Long seen as the least attractive industry to invest in, the book industry in Kenya is now looking up and has so far grown to become Shs 12 billion industry, thanks to the government's free primary education, subsidized secondary education and donor funding to the education sector. The government is now the single largest buyer of books – mainly school text books.
Kenyan public universities have opened doors to private sector investors wanting to set projects geared to make the universities able to accommodate an increasing number of students and varieties of study curricula. Pressing need areas include hotels for students
Electric power supply in Kenya falls far below the demand. This calls for private sector investment in power generation for sale to the national grid. The current peak electric power demand is estimated at 1,180 MW and it is projected to grow at 7% annually to reach 2,263MW by 2018. And, according to the government, this growth in demand presents a “golden, immediate opportunity to invest in the energy sector.”
Optimism is high that life will change for residents of Kitui County and Kenyan generally now that a Chinese contractor has been awarded the coveted coal mining contract at the coal-rich Mui Basin in Kitui County. According to reports, the contractor is set to start work on the site soon.
Machakos County offers great opportunities for investors. Its proximity to Nairobi makes it an ideal location for industries, schools, housing estates and other large scale facilities to serve the city population. This is supported by the availability of large, flat tracks of land giving enough space for construction and display.
Creating a brand out of Kenya is not an easy thing. And that is why Brand Kenya – the state corporation charged with the task – is asking Kenyans to cough up Shs 4.6 billion (about $5.5 million) to promote an image of the country as an ideal business destination at London Summer Olympic games 2012.
The CIC Insurance Group will raise funds through the Nairobi Stock Exchange to finance its expansion to the Eastern Africa region. And it has already started the process to list on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) by introduction.
World famous Kenyan athletes make their money from a variety of sources, some of which are unknown to the average person. Take the case of the late world marathon champion Samuel Kamau Wanjiru who was the first Kenyan sportsman to earn a billion shillings in sports. Official figures show that Wanjiru made Sh1 billion between 2008 and May 2011.
In a move that could further raise the profile savings and credit societies and encourage the spirit of public good in the cooperative movement worldwide, Polish savings and credit cooperative societies are seeking sainthood for the pioneer of the movement in Poland.
Individuals and organizations that have lost land through fraudulent deals at Athi River have been named as the government starts action to curb conman-ship in land transactions.
State corporations and the central government have over the past few months embarked on ambitious communications campaigns as they seek to create awareness on reforms taking place in the public sector especially touching on health care, education, financial management and the Constitution.
Kenyans have complained about President Mwai Kibaki’s inability to listen and take account of the public sentiment. To President Kibaki and his supporters, this frowning on Kenyans may appear as strength of character. But now it is threatening the careers (and lives) of his closes allies – Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and the Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura. And even worse, it is threatening suck Mr. Kibaki himself into the fire.
It is of course, not easy to say “Shana tova,” (New Year in Hebrew) to every one of readers in their own languages. But we do hope that wherever you are, the New Year will be, “Mwaka Mzuri” which is our very own Kiswahili (spoken in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ruanda, Burundi, Congo, South Sudan and many other countries in Eastern, Central and southern Africa) for Happy New Year.
It is not enough that the Ministry of Lands has suspended its senior staff allegedly involved the Syokimau Kenya Airports Authority land selling scam. Such people, where proved guilty, should not only be imprisoned (the Chinese would possibly kill them), they should also compensate their victims. It is said that councilors, politicians and seniors government officials who constituted the theft gang pocketed as much as Shs 240 millions from only a small section of the land in question.
I thank all those of you who have taken an interest in our Moral Reawakening Campaign (MRC). Many of you have brought out interesting aspects of the management of campaigns in general, and in the management of MRC in particular. But let me comment on one contribution of one writer who said that moral reawakening implies that there was a moment when Man was moral. The contributor believes that this cannot have been so.
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