The chains of colonisation's cold afterglow

Events from the past week have raised the question of whether or not third world people should sever the ties of dependency with their former colonial masters once and for all.

The first group of these issues revolved around the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in Kampala. I was vicariously embarrassed by the entire spectacle, Ugandans swarming the darkened streets in the millions to welcome the British Queen and to underline their country's subservience to her throne. It was all a little much.

Read more from John Victor Ogot.

24hr Shopping in Nairobi

Nairobi is well on its way to becoming a 24 hour city-Nakumatt by Nakumatt. It started a few months ago when Kenya's leading department store made its smaller Ukay branch, a 24 hour supermarket.

Read more from Al Kags here.

Rethinking privatisation

Privatizing without any structural reform of the sectors these firms serve will only serve to perpetuate their monopolies but in this case under private ownership. Wisdom would be keeping these companies public, invigorating them and ensuring they are working to reduce the budget deficit and our colossal debt.

State corporations have a role to play in our development, not just as providers of valuable services, but also as generators of much needed financial resources; a subject we will deal with in our next article.

Read more from Emmo Opoti here.

In defence of Tanzania

Ken Tiye discusses with N.Chiume the real reasons why Tanzania is hesitant to join EAC.

The fear of competition from Kenya isn't "mere big words". It does pose serious threat to the future of manufacturing in Tanzania. And it is not true that these concerns have never been brought to the table by Tanzania. As is clear from the successful agreement in delaying the implementation of certain taxes within the EAC custom union to give manufacturers in Tanzania some time to adjust to the new trade environment.

Read more here.

China: The next Superpower?

I have just read an interesting article about China, and the fact that I am from a presentation that details how my job will be outsourced in the next few years’ only decreases my enthusiasm for China.

Read more from here Patience Wanga.

The Case AGAINST Military Draft in Kenya

Kimani S. Njoroge argues against a previous author's suggestion that Kenya should invest in a mandatory military draft for its youth. Kimani argues that such a venture is not only socially, but also economically irresponsible.

Read more here.

Equitable banking

In the last year, Equity Bank has grown from a small, hardly heard of establishment to a large bank that is in many ways leading the market and causing something of a revolution in the banking sector. Tribute must be paid to the vision and resilience of the Muranga farmers who came together to moot the community building society idea and to the leadership of Peter Munga and his successors. This vision that targets the small depositors is now leading rival banks like Barclays and Standard Chartered to rethink their evaluation of the lower end of the market.

Equity's persistent efforts have proved that there is black ink at the bottom of the rung. In the event, the customer has benefited as even proud Barclays has been compelled to slash its banking costs and accede to the forces of banking democratization, a path previously shunned and left as scraps for the likes of Equity.

Peter Ndiangui, " It is in this field that market-share in the banking sector will be decided. Even if they do not come out as market leaders, these institutions have done a sterling job for the Kenyan consumer and deserve credit for their continued efforts to democratize banking."

Read more.

Kenya a Tiger without Stripes?

A recent article in the New York Times cites 'good things happening in Kenya' and has also been quoted by Kenyan mainstream media.

Kenya has been in excitement mode, anticipating the coming of the fiber optic link to the world, hoping for the cost of communication to come down drastically so that Kenya can cash in on the call centre business currently dominated by India. One reason given for this is that Kenyan speak better English.

Kamale T urges Kenya to aim higher than call centres.

Why rush the East African political federation?

Are we ready for political federation with the nations and the people of East Africa?

You now read that the EAC is designing an East African flag and anthem. Are these little issues important in the grand scheme of things? Had we not better first concentrate on improving the governance structures and service delivery mechanisms within our individual component states first before attempting an experiment of this magnitude? The little we have going in the Customs Union is not by itself streamlined, and neither is the manner of our treatment of our Rwandese, Burundian, Tanzanian and Ugandan brothers consistent with what would be expected from nations on the track to political federation.

Have we realy resolved any of the grievances that led to the dissolution of the first such experiment? We are including the Rwandese and the Burundians too, how far will the borders go, and what criterion if any are we basing accession on. Finally, given that our leaders have not worked anywhere to popularise a move into political federation, is there any chance that we will be convinced when even they do not seem to be?

What do you think?

Is Kenya ready for the East African Federation?

Are we ready for political federation with the nations and the people of East Africa?

You now read that the EAC is designing an East African flag and anthem. Are these little issues important in the grand scheme of things? Had we not better first concentrate on improving the governance structures and service delivery mechanisms within our individual component states first before attempting an experiment of this magnitude? The little we have going in the Customs Union is not by itself streamlined, and neither is the manner of our treatment of our Rwandese, Burundian, Tanzanian and Ugandan brothers consistent with what would be expected from nations on the track to political federation.

What do you think?