Thursday, November 3, 2011
Speaking to the young accountants
Makokha Wanjala M.
For Immediate Release
June 10, 2011
Makokha’s Remarks
On corporate governance and emerging issues to Members of Accounting and Finance Students Association, Kimathi University College of Technology
Nyeri,
I am happy to be here with you, I am happy to be back in a university setting, and I am very excited at the prospect of speaking to a generation whose future is just beginning to unfold. Students of this very aptly named university, I wish to address you on corporate governance and emerging issues in the profession of accountancy.
It is well fitting that you invited ICPAK, the body that regulates the esteemed profession of accountancy in Kenya. For those Thomases who keep doubting everything Kenyan and preferring things foreign, it would interest you to note that Kenyan accountants, our very own CPA(K)s are at work presently in 39 countries around the globe. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a vote of confidence in the Kenyan accountancy profession. For those who will elect to spend the rest of their lives in this profession, I welcome you and congratulate you for one of the best career decisions one can make.
My talk is Kenyan and practical. Let us start at Corporate governance, this refers to the systems that an organisation put in place to ensure that its operations remain true to the eventual owners who are shareholders. In other words, corporate governance is setting up structures or offices with the aim of limiting any possible misuse of resources. And so we may ask? Why corporate governance? Corporate governance is a major concern since not all shareholders can participate in the day to day operations of a business. Shareholders who provide capital normally trust a small group of people who have the time and the technical expertise to oversee the company. These members constitute the board of directors. The board which hires and fires the CEO, is expected to put in place mechanisms that ensure that the company is run to the greatest benefit of shareholders. But corporate governance gains more significance for firms that are listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. This is particularly important since firms quoted at the exchange have raised their capital by way of soliciting funds from the public. It is hoped or rather it is expected that the Board of Directors that is elected every year will put in place measures to ensure that the CEO and her team work hard enough ( i.e. they earn their pay) and their opportunities for mischief are limited. Without some of these controls some CEOs would easily engage in empire building and afford themselves the best of luxuries as they pass the cost to shareholders.
In the Kenyan context, we have very little BOD material, I challenge you to do a study on all boards of companies listed at the NSE, It would interest you to note that with only 53 or so companies some individuals sit on more than five boards. This raises the question as to whether they have the time to provide strategic leadership that is expected of them. Some of the board members have been known to do business with the very companies whose boards the sit on or even chair. Keen students of business may very well know that Uchumi had such issues in the past and presently Nzoia Sugar is grappling with such concerns. In English, attempting to do business with a company on whose board you sit on is called conflict of interest. In Kenya it goes beyond mere conflict of interest, it is engineered mostly to pilfer funds from the company.
Sometimes, and shockingly so, there has been instances of competitors sitting on boards of rival firms. I am raising these examples so that you appreciate the corporate governance challenges that we face as a nation. The case of National Bank recently where one board member was from a micro-finance that is also in banking business is a perfect illustration. Another interesting web of shareholding and presence on rivals boards in the cement industry.
Of course, there are also concerns of corporate governance in quasi- government institutions. Parastatals are owned by Kenyans, but since we cannot all participate in their day to day affairs, we leave this role to government. The government through the relevant minster appoints a board, that ought to safeguard public interest. I need not go into details but you know more than me just how many times minsters routinely disregard the views of the very boards that they appointed.
But there are other generic weaknesses in our context that lead to weak corporate governance. One, we have for lack of a better word ‘clever CEOs’. Sometimes our CEOs are just too bright for their boards, In some instances CEOs have opposed and done so very publicly the decisions of the board. As shareholders we are also guilty of electing people to boards who either have less appreciation of their tasks or people whose sole intention is to earn ‘sitting allowance’. Some have made the very meaning of a sitting allowance very true... they are rewarded for sitting rather than thinking and contributing to strategy.
But is all hope gone? No I don’t think so. If anything I have said makes you look down upon ourselves then accept my regrets. I know we have the potential of making a contribution to better cooperate governance. For starters, never be too busy to attend an AGM. Attend the AGM and let your views be heard, they may ignore you but that should never confine shareholders to silence.
Secondly and importantly, as future professional in Kenya’s financial system, what values are we carrying to the work place? What are the governance issues in your organisation? Are we carrying out our affairs openly? Or have we become experts in publicly condemning what we privately engage in? Are we as the young generation learning the language of ‘kitu kidogo’ with intentions of becoming expert in looting public property later? Governance is a culture, it begins by us knowing that institutions are greator than persons. It starts by our appreciation that your student association will be here for many many years to come. Governance and in a sense corporate governance starts with me and you.
I get a sense in which this two topics were too much to bite in one presentation. Allow me then to turn my focus to the emerging areas in this profession. Many and for no fault of their own equate an accountant to a cashier, not that I am disparaging a cashiers job. Many others know that accounting is a boring back office task of manually filling on old-wide ledgers. Many others believe that it is either you are an accountant or an auditor. All these statements were true of our profession at different times in its very long history. I want to spend a moment with you so that we dream of the future, by the way what we dream of is already a reality in some nations; Allow me to share some of the emerging specialisations
Business Valuers: Either for purposes of an outright sale or even for insurance purposes one would need to value the business. There are very few of these experts in Kenya. It would surprise you that some of our insurance companies rely on business valuations done by land valuers.
Mergers & Acquisition Experts: Increasingly businesses are buying others or being bought sometimes in a friendly manner at other times in a very hostile way. As business students you must know something about Carbacid and BOC Gases, or for those of you who may not be very holly, then you know a thing about the EABL/Castle Debacle. Just recently MTN entered our local market by buying in a local company. But our companies too have been expanding and snapping other businesses, I know for example Equity Bank has bought some company in Uganda, Nation Media Group has bought companies in Uganda as well as in Tanzania. Kenya Airways, the company many still wrongly believe belongs to Kenyans bought Precision Air in Tanzania. The point here ladies and gentlemen is that transactions of this kind are becoming more common. Complex as they seem, somebody takes time to advise on what price to pay. You may not do this with only CPA or your first degree but the main point here is that it is an emerging field with very good prospects.
Arrangers of syndicated loans; Big corporations also need loans, I am yet to see balance sheets of respectable companies without debt in their equity. By the sheer size banks normally come together in what they call a syndicated loan. I am no expert but those interested follow this, there are people who do this. I can’t remember names but there could be just one or two fellows who do this locally.
Recovery Managers; The revised companies bill has moved solvency and recovery to a separate act. We are beginning to see companies face financial stress, struggle hard enough and recover fully. It managers grounded in knowledge of accounting and finance who are called on to lead in such difficult times. I may not be confident to state this , but maybe this is why accountants are thought of as mean people. Jonathan Ciano CPA(K) is a celebrated recovery manager in Kenya. Without accusing me of blowing the trumpet too much, Ciano is a CPAK and a member of ICPAK. But the story is not always this rosy, there is a another quasi-government company known as KENACTO TAXIs, it would interest students of business to study it as a case study of a company that has stayed the longest in receivership.
Financial Consultants; People are beginning to pay for financial advice. Interest Rates Advisory Centre, that is associated the Hon. Donde is an example of a business which has focused purely on helping clients re-calculate their bank loans. Your see some articles in newspapers giving you advise on how to use your money, it is an emerging field too.
Off shore financing experts; Differences in tax and disclosure requirements have made many companies to shop around the world for the cheapest place to locate themselves. Tax havens or names such as New Jersey, Bermuda, Cayman Islands must ring a bell for those who may be interested. In many of these jurisdictions you will not miss the company of Kenyans many of who are CPA(K)s
Tax Consultants; Though a civic duty and an honour that we all owe to our nation, it is very hard to pay tax with a smile in Kenya. My intention is not to recycle the old story of who does not pay tax but to awaken you to a career in tax planning and advise. It is possible and it is purely legal to study the laws on taxation in order to minimise the tax burden. I pay my taxes and certainly I wish everybody else did, but I also need someone to advise me on how to minimise on the tax I pay. You can develop you capacity in this area and earn a living advising clients on actions that will result in less tax.
Ladies and gentlemen, we can go on and go on, but I wish to end sharing with you my firm faith that Kenya is truly a great nation, with many great and noble people whose pre-occupation is a silence that lets the evil prevail.
Thank you for inviting me, and thank you for allowing to speak in one of the few universities in Kenya that are named after a gallant Kenyan whose grave remains unmarked but whose spirit lives in some of our hearts.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Makokha Wanjala M’s Remarks On occasion of celebrating Oulu G.P.O’s First Anniversary at Shooting Site, State House Avenue, Nairobi Kenya.
Republic of Kenya
Citizen No. 22045386
For Immediate Release
March 5, 2010
Makokha Wanjala M’s Remarks
On occasion of celebrating Oulu G.P.O’s First Anniversary at Shooting Site, State House Avenue, Nairobi Kenya.
My good friend Crispus Fwamba
My very good friend Juma Khauka
My friends Dann Mwangi, Booker Ngesa, Mamluki and others
This is an evening worth of our memory, on this day 366 days ago, a bullet from a gun fired at Oulu took away his life. Another bullet fired at the same time perhaps from the same gun took away the life of Oscar Kang’ara.
We gather here today to remember Oulu, Oscar and many other heroes and heroines that have fallen in the struggle for a better Kenya. In a way, our gathering mirrors the celebration in South Africa on the student uprising of 1975. Our nation suffers a collective hate to those who persevere, those who toil away, those who slave as prisoners of conscience, those who suffer broken promises, broken limps and shattered lives so that we could have a better nation. We, as a country in a span of four decades have not found it right to celebrate many youthful heroes and heroines. A majority of these youthful yet gallant sons and daughters of Kenya met their bullets right at or from universities, tertiary and other institutions. They spared nothing in their love for their motherland Kenya.
It is refreshing that this meeting, a congregation of largely young minds found it worth to celebrate GPO. George Paul Oulu, many of us thought it was General Post Office. We took it for granted that we had such a long time and a long company in his life. March 5, 2009 proved us wrong.
In celebrating Oulu, we celebrate many others who lived like him and died like him for all of us. It is even more humbling that I was chosen to give a speech at this maiden anniversary. I am alive to the high standards expected of me so that this annual event begins to speak to our nation. In discharging this tall order I have no doubts that I fall short of your expectations but then, I am yet to see a man who pleases everyone.
Maybe I was selected to speak because at the time of GPO’s death, I was staring at another calamity at family level. News that GPO is no more reached me at the bedside of Webuye District Hospital where another fine Kenyan, the Late Charles Makokha Wambulwa lay comatose. My Dad succumbed to spinal cancer on March 7, 2009. In a way my family will always unite with GPO’s and their friends in sorrow as we commemorate these anniversaries. These twin tragedies help to explain my very loud absence at Oulu’s graveside. I hope to pay my homage to him a year later.
In the cabinet in which I served as the Secretary General, God has been so generous in calling us home. He called to his fold Onkoba Marube, a fine young Doctor and my Secretary for Health & Accommodation. He again called for his keep; no I think an assassin forced him to accept for his safe keep another patriot named GPO who was the Governor- Kikuyu Campus in my student government, SONU. Since the executive council was only 18 in number, I guess myself and the remaining 15 must always be ready. If they don’t force me or you to meet our maker that soon, let us continue to draw on God’s oasis of infinite blessings and surrender ourselves to the service of our great nation Kenya.
A good speech rarely changes a nation, a life well-lived does. The life of GPO teaches all of us that you do not have to grow to a ripe old age to contribute to your nation. If you are among the many who expect that I share much on the life of GPO; in that I am afraid I will disappoint. I knew GPO almost in the same way as you did. I may not have any special knowledge about this gallant son of Kenya. Indeed, I must confess that some of you shared a life with him, lived with him, worked with him and knew him in a way none of us did. To me GPO came through as a sincere, charming and courageous young man. He was not to be cowed with his not-so –eloquent speech. In fact, I believe for what he may have lacked in eloquence it was well made up by courage and lots of it.
I will return to his life shortly, but I believe in a forum as this Kenya is listening. I see in front of me the very essence of Kenya. I see the enthusiasm, the beauty and the hope of our nation. I see the energy that will take Kenya to a new level; I want to speak to this promising future of our nation. I want to be brutally honest with my audience, I do so in the firm faith that the good Lord set aside a time like this for a message like this. I am animated to be part of Kenya’s future, I am proud to be speaking back to myself for I believe I am part of the hope that will transform our nation.
I believe this day will be wasted if we fail to talk through the struggles that GPO fought. We will have squandered this moment if we do not size up and face the challenges that pre-occupied GPO’s days. I want to look straight into our civil society; an arena in which Oulu was a lead character. Civil society plays an integral role in our society. They play watchdog and interrogate our leaderships at all levels. They demand much from those in positions of leadership and it is in the same vein that a lot must be demanded from them. Leadership is not presidency, leadership is not government, and leadership is not all about elective, competitive and oftentimes divisive politics.
Kenya will not be changed from statehouse; In fact, it will not be changed by happenings at that prestigious address on Harambee Avenue. Kenya is unmoved by the bickering and mostly confused 220 fellows in the August house. Yet statehouse, that office on Harambee Avenue and the character of those two-hundred and twenty fellows explains much of where we are today. It explains why truthfulness and honesty are no longer hallmarks of public service. And that is why today is poignant. Today is so important to me for I get to meet the people who each day put their lives on the roll in the streets for us. I get to speak to the people who occupy the moral high ground from which they beckon at us. I get to speak to the civil society.
As I said Kenya is here, Kenya is listening and Kenya wishes to hear the brutal truth if not for anything for the sake of the life of Oulu and the suffering of Kang’ara’s widow.
Does it offend if I asked how many of us are in the civil movement with the interests of our nation at heart?
Will it hurt if I wanted to know how many of us practice what we demand of our leaders?
Does it bother our conscience just how many NGO’s are run in a transparent fashion?
In memory of a very courageous son of Kenya, why not just pick a bit of it and ask just how many of us in the civil movement have succumbed to guns-for –hire?
It should jog our minds but leave no hatred to establish how many of our demonstrations are privately funded by a select corrupt at night and aimed at other corrupt fellows during the day?
In our search for justice for our fallen brother, can’t we pose and ponder justice for those who cannot be appointed to certain positions because of where they were born? Is it a coincidence that 47 years after independence we have some talent that can’t be replaced occasioning pensioners in key state offices?
Can’t we as we search for justice seek justice for our primary school children whose free primary education is now very free of any meaningful education?
Does it hurt and should it hurt in asking where the truth that we so fondly announce on rooftops is?
Are we ready to choose the responsibility of a new just and prosperous nation or would we rather remain in the present confusion for which we are the architects? Would it be wrong to question an apparent government policy that talent, competence and indeed incompetence is also tribal?
If we cannot live the narrow path of accountability, we loose the moral ground to demand it from others. We have to confront the venom that constantly poisons all youth initiatives. We must confront the differences that make it impossible for the youths of this nation to speak as one voice. We must raise to the challenge that is, tribalism. Ethnic profiling and organization is a cancer that we must overcome. It is never easy but the young people of this nation must lead the way. We must ask those difficult questions, we must ask why forming an NGO is a sure way to driving a sleek car. We must ask why donor-driven agenda have been converted to national agenda. We must ask who is setting the agenda for the young people of this nation. We must isolate and condemn those local and international donors who wish to dictate on us Kenya’s agenda. We have to look within and exorcise the venom that has slowly but surely de-activated the Munovi’s, Khauka’s and Osido’s of student activism?
We are not going to do so if we all admire Mercedes Benz irrespective of how it was acquired.
We won’t fight corruption if we are part and parcel of ethnic cocoons that rise to defend our tribesmen whenever they are found with their hands in the honey jar. Corruption is personal and political, those telling us otherwise, we know what they are saying. I hear them. If you hear them as I do, they are asking us to trust government agencies to deal with corruption when these agencies are known more in failure than success. Trust government as presently constituted when no where else provides a fertile ground for graft to sprout than in government agencies themselves. I dare say again, if you ask us to forgo political responsibility and the honour to serve that requires people to step aside to allow for independent and impartial investigations, then we hear you. We know that you are asking us to burn the church so that the gospel can be preached. You are asking us to break the sanctuary of ethics in order to fight corruption, you are asking us to give up virtue and replace it with value. You are asking us to doubt our education. You are asking us to re-check our civility and in all these endevours our un-equivocal answer is this. We refuse. We refuse your convenient confusion as a medium of exchange in transacting public affairs in our nation Kenya.
We will not overcome the small thinking that characterizes the leadership of our nation if we fight corruption to attract invitation to the very table of corruption. Corruption has to be fought from within. We must search within our souls and create a resolve to quickly replace the punctured tyre that keeps the youths of this country off road.
All of us or at least many of us have participated in installing the current leadership. In 2002 half of my friends were with Uhuru as I and others were with Kibaki. By then we were puritans, we believed Moi had a fundamental mental flaw, how wrong we were. In 2007 I saw half of my very good friends on PNU and the other half on the ODM side. Their voices were the same, their message had changed. Their body frames the same but their weight had significantly increased. We are to blame. GPO’s life and other lives lost are actually a loss and not an indication of progress in the struggle because of our greed. We have terribly let ourselves down. We cut deals on campaign money then dish it among ourselves in a fashion no different from the workings of the corrupt tentacles that raise campaign funds in the first place. We are the problem. I should just say it as it is, we derive comfort in company of thieves. We have fallen short of our expectations; we need to reform ourselves first.
I will not attempt a catalogue of our nation’s problems, for that is common place. I will also not detail solutions for those are never in short supply. The only worthy project for us, the only option for our nation is to invert this pyramid of leadership. I am tired; I am frustrated and am annoyed that many of our youths are being promoted on the very convoluted pyramid of leadership once they soak their hands in illicit honey. What will become of us? Are we prepared to sacrifice our ideals, our ethics and everything we hold dear so that we are allowed to climb the pyramid? The choice that Oulu made is before us today. Lets choose the way for Kenya’s brighter future not our own. Those who pulled the trigger and took away the life of Oulu will never muster the courage to tell us why they did so. They will not tell us, what Oulu’s life threatened in them, they will never tell us why killing him was the only option. We will never know for sure why GPO and Oscar had to die. We are left only with the memories we had of him, we are only left with the impressions we had of him. With this memory we can only postulate on why they wanted him dead.
They wanted him dead for he was not one of them
They wanted him dead for he operated differently
They wanted him dead for his thoughts were not theirs
They wanted him dead for he terrified them
They wanted him dead for it worried them, his plans, his dreams, his ambitions and more so his approach. They knew his flock will flatter, they knew in killing him they will disorganize us, they knew in killing him we will scatter. They wanted to kill his dream, his ambition and frighten his disciples.
Today, I look into your eyes and I ask are we frightened? Are we cowed? Are we so afraid of them? I don’t know but for me my path is cut out. I know I have made mistakes, I have been tempted like everyone else but I refuse to form company with known thieves.
I may have sinned but I call upon all the young people to resonate to the higher calling of leadership with an affirmation that Kenya will live on.
I may have made mistakes but I refuse to be condemned by my history
I refuse the habit of mistakes
I refuse the snare of corruption
I refrain from the temptation of shortcuts to wealth
The young people of this nation have heard many things; they have been told they will lead tomorrow. Their mistake is they have accepted all this without question. They have been condemned without batting an eyelid. They have been abused and all they ever did was to accept the humiliation in silence. Of course, with rare exceptions in the mould of GPO.
It is time now, not just to say enough is enough for that has been said before. It is time not just to say, it is our turn, because as well that has been said before. It is not in order to say we will chase the corrupt out of town, for we could as well be the very corrupt. We shouldn’t say the time for roadside declarations will end, for we have seen those who condemn are the very ones who indulge.
What then is our way forth. Why then are Oscar and Oulu dead? Why then do people pay the ultimate prize in their quest for a better society? What should the young people of this nation do? What strategy will work? Will our past failure become a permanent feature of our future struggles? The genuine answer to all these is “I don’t know”
I don’t know how we will reform this country, but reform it we will
I don’t know how we gonna deal with a corrupt judiciary but deal with it we must
I don’t know how we will deal with our tribal warlords but yet we must confront them
I don’t know what we will do with our docile church whose indulgence is to forsake its people and let lies reign freely.
Friends, there is so much I don’t know, but the little I know is that the great future of ourselves and our children will not arrive on the shores of our nation as did the British colonialists. I don’t know how we will ensure that there is better accountable leadership for our country but what I do know is waiting patiently, obediently to the current status quo will not take us far. I don’t know just who or how we could manage our taxes better but I do know that no solutions will alight aboard a Boeing at JKIA irrespective of how well we pray. What I do know and know so well is that:
We must be heard
We must be listened to
We must be understood
We must be involved
But friends no one will give it to us. We must grab the leadership of this nation. We must create awareness among our people never to settle for less. We must engage in all fronts, in all ways. I mean be it technical, professional, innovatively, scientifically; businesswise the young people of this nation must arise.
To do so we must live the change we wish for. We must not condemn on basis of tribe, we must never disengage however long the night might seem. I believe from wherever he is GPO is urging us on
He is urging us on to contemplate then complete his works. We must now proceed in honesty, firm in faith that no one knows it all. We must give way for a brother who has better skill; we must leave way for a sister who is more experienced than us. We must begin to engage on the basis of truth. We must run our affairs differently; we must begin to live in the new Kenya we wish to see. We must refuse to bow to tyranny. We live true to the creed that disobedience to tyranny is obedience to God. We must forge love among us.
I could conclude but let me not do so without reminding you and myself that we will not be young forever. That being young ascribes no special benefits to us for reason of age alone. I wish it dawned on all of us that this nation owes us nothing just because we are young. Youth is just a phase. It is up to us to utilize it to the greatest of benefits to our collective stay as a nation.
I pray that God keeps and blesses you. I pray that in his redemption spirit, may he allow us to live a new. May he keep in you a sense of urgency to surmount and summon all the energies for good of our nation.
Kenya is great,
Kenya is marwa
Its leaders have small heads,
Moreover, it is so because we have accepted it to be so
To those who killed GPO, Oscar and Godwin, messed up March 5th, Your cowardice gave us yet another day on which we pause and reflect on the struggle this far. By killing, you made the cause louder, by killing you made us bolder; by killing, you united us further, by their blood our resolve got even much tighter. As you stilled their voices, you made the voice of the struggle louder.
Kenyan state may never tell us the truth; it may never tell us who pulled the trigger. It remains their duty. President Kibaki and his co-principal Raila must now share information so far gathered. It was their duty to protect GPO, Oscar and Godwin, a sacred duty in name of our nation in which they failed. We ask them to attest that they indeed are not part of the conspirators by hauling before justice the real conspirators. We wait, but not forever, for sooner than later we may find them guilty in their first line duty to protect Oulu, Oscar and Godwin and in the second line duty of protecting the killers. If they fail then we know it is not their inability to do so.
Asanteni sana
Citizen No. 22045386
For Immediate Release
March 5, 2010
Makokha Wanjala M’s Remarks
On occasion of celebrating Oulu G.P.O’s First Anniversary at Shooting Site, State House Avenue, Nairobi Kenya.
My good friend Crispus Fwamba
My very good friend Juma Khauka
My friends Dann Mwangi, Booker Ngesa, Mamluki and others
This is an evening worth of our memory, on this day 366 days ago, a bullet from a gun fired at Oulu took away his life. Another bullet fired at the same time perhaps from the same gun took away the life of Oscar Kang’ara.
We gather here today to remember Oulu, Oscar and many other heroes and heroines that have fallen in the struggle for a better Kenya. In a way, our gathering mirrors the celebration in South Africa on the student uprising of 1975. Our nation suffers a collective hate to those who persevere, those who toil away, those who slave as prisoners of conscience, those who suffer broken promises, broken limps and shattered lives so that we could have a better nation. We, as a country in a span of four decades have not found it right to celebrate many youthful heroes and heroines. A majority of these youthful yet gallant sons and daughters of Kenya met their bullets right at or from universities, tertiary and other institutions. They spared nothing in their love for their motherland Kenya.
It is refreshing that this meeting, a congregation of largely young minds found it worth to celebrate GPO. George Paul Oulu, many of us thought it was General Post Office. We took it for granted that we had such a long time and a long company in his life. March 5, 2009 proved us wrong.
In celebrating Oulu, we celebrate many others who lived like him and died like him for all of us. It is even more humbling that I was chosen to give a speech at this maiden anniversary. I am alive to the high standards expected of me so that this annual event begins to speak to our nation. In discharging this tall order I have no doubts that I fall short of your expectations but then, I am yet to see a man who pleases everyone.
Maybe I was selected to speak because at the time of GPO’s death, I was staring at another calamity at family level. News that GPO is no more reached me at the bedside of Webuye District Hospital where another fine Kenyan, the Late Charles Makokha Wambulwa lay comatose. My Dad succumbed to spinal cancer on March 7, 2009. In a way my family will always unite with GPO’s and their friends in sorrow as we commemorate these anniversaries. These twin tragedies help to explain my very loud absence at Oulu’s graveside. I hope to pay my homage to him a year later.
In the cabinet in which I served as the Secretary General, God has been so generous in calling us home. He called to his fold Onkoba Marube, a fine young Doctor and my Secretary for Health & Accommodation. He again called for his keep; no I think an assassin forced him to accept for his safe keep another patriot named GPO who was the Governor- Kikuyu Campus in my student government, SONU. Since the executive council was only 18 in number, I guess myself and the remaining 15 must always be ready. If they don’t force me or you to meet our maker that soon, let us continue to draw on God’s oasis of infinite blessings and surrender ourselves to the service of our great nation Kenya.
A good speech rarely changes a nation, a life well-lived does. The life of GPO teaches all of us that you do not have to grow to a ripe old age to contribute to your nation. If you are among the many who expect that I share much on the life of GPO; in that I am afraid I will disappoint. I knew GPO almost in the same way as you did. I may not have any special knowledge about this gallant son of Kenya. Indeed, I must confess that some of you shared a life with him, lived with him, worked with him and knew him in a way none of us did. To me GPO came through as a sincere, charming and courageous young man. He was not to be cowed with his not-so –eloquent speech. In fact, I believe for what he may have lacked in eloquence it was well made up by courage and lots of it.
I will return to his life shortly, but I believe in a forum as this Kenya is listening. I see in front of me the very essence of Kenya. I see the enthusiasm, the beauty and the hope of our nation. I see the energy that will take Kenya to a new level; I want to speak to this promising future of our nation. I want to be brutally honest with my audience, I do so in the firm faith that the good Lord set aside a time like this for a message like this. I am animated to be part of Kenya’s future, I am proud to be speaking back to myself for I believe I am part of the hope that will transform our nation.
I believe this day will be wasted if we fail to talk through the struggles that GPO fought. We will have squandered this moment if we do not size up and face the challenges that pre-occupied GPO’s days. I want to look straight into our civil society; an arena in which Oulu was a lead character. Civil society plays an integral role in our society. They play watchdog and interrogate our leaderships at all levels. They demand much from those in positions of leadership and it is in the same vein that a lot must be demanded from them. Leadership is not presidency, leadership is not government, and leadership is not all about elective, competitive and oftentimes divisive politics.
Kenya will not be changed from statehouse; In fact, it will not be changed by happenings at that prestigious address on Harambee Avenue. Kenya is unmoved by the bickering and mostly confused 220 fellows in the August house. Yet statehouse, that office on Harambee Avenue and the character of those two-hundred and twenty fellows explains much of where we are today. It explains why truthfulness and honesty are no longer hallmarks of public service. And that is why today is poignant. Today is so important to me for I get to meet the people who each day put their lives on the roll in the streets for us. I get to speak to the people who occupy the moral high ground from which they beckon at us. I get to speak to the civil society.
As I said Kenya is here, Kenya is listening and Kenya wishes to hear the brutal truth if not for anything for the sake of the life of Oulu and the suffering of Kang’ara’s widow.
Does it offend if I asked how many of us are in the civil movement with the interests of our nation at heart?
Will it hurt if I wanted to know how many of us practice what we demand of our leaders?
Does it bother our conscience just how many NGO’s are run in a transparent fashion?
In memory of a very courageous son of Kenya, why not just pick a bit of it and ask just how many of us in the civil movement have succumbed to guns-for –hire?
It should jog our minds but leave no hatred to establish how many of our demonstrations are privately funded by a select corrupt at night and aimed at other corrupt fellows during the day?
In our search for justice for our fallen brother, can’t we pose and ponder justice for those who cannot be appointed to certain positions because of where they were born? Is it a coincidence that 47 years after independence we have some talent that can’t be replaced occasioning pensioners in key state offices?
Can’t we as we search for justice seek justice for our primary school children whose free primary education is now very free of any meaningful education?
Does it hurt and should it hurt in asking where the truth that we so fondly announce on rooftops is?
Are we ready to choose the responsibility of a new just and prosperous nation or would we rather remain in the present confusion for which we are the architects? Would it be wrong to question an apparent government policy that talent, competence and indeed incompetence is also tribal?
If we cannot live the narrow path of accountability, we loose the moral ground to demand it from others. We have to confront the venom that constantly poisons all youth initiatives. We must confront the differences that make it impossible for the youths of this nation to speak as one voice. We must raise to the challenge that is, tribalism. Ethnic profiling and organization is a cancer that we must overcome. It is never easy but the young people of this nation must lead the way. We must ask those difficult questions, we must ask why forming an NGO is a sure way to driving a sleek car. We must ask why donor-driven agenda have been converted to national agenda. We must ask who is setting the agenda for the young people of this nation. We must isolate and condemn those local and international donors who wish to dictate on us Kenya’s agenda. We have to look within and exorcise the venom that has slowly but surely de-activated the Munovi’s, Khauka’s and Osido’s of student activism?
We are not going to do so if we all admire Mercedes Benz irrespective of how it was acquired.
We won’t fight corruption if we are part and parcel of ethnic cocoons that rise to defend our tribesmen whenever they are found with their hands in the honey jar. Corruption is personal and political, those telling us otherwise, we know what they are saying. I hear them. If you hear them as I do, they are asking us to trust government agencies to deal with corruption when these agencies are known more in failure than success. Trust government as presently constituted when no where else provides a fertile ground for graft to sprout than in government agencies themselves. I dare say again, if you ask us to forgo political responsibility and the honour to serve that requires people to step aside to allow for independent and impartial investigations, then we hear you. We know that you are asking us to burn the church so that the gospel can be preached. You are asking us to break the sanctuary of ethics in order to fight corruption, you are asking us to give up virtue and replace it with value. You are asking us to doubt our education. You are asking us to re-check our civility and in all these endevours our un-equivocal answer is this. We refuse. We refuse your convenient confusion as a medium of exchange in transacting public affairs in our nation Kenya.
We will not overcome the small thinking that characterizes the leadership of our nation if we fight corruption to attract invitation to the very table of corruption. Corruption has to be fought from within. We must search within our souls and create a resolve to quickly replace the punctured tyre that keeps the youths of this country off road.
All of us or at least many of us have participated in installing the current leadership. In 2002 half of my friends were with Uhuru as I and others were with Kibaki. By then we were puritans, we believed Moi had a fundamental mental flaw, how wrong we were. In 2007 I saw half of my very good friends on PNU and the other half on the ODM side. Their voices were the same, their message had changed. Their body frames the same but their weight had significantly increased. We are to blame. GPO’s life and other lives lost are actually a loss and not an indication of progress in the struggle because of our greed. We have terribly let ourselves down. We cut deals on campaign money then dish it among ourselves in a fashion no different from the workings of the corrupt tentacles that raise campaign funds in the first place. We are the problem. I should just say it as it is, we derive comfort in company of thieves. We have fallen short of our expectations; we need to reform ourselves first.
I will not attempt a catalogue of our nation’s problems, for that is common place. I will also not detail solutions for those are never in short supply. The only worthy project for us, the only option for our nation is to invert this pyramid of leadership. I am tired; I am frustrated and am annoyed that many of our youths are being promoted on the very convoluted pyramid of leadership once they soak their hands in illicit honey. What will become of us? Are we prepared to sacrifice our ideals, our ethics and everything we hold dear so that we are allowed to climb the pyramid? The choice that Oulu made is before us today. Lets choose the way for Kenya’s brighter future not our own. Those who pulled the trigger and took away the life of Oulu will never muster the courage to tell us why they did so. They will not tell us, what Oulu’s life threatened in them, they will never tell us why killing him was the only option. We will never know for sure why GPO and Oscar had to die. We are left only with the memories we had of him, we are only left with the impressions we had of him. With this memory we can only postulate on why they wanted him dead.
They wanted him dead for he was not one of them
They wanted him dead for he operated differently
They wanted him dead for his thoughts were not theirs
They wanted him dead for he terrified them
They wanted him dead for it worried them, his plans, his dreams, his ambitions and more so his approach. They knew his flock will flatter, they knew in killing him they will disorganize us, they knew in killing him we will scatter. They wanted to kill his dream, his ambition and frighten his disciples.
Today, I look into your eyes and I ask are we frightened? Are we cowed? Are we so afraid of them? I don’t know but for me my path is cut out. I know I have made mistakes, I have been tempted like everyone else but I refuse to form company with known thieves.
I may have sinned but I call upon all the young people to resonate to the higher calling of leadership with an affirmation that Kenya will live on.
I may have made mistakes but I refuse to be condemned by my history
I refuse the habit of mistakes
I refuse the snare of corruption
I refrain from the temptation of shortcuts to wealth
The young people of this nation have heard many things; they have been told they will lead tomorrow. Their mistake is they have accepted all this without question. They have been condemned without batting an eyelid. They have been abused and all they ever did was to accept the humiliation in silence. Of course, with rare exceptions in the mould of GPO.
It is time now, not just to say enough is enough for that has been said before. It is time not just to say, it is our turn, because as well that has been said before. It is not in order to say we will chase the corrupt out of town, for we could as well be the very corrupt. We shouldn’t say the time for roadside declarations will end, for we have seen those who condemn are the very ones who indulge.
What then is our way forth. Why then are Oscar and Oulu dead? Why then do people pay the ultimate prize in their quest for a better society? What should the young people of this nation do? What strategy will work? Will our past failure become a permanent feature of our future struggles? The genuine answer to all these is “I don’t know”
I don’t know how we will reform this country, but reform it we will
I don’t know how we gonna deal with a corrupt judiciary but deal with it we must
I don’t know how we will deal with our tribal warlords but yet we must confront them
I don’t know what we will do with our docile church whose indulgence is to forsake its people and let lies reign freely.
Friends, there is so much I don’t know, but the little I know is that the great future of ourselves and our children will not arrive on the shores of our nation as did the British colonialists. I don’t know how we will ensure that there is better accountable leadership for our country but what I do know is waiting patiently, obediently to the current status quo will not take us far. I don’t know just who or how we could manage our taxes better but I do know that no solutions will alight aboard a Boeing at JKIA irrespective of how well we pray. What I do know and know so well is that:
We must be heard
We must be listened to
We must be understood
We must be involved
But friends no one will give it to us. We must grab the leadership of this nation. We must create awareness among our people never to settle for less. We must engage in all fronts, in all ways. I mean be it technical, professional, innovatively, scientifically; businesswise the young people of this nation must arise.
To do so we must live the change we wish for. We must not condemn on basis of tribe, we must never disengage however long the night might seem. I believe from wherever he is GPO is urging us on
He is urging us on to contemplate then complete his works. We must now proceed in honesty, firm in faith that no one knows it all. We must give way for a brother who has better skill; we must leave way for a sister who is more experienced than us. We must begin to engage on the basis of truth. We must run our affairs differently; we must begin to live in the new Kenya we wish to see. We must refuse to bow to tyranny. We live true to the creed that disobedience to tyranny is obedience to God. We must forge love among us.
I could conclude but let me not do so without reminding you and myself that we will not be young forever. That being young ascribes no special benefits to us for reason of age alone. I wish it dawned on all of us that this nation owes us nothing just because we are young. Youth is just a phase. It is up to us to utilize it to the greatest of benefits to our collective stay as a nation.
I pray that God keeps and blesses you. I pray that in his redemption spirit, may he allow us to live a new. May he keep in you a sense of urgency to surmount and summon all the energies for good of our nation.
Kenya is great,
Kenya is marwa
Its leaders have small heads,
Moreover, it is so because we have accepted it to be so
To those who killed GPO, Oscar and Godwin, messed up March 5th, Your cowardice gave us yet another day on which we pause and reflect on the struggle this far. By killing, you made the cause louder, by killing you made us bolder; by killing, you united us further, by their blood our resolve got even much tighter. As you stilled their voices, you made the voice of the struggle louder.
Kenyan state may never tell us the truth; it may never tell us who pulled the trigger. It remains their duty. President Kibaki and his co-principal Raila must now share information so far gathered. It was their duty to protect GPO, Oscar and Godwin, a sacred duty in name of our nation in which they failed. We ask them to attest that they indeed are not part of the conspirators by hauling before justice the real conspirators. We wait, but not forever, for sooner than later we may find them guilty in their first line duty to protect Oulu, Oscar and Godwin and in the second line duty of protecting the killers. If they fail then we know it is not their inability to do so.
Asanteni sana
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS KENYA 2017
My dear citizens
I salute you from the seat of power, this is statehouse Nairobi.
A few hours ago owing the greater love and patriotism of our army generals I have been asked to serve in the office of President of the Republic of Kenya. You may as well know that in 2012 we overwhelmingly elected Mr. Odinga in the hope that he will undo mistakes of a Kibaki regime and reverse the vagaries that bedevil Kenyans because of Moi’s legacy. Moi’s name in anchored as an omni-present president who interfered with everything including the hiring of principals in high schools. We were wrong.
Earlier than that and long before I was born there was another patriarch of corruption who had a singular honour of leading our country to independence. As a nation we have stepped, hopped and jumped from one classic case of bankrupt leadership not once, not twice but a record four times. The end to this circus is here. Those who have known me from my younger days must indeed be very worried. They must be worried not about the fact that am going to bring about change but worried at the supersonic speed at which am going to move.
The army commanders had suspended the constitution which was a reasonable thing in the circumstances but I hereby order the resumption of constitutionality to the extent that it is consistent with the vision that am going to espouse for our country. By the way I have decreed that our country will from hence forth be known as the Independent Republic of the Peoples of Kenya. (IRPK) I want you to appreciate and join me in laying the foundations for a better country. I must from the very outset urge you to bear the pain we must all go through so to prepare a greater future for our nation.
But maybe before I get to the rubrics of governance let me tell you a bit about myself. Am a son born and bred by parents who had regard for virtue. That is want I bring into this government. You must by now know that this telecast is coming to you from statehouse Nairobi. I have ordered all media outlets including private ones to air this as a matter of national duty. I was intimated that Nation Media had issues broadcasting but am now reliably told by an army general I dispatched there that we are now on air simultaneously across all channels. I have also urged in the interest of ensuring wider outreach to populace that ISPs stream this message over the internet for all including the Diaspora to tune in. This truly is a magical moment for our nation and I am humbled to occupy the seat of president and be in charge of driving the changes Kenyans need to see. I now hope that all government functionaries are tuned in so that I begin delving into matters of governance.
CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW
This matter had troubled our country right from the 1990’s. That’s 40 years ago. I now decree that Deans Faculties of law from our state universities and the aging Parvin Bowry will meet and deliver a constitution to me in three weeks. Note that the deans are already in the service of their country for which they earn a salary and therefore no additional pay will be given to them. Friends you may call me a dictator and so be it but I know a bit of group dynamics to know that good constitutions are written by fewer people sometimes less than six. For the human rights activists who would wish to stage demonstrations countrywide, they are very free to do so but on one condition. As your president and a believer in hard work, they will be no demonstration during working hours. Everyone must engage in meaningful employment and that includes the crusaders for people’s rights.
CORRUPTION
There shall be no more corruption in the republic of Kenya. You have heard that before, but you have not heard before is this I am directing KRA to asses the properties of Kenyatta, Moi, Kibaki and all former senior government officials. Rest easy we do not want to jail any one, all I want is all taxes , including VATs, Company taxes, Stamp duty, Importations taxes, taxes on interests earned, tax on rents, capital gains on assets disposed off and all manner of possible taxes. This will be due for payment upon assessment. In order to effectuate this I am directing the Institute of Public Accountants, the Central Bank, The Lands Ministry, commercial Banks , the Nairobi Stock Exchange to provide access and all logistical support needed to make this back tax collection a success. In fact ICPAK should consider this a national honour and avail to my office at least 2000 accountants. We are going to assign this to each and every Kenyan who owns more that KShs 100 million of wealth.
I also decree that all past scandals including Goldenberg, Anglo leasing, Maize, Oil, Trinton Oil Saga, Airports Saga, all other sagas will not be investigated through committees as was the practice in the past. No more reports are needed. I hereby decree that estimates of these mega frauds be established and those culpable should pay all the taxes due to on this ill gotten wealth. To effectuate this I have suspended all passports of persons alive and their immediate families who have been accused of, been charged, or acquitted of corruption related cases in Kenya’s history since independence.
I have also directed the closure of Kenya Anti Corruption Authority. All investigations are back to the police. Later on I will explain to you what I have decided to do with the police so that they execute their mandate as expected.
But there is a little matter that must be solved once and for all. All MPs and former Mps who refused to pay taxes did so but only for a while. I now decree that those taxes on all incomes earned by MPS since independence be taxed and the monies recovered from their current incomes, or their estates as the case maybe. I suspend all anticipatory suits likely to arise from this move and direct that no court anywhere in the Independent People’s Republic of Kenya shall entertain any suits intended to impede this or any other directive issued by the office of the president for the time am in office.
PARLIAMENT
Kenyans have been crying about the luckstre performance of their elected representatives, that cry has reached me and am going to put it to stop. First I want to encourage MPs who will not be able to keep pace with new government to step aside. Secondly, all parliamentary sessions are compulsory for all MPs when at the time of the session they are in the country. By the way trips by MPs outside our Independent Republic will require my specific endorsement. In order to lead by example, all MPs must be proud to serve their nation and even be prepared to do so at no pay. I have abolished the KShs 3,000 for each MP per session of parliament, I have also abolished the KShs 10,000 per sitting in committee allowances, I have abolished the payment of retreats of government officers including Mps, Ministers, Parastatal chiefs, and their employees in hotels of whatever nature. If government officials cannot transact business in government offices and would rather do so in hotels, then that cost of staying in hotels will be fully borne by themselves. I have abolished the car, house, mileage reimbursement and whatever other preferential treatment MPs have been accruing by virtue of their position. Leadership will be an honour not a passage to privilege or material wealth.
EDUCATION
I hereby decree free and compulsory education from nursery to university. Those invited to join secondary schools will have no choice but to join those schools for which they have been invited. I hereby ask Kenyan parents to decide whether they want to take their children to public schools or private schools. Once your child joins a private academy that will be your chosen path for your child. My government will ensure that your child does not get to the best public national secondary schools and neither will your child pursue prestigious courses at the publicly funded state universities. If you choose private and so will it be private all the way. Further I decree that all children born from tomorrow will be issued with a social security number. That number will help my government to know and plan for each Kenyan all through his or her life. That number will be admission number in all schools and colleges, it will the bank account number, if you buy land or indeed any other property you will hold it in that number. It shall be your driving license number, your pin number for taxes and actually without it you will not even be registered as a voter. I hereby direct the Vice Chancellor of the now renamed State University of Kenya (formerly University of Nairobi) to liaise with his other colleagues to give a numbering sequence that we will use to issue social security numbers. I want that number not be too long, but by looking at it should pigeon hole one to the location, district, province and if possible to the village where they were born. That sequence has to be carefully thought about so that we do not to change its arrangement at least for the next two centauries. Again I should emphasize those selected to do this will have the honour of having their names inscribed in the hearts of future generations of Kenyans, that is what we will pay. Our gratitude. No additional shilling will be paid.
Once a child is born in a given location he will have to go to pre-primary and primary school in that location. For secondary I am now asking the experts to develop a software to be embedded to existing database at KNEC to automatically select and remit letters and email alerts to students as to which schools they have been selected to. This wastage of public resources each year by heads of school coming together to participate in selection has stopped forthwith. Let me emphasize that once a student has been selected to join a given school, there will be no transfers. We want to account for all our children and we want to clearly see their path through education. If a parent chooses a private secondary school then he has in the same vein removed the student from being considered for a slot in the public universities. Further to strengthen school management I have through the executive order decreed that from now henceforth all vacancies in schools will be managed by administrators. These will be teachers who have undertaken specific courses in management and have passed appropriate examinations. They then will each be put on performance contracts with specific deliverables within certain time frames. Teaching is a noble profession and it should always be guarded as such. Some of the school heads who have in the past played games with state resources are in for a rude shock. Allow me to decree that stealing or misusing of public resources shall from this minute be non bail able, custodial sentence for a period not less that 15 years. Of course parliament is hearing wherever they are; I expect them to pass necessary legislation to buttress this and the many other measures I have announced.
By now, you must have made up your mind that I am a brute, that I have some vendetta and am on a revenge motion. Yes you couldn’t be more right. I am on revenge. Kenyans children have been held hostage by successive governments. Now six decades later, they have been robbed of their past, their present and unless I do what I have to do now, the middle life of their offspring’s stands in real jeopardy. I know I am asking a generation that is in despair, a generation that is frustrated, a generation that is bitter, a generation that is dispossessed to bear an even greater burden. I know I will not be popular, but people who do right never enjoy company of masses. In this lonely path, I take refuge that the pain I am forcing down on my people is necessary so that we secure the future of our children years, decades and centuries to come. I have in the same vein reduced retirement age across all government agencies to 50 years. All institutions, those good old professors who have been marking time, are more inclined to sitting at the fireside and telling old folk stories than straddling universities with old yellow pages have had their day. They proceed home immediately. But I am not inviting chaos managers of each institution must plan and execute these policies with an eye for the future of the institution. What am emphasizing is that it should be done quickly. Those delaying government programmes will be arrested and charged appropriately.
UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
Friends, about our citadels my message is simple. People who can’t publish must be allowed to perish. You cannot teach for decades on without contributing to the field of study. In fact I believe it is theft of public resources to be a lecturer and you are not producing peer reviewed articles and innovations. I hereby decree that all lecturers will publish at least 2 peer reviewed articles per year. Failure to which they loose their positions. This country still need farmers and I have a feeling some of these talent when released can do exploits in green houses.
University students are likely to be my greatest critics but they are the greatest of beneficiaries of the changes I am effecting. I look back to my days at the University and my burning ambition and a sizzling desire for instant, immediate and on spot changes. I used to say then and the country watched. Times have changed and now that I occupy the high office I will not stop the students from saying what they want to say. All am going to control is how they say it. Saying through burning of people’s property or even state property will not be tolerated an inch. They can carry twigs, cry their souls out, sing chant, even come to statehouse and do hunger strike like I would have done those days. The twin evil of condemnation and indulgence is never going to be possible even for the young leaders at the Universities. They will not condemn corruption and engage in it at their levels. I have firm belief that whenever their unions are involved in what may seem as corruption, they will be dealt without any regard them as young leaders. The yoke I have gladly accepted to carry will be carried by all. We shall condemn bad things and the people who do bad things.
On research at Universities and as regards publications universities are to become fulcrums where this nation’s future will be made. I am not calling for critics who hop from one TV station to another making criticism of everything that they did not author themselves. These noisemakers that will be allowed to persist but will be ignored. We need constructive engagement that is based on information. There are some who are wont on criticizing vision 2030 even without reading it. Outright lies peddled by a lecturer who should know better becomes a punishable crime as from the time I finish this speech.
TRANSPORT
Nairobi has to be a metropolis, not ten years are needed. Not elaborate plans and commissions and other taskforces. We are going to proceed as follows: Parking fees for private vehicles is raised to KShs 1,000 per day payable 7 days in advance. In other words if you must park in town next week, you pay this week. This will help us plan better and be sure that you will get the parking you have paid for. In this era of computers this is no brainer. Further by giving you a week’s lapse you will find neighbors that you can come with to town thereby reduce the vehicles on the roads. We have for a long time had successive governments that are blamed for inaction. I guess mine will suffer the blame of over action. I have been to a few cities around the world and this private vehicle thing simply doesn’t arise, we are no exception. Those parking cars the whole day in the CBD with yellow strips and they call themselves taxis are mistaken. Wherever I have been taxis keep shuttling around and are flagged down when needed. That is how we are going to operate them here. Of course there will be complains but we will not attach much value to those.
The fourteen seater matatu is hereby banned in Nairobi and in the next three months I have banned completely the importation of those vehicles. Those with matatus must now move them from Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, and Nakuru. They can operate in rural areas for the time being. I could sense, is it Mr. Kimutai or who was that kafellow again, wanting to call a press conference to announce that the investors in the industry will be withdrawing their service in a strike. They need to look at the labour laws very carefully. People providing essential services cannot go on strike that easily, and even after following the legal fine print of giving notice and those details I can at any time call off such a strike. I have therefore called it off in advance. Further for the bus operators who may dare, the city council will confisticate those buses and establish a metro bus service. In fact those having buses need to quickly organize themselves into one limited company in which my government through the city council will be buying a controlling stake soon.
I want money from the consolidated fund so that I can build the first true highway in Kenya. The current Nairobi- Mombasa tarmac road will remain as it is. Another four lane dual highway is to be built commencing next month with the following instructions. The highway must be a straight line and shortest connection from Nairobi to Mombasa port. There will be no left turns on this highway, it will be meant for those who are moving express from Mombasa to Nairobi and the minimum speed will be 200 km per hour. It will be an offence punishable instantaneously to be found on this highway with a car that for whatever reason can not match this speed.
I have also invoked the re-introduction of Michuki rules with the following modifications. In order to keep the country moving I have raised the minimum speed to 100Km per hour. Further drivers will be given a one day paid leave rest per week. To check those who may seek part time jobs rather than rest their driving licenses will be at all times in the vehicles for which they are the permanent drivers.
I have also changed the process of buying cars. From today henceforth Kenyans will have to learn that I am not a fabulous person and I belief no one has the right to flaunt wealth in poor a nation like ours. Doing so reinforces a wrong value system in our children. To buy a car one will need first to have a valid driving license upon which a permit to buy a car will be granted. We will limit each Kenyan to once car at a time. If you are a business person and you need more than one car, you car purchase permit will only be issued after evidence from KRA that you have been submitting the required taxes from your business. Further in order to check those who may wish to circumvent this requirement I now direct that all driving licenses be paired with the car owners and a real time online data base available to police.
You will not be able to drive on our roads a car that is not yours. If you borrow a car, the owner will have to surrender to you their driving license so that when you are flagged down by police we are able to know that you have authority to possess that car at that time. Further in order to deal effectively with theft of cars I hereby ban importation of used spare parts, require all motor garages to register with the government and require of them to book in cars like they do in hospitals. The new generation driving license that is an electronic chip will be swiped at the garage so that the entire details of the car owner are established. Garages that do not follow these and other directives that my minister will issue will be closed down and owners charged with aiding theft.
Further, I need to be advised if there is CCTV that can be embedded on our street lights that are able to scan number plates of cars. If not I will be asking our higher and technical institutions to make to me a proposal on how we can be able to search for a car in our country on a computer and see it real time. Not just be able to see it but able to track its movement. Car theft must end and we will do everything possible to stop it. Car sellers should have signed up for ETR, those who had not know very well they are disobeying our rules and should comply by the end of this week.
AGRICULTURE
Agriculture is not profitable if it is done for subsistence on small shambas held by thousands of our farmers. We need to move to consolidating the smaller pieces, provincial administration together with the elaborate state structure responsible for agriculture are going to work round the clock to effect this consolidation. Discussions at the local level are encouraged especially those to do with speeding up the programme. Otherwise those who refuse to engage in viable and sustainable agriculture as advised by my government officials will be deemed to have disobeyed the state and they will be rewarded by being locked out of extension services and all other subsidies that the government will be providing. On the large scale farmers beginning this financial year each and every one of them must register with KRA for purposes of paying tax on their produce. They also must engage in technology transfer to the farmers neighbouring them. There are other bottlenecks in this area that I will be addressing myself to soon after I form the government.
Allow me to digress a bit, I have assumed that you have no option so I will digress. You must again at this stage be wondering what became of our beautiful country that we should surrender to a leader like me. Let me tell you that you very right. In fact those who are thinking so, are bright whose only misfortune is they have lived so long in an environment of disorder that our efforts will be seen to be disrupting their chaotic lifestyles. I am rooted in the faith that visions are not present in many people and even if they were you cannot implement several visions at the same time; this is why I will spend as much time as possible persuading you to share in the vision I have for this nation. I will however not allow your vision to interfere with mine. If you persist I will subject you to the ultimate test to understand how rooted you are in your vision. If you survive and still adamant then, maybe, then I could consider making revisions to mine. This is not being a dictator, its being in plain English closer to the truth than many of you dare. The singularity of my vision will thus guide all operations in all ministries up to the village. Lets then get back on course.
TOURISM
Those owning private cottages and having been cashing in on our tourists should close their illegal outfits by this evening. It matters less that they have some pretentions of licenses. All hotels in the tourist circuit will also have to employ based on merit. This notion that one must employ from where they are located is balderdash that I will not stomach. Let the best people be given jobs so that productivity can go up so that we can all benefit. There had been some roumours about sex tourism. This I will be coming later to in my monthly addresses to the nation. Each of this session will be televised simultaneously by all channels as has been started with this one.
Further we are not going to tolerate cheap-sandle-wearing tourists. My government is going to put in place mechanisms to ensure that. Oh am sorry that is how previous governments were sounding, that my government will put in place measures. In my case the measures are instantaneous. Any tourist intending to visit our country will be charged USD 200 per night in the cheapest hotels anywhere in the country. I will be collecting the appropriate tax on this amount per person. My definition of a tourist is anyone in this country other than a Kenyan. They should stay in hotels and pay us for the hospitality. If you house then disclose and surrender the appropriate taxes to the state. Further it will interest you to find out what is described as a hotel in our laws. All those using this term must ensure that they fully comply.
ICT
ICT is no longer the way of the future. It is here now. I have directed that despite pretentions by Joseph, this guy who says we are a peculiar lot that internet charges are dropped by 80% at all stages from ISPS to clients. No more fuss, the going live of TEAMs and the other fibre optic cable was to do exactly that and so let it happen. Further I direct the minster I am yet to appoint in the education portfolio to acquire and take computers to each school that has power. We may have to start with one or two or even three but every primary school must have computers in the next four months. There will be a little issue of electricity that I am dealing with it when I come to addressing the energy challenges that we face.
TEA AND COFFEE
I could be senile but there are things I have never understood even from my young days. Why are we unable to take maximum benefit of our tea and coffee? Let me tell you two stories. Long ago when God was creating the world, he foresaw a world order in which we live in today. He foresaw that capitalism leads to unbridled accumulation giving one monopoly powers that can then be used to rob off the poor. Yes our world is characterized by extreme poverty and aggrandizement. There are a few billionaires who are richer than 60 countries combined. I refuse to believe that they are the brightest; I refuse to believe that these tycoons are closer or better children of our God. I shudder the thought they have worked hard and therefore they deserve what they own. I am adamant that they are not smarter than all of us, they are, simply put expert conmen and conwomen who have perfected an art in a game whose rules are designed by themselves. Unfortunately these conpeople have some followers in our country. Ours will be a long and winding road but we are determined to ensure that everyone lives an honest life. No riches that cannot be accounted for. Let us get back to coffee, so God in his wisdom offered a natural patent inbuilt in the aroma of our Kenyan coffee. I am no braggart but I hear the best coffee tasters of this world will tell you Kenyan coffee anywhere in the world. So the story goes for our Kenyan tea. It tastes different. Am told that one of the reasons Pakistan is the largest buyer of our tea is because they use it to blend with their substandard one then sale it to the world as Pakistani Tea.
Am I alone in seeing this contradiction or you share it with me?
That the world has accepted a brand of tea that is inferior to what we produce and we are not the ones purchasing Pakistan tea (which is weaker) to blend with our strong one. Let me take you further in your disgust with the way things are, not long ago Pakistan threatened not to buy our tea if we refused to buy their rice. Does that make you mad enough? Not yet then this will make you smirk with anger.
Coffee in the supermarket retails at KShs 200 per 100grams, meaning that a Kilo will be about two thousands. Surely even if I am a layman in production and industry economics why are our farmers not being paid at least 400 per kilo? I have decided to correct this madness as follows. I have closed the Tea and Coffee auctions in Nairobi and Mombasa as of this minute. I direct our border point authorities with my authority to ensure that neither coffee nor tea leaves this country. I ask the Kenya Association of Manufacturers to join me early tomorrow so that by noon tomorrow we will have worked out details of a company to manufacture and sale our tea and coffee packaged as Kenyan. To stimulate demand to assist the new enterprise in this field I have banned importation and use of any other type of tea or coffee for home or hotel use. Kenyan homes and establishments will use Kenyan tea and coffee as a beginning point. In time star bucks and those other multinationals with no soul will have to negotiate with us for our tea and coffee. We will deliver it be it in London or Rio and charge appropriately for a worldwide acclaimed brand and the associated costs. Again this action may seem drastic and some farmers will loose a large part of their produce but as I said earlier there is a pain that all will have to face and accept it with the joy that it heralds a better future for our children’s children.
CITIZENSHIP
Be they Chinese or Somali or Honduras, if you are hearing this message and you are in Kenya illegally kindly find the nearest border and leave. We have a duty for refugees who are here formally, am not aware of political asylum seekers in fact as a country we export political asylum seekers. If you do not hold a valid ID, a passport, an alien ID, an expatriates work permit, and you were not born of Kenyan parents please leave us alone. Kindly do not overstay your welcome. I am proceeding to instruct the military to deal ruthlessly with anyone who in here on a self invitation. We love our neighbours and we will continue playing our role and commitments to the international community but we will not allow anyone to stray into our country un-invited. Let me now address an issue that is even more delicate, there are those of you who are hearing this message and you know that the documents that purport to confer you citizenship are forged, or you bribed your way. Please note that it is not just here in Kenya, as everywhere else in the world an illegality cannot legitimize another illegality. Please book the next flight out.
HEALTH CARE FOR ALL
It is free, it is free for all. It is mandatory for every working Kenyan in public or private or wherever the source of their incomes to pay for NHIF. Compliance will be 100% with no exception. It is illegal as from this moment for any hospital be it private to turn away emergency cases. Whoever does so has fewer than the number of his or her toes to run a hospital in this nation.
SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER
I have already said and am expecting the state university to provide to me a new database sequence for all our children. In the mean time, I want to expand that mandate to include software to correct the confusion we are in today. I need a soft ware that will link all the numbers my citizens have. We need to link your ID No. to your Bank Account No, Passport No, LR. No, Employment No, NHIF No. Driving License No, Voters No, HELB No, Employment No, CDS Account No, Admission No’s in the schools and colleges you went to, KNEC Index No, Phone No, and most importantly the PIN No. So that in this new software once I punch in one of the numbers it gives me all the other numbers. The police will use these details responsibly to run out of our country thieves. Further the Registrar of persons must from this minute be issuing one number for all new applicants who will use it wherever they go. Maybe am ahead of time but I think we can have one chip card that can have all these details and that you will use for all your transactions. I ask the Director NSIS to prepare a brief for me on the security challenges of this new method. In the interest of time that report to be availed to me next month.
Let me emphasize here that for all reports I will be asking for, Me, Your president will not be reading long reports with a litany of suggestions and a catalogue of reasons why every suggestion can not work. Reports will be brief telling me only what can work and how soon it can be implemented. Academic discussion of pros and cons of everything will be domiciled in universities and in not the running of the affairs of our new government.
CORPORATE FRAUD
Of late big corporations have taken to duping my country men and women. You must have heard or participated in Lipua, Shinda, Bambua, Nyakua, Ponyoka na millioni. The truth is they should have said Nyang’anyana mamilioni. Let me illustrate my point. Safaricom asked my citizens to send SMS so that they can Lipua at the end of the promotion period of one month. Safcom has about 7 million subscribers and let us assume that only a million respond per day or that on average they a person sent four SMS per month. This translates to seven by four by one million which is 28 million. The awarded a car worth 6 Million and they will not disclose in their incomes 22 millions as corporate fraud. This has stopped. I direct Betting and Controls to ensure that all the money collected over and above the prize value is collected by my government. Actually let me review this, the prize money must be an expense on the company. Nobody is going to profit from the poverty of my people by creating cleverly packaged racketeering schemes.
BANKS
Commercial Banks are not going to be baby sat anymore. From this minute the spread between the loan rate and interest on savings will be at maximum 6%. Such that if loans are being issued at 20% interest rate, savings accounts will receive 14% annual interest. I see some economist somewhere wanting to interject, save your horses and perhaps your life. We don’t want interruptions of suggestions that it can’t work when it has not even been started. This policy is effected forthwith and the CBK governor is appropriately advised.
To take this nation forward we must have a culture of saving. I want to leave my citizens freely to decide how much they should save now that I have restructured the banks. We will review the national savings a year later and if it is found to be too low, I will intervene directly.
Let me now take you to another interesting area. There is a financial giant called Equity and it has won many accolades rightly so. I respect their MD; Mwangi is undoubtedly a sharp mind. You see he has just one degree and that makes me happy. I want to use them merely as example. In 2009, Equity had about 5 million customers. Now let’s assume that only 2 million of those are in gainful employment. Move with me in assuming that these two million people withdraw at least once a month on the ATM machines. Now you know that it costed KShs 30 to make that transaction. This translates to KShs 60 million per month, and 720 millions a year. You may guess where am going to. There are other charges such as ledger fees, interest on loans, loan processing fees, the bank also invests in Treasury bills and other avenues. This simplistic approach tells me that Kenyans are being overburdened by Banks that end up declaring too little profits. The CBK governor will in the coming 10 days announce new maximum charges to be levied by each bank in our nation. Those who will dare us in terms of bringing challenges to its implementation will be urged to take an option of selling their bank to our government. My government will hold these assets in trust for the people of Kenya.
Yes, I know it. You do not have to remind me that we are a freely capitalistic society. We are but I will intervene each time my people are at risk. I consider this a duty of any legitimate government that I will humbly be taking as necessary.
NAIROBI STOCK EXCHANGE
There are cartoons at the NSE who have been opposing demutualization of the market. Those antics belong to the bygone era. The market will be demutualized in the next four months. Any form theft of investor’s money will be a crime against the nation. Past presidents have been lenient to sign execution orders for criminals but in this one I will not deter.
Ladies and gentlemen, you can see we have greater work ahead of us. To achieve I shall be your president and as well as you prefect. I know it will be years of pain, but I want to accept this pain so that the true promise of heaven can dawn on our children.
Like Jesus I am urging you to pick your yoke, but unlike Jesus the way I have intentions of putting the yoke on you if you want to chicken out. To demonstrate this let me address this street children problem. I as from today decree that there will be no street children in the renamed Nairobi Metropolis or anywhere in this beautiful country. Street children is a misnomer, my friends streets do not give birth to children, people do. Whenever you sire, take in that child and bring him or her up with the promise of a parent. If you don’t we will pick them up, we will educate, clothe and feed them, but alas we are coming to you with an invoice. We shall search for you and when we catch up with you as the parent be prepared to compensate my government the costs of raising a child for you and the trouble of searching for you. I know some of these children, the irresponsible men sire with prostitutes in lodges. I direct all lodge owners to keep a clear authentic record of all people who use their facilities. In fact am toying with the idea of having a national data base of lodge users. It may help us to understand some criminal minds as they hop from town to town. In short I am prepared to take all measures to make it possible for a desperate mother to run after and catch a run-away-father.
Am I still popular? By now you know I care the least about popularity. Let me now lead you through how I am reforming other government agencies to serve my people better.
POLICE
I am reforming the police as follows. I am retaining the command and our honourable men in uniform as they are. I have tremendous respect for them having worked in very difficult circumstances constrained of resources and starved off cooperation by the people they should protect.
I ask for new cars to be bought. To start with 500 police cars will do. Let me explain some thing else first. I direct the ICT fellows in KRA, Motor Vehicle Registry, Nairobi Stock Exchange, Higher Education Loans Board, Passport Control Office, Utility Companies ( KPLC and Water Companies) National Association Of Landlords, KNEC, Registrar of Persons, Police Department, Posta Kenya, Safaricom, Celtel, to avail through a national on line database of all the records under their keep. These should be accessible to the police from each of the new 500 vehicles. Each of these will be fitted with a state of the art computer so that the police can access and confirm any information they may need instantaneously.
My fellow citizens, I have removed the need to handcuff you. Once you are found on the wrong you will be asked to report to next police station on your own. Many of the offences will be payable at the station and you will get an ETR receipt. Access to electronic databases by police will be for information only. They will have no rights to amend except on their own database. Offences will be booked on line from the scene. To restrict possible misuse, access to data base will use the latest limitations. I propose this new method where by instead of passwords the computer scans your eyes and it allows access. Police will have in their possession vital information and should they misuse it they will be dealt with severely. To make compliance mandatory I hereby direct as follows: Employers are banned from employing people with a criminal record unless cleared by the Police Department. Further since we know where each of our citizen works we will be sending invoices for payable offences to employers. If in two months the culprit has not paid to our government then the employer will deduct from their pay and send the money to the government. Of course I do not need to emphasize that those employers who will not cooperate may just as well close their enterprises.
JUDICIARY
The judiciary and their independence should be left so, but those who know we are going to catch up with them should book an appointment with the commissioner of police so that they begin to negotiate amnesty. The bar of moral probity must to too high for these members of the bar and bench. Since they oversee on our affairs, we will make the fall to disgrace real and steep.
RIGHT TO LEAVE
You feel like leaving Kenya? Yes that is the right that my government will jealously protect. If you feel you can not live in the new order then you are free to leave. Freedom for a few to accumulate and disposes is worse than a large prison in which everything is shared as it should be. You are free to fly to Somalia or anywhere you feel you will be free to play your antics. But clear with us first. Pay your bills, taxes and leave the rest to us. We will not welcome you back in the future. The pain we bear today allows us to exclude you at the dinning table of tomorrow.
CONCLUSION
By now you may be happy and sad. Happy that I have enumerated the problems as you know them. Sad because I have taken to solutions that you do not necessarily agree with. You may even be sadder because you have become fearful of the coming days. You are wondering now that I appear unrestrained what else might I end up doing. You may be in fear that I am running the state as if my presidency will last only a week. In fact many could be wrapped in fear that I may overstay in power. Yet many others are afraid that I have not committed my self to returning the state to a democratic rule via elections. Friends, my diary has only space for tomorrow, things that we will do next year should not worry you today. They do not worry me. Do not import future worry to the present circumstances. Worry not that I am your president, worry that there are others who may want to remove me because of another worry. To them the Kenya I envision is not the one they want, in fact they will spend anything to take us back to the Kenya you were condemned to. Join me when I deal with them in not so good a manner. I will not allow vision less characters to hijack our movement.
To insulate our new state I will appoint Ministers from among people I have no history with. To my friends am sorry you will not be in my cabinet. I think I can live with the reality that I excluded you rather watch as you go to prison having disobeyed government policy. I am not saying all my friends are bad people, of course many of them are good people but they are the only ones with audacity to attempt differing with me. That’s what I am avoiding them. To travel fast we singular agreement on whom the driver is.
And if my presidency does not last long I shall at least have told what needs to be done, I may be gone but it becomes your duty to identify and push to power people who can carry these aspirations. People who are impatient with laziness, who define corruption as it is, whose circle of friends epitomize real love and friendship for all children of our nation. Am saying so because am too sure the military may just have changed their minds; maybe they did not expect a leader like me. It would make me so happy if they choose to dethrone me than you as Kenyans will be there to stand with your leader. In other words am hopping that I was destined to lead this country on this path and that the coup was just a shortcut. They simply brought the future forward. Personally I do not support coups except where such coups are a reflection of national anger that has brewed for decades like in our case.
If you do not stand there to protect my presidency then like Moses, I have shown you the Promised Land. Walk. Run. Swim. Fly to the Promised Land. Remember to carry my bones like the Israelites did to Moses only that I do not want a tombstone that claims things that I never was. You should honour me by carrying in your hearts disgust that this piece is just a story.
It is 2009, not 2017
I salute you from the seat of power, this is statehouse Nairobi.
A few hours ago owing the greater love and patriotism of our army generals I have been asked to serve in the office of President of the Republic of Kenya. You may as well know that in 2012 we overwhelmingly elected Mr. Odinga in the hope that he will undo mistakes of a Kibaki regime and reverse the vagaries that bedevil Kenyans because of Moi’s legacy. Moi’s name in anchored as an omni-present president who interfered with everything including the hiring of principals in high schools. We were wrong.
Earlier than that and long before I was born there was another patriarch of corruption who had a singular honour of leading our country to independence. As a nation we have stepped, hopped and jumped from one classic case of bankrupt leadership not once, not twice but a record four times. The end to this circus is here. Those who have known me from my younger days must indeed be very worried. They must be worried not about the fact that am going to bring about change but worried at the supersonic speed at which am going to move.
The army commanders had suspended the constitution which was a reasonable thing in the circumstances but I hereby order the resumption of constitutionality to the extent that it is consistent with the vision that am going to espouse for our country. By the way I have decreed that our country will from hence forth be known as the Independent Republic of the Peoples of Kenya. (IRPK) I want you to appreciate and join me in laying the foundations for a better country. I must from the very outset urge you to bear the pain we must all go through so to prepare a greater future for our nation.
But maybe before I get to the rubrics of governance let me tell you a bit about myself. Am a son born and bred by parents who had regard for virtue. That is want I bring into this government. You must by now know that this telecast is coming to you from statehouse Nairobi. I have ordered all media outlets including private ones to air this as a matter of national duty. I was intimated that Nation Media had issues broadcasting but am now reliably told by an army general I dispatched there that we are now on air simultaneously across all channels. I have also urged in the interest of ensuring wider outreach to populace that ISPs stream this message over the internet for all including the Diaspora to tune in. This truly is a magical moment for our nation and I am humbled to occupy the seat of president and be in charge of driving the changes Kenyans need to see. I now hope that all government functionaries are tuned in so that I begin delving into matters of governance.
CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW
This matter had troubled our country right from the 1990’s. That’s 40 years ago. I now decree that Deans Faculties of law from our state universities and the aging Parvin Bowry will meet and deliver a constitution to me in three weeks. Note that the deans are already in the service of their country for which they earn a salary and therefore no additional pay will be given to them. Friends you may call me a dictator and so be it but I know a bit of group dynamics to know that good constitutions are written by fewer people sometimes less than six. For the human rights activists who would wish to stage demonstrations countrywide, they are very free to do so but on one condition. As your president and a believer in hard work, they will be no demonstration during working hours. Everyone must engage in meaningful employment and that includes the crusaders for people’s rights.
CORRUPTION
There shall be no more corruption in the republic of Kenya. You have heard that before, but you have not heard before is this I am directing KRA to asses the properties of Kenyatta, Moi, Kibaki and all former senior government officials. Rest easy we do not want to jail any one, all I want is all taxes , including VATs, Company taxes, Stamp duty, Importations taxes, taxes on interests earned, tax on rents, capital gains on assets disposed off and all manner of possible taxes. This will be due for payment upon assessment. In order to effectuate this I am directing the Institute of Public Accountants, the Central Bank, The Lands Ministry, commercial Banks , the Nairobi Stock Exchange to provide access and all logistical support needed to make this back tax collection a success. In fact ICPAK should consider this a national honour and avail to my office at least 2000 accountants. We are going to assign this to each and every Kenyan who owns more that KShs 100 million of wealth.
I also decree that all past scandals including Goldenberg, Anglo leasing, Maize, Oil, Trinton Oil Saga, Airports Saga, all other sagas will not be investigated through committees as was the practice in the past. No more reports are needed. I hereby decree that estimates of these mega frauds be established and those culpable should pay all the taxes due to on this ill gotten wealth. To effectuate this I have suspended all passports of persons alive and their immediate families who have been accused of, been charged, or acquitted of corruption related cases in Kenya’s history since independence.
I have also directed the closure of Kenya Anti Corruption Authority. All investigations are back to the police. Later on I will explain to you what I have decided to do with the police so that they execute their mandate as expected.
But there is a little matter that must be solved once and for all. All MPs and former Mps who refused to pay taxes did so but only for a while. I now decree that those taxes on all incomes earned by MPS since independence be taxed and the monies recovered from their current incomes, or their estates as the case maybe. I suspend all anticipatory suits likely to arise from this move and direct that no court anywhere in the Independent People’s Republic of Kenya shall entertain any suits intended to impede this or any other directive issued by the office of the president for the time am in office.
PARLIAMENT
Kenyans have been crying about the luckstre performance of their elected representatives, that cry has reached me and am going to put it to stop. First I want to encourage MPs who will not be able to keep pace with new government to step aside. Secondly, all parliamentary sessions are compulsory for all MPs when at the time of the session they are in the country. By the way trips by MPs outside our Independent Republic will require my specific endorsement. In order to lead by example, all MPs must be proud to serve their nation and even be prepared to do so at no pay. I have abolished the KShs 3,000 for each MP per session of parliament, I have also abolished the KShs 10,000 per sitting in committee allowances, I have abolished the payment of retreats of government officers including Mps, Ministers, Parastatal chiefs, and their employees in hotels of whatever nature. If government officials cannot transact business in government offices and would rather do so in hotels, then that cost of staying in hotels will be fully borne by themselves. I have abolished the car, house, mileage reimbursement and whatever other preferential treatment MPs have been accruing by virtue of their position. Leadership will be an honour not a passage to privilege or material wealth.
EDUCATION
I hereby decree free and compulsory education from nursery to university. Those invited to join secondary schools will have no choice but to join those schools for which they have been invited. I hereby ask Kenyan parents to decide whether they want to take their children to public schools or private schools. Once your child joins a private academy that will be your chosen path for your child. My government will ensure that your child does not get to the best public national secondary schools and neither will your child pursue prestigious courses at the publicly funded state universities. If you choose private and so will it be private all the way. Further I decree that all children born from tomorrow will be issued with a social security number. That number will help my government to know and plan for each Kenyan all through his or her life. That number will be admission number in all schools and colleges, it will the bank account number, if you buy land or indeed any other property you will hold it in that number. It shall be your driving license number, your pin number for taxes and actually without it you will not even be registered as a voter. I hereby direct the Vice Chancellor of the now renamed State University of Kenya (formerly University of Nairobi) to liaise with his other colleagues to give a numbering sequence that we will use to issue social security numbers. I want that number not be too long, but by looking at it should pigeon hole one to the location, district, province and if possible to the village where they were born. That sequence has to be carefully thought about so that we do not to change its arrangement at least for the next two centauries. Again I should emphasize those selected to do this will have the honour of having their names inscribed in the hearts of future generations of Kenyans, that is what we will pay. Our gratitude. No additional shilling will be paid.
Once a child is born in a given location he will have to go to pre-primary and primary school in that location. For secondary I am now asking the experts to develop a software to be embedded to existing database at KNEC to automatically select and remit letters and email alerts to students as to which schools they have been selected to. This wastage of public resources each year by heads of school coming together to participate in selection has stopped forthwith. Let me emphasize that once a student has been selected to join a given school, there will be no transfers. We want to account for all our children and we want to clearly see their path through education. If a parent chooses a private secondary school then he has in the same vein removed the student from being considered for a slot in the public universities. Further to strengthen school management I have through the executive order decreed that from now henceforth all vacancies in schools will be managed by administrators. These will be teachers who have undertaken specific courses in management and have passed appropriate examinations. They then will each be put on performance contracts with specific deliverables within certain time frames. Teaching is a noble profession and it should always be guarded as such. Some of the school heads who have in the past played games with state resources are in for a rude shock. Allow me to decree that stealing or misusing of public resources shall from this minute be non bail able, custodial sentence for a period not less that 15 years. Of course parliament is hearing wherever they are; I expect them to pass necessary legislation to buttress this and the many other measures I have announced.
By now, you must have made up your mind that I am a brute, that I have some vendetta and am on a revenge motion. Yes you couldn’t be more right. I am on revenge. Kenyans children have been held hostage by successive governments. Now six decades later, they have been robbed of their past, their present and unless I do what I have to do now, the middle life of their offspring’s stands in real jeopardy. I know I am asking a generation that is in despair, a generation that is frustrated, a generation that is bitter, a generation that is dispossessed to bear an even greater burden. I know I will not be popular, but people who do right never enjoy company of masses. In this lonely path, I take refuge that the pain I am forcing down on my people is necessary so that we secure the future of our children years, decades and centuries to come. I have in the same vein reduced retirement age across all government agencies to 50 years. All institutions, those good old professors who have been marking time, are more inclined to sitting at the fireside and telling old folk stories than straddling universities with old yellow pages have had their day. They proceed home immediately. But I am not inviting chaos managers of each institution must plan and execute these policies with an eye for the future of the institution. What am emphasizing is that it should be done quickly. Those delaying government programmes will be arrested and charged appropriately.
UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
Friends, about our citadels my message is simple. People who can’t publish must be allowed to perish. You cannot teach for decades on without contributing to the field of study. In fact I believe it is theft of public resources to be a lecturer and you are not producing peer reviewed articles and innovations. I hereby decree that all lecturers will publish at least 2 peer reviewed articles per year. Failure to which they loose their positions. This country still need farmers and I have a feeling some of these talent when released can do exploits in green houses.
University students are likely to be my greatest critics but they are the greatest of beneficiaries of the changes I am effecting. I look back to my days at the University and my burning ambition and a sizzling desire for instant, immediate and on spot changes. I used to say then and the country watched. Times have changed and now that I occupy the high office I will not stop the students from saying what they want to say. All am going to control is how they say it. Saying through burning of people’s property or even state property will not be tolerated an inch. They can carry twigs, cry their souls out, sing chant, even come to statehouse and do hunger strike like I would have done those days. The twin evil of condemnation and indulgence is never going to be possible even for the young leaders at the Universities. They will not condemn corruption and engage in it at their levels. I have firm belief that whenever their unions are involved in what may seem as corruption, they will be dealt without any regard them as young leaders. The yoke I have gladly accepted to carry will be carried by all. We shall condemn bad things and the people who do bad things.
On research at Universities and as regards publications universities are to become fulcrums where this nation’s future will be made. I am not calling for critics who hop from one TV station to another making criticism of everything that they did not author themselves. These noisemakers that will be allowed to persist but will be ignored. We need constructive engagement that is based on information. There are some who are wont on criticizing vision 2030 even without reading it. Outright lies peddled by a lecturer who should know better becomes a punishable crime as from the time I finish this speech.
TRANSPORT
Nairobi has to be a metropolis, not ten years are needed. Not elaborate plans and commissions and other taskforces. We are going to proceed as follows: Parking fees for private vehicles is raised to KShs 1,000 per day payable 7 days in advance. In other words if you must park in town next week, you pay this week. This will help us plan better and be sure that you will get the parking you have paid for. In this era of computers this is no brainer. Further by giving you a week’s lapse you will find neighbors that you can come with to town thereby reduce the vehicles on the roads. We have for a long time had successive governments that are blamed for inaction. I guess mine will suffer the blame of over action. I have been to a few cities around the world and this private vehicle thing simply doesn’t arise, we are no exception. Those parking cars the whole day in the CBD with yellow strips and they call themselves taxis are mistaken. Wherever I have been taxis keep shuttling around and are flagged down when needed. That is how we are going to operate them here. Of course there will be complains but we will not attach much value to those.
The fourteen seater matatu is hereby banned in Nairobi and in the next three months I have banned completely the importation of those vehicles. Those with matatus must now move them from Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, and Nakuru. They can operate in rural areas for the time being. I could sense, is it Mr. Kimutai or who was that kafellow again, wanting to call a press conference to announce that the investors in the industry will be withdrawing their service in a strike. They need to look at the labour laws very carefully. People providing essential services cannot go on strike that easily, and even after following the legal fine print of giving notice and those details I can at any time call off such a strike. I have therefore called it off in advance. Further for the bus operators who may dare, the city council will confisticate those buses and establish a metro bus service. In fact those having buses need to quickly organize themselves into one limited company in which my government through the city council will be buying a controlling stake soon.
I want money from the consolidated fund so that I can build the first true highway in Kenya. The current Nairobi- Mombasa tarmac road will remain as it is. Another four lane dual highway is to be built commencing next month with the following instructions. The highway must be a straight line and shortest connection from Nairobi to Mombasa port. There will be no left turns on this highway, it will be meant for those who are moving express from Mombasa to Nairobi and the minimum speed will be 200 km per hour. It will be an offence punishable instantaneously to be found on this highway with a car that for whatever reason can not match this speed.
I have also invoked the re-introduction of Michuki rules with the following modifications. In order to keep the country moving I have raised the minimum speed to 100Km per hour. Further drivers will be given a one day paid leave rest per week. To check those who may seek part time jobs rather than rest their driving licenses will be at all times in the vehicles for which they are the permanent drivers.
I have also changed the process of buying cars. From today henceforth Kenyans will have to learn that I am not a fabulous person and I belief no one has the right to flaunt wealth in poor a nation like ours. Doing so reinforces a wrong value system in our children. To buy a car one will need first to have a valid driving license upon which a permit to buy a car will be granted. We will limit each Kenyan to once car at a time. If you are a business person and you need more than one car, you car purchase permit will only be issued after evidence from KRA that you have been submitting the required taxes from your business. Further in order to check those who may wish to circumvent this requirement I now direct that all driving licenses be paired with the car owners and a real time online data base available to police.
You will not be able to drive on our roads a car that is not yours. If you borrow a car, the owner will have to surrender to you their driving license so that when you are flagged down by police we are able to know that you have authority to possess that car at that time. Further in order to deal effectively with theft of cars I hereby ban importation of used spare parts, require all motor garages to register with the government and require of them to book in cars like they do in hospitals. The new generation driving license that is an electronic chip will be swiped at the garage so that the entire details of the car owner are established. Garages that do not follow these and other directives that my minister will issue will be closed down and owners charged with aiding theft.
Further, I need to be advised if there is CCTV that can be embedded on our street lights that are able to scan number plates of cars. If not I will be asking our higher and technical institutions to make to me a proposal on how we can be able to search for a car in our country on a computer and see it real time. Not just be able to see it but able to track its movement. Car theft must end and we will do everything possible to stop it. Car sellers should have signed up for ETR, those who had not know very well they are disobeying our rules and should comply by the end of this week.
AGRICULTURE
Agriculture is not profitable if it is done for subsistence on small shambas held by thousands of our farmers. We need to move to consolidating the smaller pieces, provincial administration together with the elaborate state structure responsible for agriculture are going to work round the clock to effect this consolidation. Discussions at the local level are encouraged especially those to do with speeding up the programme. Otherwise those who refuse to engage in viable and sustainable agriculture as advised by my government officials will be deemed to have disobeyed the state and they will be rewarded by being locked out of extension services and all other subsidies that the government will be providing. On the large scale farmers beginning this financial year each and every one of them must register with KRA for purposes of paying tax on their produce. They also must engage in technology transfer to the farmers neighbouring them. There are other bottlenecks in this area that I will be addressing myself to soon after I form the government.
Allow me to digress a bit, I have assumed that you have no option so I will digress. You must again at this stage be wondering what became of our beautiful country that we should surrender to a leader like me. Let me tell you that you very right. In fact those who are thinking so, are bright whose only misfortune is they have lived so long in an environment of disorder that our efforts will be seen to be disrupting their chaotic lifestyles. I am rooted in the faith that visions are not present in many people and even if they were you cannot implement several visions at the same time; this is why I will spend as much time as possible persuading you to share in the vision I have for this nation. I will however not allow your vision to interfere with mine. If you persist I will subject you to the ultimate test to understand how rooted you are in your vision. If you survive and still adamant then, maybe, then I could consider making revisions to mine. This is not being a dictator, its being in plain English closer to the truth than many of you dare. The singularity of my vision will thus guide all operations in all ministries up to the village. Lets then get back on course.
TOURISM
Those owning private cottages and having been cashing in on our tourists should close their illegal outfits by this evening. It matters less that they have some pretentions of licenses. All hotels in the tourist circuit will also have to employ based on merit. This notion that one must employ from where they are located is balderdash that I will not stomach. Let the best people be given jobs so that productivity can go up so that we can all benefit. There had been some roumours about sex tourism. This I will be coming later to in my monthly addresses to the nation. Each of this session will be televised simultaneously by all channels as has been started with this one.
Further we are not going to tolerate cheap-sandle-wearing tourists. My government is going to put in place mechanisms to ensure that. Oh am sorry that is how previous governments were sounding, that my government will put in place measures. In my case the measures are instantaneous. Any tourist intending to visit our country will be charged USD 200 per night in the cheapest hotels anywhere in the country. I will be collecting the appropriate tax on this amount per person. My definition of a tourist is anyone in this country other than a Kenyan. They should stay in hotels and pay us for the hospitality. If you house then disclose and surrender the appropriate taxes to the state. Further it will interest you to find out what is described as a hotel in our laws. All those using this term must ensure that they fully comply.
ICT
ICT is no longer the way of the future. It is here now. I have directed that despite pretentions by Joseph, this guy who says we are a peculiar lot that internet charges are dropped by 80% at all stages from ISPS to clients. No more fuss, the going live of TEAMs and the other fibre optic cable was to do exactly that and so let it happen. Further I direct the minster I am yet to appoint in the education portfolio to acquire and take computers to each school that has power. We may have to start with one or two or even three but every primary school must have computers in the next four months. There will be a little issue of electricity that I am dealing with it when I come to addressing the energy challenges that we face.
TEA AND COFFEE
I could be senile but there are things I have never understood even from my young days. Why are we unable to take maximum benefit of our tea and coffee? Let me tell you two stories. Long ago when God was creating the world, he foresaw a world order in which we live in today. He foresaw that capitalism leads to unbridled accumulation giving one monopoly powers that can then be used to rob off the poor. Yes our world is characterized by extreme poverty and aggrandizement. There are a few billionaires who are richer than 60 countries combined. I refuse to believe that they are the brightest; I refuse to believe that these tycoons are closer or better children of our God. I shudder the thought they have worked hard and therefore they deserve what they own. I am adamant that they are not smarter than all of us, they are, simply put expert conmen and conwomen who have perfected an art in a game whose rules are designed by themselves. Unfortunately these conpeople have some followers in our country. Ours will be a long and winding road but we are determined to ensure that everyone lives an honest life. No riches that cannot be accounted for. Let us get back to coffee, so God in his wisdom offered a natural patent inbuilt in the aroma of our Kenyan coffee. I am no braggart but I hear the best coffee tasters of this world will tell you Kenyan coffee anywhere in the world. So the story goes for our Kenyan tea. It tastes different. Am told that one of the reasons Pakistan is the largest buyer of our tea is because they use it to blend with their substandard one then sale it to the world as Pakistani Tea.
Am I alone in seeing this contradiction or you share it with me?
That the world has accepted a brand of tea that is inferior to what we produce and we are not the ones purchasing Pakistan tea (which is weaker) to blend with our strong one. Let me take you further in your disgust with the way things are, not long ago Pakistan threatened not to buy our tea if we refused to buy their rice. Does that make you mad enough? Not yet then this will make you smirk with anger.
Coffee in the supermarket retails at KShs 200 per 100grams, meaning that a Kilo will be about two thousands. Surely even if I am a layman in production and industry economics why are our farmers not being paid at least 400 per kilo? I have decided to correct this madness as follows. I have closed the Tea and Coffee auctions in Nairobi and Mombasa as of this minute. I direct our border point authorities with my authority to ensure that neither coffee nor tea leaves this country. I ask the Kenya Association of Manufacturers to join me early tomorrow so that by noon tomorrow we will have worked out details of a company to manufacture and sale our tea and coffee packaged as Kenyan. To stimulate demand to assist the new enterprise in this field I have banned importation and use of any other type of tea or coffee for home or hotel use. Kenyan homes and establishments will use Kenyan tea and coffee as a beginning point. In time star bucks and those other multinationals with no soul will have to negotiate with us for our tea and coffee. We will deliver it be it in London or Rio and charge appropriately for a worldwide acclaimed brand and the associated costs. Again this action may seem drastic and some farmers will loose a large part of their produce but as I said earlier there is a pain that all will have to face and accept it with the joy that it heralds a better future for our children’s children.
CITIZENSHIP
Be they Chinese or Somali or Honduras, if you are hearing this message and you are in Kenya illegally kindly find the nearest border and leave. We have a duty for refugees who are here formally, am not aware of political asylum seekers in fact as a country we export political asylum seekers. If you do not hold a valid ID, a passport, an alien ID, an expatriates work permit, and you were not born of Kenyan parents please leave us alone. Kindly do not overstay your welcome. I am proceeding to instruct the military to deal ruthlessly with anyone who in here on a self invitation. We love our neighbours and we will continue playing our role and commitments to the international community but we will not allow anyone to stray into our country un-invited. Let me now address an issue that is even more delicate, there are those of you who are hearing this message and you know that the documents that purport to confer you citizenship are forged, or you bribed your way. Please note that it is not just here in Kenya, as everywhere else in the world an illegality cannot legitimize another illegality. Please book the next flight out.
HEALTH CARE FOR ALL
It is free, it is free for all. It is mandatory for every working Kenyan in public or private or wherever the source of their incomes to pay for NHIF. Compliance will be 100% with no exception. It is illegal as from this moment for any hospital be it private to turn away emergency cases. Whoever does so has fewer than the number of his or her toes to run a hospital in this nation.
SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER
I have already said and am expecting the state university to provide to me a new database sequence for all our children. In the mean time, I want to expand that mandate to include software to correct the confusion we are in today. I need a soft ware that will link all the numbers my citizens have. We need to link your ID No. to your Bank Account No, Passport No, LR. No, Employment No, NHIF No. Driving License No, Voters No, HELB No, Employment No, CDS Account No, Admission No’s in the schools and colleges you went to, KNEC Index No, Phone No, and most importantly the PIN No. So that in this new software once I punch in one of the numbers it gives me all the other numbers. The police will use these details responsibly to run out of our country thieves. Further the Registrar of persons must from this minute be issuing one number for all new applicants who will use it wherever they go. Maybe am ahead of time but I think we can have one chip card that can have all these details and that you will use for all your transactions. I ask the Director NSIS to prepare a brief for me on the security challenges of this new method. In the interest of time that report to be availed to me next month.
Let me emphasize here that for all reports I will be asking for, Me, Your president will not be reading long reports with a litany of suggestions and a catalogue of reasons why every suggestion can not work. Reports will be brief telling me only what can work and how soon it can be implemented. Academic discussion of pros and cons of everything will be domiciled in universities and in not the running of the affairs of our new government.
CORPORATE FRAUD
Of late big corporations have taken to duping my country men and women. You must have heard or participated in Lipua, Shinda, Bambua, Nyakua, Ponyoka na millioni. The truth is they should have said Nyang’anyana mamilioni. Let me illustrate my point. Safaricom asked my citizens to send SMS so that they can Lipua at the end of the promotion period of one month. Safcom has about 7 million subscribers and let us assume that only a million respond per day or that on average they a person sent four SMS per month. This translates to seven by four by one million which is 28 million. The awarded a car worth 6 Million and they will not disclose in their incomes 22 millions as corporate fraud. This has stopped. I direct Betting and Controls to ensure that all the money collected over and above the prize value is collected by my government. Actually let me review this, the prize money must be an expense on the company. Nobody is going to profit from the poverty of my people by creating cleverly packaged racketeering schemes.
BANKS
Commercial Banks are not going to be baby sat anymore. From this minute the spread between the loan rate and interest on savings will be at maximum 6%. Such that if loans are being issued at 20% interest rate, savings accounts will receive 14% annual interest. I see some economist somewhere wanting to interject, save your horses and perhaps your life. We don’t want interruptions of suggestions that it can’t work when it has not even been started. This policy is effected forthwith and the CBK governor is appropriately advised.
To take this nation forward we must have a culture of saving. I want to leave my citizens freely to decide how much they should save now that I have restructured the banks. We will review the national savings a year later and if it is found to be too low, I will intervene directly.
Let me now take you to another interesting area. There is a financial giant called Equity and it has won many accolades rightly so. I respect their MD; Mwangi is undoubtedly a sharp mind. You see he has just one degree and that makes me happy. I want to use them merely as example. In 2009, Equity had about 5 million customers. Now let’s assume that only 2 million of those are in gainful employment. Move with me in assuming that these two million people withdraw at least once a month on the ATM machines. Now you know that it costed KShs 30 to make that transaction. This translates to KShs 60 million per month, and 720 millions a year. You may guess where am going to. There are other charges such as ledger fees, interest on loans, loan processing fees, the bank also invests in Treasury bills and other avenues. This simplistic approach tells me that Kenyans are being overburdened by Banks that end up declaring too little profits. The CBK governor will in the coming 10 days announce new maximum charges to be levied by each bank in our nation. Those who will dare us in terms of bringing challenges to its implementation will be urged to take an option of selling their bank to our government. My government will hold these assets in trust for the people of Kenya.
Yes, I know it. You do not have to remind me that we are a freely capitalistic society. We are but I will intervene each time my people are at risk. I consider this a duty of any legitimate government that I will humbly be taking as necessary.
NAIROBI STOCK EXCHANGE
There are cartoons at the NSE who have been opposing demutualization of the market. Those antics belong to the bygone era. The market will be demutualized in the next four months. Any form theft of investor’s money will be a crime against the nation. Past presidents have been lenient to sign execution orders for criminals but in this one I will not deter.
Ladies and gentlemen, you can see we have greater work ahead of us. To achieve I shall be your president and as well as you prefect. I know it will be years of pain, but I want to accept this pain so that the true promise of heaven can dawn on our children.
Like Jesus I am urging you to pick your yoke, but unlike Jesus the way I have intentions of putting the yoke on you if you want to chicken out. To demonstrate this let me address this street children problem. I as from today decree that there will be no street children in the renamed Nairobi Metropolis or anywhere in this beautiful country. Street children is a misnomer, my friends streets do not give birth to children, people do. Whenever you sire, take in that child and bring him or her up with the promise of a parent. If you don’t we will pick them up, we will educate, clothe and feed them, but alas we are coming to you with an invoice. We shall search for you and when we catch up with you as the parent be prepared to compensate my government the costs of raising a child for you and the trouble of searching for you. I know some of these children, the irresponsible men sire with prostitutes in lodges. I direct all lodge owners to keep a clear authentic record of all people who use their facilities. In fact am toying with the idea of having a national data base of lodge users. It may help us to understand some criminal minds as they hop from town to town. In short I am prepared to take all measures to make it possible for a desperate mother to run after and catch a run-away-father.
Am I still popular? By now you know I care the least about popularity. Let me now lead you through how I am reforming other government agencies to serve my people better.
POLICE
I am reforming the police as follows. I am retaining the command and our honourable men in uniform as they are. I have tremendous respect for them having worked in very difficult circumstances constrained of resources and starved off cooperation by the people they should protect.
I ask for new cars to be bought. To start with 500 police cars will do. Let me explain some thing else first. I direct the ICT fellows in KRA, Motor Vehicle Registry, Nairobi Stock Exchange, Higher Education Loans Board, Passport Control Office, Utility Companies ( KPLC and Water Companies) National Association Of Landlords, KNEC, Registrar of Persons, Police Department, Posta Kenya, Safaricom, Celtel, to avail through a national on line database of all the records under their keep. These should be accessible to the police from each of the new 500 vehicles. Each of these will be fitted with a state of the art computer so that the police can access and confirm any information they may need instantaneously.
My fellow citizens, I have removed the need to handcuff you. Once you are found on the wrong you will be asked to report to next police station on your own. Many of the offences will be payable at the station and you will get an ETR receipt. Access to electronic databases by police will be for information only. They will have no rights to amend except on their own database. Offences will be booked on line from the scene. To restrict possible misuse, access to data base will use the latest limitations. I propose this new method where by instead of passwords the computer scans your eyes and it allows access. Police will have in their possession vital information and should they misuse it they will be dealt with severely. To make compliance mandatory I hereby direct as follows: Employers are banned from employing people with a criminal record unless cleared by the Police Department. Further since we know where each of our citizen works we will be sending invoices for payable offences to employers. If in two months the culprit has not paid to our government then the employer will deduct from their pay and send the money to the government. Of course I do not need to emphasize that those employers who will not cooperate may just as well close their enterprises.
JUDICIARY
The judiciary and their independence should be left so, but those who know we are going to catch up with them should book an appointment with the commissioner of police so that they begin to negotiate amnesty. The bar of moral probity must to too high for these members of the bar and bench. Since they oversee on our affairs, we will make the fall to disgrace real and steep.
RIGHT TO LEAVE
You feel like leaving Kenya? Yes that is the right that my government will jealously protect. If you feel you can not live in the new order then you are free to leave. Freedom for a few to accumulate and disposes is worse than a large prison in which everything is shared as it should be. You are free to fly to Somalia or anywhere you feel you will be free to play your antics. But clear with us first. Pay your bills, taxes and leave the rest to us. We will not welcome you back in the future. The pain we bear today allows us to exclude you at the dinning table of tomorrow.
CONCLUSION
By now you may be happy and sad. Happy that I have enumerated the problems as you know them. Sad because I have taken to solutions that you do not necessarily agree with. You may even be sadder because you have become fearful of the coming days. You are wondering now that I appear unrestrained what else might I end up doing. You may be in fear that I am running the state as if my presidency will last only a week. In fact many could be wrapped in fear that I may overstay in power. Yet many others are afraid that I have not committed my self to returning the state to a democratic rule via elections. Friends, my diary has only space for tomorrow, things that we will do next year should not worry you today. They do not worry me. Do not import future worry to the present circumstances. Worry not that I am your president, worry that there are others who may want to remove me because of another worry. To them the Kenya I envision is not the one they want, in fact they will spend anything to take us back to the Kenya you were condemned to. Join me when I deal with them in not so good a manner. I will not allow vision less characters to hijack our movement.
To insulate our new state I will appoint Ministers from among people I have no history with. To my friends am sorry you will not be in my cabinet. I think I can live with the reality that I excluded you rather watch as you go to prison having disobeyed government policy. I am not saying all my friends are bad people, of course many of them are good people but they are the only ones with audacity to attempt differing with me. That’s what I am avoiding them. To travel fast we singular agreement on whom the driver is.
And if my presidency does not last long I shall at least have told what needs to be done, I may be gone but it becomes your duty to identify and push to power people who can carry these aspirations. People who are impatient with laziness, who define corruption as it is, whose circle of friends epitomize real love and friendship for all children of our nation. Am saying so because am too sure the military may just have changed their minds; maybe they did not expect a leader like me. It would make me so happy if they choose to dethrone me than you as Kenyans will be there to stand with your leader. In other words am hopping that I was destined to lead this country on this path and that the coup was just a shortcut. They simply brought the future forward. Personally I do not support coups except where such coups are a reflection of national anger that has brewed for decades like in our case.
If you do not stand there to protect my presidency then like Moses, I have shown you the Promised Land. Walk. Run. Swim. Fly to the Promised Land. Remember to carry my bones like the Israelites did to Moses only that I do not want a tombstone that claims things that I never was. You should honour me by carrying in your hearts disgust that this piece is just a story.
It is 2009, not 2017
Monday, August 10, 2009
HILLARY CLINTON IN TAIFA HALL, NAIROBI
TOWN HALL MEETING - NAIROBI KENYA, HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
She choose not to give a speech maybe fully aware that she may be no match to Sen. Barrack ( Baraka) Obama who in 2006 standing on the awed platform of Taifa Hall delivered a much more poignant and telling speech. She choose to enagage the audience through an unscripted discussion arising from audience questions. She did a superb job and her prowess of world affairs was evident. From Kenya's 2% forest cover, Kenya's 10 Million facing starvation, to Alshabaab, to Eritrea, to Congo to Nigeria, India and wherever. Her Identification of police, judiciary and election reforms revealed a leader who is up to her job - as America's ambassador in- chief.
What continues to suprise me is how our own leaders are not able to face us, to explain, to repsond question by question to the concerns of wananchi. They come armed with long boring and essentially useless long speeches. When shall we learn the art of simplicity in accepting where we err.
Makokha Wanjala M.
She choose not to give a speech maybe fully aware that she may be no match to Sen. Barrack ( Baraka) Obama who in 2006 standing on the awed platform of Taifa Hall delivered a much more poignant and telling speech. She choose to enagage the audience through an unscripted discussion arising from audience questions. She did a superb job and her prowess of world affairs was evident. From Kenya's 2% forest cover, Kenya's 10 Million facing starvation, to Alshabaab, to Eritrea, to Congo to Nigeria, India and wherever. Her Identification of police, judiciary and election reforms revealed a leader who is up to her job - as America's ambassador in- chief.
What continues to suprise me is how our own leaders are not able to face us, to explain, to repsond question by question to the concerns of wananchi. They come armed with long boring and essentially useless long speeches. When shall we learn the art of simplicity in accepting where we err.
Makokha Wanjala M.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
FACTS ON COOP IPO
Cooperative Bank IPO: Comparative Analysis with Listed Peers
The cooperative Bank IPO will soon be coming to an end on November 13th and many investors (applicants) would like to know how the new bank at the NSE compares with others listed banks. After comparing the financial statements of five banks – Cooperative Bank, Barclays Bank of Kenya, Kenya Commercial Bank, Equity Bank and Standard Chartered Bank (Kenya) - analysts at Nairobist.com have come to the following conclusion regarding the financial comparability of Cooperative Bank with its listed peers on their 2007 end year audited results.
Profitability
In 2007 Barclays recorded the highest profit after tax of ksh.4.9 billion followed by Standard chartered with Ksh.3.47 billion, KCB with Ksh.2.97 billion, Equity with Ksh.1.89 and trailing the list is Cooperative with Ksh.1.55. however Equity and Cooperative registered the biggest growths in their profit before tax (PBT) by 114.5% and 84.6% respectively. Cooperative Bank expects a 50% growth in 2008. KCB and Standard Chartered also reported impressive growth levels of 33% and 29% in PBT compared to Barclays mere 9%.
Balance sheet reviews
Compared to other four banks, Standard chartered has a healthy balance sheet and recorded the lowest cost to income ratio of 46% followed by Equity at 53%, Barclays at 59% , Cooperative at 60% and KCB at 65%.This means that Standard chartered is able to generate more income at the lowest cost. Cooperative bank has one of the highest cost to income ratio after KCB.
Lending Capacity
In regards to the lending capacity of these banks, Standard chartered is able to lend more as its gross loans and advances to deposits ratio stood at 53% compared to Barclays whooping 96%,Cooperative – 70%, Equity – 69% and KCB - 68% .In essence Barclays has lend out most of the customer deposits. The lending capacity of Cooperative Bank also doe not look good with only 30% of their customer deposit available for lending.
Loan Interest Rates
Cooperative bank still has the highest loan interest rate at 19% while the other banks around 18%. Barclays has the lowest lending rates at 16%.
Opinion on Cooperative Bank Financial Strength
Comparatively, apart from having one of the highest growth rate, Cooperative Bank does not bring anything new to the table. Some of the figures displayed by this bank are not fairing well compared to its listed industry peers. But its listing price is a big discount compared to the others and may, as anticipated, rise of about Ksh.15 when it start trading on the NSE.
The cooperative Bank IPO will soon be coming to an end on November 13th and many investors (applicants) would like to know how the new bank at the NSE compares with others listed banks. After comparing the financial statements of five banks – Cooperative Bank, Barclays Bank of Kenya, Kenya Commercial Bank, Equity Bank and Standard Chartered Bank (Kenya) - analysts at Nairobist.com have come to the following conclusion regarding the financial comparability of Cooperative Bank with its listed peers on their 2007 end year audited results.
Profitability
In 2007 Barclays recorded the highest profit after tax of ksh.4.9 billion followed by Standard chartered with Ksh.3.47 billion, KCB with Ksh.2.97 billion, Equity with Ksh.1.89 and trailing the list is Cooperative with Ksh.1.55. however Equity and Cooperative registered the biggest growths in their profit before tax (PBT) by 114.5% and 84.6% respectively. Cooperative Bank expects a 50% growth in 2008. KCB and Standard Chartered also reported impressive growth levels of 33% and 29% in PBT compared to Barclays mere 9%.
Balance sheet reviews
Compared to other four banks, Standard chartered has a healthy balance sheet and recorded the lowest cost to income ratio of 46% followed by Equity at 53%, Barclays at 59% , Cooperative at 60% and KCB at 65%.This means that Standard chartered is able to generate more income at the lowest cost. Cooperative bank has one of the highest cost to income ratio after KCB.
Lending Capacity
In regards to the lending capacity of these banks, Standard chartered is able to lend more as its gross loans and advances to deposits ratio stood at 53% compared to Barclays whooping 96%,Cooperative – 70%, Equity – 69% and KCB - 68% .In essence Barclays has lend out most of the customer deposits. The lending capacity of Cooperative Bank also doe not look good with only 30% of their customer deposit available for lending.
Loan Interest Rates
Cooperative bank still has the highest loan interest rate at 19% while the other banks around 18%. Barclays has the lowest lending rates at 16%.
Opinion on Cooperative Bank Financial Strength
Comparatively, apart from having one of the highest growth rate, Cooperative Bank does not bring anything new to the table. Some of the figures displayed by this bank are not fairing well compared to its listed industry peers. But its listing price is a big discount compared to the others and may, as anticipated, rise of about Ksh.15 when it start trading on the NSE.
Friday, November 7, 2008
COOPERATIVE IPO - A must buy
As ou wait and dily dally as to wether to buy in the IPO of cooperative bank, you are forgoing a real chance to make money. The market is heading north and this uplift is good for an IPO. Again the lead transaction advisors must have learnt from the Safaricom experience. This must have been heavily discounted so there is good reason to buy in. Lets watch the space and see how it goes
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Kenyan on going research
CBSR is at the moment undertaking the following studies:
Motivation and Morale among front office staff in Public enterprises - Is poor pay the issue?
Loans Policy among SACCOS in Kenya - are societies fueling member ignorance?
Factors affecting investment decision in public universities- Do stakeholder value creation apply in the Kenyan Scenario?
other upcomming studies and vacancies will be advertised sometime mid may so keep checking
Makokha Wanjala - Lead Researcher
Motivation and Morale among front office staff in Public enterprises - Is poor pay the issue?
Loans Policy among SACCOS in Kenya - are societies fueling member ignorance?
Factors affecting investment decision in public universities- Do stakeholder value creation apply in the Kenyan Scenario?
other upcomming studies and vacancies will be advertised sometime mid may so keep checking
Makokha Wanjala - Lead Researcher
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