Odinga might Be right

While I was away the deputy president flew to the Netherlands, and while I was away again Raila Odinga lamented the military for being partisan and trying to perpetuate status qua. I cannot ascertain the truth behind Odinga's allegation because am an alien in the corridors of power, am a distant spectator who only can see the smoke and sometimes not even see the fire. But being alive in the political arena, I know Odinga is the man who will speak whenever he is pressed. some may think, he is loosing his mind, but I guess it was time to spill the beans.
I read a post yesterday on the social media, that Odinga should forget about the presidency since he has lashed at the army. Maybe that is very true, but can the intensity of his allegation really affirm the truth of this matter. Might our military been part of this conspiracy, to frustrate Kenya's democratic course? that might be true, but it might not also be true, because as I said earlier, am an alien in the corridors of power.
Again, the national intelligence security have resolved to pursue Odinga, am not sure why? Do they want to establish the truth behind his allegations or do they want to victimise the man for whatever reason. what I also do not understand, is the legality of his allegations and its implications to the independence of the bills of rights. The membranes that house our bills of rights are semi porous, This gives the government the right to confiscate these freedoms, if we put them in the wrong use.
But what define the 'wrong use' is the bone of contention. Freedom of expression, where is the ceiling of this freedom? Is it the supremacy of the government? the under dealings of the government? The character of the president and his presidency? Does the tenets of accountability and transparency exclude the mega government projects like the standard gauge railway? Is our military so immune to public criticism so that any allegations levelled against the military attracts sanction and arrest warrants?
A government that is inducing fear in its citizenry, is not pegged on the principles of democracy. If tribal mobilizations are what define our politics, and if further this is undermining the progress of our nationality, the government should be the remedy. You don't heal the tribal wounds by rewarding loyal tribes and alienating those with dissenting views. You don't unite a nation by victimizing the opposition. You don't preach democracy while dissent cannot be tolerated in your administration.
Something is surely cooking in our government, and we must stand on our feet and proclaim democracy. We must quench our thirsty of the so much questions unanswered on the standard gauge railway. We must establish the truth behind Odinga's allegation against the military. We must also question the president's word on how he can unite this nation minus skewed public appointments. Am just a Kenyan and not a politician.

What Plans do you have for 2014? Here are suggestions

For the previous week since the advent of the new year, I have read so much on what people expect out of this year. Some are looking ahead with pessimism and hopelessness while the majority believe it is the year of breakthrough and great favour. The mixed reaction as i understand can explain the different paths we have come as individuals and whether our former plans materialised. However, it is often said that those who don't plan are otherwise planning to fail. Whether our previous resolutions materialised or not, that is not enough for us not to plan for the future. The mystics of tomorrow favour those who plan for them.
I personally believe 2014 like never before is going to be a year of breakthrough and favour in all the aspects of my life. The optimism that has defined my attitude will propel me to heights that people might not believe. Let me not pretend to have already lived in the future, but for the record, i want to believe in myself, my ability and aptitude. Just to share on the guidelines i used when coming up with my new years resolutions, here are some of what I thought could enable me penetrate through this year prosperously;
1. Time is of the essence, every second counts. Remember it is money, you waste time, you are equally wasting money.
2. Feed your mind an apple, it will produce juice, but feed it poison it will die. What your mind consumes and values will determine the direction of your initiatives. Consume knowledge that is beneficial and that can create utility, stop pursuing inconsequential, obsolete and destructive information it will render you irrelevant.
3. Only action changes reality, thinking doesn't. Believe in acting, because without actions, your noble and powerful ideas won't materialize.
4. Discipline is paramount. The difference between your resolutions and there destiny is discipline. Do you walk your talk? Do you stick to your timetable? Are you honest to yourself?
5. With great power, comes a great responsibility. information is power, consolidate it in the right manner. Peg your responsibilities in closing up of societal gaps, that will go along way to surpass your personal aspirations
6. Responsibility gravitates on those that can shoulder them. Do not be afraid of responsibility, while it comes to you always believe that you have the capability to carry them out. Be a risk taker and have the courage even to pursue unfamiliar territories.
7. Your Mind is your greatest asset. Remember on a daily basis we utilize only 10% of our mental capacity, at the death end, 90% of our useful self is wasted in the grave. Make the difference, increase this % to 20, then to 50%, Things for you will never be the same again.
8. Remember, it is the information Era. Only information, will keep you relevant, it is high time you should love reading, watching news, attending seminars and conferences. This will make you stand out from the crowd.
9. Change is a double edged sword, it is no longer those who adapt that survive, it is those who pursue change that survive. Change no longer changes people, it destroys people.
10. Own your destiny. Only yourself will be answerable to the father on the day of judgement and only yourself will be answerable to your destiny. Learn to stand alone and define the course of your life. seek for advice, make your decisions.
That said and done, i believe all of us will be useful components of the society, we shall transform this nation into a desired Utopia and going forward the generations to come will live in a better world than ours. Shalom

Discover your Potential

With great power comes a great responsibility, that is the greatest philosophy i have ever come across. how we define power and responsibility is a matter of greatness of our minds. Martin Luther King affirmed the notion that all men were created equal by God's powerful hands. Yes, equal we must be served by society and equal we must be protected by our governments. But there's one thing about society that people seem to disregard, that our minds were created with the prerogative of autonomy.
This should be the essence of democracy. Each and every should be entitled to his opinions and perceptions so long as it is within the membranes of morality and civilization. That said and done, we must wake up to the realization that mankind is rich in culture and traditions. All this shape our perceptions and mindset. How we perceive problems is different from how other societies perceive problem. How we judge success is different from how Indians, Chinese, Americans and other societies do the same. We must harmonise all these differences and establish a platform where globalization can be a real playing ground where equality and equity is easier said and done.
Every problem must have a solution, and every solution must emanate from a particular problem. How sweet is it to conceive a solution to a perennial problem. An empowered society is that which is capable and willing to solve societal problems. As a boy child, being part of society, i have learnt to share the responsibility of problem solving. Uniting in victory and triumph, is the half way definition of unity. The ultimate unity is defined by the shared responsibility in times of distress and depressions.The power of our minds can never be realised, until that time when a formidable step separates us from the grave yard.
The greatest asset is our mind, it is the powerhouse of all the complexity of this concrete jungle of our time. We must learn and tune our minds to perceive problems as an opportunity to bring out the best in we, if not an opportunity to change the world. A broke university student, had a problem. He did not have the bus fare back home. The holiday was finally here and a money order from his village could only reach him, when the new year set in. He scratched his head. Then he looked at his phone. He discovered an item called Sambaza. An idea came up. Earlier on in the hostels he had seen his friends transferring credit to other handsets in exchange for cash.
This was an opportunity, to save his misery. His mother sent him airtime worthy his bus fare, he exchanged it for cash and through this the mobile money transfer was conceived. Now the world is mobile and the world is money. Some of us could not survive minus this technology, but just imagine if it was not for a distressed niggar, we could be a frustrated lot. Shalom

The 4 Most Effective Ways Leaders Solve Problems

With as many problems as we are all faced with in our work and life, it seems as if there is never enough time to solve each one without dealing with some adversity along the way.  Problems keep mounting so fast that we find ourselves taking short-cuts to temporarily alleviate the tension points – so we can move onto the next problem. In the process, we fail to solve the core of each problem we are dealt; thus we continuously get caught in the trap of a never-ending cycle that makes it difficult to find any real resolutions.  Sound familiar?

Problem solving is the essence of what leaders exist to do.  As leaders, the goal is to minimize the occurrence of problems – which means we must be courageous enough to tackle them head-on before circumstances force our hand.  We must be resilient in our quest to create and sustain momentum for the organization and people we serve. But the reality of the workplace   finds us dealing with people that complicate matters with their corporate politicking, self-promotion, power-plays and ploys, and envy. Silos, lack of budgets and resources, and many other random acts or circumstances also make it harder for people to be productive.

Competitors equally create problems for us when they unexpectedly convert a long-standing client, establish a new industry relationship, or launch a new product, brand or corporate strategy.   Mergers & acquisitions keep us on our toes and further distract us from solving existing problems by creating new ones.

As Karl Popper, one of the most influential 20thcentury philosophers of science, once eloquently stated, “All life is problem solving.” I’ve often contended that the best leaders are the best problem solvers. They have the patience to step back and see the problem at-hand through broadened observation; circular vision. They see around, beneath and beyond the problem itself. They see well-beyond the obvious. The most effective leaders approach problems through a lens of opportunity.

Leaders who lack this wisdom approach problems with linear vision – thus only seeing the problem that lies directly in front of them and blocking the possibilities that lie within the problem. As such, they never see the totality of what the problem represents; that it can actually serve as an enabler to improve existing best practices, protocols and standard operating procedures for growing and competing in the marketplace. They never realize that, in the end, all problems are the same – just packaged differently.

A leader must never view a problem as a distraction, but rather as a strategic enabler for continuous improvement and opportunities previously unseen.

No. 116 out of 142, Kenya

Happiness is subjective, success and prosperity is judgemental but problems are universal. Going through a forbse publication on countries with the happiest people, http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2013/10/29/the-worlds-happiest-and-saddest-countries-2013/  i held my breath. Nowadays, being Kenyan and so aware of the exposure of our nakedness to the international community, every ranking report leaves me nervous. That said, kenya as a nation we have performed dismally in international ranking almost in all dimensions. our economy, has been and still remains vulnerable to international shocks, our health care is still not very responsive to the growing demands, corruption index remains a tumour in our public sector. 

Are kenyans sad? that is the question. on this ranking, we ve placed at no. 116 out of 142 nations. at least i am relieved we never featured in the bottom 20 countries where some conspicuous economies like Nigeria, Sudan and Iraq are featuring. but a matter of concern was the position of our independence collegues, south Korea. south Korea was ranked at no. 26 globally beating economic giants like Italy, China and even Brazil. remember we have always been reminded that at independence, our economy was at par with the south korean, where did the rain start beating us, that remains a mystery.
looking at the various dimensions that were considered, our economy was ranked at no. 133 meaning we were among the bottom ten, how is that possible and yet we celebrate in the glory that we are east Africa's economic powerhouse. On the governance index, i do not understand how we afforded to be ranked at no. 108 yet i expected us to lead from the bottom. if anything, governance is the epicentre of all our worries and problems. while security and safety remains chronical, no. 127 is not a surprised.
 However, i must admit Kenyan people are the greatest resource this nation has. while all the dimensions that belong in the government portfolio have put us on the losers side, entrepreneurship and opportunities, social capital that is championed predorminantly by the private sector are the only ones where we are featured in the top 100. where then is our glory? are we village champions? Are we used to the league of mediocrity? among the most respected and powerful business people, we are honoured in Africa and around the world, talk about M-pesa, the pioneer mobile money transfer technology that set the pace for the world. read about linus Gitahi http://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2011/07/15/the-five-most-powerful-african-media-moguls/     

Rwanda: The new 'Benchmark'

My current assignment is a Rwandan food policy assignment. am in the business with my two other colleagues to articulate a food security strategic plan for the Rwandan standards bureau and i will tell you, it is quite a great honour to be the think tank behind such a macro economic initiative. I would not wish to brag but all i wish is to share my experience on what forms part of this great nation. I must say, Rwanda is a great place to go, and if my boss so wishes, i will not mind accompanying him, even if it means i will play the bodyguard.

The Rwandan landscape is hilly and they experience two dry seasons with tropical rainfall averaging 1400 mm per annum. These people grow kidney beans, maize, sorghum, millet, and rice. as a matter of fact, the cash crops are not within their priority but a few of them plant coffee, tea and sugar cane. it is also worthy noting that the Rwandan people haven't embraced commercial agriculture as a result of their small acreage of land. they rare mostly goats and cattle with 12% of the population keeping pigs and 9% keeping sheep.

Looking at their social structure, you will realize, that it is still defined by the horrendous genocide that descended on the land in 1994. most households are headed by female, most of who are in their early forties. only 2% of the Rwandan people are above sixty years but a majority are in the ages between 5 to 24 years. the heads of the households are not literate and speak French.

Basing on the above statistics, the Rwandan government has embarked on the service sector to sustain its economy given, their natural resources cannot be able to sustain the regional competition from nations like Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The ICT, toursim, banking, health and other service industries are booming and this has made many multi nationals including hotel chains and beverage companies like coca cola to set foot here.

Looking at this statistics, you will realize that there's no reason that Rwanda has to be the fastest growing economy in east Africa that Kenya does not have. As we speak, our policy environment is a benchmark in the region, and our natural resources if that can qualify to be a competitive advantage is already a leverage. we have adopted a constitution that is rare yet highly coveted among African states, Our education system is the best education all over Africa. We are also strategically positioned on the east coast of Africa and most multi nationals prefer setting foot in Africa through Kenya.

The Masai Mara is the greatest national park in the continent, and our private sector is also among the best around this continent. Rwanda is doing good, and we ought to do better because that is our pedigree, and that is our inheritance, for Kenya is a great nation. just look around, Nairobi is among the most beautiful cities around Africa and i must say that is something to be proud of given that we have not been producing oil. Now we have oil, we have rear earth in Kwale county, and a water reservoir that can quench our thirsty for 70 years. we also have vast tracks of land and so many natural endowments. Come on Kenya, think about that and stop the hullabaloo, lets get to work and refuse to be pulled back by retrogressive politics. 

In a quagmire of distress

Seated at the office and perusing the publications of Forbes magazine, it dawned on me that Kenya as a nation is very conspicuous among its African peers. Nairobi is recognised internationally as an entry point to east Africa and Africa as a whole. but maybe this time round, we have been on the international media headlines but all for the wrong reason. today i read that Nairobi is among the worst reputed cities around the world. this is a study done and we don't seem to be performing any better.

Looking at Nairobi, our political system is at its worst. the government of the day cant seem to agree on any one thing. the discord and dissension is sending shock waves to our tranquil society and soon our tribal temperatures will burst out the tolerance balloon. word is going around that the two top most government officials might be holding different opinion on the issue of icc. They might be machinations to have the deputy president put into custody in the event the president will not honour the court summon. We are proving to be pivotal in international politics especially with regard to the recent unfolding events at the African Union summit.

Nairobi is now besieged by controversy and discord. it is very clear that alshabab have and still are hiding in our bedroom. our house seem to be divided against itself and soon it might never stand tall again. internationally, it will soon be a no go zone if indeed we shall continue pointing fingers and letting our enemy stipulate and draft our calendar. The suspicion amongst different religious creeds is rising, churches are going up in flames following an event of a slain sheikh. am still contemplating on what the future has got in store for this nation.

with tribal undertones becoming louder, skewed government appointments and excessive corruption within our corridors of power, it is difficult to comprehend if indeed we are moving towards vision twenty thirty. it is impunity for an entire kenyan public to be aware that 300 billion of our taxes cannot be counted for and allow that dust to settle in the sinking sands. it is impunity for an entire cabinet secretary to contravene the rule of law and establish an office that is strange in this constitutional dispensation all in the name of national interest.

it is impunity for us to be silent when the human rights commission is in a quagmire waiting for tribal mobilization to set stage for the next officer holders. and our impunity has now gone overboard, the social media is burning with venom of tribal talk, frustrated kenyans have now resorted to vomit their tribal bile on the social media platform for the sole reason of party affiliations. Freedom of speech and expression has now been undermined and it has escaped the moral fabric and is now reaching the helms of hell where cold heartedness is at its helm. the glory of this great nation is fading into corruption selfishness and an excessive tribal appetite. our sense of nationalism has now been downplayed and going forward, the kenyanism in our young brothers and sisters may never be testified. I do not know what might just happen to us next