya look more legal or even compassionate to a similar experience by Idi Amin....
The then Minister for Commerce and Industry, Mwai Kibaki (1967) was happy to see the back of the Kenyan Asians when he introduced the Government Bill to Parliament, well today he truly regrets that incredible decision.
To put into context, most of the 1967 Kenyan Parliament must take the blame for the inhumane treatment of the Waindi. In a very jingoistic speech, Mboya stood up and supported the Government Bill by stating that "we are demanding the maximum from a non-African, he must denounce his people and give on loyalty to Kenya"
Their immense contribution to society is written on the walls wherever you go. As Kenya learns from the mistakes of its recent past, the assassination of Kenyan of Goan origin, the leftwing radical politician, Pio Gama Pinto, the power battles behind the back of former Vice President Joseph Zuzarte Murumbi, who was the son of a Goan trader and Maasai mother and the ‘legislative’ expulsion of thousands of Asians during the Kenyatta years, a complete rethink needs to be engendered. The Asian community is continuing to give the country patriotic people like Kisumu Town MP Shakeel Shabir, successful entrepreneurs like Manu Chandaria and thousands of industrial Kenyans. Kenyan Asians also have a duty of being non-separatist in their everyday lives with the rest of the Kenyan community, it is a radical picture whose time has come. Think about it, fellow Kenyans are facing hard times in South Africa on this very migration debate.
from kumekucha:
ReplyDeletehave plenty of evidence to support this including an intimate meeting I attended with the then presidential candidate and a certain organization at Mfangano House in Nairobi in early 2002. At the meeting Kibaki kept on repeating that the money collected from taxes was more than enough to take care of plenty in the country with very little recourse to foreign Aid. H also convinced me and many others at the meeting of about 30 people that he was serious about fighting corruption. The truth is that the president was well-intentioned but amazingly, rather naïve.
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Jomo-Kenyatta
ReplyDeleteKenyatta was initially popular with Kenyan natives in the late 1960s when he ordered all Kenyan Asians out of the country, responding to the protests of natives who felt that Asians were more advantaged than them when it came to issues such as housing, employment and education. Many of the Asians went to live in Britain, and the subsequent decline in Kenya's economic fortunes has often been blamed on Kenyetta's decision to expel all Asians from Kenya. A similar expulsion process was orchestrated by Idi Amin in Uganda at around the same time. . ...
I will be brief and straight to the point and will hurt some feelings. You see, Egyptians are not really Africans but Arabs. We just share the same continent with them.
ReplyDeleteThey view black Africans, just like the rest of the world, as uncivilized and primitive, not fully evolved. But who can really blame them when we are busy murdering each other including raping old women and burning kids in churches because they belong to the wrong tribes?
In the nearby DRC, they not only behead you, but also roast you alive for their dinner. In our good old Kenya, we are busy buying tanks worth billions while masses starve. We fete those who call for mass murder by rewarding them with highest offices in land even though they utter such warlike words like 'kabila adui'.
In places like Kisumu, water shortage is the order of the day even though one of the largest fresh water lakes is just a stone throw away.
What we need is leaders who will inspire the masses not old dimwits who are only good in pocketing our taxes. You have the vote, you have the power. Use it wisely!
Phil where are you?
ReplyDeleteA Jaluo seeking refugee in Iceland is to be deported back to kenya.
http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2008/07/08/kenyan-refugee-deported-from-iceland-moral-soul-searching-follows/
I think it's sad that Indians were kicked out in the 60s and for prezzo to go begging Egyptians for food. As for getting Indian technical assistance in food production, I think we're better off consulting the Egyptians. Egypt has a maize yield of 7.71 MT/ha compared to 2.11 MT/ha for India and 1.53 MT/Ha for Kenya. Please google for world maize production and click on I'm Feeling Lucky for more information. Kenya has 8.01% arable land, Egypt 2.92%, and India 48.83% (see CIA World Factbook).
ReplyDeleteI hear that Egyptians hate miros. So what? The reason I trade with Kenyan Indians, Kenyan jungus, Chinese, Americans, Brits, and of course Kenyan miros is because I make business decisions quantitatively and not emotionally like some chic with hormonal imbalance.
We should force owners of huge tracts of idle or underutilised land like Kibaki, Uhuru, Cholmondeley, and Kuki Gullman to rent it out to successful Egyptian farmers so that we can have food security and most importantly, skills transfer. Remember that skills transfer from foreign investors in Kenyan mobile telephony to locals is responsible for Kenyans now building mobile networks in Madagascar, Chad, DRC, etc. So we shouldn't tharau successful foreign farmers.
You could be underestimating Egypt's food production capacity. I have been through out the Nile Valley and I can say authoritatively that I am not suprised. They have enough food there. Yes, Egypt is a desert, a tour guide who was in our team had never experienced rain and she was 47years at the time. Do you know that food production alongside tourism are the key reasons why it is an act of aggression for any of the lower countries (Kenya included) to tamper with the flow of the Nile. In fact Egypt has a moral obligation to do more. Remember the Romans were primarily after food supply when they invaded Misri.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said... 2/21/09 4:18 AM said:
ReplyDeleteEgypt has a maize yield of 7.71 MT/ha compared to 2.11 MT/ha for India and 1.53 MT/Ha for Kenya.
Our comment:
That was very useful information. Thanks.
Ngere Mujomba said...
ReplyDeleteDo you know that food production alongside tourism are the key reasons why it is an act of aggression for any of the lower countries (Kenya included) to tamper with the flow of the Nile.
Our comment:
We disagree with Egypt on this approach. Legally, they have no ground. However, the greatest blame should go to those who drafted our constitution in 1963.
Simply, they could have drafted that, although Kenya was bound by treaties signed by the colonial govt., the Parliament reserved the right to abrogate any treaty that was not in the Kenya'e interest.
That would have given the independent Govt. the powers to abrogate the so called Nile Treaty. However, due to the usual blindness, the independent Constitution accepted all treaties signed by the colonial Govt., which included such as so called Nile Treaty. Pathetic.
In fact, we would argue, there is nothing like Nile Treaty. It is legall impossible for one person/State, to sign a treaty with himself/itself.
When this "Treaty" was signed, Britain was the effective Govt. in Egypt and Kenya, Uganda, etc. Thus, how could one State which controlled these areas sign a treaty with itself?
Wajaluo Wajinga!!!!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEINO_sKBvA&feature=channel
Derek,
ReplyDeleteHow are you my brother.
I have not seen any email from you. Which email address did you use? Can you please re-send?
-Kumekucha-
Barack Obama (USA) earns 35,000$;
ReplyDeleteNicola Sarkozy (France) 18,000$;
Angela Merkel (Germany) 20,000$,
Fidel Castro (Cuba) 25$;
Taro Aso (Japan) 36,000$;
Wladi Putin (Russia) 6,800$;
Lee Myung Bak(South Korea)12,000$;
Silvio Berlusconi (Italy) 18,000$
MWAI KIBAKI (KENYA) 29,000$.
Why should a leader of such a poor country earn nearly the amount the president of a super power gets? Kibaki deserves twice the amount Castro earns.
What is happening to Kenya is a good lesson for primitive black Kenyans to learn not to take another human life coz of a politician.
ReplyDeleteSarah Palin
Raila Odinga will never be president of republic of kenya!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhoever this is going on about asians in kenya and economic development is really just wasting time......Indians are very racist and I have worked for and with many we really do not need them....
ReplyDeleteThey can shoove their economic prowess up their arse and I will not appologise for that....during the Moi era I saw them completely play the corrupt polyticians, miss use and abuse kenyans of african origin and even some of their very own...its easy to ,make alot of money if you don't pay workers what they deserve, and they are also responsible for moving money out of kenya in huge sums.....we really do not need them.....Most of them are silently stealing kenya away few foolish one like pattni come out in the daylight.
Sir Alex
anonymous 3.11 am said:
ReplyDeletewhoever this is going on about asians in kenya and economic development is really just wasting time......Indians are very racist
what we say:
every group has its bad apples; are you saying black africans are not racist; we already saw the ethnic hatred and violence between the kalenjin, kikuyus and luos after the Dec 2007 elections and they are all black africans - kenyans doing this to each other after 45 yrs of uhuru?!?; General China must be struggling in his grave.
anonymous said:
and I have worked for and with many we really do not need them....
They can shoove their economic prowess up their arse and I will not appologise for that....during the Moi era I saw them completely play the corrupt polyticians,
what we say:
as if to say corrupt politicians do not play the corrupt kenyan indians by going into corrupt business with them and then exporting wealth outside kenya; the problem of corruption, low wages etc is not one of race but is one of economic class
here are 2 examples I witnessed:
1. in the early 70's as a small boy I witnessed a senior govt parastatal manager (black african) drop by every month in the family business for his personal share equal to 10%
of revenues - he demanded this in cash; and this is the reason why it was explained to me why we could not expand, create more jobs, pay more wages.....despite me urging them to be more generous..
2. the other day I bumped into an old muindi overseas; he told me he had a beach front property in the 60's and was approached by a big official - head of a big govt dept who offered to buy it; he sold it expecting cash in kenya shs but the big official (black african) insisted on paying in foreign currency drawn on a bank in south africa!! this in the middle of the era of foreign exchange controls and in the middle of apartheid when kenyan law required no dealing in south africa
anonymous said:
miss use and abuse kenyans of african origin and even some of their very own...its easy to ,make alot of money if you don't pay workers what they deserve,
what we say:
as if to say some kenyans of african origin do not abuse kenyans of african origin, make a lot of money and don't pay workers what they deserve...
abuse of employees and low wages is a problem of economic class not race; nothing prevented the govt from legally increasing the minimum salary by for example 3-5 times what it was... of course it would mean less cash for the Mr 10%; why doesn't the govt do this today???..you have just to ask the people at the lowest income who is abusing who; ask the idp's who is abusing who; many told me their standard of living and security was much better under colonial rule; today everyone in cuba (all races) have enough to eat, free health care and have security...
anonymous said:
and they are also responsible for moving money out of kenya in huge sums.....we really do not need them.....Most of them are silently stealing kenya away few foolish one like pattni come out in the daylight
what we say:
all races in the high economic class move wealth out of kenya and steal from kenya; because they are all scared of being kicked out, violence, military coup etc. under international law indians of 2nd
3rd 4th generation have an inalienable right to be in kenya as kenyans; a people who can today target one race will another day target another ethnic group.. perhaps kill them in the streets because of a lousy fradulent rigged ballot and election...
some of the few smart ones were kenyatta and moi who managed to keep the peace and have enough food for most; despite some excesses they had a national vision, non racist and non ethnic
World-renowned geneticist concluded that Africans are intellectually inferior.
ReplyDeleteDr. Watson, said that he's "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours--whereas all the testing says not really." He went on, to say that "people who have to deal with black employees find...it is not true" Africans are plain stupid!!
Sarah Palin
Governor of Alaska
Has Kenya had any shame before? Things cannot change with the leadership unless there is a collective effort to make them do their jobs.
ReplyDeleteWhoever was talking about the Muindi, they had their bags packed ready to leave during the december elections. What distinguishes them from black africans is that they understand fighting will bring nothing but perpetual poverty and economic stagnation
At the end of the day, Kenyans are quick to blame the leadership, but we entertain their antics, we are the one's that are tribalistic, very unpatriotic and always expect someone else to pick our mess up.
You have someone like Ruto saying he prefers to go to the Hague, why? because he knows he'll probably die or go into hiding before he ever faces that court, him and all those guys know that the case probably wont even go far.
And to top it all off, him and the rest of the parliament rub it in out faces, he is the agriculture minister responsible for coordinating food production, yet we have a maize shortage, and then he has the nerve to say that Karua should be sacked for not doing her job, shame on him!!
He's a hypocrite, and so are all the rest of them, as Kenyans we can stop this nonsense, but it requires a real change of attitude.
that bogus commentor signing as sarah palin please stop that racist talk...we like to talk about serious issues ..to help make kenya a better place...
ReplyDeleteAnon 12.34pm. Sarah palin is talking serious issues. We need to establish if we are less intelligent than other races. why is kenya worse off than it was in 1963? Let us discuss all the possible reasons and go where the evidence takes us. I have personally observed that blacks generally appear to have performamnce/management issues.
ReplyDeletei think raila should teach his jaluos how to grow maize. In the first place they are the largest consumers of ugali and they have no idea what it takes to be a maize farmer!!! we have lots of jaluo idlers in the internet whose work is only to insult the President and by extension the country. I understand the Nairobi city council has put several seats in public for these idlers to talk endless ODM politics. Is this our vision 2030?
ReplyDeleteanna kyalo