Mulika MPigs: The MP’s who voted for the retirement Package

The economist visualization of legislatures pay around the world

Kenyan are angry with their members of Parliament and rightly so.. Our MP’s are taking us for fools by one having a remuneration package beats what MPs in the developed world are paid. In one of their audacious moves they moved and passed unto themselves a gratuity or retirement package.

So naturally a ‘few’ emails have been going round and the one that caught my eye was this;

Is your MP among these bandits who voted for the villainous bill?

This email goes on to name all the MP’s who voted to pass this package. Their names are listed below

1. Abdalla Amina Ali.
2. Abdi Nasir.
3.  Abdul Bahari.
4. Abu Mohamed Chiaba.
5. Adan Keynan Wehliye.
6. Alex Muthengi Mburi Mwiru.
7.  Andrew Calist Mwatela.
8. Asman Abongotum Kamama.
9. Atanas Manyala Keya.
10. Bare Aden Duale.
11. Barnabas Muturi C. Mwangi
12. Beth Wambui Mugo.
13. Bifwoli, Wakoli Sylvester.
14. Boni Khalwale (Dr.)
15. Cecily Mutitu Mbarire.
16. Charles Cheruiyot Keter.
17. Clement Muchiri.
18. Daniel Mutua Muoki.
19. David Njuguna Kiburi. 
20. Elijah Kiptarbei Lagat. 
21. Emilio MureithiKathuri. 
22. Empraim Mwangi Maina. 
23. Erastus Kihara Mureithi. 
24. Esther Murugi Mathenge. 
25.  Ethuro, David Ethuro. 
26. Eugene Ludovic Wamalwa.
27. Francis Chachu. 
28. Francis S. K. Baya 
29. Frankilin Mithika Linturi. 
30. Githae Robinson Njeru. 
31.  Githu Muigai (Prof.) Attorney General Ex-Officio. 
32.  Hellen Jepkemoi Sambili. 
33. Hussein Mohamed Abdikadir. 
34. Hussein Tarry Sasura. 
35. Ibrabim Elmi Mohamed. 
36. Isaac Kiprono Rutto. 
37. Isaac Mulatya Muoki. 
38. Jackson Kiplagat Kiptanui. 
39. James G. Kwanya
40. Jamleck Irungu Kamau. 
41. Japhet M. Kareke Mbiuki 
42.  Jeremiah Ngayu Kioni. 
43.  John Michael Njenga Mututho. 
44. Johnson Nduya Muthama.
45. Joseph Nganga Kiuna. 
46. Josephat Nanok Koli. 
47. Joshua Serem Kutuny.
48. Kilimo, Linah Jebi. 
49. Kilonzo Charles Mutavi. 
50. Kiunjuri, Festus Mwangi. 
51. Kuti, Mohammed. Abdi 
52. Lee Maiyani Kinyanjui. 
53. Lenny Maxwell Kivuti. 
54. Lewis Nguyai. 
55. Mahamud Muhumed Sirat. 
56. Maitha Gideon Mungáro. 
57. Manson Nyamweya. 
58. Mbau, Elias Peter. 
59. Mohamed Hussein Ali. 
60. Mohamed,Muhamud. 
61. Moses K. Lessone 
62. Moses Somoine ole Sakuda. 
63. Mungatana, Danson. 
64. Munya Peter Gatirau. 
65. Musila, David. 
66. Mutava Musyimi. 
67. Mwalimu Masudi Mwahima. 
68. Mwiria, Valerian Kilemi.
69. Ndambuki, Gideon Musyoka. 
70. Ndiritu Muriithi. 
71. Nemesyus Warugongo. 
72. Ntoitha M"Mithiaru. 
73. Peter L.N. Kiilu 
74. Peter Mungai Mwathi. 
75. Peter Njoroge Baiya. 
76. Peter Njuguna Gitau. 
77. Richard Momoima Onyonka. 
78. Robert Onsare Monda. 
79. Samuel Kazungu Kambi. 
80. Shaban, Naomi Namsi. 
81. Silas Muriuki Ruteere. 
82. Tirus Nyinge Ngahu. 
83. Wavinya Ndeti. 
84. William C. Kipkiror
85. Yakub Mohammad
86. Yusuf Hassan

The good news is that the president refused to ascent to this piece of legislation. But that is NOT the end of it because it still has to go back to parliament and should 2/3 of the MP's voted for it. Then it becomes law and the MP's get to retire with tax payers money.

What’s on my Radar? Innovative Stuff happening in Nairobi

• Taka Taka Solutions – Garbage Collection Solutions for Nairobi

Last month I made an acquaintance at iHub. In one of those random collisions, where you have a visitor in the space looking for the WiFi Password! After this we naturally become friends and in subsequent meetings I asked him what he was doing in town apart from working in his master’s thesis. That is how I came to know about a really cool project taka taka solutions. A garbage collection solutions in it’s pilot phase in Nairobi.

Currently, one of my interests has been Mungiki. This is as a result of sitting down to presentations at BIEA which have touched on post election violence and role of Mungiki. My former lecturer Dr. Musambayi Katumanga has been a trailblazer on this subject of gang and economics behind it. Mind you we even have some European Scholars trying to unpack this subject and one of their reference points has been how organized gangs in Europe resulted in the formation of a social welfare state!

If you know about informal gangs in the city then you will know that one of their primary revenue generation channels is waste disposal. This is because the state through the city council has removed itself from this space. This is as a result of inefficiency coupled with economic factors. I was recently surprised to learn the City Council of Nairobi has less than 3 refuge collection trucks. This explains the eye sore we experience in the city.

So what happened when we have a breakdown in bare essential services like waste disposal? Someone has to fill that space and what happens is contractors are sub contracted to do this by city council. How do they carry out this? They engage street children to do the basic work [at a bargain of course]. The problem is compounded when the refuse is taken to one central place [Dandora Dump Site] without considerations of recycling or best practices.

Other problems that come out of this are;

1. Some of these youths ‘contracted’ to do the ground work ‘transform’ themselves into gangs.
2. There is NO consideration for recycling. What emerges is a ‘vulture ecosystem’ best exemplified by Dandora dump site.
3. Residents of Nairobi pay ‘crazy amounts’ for waste disposal. Currently we pay Kshs 300 per Month for waste disposal!
4. Gross in efficiencies occur along the way and recyclable materials are NOT recycled

Enter Taka Taka Solutions

So when I heard of Taka Taka Solutions I was amazed by what they are doing. The information I have is that they are currently in the pilot phase. However, they have made some strides and have the right mindset of solving the Dandora dump site menace.

This company is a social enterprise providing affordable and environmentally friendly waste management services. They charge Kshs 80 per month and provide the tenants with different waste refuse baskets which they collect every fort night. Some of this waste is then taken to a compost pit from which compost manure is made.

So at the end of the day you have nutrients and food coming to the city and in turn the city provides the compost manure to the rural areas. So this in turn solves the problems of soil fertility occurring in rural areas. Going by the tweet I was from the PS Ndemo

@bantigito Today, Africa uses less than 3% of global fertilizer, if we doubled that to 6%, plus better seed, we can improve crop production by 50%.

At the end of the day we reduce our reliance on fertilizers and save some foreign currency

Use of Technology

Taka Taka solutions have also embraced technology [MPesa payment platform]. To add some cherry to the cake, the customers who pay through MPesa get a percentage discount [20% if I am NOT wrong!]. That way you remove the ‘garbage landlords’ whom I am told make Kshs 100, 000 a month!

Find more information about Taka Taka Solutions on their Facebook Page

• Beba Card

Beba Card advert

The other innovate stuff in my radar is the Beba card which has been in the market from May this year. A Google and Kenya Bus Service Urban transport payment solution. Good stuff has been written on it here: link.

The other day I had discourse with a friend and we we’re trying to look at the impact of this card should it be successful. Our musing was will it;

1. Result in job losses for conductors?
2. Result to better cash flow management for public transport vehicles? [A lot of leakage happens when conductors collude with drivers to fleas matatu owners]
3. Reduce corruption in our high ways [however, little police corruption occurs in urban commute]

Photos: Facebook and Beba website

Game Changing Partnership? EatOut Kenya, Google & Wazi WiFi bid to have Tech Savvy Kenyan’s visiting Restaurants

We all know Kenyan’s are NOT French and that we hardly go to hang out in restaurants.  This is partly due to our culture. I for starters do know that when I was young I was advised to have my meals at home and we would go out to have meals in a restaurant occasionally. However, that was then and the context was rural Kenya.

Enter Nairobi, you have a significant number of Kenyan’s patronizing beer establishments especially weekends. So who patronizes Nairobi restaurants? Apart from the Somali community whom you will see having business deals in restaurants most middle Kenyans’ will be found in coffee shops. This was a popular trend a while back. I do not know if it is still there.

Other folks known to patronize restaurants are the expatriates but these folks also have specific joins they frequent. These are the Art Cafés and Java which are mostly located in malls. So what happens to those restaurants outside this jurisdiction?

That is why I think this partnership between Eatout Kenya, Google and Wazi Wifi might get some tech friendly folks moving out of the offices with the knowledge that they can have their meals or drinks while having a pulse of what is going on in their businesses. Hopefully their WiFi solution will NOT be crap. If one can do some business in a restaurant at good prices then we are all going to be hanging out more often in restaurants.

I remember last Saturday we’re doing Mindspeak in a 5 Star Hotel and I couldn't believe the amounts being charged by this establishment for internet. Later that evening I saw some tweets which I believe hammer this point home.

 ‏@coldtusker @Ramah_Nyang @karisamf I tried to use Intercont's wifi. I think 400/hr. lousy 

@karisamf @Ramah_Nyang @coldtusker I agree, Hotel Cybers are expensive...a Good example Hilton Nairobi is 1K per hour 

‏@Ramah_Nyang @karisamf KES 1000? What's the rationale for that sort of pricing when hotel net speeds are usually crap? @coldtusker 

@coldtusker @Ramah_Nyang @karisamf At least with @SafaricomLtd bundles on my phone... Not an issue in KE. Don't roam elsewhere! 

‏@coldtusker @karisamf @ramah_nyang In US, best wifi speeds at biz friendly 'budget' hotels not the pricier ones! Go figure 

@Ramah_Nyang: Clearly the 5-star name writes a check it's 1-star wif-fi can't cash

This had me thinking it is high time perhaps Eatout Kenya which does Restaurant Ranking introduces a new category. A rank of Nairobi restaurants in a new category of ‘hotels with the best WiFi’ because some of these restaurants have connections that really suck. A ranking will result to them pulling up their socks in this category. Also while at that a list which shows internet pricing if it exists would be really useful because some establishments in Nairobi are charging an arm and leg for internet. 

Book Launch: South Sudan - from revolution to independence, Oct. 19 2012 @ British Institute In Eastern Africa

Book Cover: South Sudan - from revolution to independence

Date: Friday October 19, 2012
Venue: at the British Institute In Eastern Africa

Location: Laikipia Road, Kileleshwa.

Time: 6 - 8pm

Entry: Prior Reservation [seminars@biea.ac.uk]

In July 2011 the Republic of South Sudan achieved independence, concluding what had been Africa’s longest running civil war. The process leading to independence was driven by the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement, a primarily Southern rebel force and political movement intent on bringing about the reformed unity of the whole Sudan. A story of transformation and of victory against the odds, this book reviews South Sudan’s modern history as a contested region and assesses the political, social and security dynamics that will shape its immediate future as Africa’s newest independent state.

About the Author

Matthew LeRiche is a Fellow in Managing Humanitarianism at LSE. He will be launching his book in Kenya which will be prefaced by a few words on the importance of South Sudan to both academicians and practitioners followed by an exposition of the book.

An interlocutory session with the audience will follow thereafter and copies of the book will be available for sale.

Master Class: After the crisis-the world at a crossroads, Oct. 15 2012 @ Intercontinental Hotel Nairobi

Master Class

IE university is having a Master Class in Nairobi this month

Date: October 15, 2012

Time: 6.30-8pm

Venue: Intercontinental Hotel, Loita Room

Entry: Prior Registration Required. Registration link here

Master Class

The financial crisis and long-term demographic trends have transformed the future of the global economy. In the short term, petroleum price trends, a definitive solution to the Euro-zone crisis and the outcome of the U.S. elections will determine the economic performance of the world´s developed economies.
But over the longer term, events in the developing nations, especially demography, the resolution of their institutional issues and the pace of globalization, will be decisive for the future of the developed world.
What are the prospects for the United States and the Euro-zone over the next few years, and what new opportunities will their future open up for the rest of the world, particularly for Africa?

The Master Class will be delivered by Gayle Allard Professor of Economic Environment and Country Analysis at IE Business School, Madrid

Opinion: The selection of three fellows for 1beat Program is evidence of #Kenya’s rising status as a cultural hub

One Beat Festival

What happens when you bring musicians from different continents in one country for a tour and residency program? Well, you have yourself smart power and that is what the United States of America has been up to of late. This is through the 1beat program that brought together 32 fellows from 21 countries to the US for tours and residency program.

What is 1beat?

OneBeat 2012 from Found Sound Nation on Vimeo.

OneBeatSM is an international music exchange that celebrates musical collaboration and social engagement through innovative people-to-people diplomacy. From September 10 – October 7, a group of exceptional young musicians from around the world will collaboratively write, record, produce, and perform original music in venues ranging from concert halls to city parks to rock clubs.  In addition to creating new work, OneBeat Fellows will partner with community organizations, schools, and socially-engaged local musicians to offer workshops, performances, and public dialogues.

Which Musicians Represented Kenya

Kenya is a bastion of sports especially track races and marathons but what is now emerging is that Kenya is also rising as a cultural hub. This is evident in selection of three Kenyan musicians out of eight who represented Africa. The musicians who represented Kenya are;

1. Nina Ogot: http://www.1beat.org/artists/nina-ogot/
2. Muthoni the Drummer Queen: http://www.1beat.org/artists/muthoni-ndonga/ and
3. Kato Change: http://www.1beat.org/artists/kato-change/

Other countries represented are Democratic Republic of Congo (with two musicians), Nigeria, Mozambique and Senegal each with one representative.

Check the photos and updates from 1Beat tour on their Facebook page

This post was first published on NairobiNow

Social Media Campaigns in Kenya: Is DPL Festive Bread Pushing the Envelope?

Campaign Poster

DPL Festive Bread has an ongoing campaign on social media that has me musing. The campaign involves one posting a photo of self consuming bread and having it put to a democratic vote of most ‘likes’!

I am not against such campaigns but is social media in Kenya pushing new boundaries?

Their Preposition

By posting a photo you get a chance to win Kshs 5,000 and a gift hamper daily if your photo has the most likes.

This campaign is giving us new insights as to how people like their bread buttered in Kenya!

it goes with everything!

Other interesting Social Media Campaigns

Safaricom Okoa Newbie

The other interesting social media campaign is the ‘okoa’ newbie. Okoa means save for those who do not know Swahili. This would translate save a newbie who has been employed in the social media arm of the company that helps tech Savvy customers. Another first in corporate Kenya by Safaricom.

Okoa Newbie campaign

 Can you pay okoa jahazi using Bonga points? Take one for the team, answer this one and save our Newbie on her first day.

This campaign targets techies and young demographics. This is evident from the photo’s. These in my opinion looks very creative from Safaricom.

Okoa Newbie Campaign

How do you subscribe to the SMS bundles? Our Newbie is a bit swamped; help him sort this problem out. Get the correct answer and he could swing some show of appreciation in the form of a Samsung Galaxy S3 and airtime your way.

The social media in Kenya is emerging as one of the last frontiers by companies especially for Kenya's young and connected demographic

Photos from DPL Festive Bread and Safaricom Facebook pages

Out of Town: 12th Edition of Lamu Cultural Festival, Nov. 15-18 2012 @ Lamu

Lamu Festival Poster

The Lamu Cultural Promotion Group is proud to present the 12th edition of the annual Lamu Cultural Festival.

The Festival continues to promote a World Heritage Site that constitutes the common heritage of humanity, and share its distinct Swahili traditions with the world.

For more information contact Lamu Cultural Promotion Group on Tel. 0722 476219 / 0733 660216 or Email: lamuculturalfestival@gmail.com

For those planning to make reservations this might help:http://www.lamu.org/index.html

Karim Sadek MD Citadel Capital at #Mindspeak on Sept. 29 2012 @ Intercontinental Hotel

Mr. Karim Sadek gave a very insightful presentation at Mindspeak which touched on Citadel Capital activities in this region.

In his candid presentation ‘the role of private sector in accelerating development’ he opened Citadel Capital up to the public. This is the story of Citadel Capital in figures

• It has $ 9.5 Billion in investments under control as of end year 2011
• $ 940 Million in Principal investments
• Operates in 15 industries: from Agriculture, Financial Services to energy distribution
• Has 19 specific funds as per end year 2011

Sadek also espoused Citadel capital track record and their business model. However, what was most insightful we’re his observations on African investment climate. From his position, managing a capital fund, he was of the view that of late Africa has been attracting substantial interest from the rest of the world. However, writing of Cheques for Sub Saharan Africa outside oil and gas is still lacking.

Egypt before and after the revolution

Since Citadel is head office is in Cairo we got a business 101 on Egypt. Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) has been in the news complaining of imports from Egypt which are substantially cheaper than Kenyan products because of power/energy subsidies. Well the good news for KAM is the regime of subsidies is coming to an end in Egypt.

The other interesting piece of information from Sadek was insights before the Arab spring. Citadel Capital was two weeks to finalizing a deal for a stake in Egyptian Refining Company before lady liberation came calling. Also, the change in attitudes and perceptions in Egypt, this days young people have no respect for authority. The other interesting insight was the East Africa compared to Egypt had better industrial relations. Egypt is now in the initial process of coming up with an independent workers union.

Citadel’s interest in Kenya

Citadel interest in Kenya came through an opportunity that presented itself in Rift Valley Railways [RVR] which won a 25 year concession on Kenya-Uganda Railway. After the turbulent times RVR has been through it seems with the entry of citadel capital the century old railway is up to some good times ahead.

The Preposition

Citadel capital together with its partners came up with a $ 300 Million preposition to turn around the railway in the next five years. Under the three point turn around based on;

1. Upgrade of operationn
2. Rehabilitation of existing assets
3. Additional of new assets [2014 onwards

Some of the Partners in this Turn around Endeavour

Prominent names stand out in this deal which means this is a success story in the making. These institutions underwriting the success of our railway are;

• African Development Bank
• KfW Entwicklungsbank (Germany)
• International Finance Corporation
• FMO (Dutch)
• Equity Bank (Kenya)
• ICF Debt Pool
• BIO (Belgium)

This here might be the next success story in Kenya if Citadel Capital can hack it.