At Large
Kenya’s Sad Safari
From a post-colonial model to economic and social basket case.
The economic and social breakdown of Kenya is indeed tragic. What once was supposed to be a model post-colonial lesson for Africa has devolved to a nation teetering once again on the edge of turmoil.
At independence in 1963 Kenya appeared to have it all: a thriving tourist industry, excellent cash crops of coffee and tea, a major regional port, a growing manufacturing capability and, most importantly, an education system that was producing thousands of literate middle school students every year. With its hero, the Kikuyu leader, Jomo Kenyatta, as its head of state and his political and tribal rival, the Luo chief, Oginga Odinga, as the vice president, the country offered an example of successful African political cooperation. At least that’s how it looked, and how the press characterized it.
In reality the white farmers were selling out or investigating the possibilities of doing so. The younger white Kenyans were encouraged by their relatives to emigrate — U.K., Australia, South Africa, etc. More and more black Kenyan college students went abroad but upon return found that unless one had excellent political connections jobs in government were dead ends.
In the business sphere it was clear that approval for new or expanded investments had to go through an increasingly slow bureaucratic process as poorly paid government staffs at all levels were increased to accommodate the new African employees. The result was an immediate growth in gratuities offered to overcome the business delays.
What had been a reasonably pristine political environment pre-independence devolved into something more akin to the “dash” system of payoffs traditional in West Africa. This gift giving was required at all levels, but it actually was reasonably orderly during the original Kenyatta-Odinga years.
Daniel arap Moi came in as president at Kenyatta’s death in 1978 and corruption soared in amount and character even as foreign investment grew. When Moi finally left in 2002, governance had become so warped that as one longtime Kenya observer noted, “Even the corruption had become corrupted.” There was no aspect of life in that East African country that was not being exploited. Foreign aid was squandered; vast criminal schemes were hatched; and the usually stable $1 billion yearly tourist industry began to deteriorate, some say due to terrorism fears.
Mwai Kabaki’s victory over a chosen Moi successor was initially hailed as a turning point from the earlier days of political and economic malfeasance. It didn’t last long and as a British diplomat was quoted by the Financial Times in 2004: “The ministers have become gluttonous.” However, an even more damning line was written by a columnist from Kenya’s own Daily Nation, Kwamchetsi Makkha: “It was such a dysfunctional administration that normalizing it [the dysfunction] scores points.” Graft, ethnic discrimination, and political economic corruption that had flowered during the Moi years simply “matured” during Kabaki’s first term. What appeared as economic boom times quickly deflated with the drop of commodity prices and rise of political infighting. Accountability and responsibility were nowhere to be found.
Greater Nairobi is essentially divided in two: one is a metropolitan area distinguished by high rises, suburban estates, luxury cars and a middle class awaiting the next eco-ethnic outbreak. A few kilometers beyond the plush life are the tribally segregated slums of newly rebuilt corrugated iron housing sites of the recent riots. This is a community reflecting the country as a whole, where 70% of the population is calculated as below 30 years old and where 50% live on less than one dollar a day.
The orgy of tribal violence that began in the last days of ‘07 and lasted into February ‘08 resulted in hundreds of dead and wounded as well as the destruction of thousands of stores and dwellings in city, town and village slums.
Today Kenya is run by a ruling coalition of the aging and ill President Mwai Kabaki, heir to the Kikuyu dominance of the earliest Kenyatta years, and the prison-schooled son of the early Luo leader, Oginga Odinga, Moscow’s Patrice Lumumba University-trained Prime Minister Raila Odinga. The slums of Nairobi, everyone agrees, will breed the next cruel cycle of violence. This time, however, the major tribes of Kenya represented there, as strong as their rivalry remains, are united in agreement that the cause of their shared deprivation is the current failing government.
The natural beauty of the country camouflages the tribal animosities that have always existed, held in check first by colonial power and then by Kikuyu domination. The signs exist that tribal predominance, while continuing to be important, is not the sole critical factor. The ethnic challenge is matched now by the economic divisions of the haves and the have-nots. Kenya roils, seemingly powerless to change.
About the Author
George H. Wittman writes a weekly column on international affairs for The American Spectator online. He was the founding chairman of the National Institute for Public Policy.
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El Rey| 8.21.09 @ 7:31AM
Are blacks capable of governing themselves in anything like a modern democracy/republic that can sustain itself economically without massive outside aid?
I'm just wondering.
Peter | 8.21.09 @ 8:05AM
For 15 years I lived and worked in East Africa. Kenya seemed always an island of tranquility in that turbulent sea. It would be hard to overstate the sense of jubilation when Kibaki finally drove Moi from power. For a brief while it looked like a new beginning was being made, one in which all things seemed possible. Sadly it turned out to be yet another case of "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss." I grieve for Kenya. If Kenya fails, all of Africa is doomed.
Louie M.| 8.21.09 @ 8:08AM
To El Rey:
Look at Detroit............
Ryan| 8.21.09 @ 8:21AM
It's not race, it's culture. One of graft and corruption begat not just by those who live there, but by the colonials who went in, exploited, and left without leaving behind anything remotely stable. EVERYONE shares in the blame on Africa's woes, and none are taking responsibility for their own actions.
Melvin| 8.21.09 @ 8:26AM
I had the opportunity to visit Kenya once and during my stay in Mombasa I found many Kenyans friendly and highly intelligent. I don't mean intelligent in terms of IQ, in which many Kenyans I spoke to were, but rather intelligent of getting around an oppressive system of extreme corruption and authoritarianism.
I have to admit the first time I had a conversation with a Kenyan, it was very odd to hear him speak with a British accent.
I also observed Mombasa could have been allot more than it was, due to the fact of the amount of energy Kenyans were putting into it to make it work.
Once outside the urban center of Mombasa Kenya was beautiful, but this was during the 1980's allot can happen in 10 or more years.
BoFL| 8.21.09 @ 8:28AM
To El Rey &Louie; M.
The issue here is not their skin color, but their statist/socialist policies. You should know better as conservatives!
robert| 8.21.09 @ 8:31AM
Tribalism.
TennesseeVolunteer| 8.21.09 @ 11:04AM
Detroit, Memphis
Reward takers, punish producers, eliminate freedom, tax burdens, abortions, take religion from schools, eliminate Xmas, unions for the bosses not the workers, environmentalism-the new religion.
We're on our way if we don't get the message. Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness = equal opportunity, not outcome.
Ed| 8.21.09 @ 11:42AM
My mom made a recent safari trip to East Africa and she said that Tanzania was more stable than Kenya. The various tribes in Tanzania get along better than they do in Kenya. If you are considering a safari trip to Africa, Tanzania is the better bet.
El Rey| 8.21.09 @ 12:39PM
BoFl is in denial not to mention Ryan who believes "EVERYONE shares in the blame on Africa's woes."
Sure.
Dixie Pixie| 8.21.09 @ 12:53PM
Zimbabwe, Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan and now Kenya.
The list of great African civilizations is surprisingly small.
Can anyone think of a African civilization to match the Roman, Byzantine, Chinese, European or American civilizations.
Could it be the population is the problem?
No way. The mere thought the population is the problem is labeled by liberalism as racist.
To say such thoughts is to earn a one way trip to political oblivion by the PC Police.
It is mandatory to find even the smallest of lights in the Dark Continent to praise.
For example: The mud hut technology of the Africans are second to none.
The sad truth is no fact will escape the PC police of liberalism.
So good luck to the African countries as they loved by the Mr. Magoo's of foreign aid.
blackelkspeaks| 8.21.09 @ 1:29PM
Ryan wrote: "It's not race, it's culture. One of graft and corruption begat not just by those who live there, but by the colonials who went in, exploited, and left without leaving behind anything remotely stable. EVERYONE shares in the blame on Africa's woes, and none are taking responsibility for their own actions. "
You started your argument with a sound observation (not race, but culture), then went off on a ridiculous rant blaming the colonials. Sorry, but everyone is NOT responsible for the disaster that is Africa, particularly not the colonials.
The colonial governments (especially the British), left very stable governmental and economic frameworks for every African country that experienced their colonial administration. And that includes the French, the Dutch, the Portuguese, the Belgians, even the Germans and Italians. The problem was that the Africans, due to their cultural history and tribal proclivities, didn't know what the heck to do with themselves after their colonial mentors left them to their own devices. Consider what has happened to South Africa, Zimbabwe, even Egypt, after the colonials left.
The Chinese, the Indians, the Malayasians, and so on, also experienced colonial administration. Yet they have somehow managed to develop their talents for industry and commerce within colonial governmental frameworks that suited their cultures. There is no other explanation for this, excepting that African culture simply does not now, nor ever has, exhibited any of the positive aspects necessary for successful self-administration.
Until the Africans cast off the self-imposed shackles of tribal autocracy and statism and embrace the western methods of democratic capitalism, there will be no progress in Africa.
South America provides similar examples of what results when the indigenous people (in this case, Amerindians) choose Marxist tyranny over free market economic structures.
Kraus| 8.21.09 @ 1:35PM
Ryan,
Second paragraph, independence 1963. Whites no longer run Kenya blacks do. Went downhill since.
1980 Zimbabwe, 1992 South Africa. Went downhill. Hmmmm.......yes El Ray, blacks cannot
govern nor provide for themselves.
Pingback| 8.21.09 @ 1:39PM
The American Spectator : Kenya's Sad Safari | Kenya today links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Garth Driver| 8.21.09 @ 4:35PM
RYAN >the colonials who went in, exploited, and left without leaving behind anything remotely stable.<<br /> I'm afraid your information is crap. The British left Kenya in 1963 with a fully working infrastructure of roads, railways, airports, hospitals, schools etc. Subsequent maladministration left everything in disrepair after only few years. The corruption was and is fed by unsupervised aid monies totalling billions of dollars from donor countries around the world, too lazy to ensure where it all went.
blackelkspeaks| 8.21.09 @ 6:31PM
Garth Driver wrote: "The corruption was and is fed by unsupervised aid monies totalling billions of dollars from donor countries around the world, too lazy to ensure where it all went."
I just don't get this attitude of Ryan and Garth Driver towards Africans at all. Both just can't seem to bring themselves to admit that the problems of Africa are primarily those of the Africans. They both, in their own strange ways, still insist that colonial history is the cause of it all. Its simply not the case. Whether its maladministration of the infrastructure left by the colonials, or the rampant corruption exhibited by the autocratic governments, the problem is that of African behavior and not due to any others. In fact, its laughable to hold the providers of aid responsible for what the recipients do with that aid. After all, we're talking about IMF loans going to duly elected representatives of sovereign governments.
Its way past time for us all to expect Africans to conduct themselves in ways we expect of every other civilized people on earth.
Garth Driver| 8.21.09 @ 6:59PM
Civilization takes time. You have forgotten ..
MattSwartz| 8.21.09 @ 9:53PM
El Rey, et al, miss the point. Marxists cannot govern. Because black political empowerment (in the US and on the Continent) came at an inopportune time when Marxism was trendy, we have no good examples of how Blacks might govern under older (superior) worldviews.
Botswana, the breadbasket of the region, comes close. I hope other nations break with the Marxist consensus and emulate them, not only because their suffering will diminish, but also because that outcome would finally shut the mouths of twits who actually think they are superior for racial reasons.
Richard Baker| 8.21.09 @ 10:03PM
African problems flow from a tribal mentality and the inability of blacks anywhere to govern and control themselves. Communism/socialism in Africa is the latest excuse for tribal tyranny. so what's new? The problem with Africa is the Africans.
Pingback| 8.21.09 @ 10:46PM
The American Spectator : Kenya's Sad Safari | Kenyan Post links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
MattSwartz| 8.22.09 @ 1:53AM
African problems flow from a tribal mentality and the inability of blacks anywhere to govern and control themselves. Communism/socialism in Africa is the latest excuse for tribal tyranny. so what's new? The problem with Africa is the Africans.
What an ahistorical, pretentious, unsupported opinion!
The fact is that it's impossible for modern people to form governing structures that work. We Westerners benefit from the fact that our more Christian ancestors did the heavy lifting for us and we can benefit from the traditions they've bequeathed us.
It's all well and good for you to sit at your computer and complain that black people can't self-govern, but you'd better recognize that you and your neighbors couldn't construct an even vaguely livable society "from scratch" either.
If ( and it's a big if) all of you could come up with something that didn't turn Lord of The Flies in mere weeks, it would be because you had it modeled for you by people who had taken examples from thinkers.
Don't flatter your genes.
The reason we aren't killing and eating each other, engaging in organized child molestation, and flirting with starvation is Christianity and it's influence on culture. The history of pre-Christian European history will corroborate this point.
Patricia | 8.22.09 @ 7:59AM
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Richard Baker| 8.22.09 @ 5:16PM
MattSwartz:
Idiot. As I sit here at my computer, all I have to do is observe the wreckage of the black tribal mentality around the world. For what it's worth, moron, the folks who founded this country did so from scratch and that is supportable. Because you possess a surplus of white liberal guilt doesn't mean that the rest of us are helpless and can't do for ourselves. Uneducated twaddle is your stock and trade. For all the "evil" you think that Western civilization has done, try looking at all the Immense good, for once, or does your guilty conscience not allow that? Try reading the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bible, and the story about the millions and millions freed from tyranny by the American soldier. Just what of similar nature have your vaunted Africans produced? Name it, bozo.
Jack| 8.22.09 @ 7:16PM
The reality of "race" is the iceberg; Western Civ the Titanic. We are bankrupting ourselves, financially, intellectually, and morally by trying to legislate racial equivalence.
All of the "aid" in the world will not make the races functionally equal. The facts about racial inequality are clear and accessible, but they are taboo.
All of the "news" coming out of Africa is always the same: the Africans can't take care of themselves.
And this "problem" is always the fault and the responsibility of white people.
Wake up people. The various races perform as they do; this is not a "problem" in need of "aid."
MattSwartz| 8.23.09 @ 12:32AM
Richard Baker,
In the future, you might actually find it helpful to read my response before using it as a jumping-off-point for more of your boilerplate about how "all blacks are tribalist". I'll leave aside the irony inherent in your assertion that an entire race of people are all the same and all tribalistic, since that seems to be beyond your level of comprehension.
As whites, we have been fortunate recipients of an accident of history (providence, if you will) that sent Christianity our way rather than Africaward after the fall of Rome.
That religious culture has produced the documents you mention. Religion and philosophy made the West different, and that was reflected in the founding of this country, obviously.
A thousand religiously raised, classically educated, morally informed africans would civilize and self-govern circles around you and a thousand of your white public school (un)educated, racially deterministic, socially naive peers.
And my knowing this is what makes me more conservative than you, by the way. Conservatism is about culture. Leftism is about race. You're hoisted on your own petard.
Richard Baker| 8.23.09 @ 12:49AM
MattSwartz:
However, even while being surrounded by all the this good, black tribalism is ascendent and the results are easily observed. You keep trying to make the case that the rise of Western Civilization is an historical accident instead of a purposeful chain of events. Blacks are what blacks are and history and events bear this out regardless of your "impassioned" pleas to the contrary. White liberal guilt can be SUCH a burden, can't it? My God, you despise this country so, did you know that? You concoct a fiction about 1000 educated Africans while forgetting that most of the "leaders " of these nations have been educated in England and the US for a long time. Tribalism is STILL the end result.
MattSwartz| 8.23.09 @ 2:22AM
Richard Baker,
The "leaders" you mention have been educated by European socialists in the manner that has become fashionable in the wake of Hegel and Marx.
We can't recreate history in a laboratory, so control groups are impossible. While it is an empirical fact that the average human of European descent has ten IQ points on the average African, it is an unwarranted stretch to suggest that those ten points equal "tribalism", or something like that. It isn't as though pre-Holy Roman Empire Europe wasn't clan-based.
Due to the impossibility of testing either of our counterfactuals, we must go back to our first principles. How's this:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal [and]that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights"
Apparently I despise this country in a rather historically precedented way. Were the Founding Fathers "White Guilty Liberals" as well? I suggest that they were not. To the contrary, I suggest that they were better conservatives than you are.
PS: You would be wise to brush up on your English Grammar and usage if you wish to continue arguing that other races are inferior.
Kevin Dunn| 8.23.09 @ 11:53AM
Kenya never had a chanc, excpt in the vision of self-deluding Wester Liberals The Mau-Mau who took it over at independence were specialists in cannbialism and bestiality but had no other skills. To give it the remotest change, the Brish should have hanged them all before they left
Jack| 8.23.09 @ 7:22PM
MattSwartz:
You wrote, "leftism is about race." I'm not sure what you meant by that. But the study of race, like any other study, must proceed by empirical, not political methods. And empirical studies of race are generally considered to be taboo. Because, as you may know, intelligence is not the only difference among the races.
The Chinese had an extremely highly developed civilization a thousand years ago, without Christian influence, or Greco-Roman.
While a hundred years ago, most of Africa was living somewhere between the late Stone and early Iron age.
How would you explain this?
Regards,
Jack
P.S. FYI, "all men are created equal" means: as pertaining to the law, and government. I.e., no one is entitled, by birth, to be King. Created equal does Not mean: created equivalent, as to capability. The former idea is self evident, the latter, absurd.
Jack| 8.23.09 @ 7:44PM
MattSwartz:
By the way, six centuries before Christ, European proto-Celts had sophisticated bronze, silver and gold metallurgy, and horse drawn chariots. I.e., there was a sophisticated and dynamic indigenous culture.
Marc Jeric| 8.25.09 @ 5:54AM
Colonialism or tribalism - perhaps; but more importantly the arbitrary combinations of peoples and nations established after wars. For example - combining Slovenia and Croatia, for centuries part of the West, with Serbia - for 400 years the slaves of the Ottoman empire - into a Yugoslavia; wonder it lasted as long. Iraq? The 3 distinct Turkish pashaluks (Kurds, Sunnis, Shiites) were combined together under the British governor "in order to minimize the cost of government". Imagine now the world without geographic obstacles and combine Denmark, Syria, and Gabon - what will you end up with? Wars - that's what.
Jack| 8.25.09 @ 8:13PM
Marc Jeric:
So ... what exactly are you saying?
Erase artificial national borders in Africa? Let the continent devolve into a blue million tribal territories? This would accomplish ... what, exactly? Peace?
Regards,
Jack
Jacik| 8.27.09 @ 9:27AM
Mark Jerk:
BTW, in the Denmark Syria Gabon example, can we assume that it will be the bellicose Danes who begin the hostilities??
Regards,
Jack
Pingback| 8.31.09 @ 2:17AM
The American Spectator : Kenya's Sad Safari links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 9.5.09 @ 9:27PM
Egypt Vs Rwanda Live links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Huom| 3.29.10 @ 10:42AM
LASIK on käyttökelpoinen korjaamaan monia näkövikoja, jotka muuten korjattaisiin linsseillä. LASIK on vaihtoehto likinäköisyyteen ja kaukonäköisyyteen ja lisäksi se voi auttaa hajataitossa. Sellaisten potilaiden, joilla on terveysongelmia, erityisesti silmissä, on luultavasti lykättävä leikkausta.
thedorc| 10.31.09 @ 4:27AM
I am astounded at the number of 'facts' you got wrong on Kenya.
1. Raila was not a 'Luo chief'. He was in fact an elected member of the Legco who campaigned to have Kenyatta released from Kapenguria. He was later appointed the Home Affairs minister (kind of like the secretary of interior). His fallout with the Kenyatta regime came about later.
2. The white settlers were not under any immedite pressure to sell and flee. Under the 3 Lancaster conferences held in 1960, 1961 and 1963, Kenyatta started the 'willing buyer-willing seller' program that was co-signed by the British government.
3. the much touted statistic of number of people living on less than a dollar a day needs some background information. Most of the rural population does not have to pay regular bills like rent as their dwellings are fully paid for. Suddenly a dollar a day does not look too bad especially if the exchange rate is about sh. 79 for $ 1.
4. Jobs were available for educated Kenyans, Ask the Wangari Maathais and other beneficiaries of the Kennedy airlift. These bunch later became university lecturers, lawyers and judges.
5. to quote you " ... slow bureaucratic process as poorly paid government staffs at all levels were increased to accommodate the new African employees. The result was an immediate growth in gratuities offered to overcome the business delays." Do you have sources on this? It sounds like a nicely dressed insult calling Kenyans incompetent in matters of their own governance. Hard facts and statistics are always more interesting than cleverly worded opinions.
6. Can you move away from dividing us (yes, I am a Kenyan) into Luos, Kikuyus, Kalenjins and whatever else? We may fight one another but we sure don't need outsiders amplifying our differences. Kenyan nationalism is alive and well.
7. The guy's name is Kwamchetsi Makokha. A simple Google search would have solved this problem for you.
8. Instead of the doom and gloom at the end of your piece, why not close with the wonderful efforts of several youth groups working to ensure that another period of PEV does not happen in 2012? I know there are some because I am a member of several.
coldtusker | 10.31.09 @ 5:28PM
thedorc: Unfortunately the first commentator was a race-baiter.
1. BTW, Raila Amolo Odinga was never in the LegCo but his father (Oginga Odinga) was.
2. Of course, we do know that jomo became the typical big man & isolated/killed/jailed all those who stood in his way to 'kingship'. And it is 'accepted' in most African countries to be king in all but name.
3. White settlers were not under immediate pressure to sell. Theoretically? Yes. Not reality. The Africanisation as in 'black' (not Kenyanisation) policy stripped many non-black Kenyans of their properties/businesses/livelihoods.
4. I do not know about you but I live in Kenya & $1/day is not enough even in the rural areas. An estimated 10 million Kenyans are starving (malnourished or plain starving). I doubt 25% of the population of USA or UK or Germany face such a human disaster.
Yes, I did not like the race baiting but unlike diasporans (rose-coloured) glasses, we are afraid of 2012. The political rhetoric remains at high levels & in Kenya 'tribal chieftains' like ruto, raila have a lot of clout as seen in 2007.
coldtusker| 10.31.09 @ 5:42PM
What I left out was that kenyatta, moi & kibaki have stripped any sense of fairness/merit from government jobs. The 'replacements' for the 'White Sahibs; was by those we could call the 'Black Sahibs'. John Githongo's book "Its Our Time To Eat" is a great read. It shows how tribe trumps 'Kenyan' any day of the week.
Jellyfish | 10.31.09 @ 9:43PM
First let me commend theDorc for correctly analyzing the situation and correcting some facts. However let me add some additional points.
1. Coldtusker is right that it was Oginga Odinga who was in the Legco and who was the father of the current Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga.
2. The article is wrong on Raila's attendance of the Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow. Actually Raila attended the Madgeburg University in former East Germany.
3. The current President's name is Mwai Kibaki and not Kabaki.
4. I disagree with Coldtusker on his assertion that the early white settlers were in any way coerced or cajoled to leave Kenya. Infact before Nelson Mandela did the same thing Kenya was held in very high regard for having allowed the white settlers to remain behind and continue owning property. Indeed some remain to this day with huge tracts of land. The Kenyatta & Moi cabinets included some white ministers and some senior positions in the judiciary and civil service were until recently occupied by people of white descent.
5. On the poverty index. This is a matter that academicians and policy wonks have agreed is very difficult and complex to compute. Indeed just recently Mo Ibrahim acknowledged that they could not accurately measure poverty. Thedorc is indeed right that the vast majority of Kenyans living in rural areas even if it can be proved they live on less than a dollar a day the significance of that may not be fully reflective of the western understanding of living on a dollar a day.
6. The article gives a convoluted image of the issue of ethnicity. You do acknowledge towards the end of your article that the tribal issue is not the most important but at the same time give a rather simplistic analysis to a very difficult issue. Many ordinary Kenyans have lived and worked side by side for years and continue to do so today. The tribal flarings which occur occasionally usually during elections are the result of political manipulation and not the result of deepseated tribal hatred. If that were the case we would see continued clashes even when no elections were being held. Indeed the IDP's are the result of what is referred to in Kenya as PEV [Post Election Violence]. Many communities will tell you that they had lived side by side for decades before the conflagration of ethnic tension which was occasioned by politics.
7. Coldtusker despite being a former diasporan himself has taken a recent position where he refers to current diaspora as having rose coloured glasses because of a blogpost he read by a friend of his whom they share similar experiences. Diaspora is a wide term with many thousands or maybe millions of individuals whose thoughts and opinions cannot be lumped together into a generalized statement.
8. Kenya has many problems granted but it is currently making very good progress on effecting reforms. I know many Kenyans among them coldtusker will disagree with me on this but the fact is the momentum for reform is ongoing and it is very unlikely that Kenya wil be plunged into the chaos we witnessed in 2012. Truth is many Kenyans have been misled by a very sceptical Kenyan press that nothing is being done despite tremendous changes that have already taken place.
9. Finally let me point out that on the economic front Kenya continues to exhibit a very vibrant economic potential. It is currently experiencing a telecommunications growth of unprecented proportions with cellphones and broadband growing by impressive numbers, the govt has embarked on a serious infrastructure program and tourism is on the rebound. It also retains a vibrant manufacturing sector. Again alot of reforms are required to make it even better but it cannot by any stretch of the imagination be described as a doomsday scenario. The Chinese and numerous western businessmen continue to see the potential not to mention invest in it's stockmarket which is also on the rebound.
kalengi| 11.3.09 @ 1:45AM
Jellyfish and theDorc are on the right track on this. At least in my books. The problems we undergo on a daily basis do not point to Kenya's failure, but rather her normalcy. No country is without problems. Just different ones. The western world has a fantastic PR machinery that ensures that they promote the best side's of their respective countries. Sadly, no African country (perhaps SA) can afford such luxury and so all our issues are aired out to all for consumption without properly informed interpretation.
Most non-Africans learn about the continent through media that has objectives contrary to the interest of Africans. It doesn't help that even African media hasn't learnt to be more positive, and instead trumpets negative news since this gets ratings; and ratings equals money. So we end up with the kind of folk like the author of this article and a slew of commenters that have no clue what its like to grow up and live in Kenya.
I admit that a lot of work is yet to be done, and I've lived through the frustrations of systems that don't work. But this does not blind me from all the good people that live the same story, take their kids to school, plant crops for the country's food, send airtime to loved ones on m-pesa, cheer their athletes on the world stage and much more. And by the way, that popular dollar-a-day statement is so laughable. Do you know there are people who never get to see the dollar at all and are actually functioning? And for those who must have that dollar, you'd be surprised by what they can achieve with it. Try to get a bit more perspective on Kenyan lifestyle before judging what a dollar a day can or cannot do. We are more than the awful images painted by all who are ignorant or disillusioned.
To you who think that the problem is inherently about the (black) blood that runs through our veins, all I have for you is pity. In your lifetime, you'll witness an Africa you never believed possible. It will rise through all you tout as evidence of its inability to thrive and shock you with the sheer ability to unite and forge ahead at par with the so-called developed economies. All in your lifetime mister.
Poptropica | 4.8.10 @ 8:50PM
To celebrate the announcement of the upcoming Poptropica Mythology Island, the creators made a new item in the Poptropica Store. It’s the lightning staff and it looks really cool. When you hold it, it has a faint glow with sparkles that animate around it. Press the spacebar to activate it and the screen will go dark as thunderclouds move overhead. Then, you will see several lightning strikes come down to the ground around you!
This is definitely one of the coolest items to come out inpoptropica in a while.
The new lightning staff is available in the Poptropica Store for 75250 credits. Paid members can get it for free while their membership is active.