Economic Growth Towards 2030

[Kenguy]

Originally Posted by Alex Roney

My issue with Kenyan growth is where does the all the money go into? Nairobi. I was in Kenya this past summer, and the amount of money, investments and just overall capital is incredibly disproportionate. Looking at Nairobi alone, it isn't that different from say Johannesbourg. Problem is other than Mombasa which is a tourist town, smaller towns and villages recieve practically nothing in proportion to the capital. I do believe that the economic package of unveiled in late 2006 to grow an average of 10% through to 2030 is an ambitious but realistic goal. Kenya has the fundamentals to do it, I just hope Kibaki or whoever wins this year's elections spread's Kenya's success outside of Nairobi.

Kenya is a great country, and I'll be following the elections closely come this December.

Btw what kind of a retard would want the U.S economy to go down? Does anyone actually know that this is a globalized world that we live in and if the U.S, the world's largest economy goes into recession what that spells out for the rest of us? It's both in China's and the U.S's best interest for both to succeed and grow, their respective economies compliment each other.

Great map, Brasil - N.Y? I can live with that...

Alex, remember that Kenya is emerging from about a quarter century of decline. Add this to the fact that both the Kenyatta and the Moi regimes since independence believed in a policy of ruling the country by patronage.

First, they centralized everything in Nairobi, (Moi tried to some extent to shift the centre of power to his hometown of Eldoret but it wasn't very effective) believing that the country would be easier to govern that way. During the Moi regime, Kenya's transport and communications infrastructure almost completely fell apart. It was therefore not easy to travel or communicate between various corners of the country and that stunted development in very many areas outside Nairobi.

Second they used another tactic of what I would call "developmental rewards for support". They singled out areas where they had massive support and developed this regions and sidelined areas that were largely opposition zones or that had communities that did not have the population numbers nor political clout to have any effect on the governments of the day.

Obviously, the results are there for all to see-A vibrant, modern capital surrounded by pockets of fairly well off regions (in developmental terms which mostly happen to be the highlands and urban areas) and vast areas with marked poverty where the marginalized communities live today.

However, for the first time in Kenya's history, there is more administrative and economic decentralization with communities charting their developmental paths according to their needs. All the money isn't now going into Nairobi but into rebuilding and improving our battered infrastructure, providing education, healthcare, power e.t.c. to Kenyans who havent seen these basics for nearly a quarter of a century or more. I

Its just been around 4 years since real reforms have began taking place and it will take some time before most of Kenya is uplifted from poverty and the effects of all those years of plundering and mismanagement, but by the look of things, give the country at least 10-20 years from now. Im sure you will be pleasantly surprised.

[Alex Roney]

Originally Posted by Kenguy

Alex, remember that Kenya is emerging from about a quarter century of decline. Add this to the fact that both the Kenyatta and the Moi regimes since independence believed in a policy of ruling the country by patronage.

First, they centralized everything in Nairobi, (Moi tried to some extent to shift the centre of power to his hometown of Eldoret but it wasn't very effective) believing that the country would be easier to govern that way. During the Moi regime, Kenya's transport and communications infrastructure almost completely fell apart. It was therefore not easy to travel or communicate between various corners of the country and that stunted development in very many areas outside Nairobi.

Second they used another tactic of what I would call "developmental rewards for support". They singled out areas where they had massive support and developed this regions and sidelined areas that were largely opposition zones or that had communities that did not have the population numbers nor political clout to have any effect on the governments of the day.

Obviously, the results are there for all to see-A vibrant, modern capital surrounded by pockets of fairly well off regions (in developmental terms which mostly happen to be the highlands and urban areas) and vast areas with marked poverty where the marginalized communities live today.

However, for the first time in Kenya's history, there is more administrative and economic decentralization with communities charting their developmental paths according to their needs. All the money isn't now going into Nairobi but into rebuilding and improving our battered infrastructure, providing education, healthcare, power e.t.c. to Kenyans who havent seen these basics for nearly a quarter of a century or more. I

Its just been around 4 years since real reforms have began taking place and it will take some time before most of Kenya is uplifted from poverty and the effects of all those years of plundering and mismanagement, but by the look of things, give the country at least 10-20 years from now. Im sure you will be pleasantly surprised.

Kenguy I hope your right, Kenya has suffered many many many years of corruption and complete misuse of goverment money that was allocated to greedy personal use of the Moi goverment. Growth will come, I am sure of it, probably above 8%. All I'm saying is that it doesn't all go into Nairobi. Which granted has alot of poor people, but Kenya is a nation of over 30 million with most of those living outside of the capital.

A solution to the problem, as discussed earlier is to move the capital somewhere else. The largest city shouldn't be along with the financial, commercial and capital of a nation. Create an administrative city from fresh and this is a great tool of decentralization. Its helped in the U.S, Canada, Brazil, Australia and among other countries.

[Kenguy]

Originally Posted by Alex Roney

Kenguy I hope your right, Kenya has suffered many many many years of corruption and complete misuse of goverment money that was allocated to greedy personal use of the Moi goverment. Growth will come, I am sure of it, probably above 8%. All I'm saying is that it doesn't all go into Nairobi. Which granted has alot of poor people, but Kenya is a nation of over 30 million with most of those living outside of the capital.

A solution to the problem, as discussed earlier is to move the capital somewhere else. The largest city shouldn't be along with the financial, commercial and capital of a nation. Create an administrative city from fresh and this is a great tool of decentralization. Its helped in the U.S, Canada, Brazil, Australia and among other countries.

Creating a new capital for Kenya will not help much. First, Kenya has other more pressing challenges to think about than building a brand new capital. The funds are also not available for such a grand scheme at the moment.

I support the strengthening of the regional capitals instead of building a brand new capital. If most government activities were equally distributed among the major cities and towns in the countries eight provinces, the administrative pressure would be eased off Nairobi. It would also ensure equitable distribution of wealth in all areas of Kenya compared to if we were to sink all our resources in setting up one major administrative capital.

Furthermore, the lure of Nairobi isn't based on its administrative function but on its economic and social appeal. A new capital wont stop the masses from moving to Nairobi. Just look at Tanzania. They prefer living and working in Dar-es salaam to Dodoma anyday. The same would happen in Kenya.

As I mentioned earlier, not all the growth is going to Nairobi. Kenya's economy is being fuelled by tourism, mostly in its beaches (mombasa) and various game parks around the country. Agricuilture comes second. Economic growth is becoming more evident around the countryside as it is in Nairobi. Only that Nairobi has had a head start in many aspects. Its my hope that the trend will continue.

[ewangai]

Originally Posted by Alex Roney

Kenguy I hope your right, Kenya has suffered many many many years of corruption and complete misuse of goverment money that was allocated to greedy personal use of the Moi goverment. Growth will come, I am sure of it, probably above 8%. All I'm saying is that it doesn't all go into Nairobi. Which granted has alot of poor people, but Kenya is a nation of over 30 million with most of those living outside of the capital.

A solution to the problem, as discussed earlier is to move the capital somewhere else. The largest city shouldn't be along with the financial, commercial and capital of a nation. Create an administrative city from fresh and this is a great tool of decentralization. Its helped in the U.S, Canada, Brazil, Australia and among other countries.

Centralisation works well for London though. I think with good Plannign we can pull it of and make the others Resort Cities. Mombasa seems to thrive on this and i believe kisumu needs to exploit the lake a lot more than it does. Eldoret might be an industrial city where most of our inport and export goes. anyway one way or another, so long as the money keeps coming in, we will get there somehow.

[Alex Roney]

Originally Posted by Kenguy

Creating a new capital for Kenya will not help much. First, Kenya has other more pressing challenges to think about than building a brand new capital. The funds are also not available for such a grand scheme at the moment.

I support the strengthening of the regional capitals instead of building a brand new capital. If most government activities were equally distributed among the major cities and towns in the countries eight provinces, the administrative pressure would be eased off Nairobi. It would also ensure equitable distribution of wealth in all areas of Kenya compared to if we were to sink all our resources in setting up one major administrative capital.

Furthermore, the lure of Nairobi isn't based on its administrative function but on its economic and social appeal. A new capital wont stop the masses from moving to Nairobi. Just look at Tanzania. They prefer living and working in Dar-es salaam to Dodoma anyday. The same would happen in Kenya.

As I mentioned earlier, not all the growth is going to Nairobi. Kenya's economy is being fuelled by tourism, mostly in its beaches (mombasa) and various game parks around the country. Agricuilture comes second. Economic growth is becoming more evident around the countryside as it is in Nairobi. Only that Nairobi has had a head start in many aspects. Its my hope that the trend will continue.

The capital is a long term investment, perhaps shouldn't be done now. Their are more pressing issues I agree.

Okay, you have a reasonable point, but the mentality has to shift. A growth package that includes creations of jobs, investments and buisness opportunities outside of Nairobi.

But thats my point though, Nairobi wont' loose its commerical appeal with a no capital. N.Y hasn't lost it due to D.C and Sao Paulo with regards to Brasilia. The incentives by both foreign and local investors will always be in Nairobi. But with wealthier secondary towns, their will be different opportunities.

All I'm commenting on is based on my own personal travels with a close Kenyan friend of mine. We drove from Nairobi down to Mombassa and it was quite disproportionate. Northern Kenya near the Somalian border is even worse, with annual droughts killing cattle and threatening many people. I hope your right though, your Kenyan so I'll take your word for it.

[Alex Roney]

Originally Posted by ewangai

Centralisation works well for London though. I think with good Plannign we can pull it of and make the others Resort Cities. Mombasa seems to thrive on this and i believe kisumu needs to exploit the lake a lot more than it does. Eldoret might be an industrial city where most of our inport and export goes. anyway one way or another, so long as the money keeps coming in, we will get there somehow.

It's worked well for London but not other secondary cities like Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham. Heck the gap between London and the rest of England is huuugeeee. It's not so much that Nairobi suffers but that the rest of the country does.

[Kenguy]

Originally Posted by Alex Roney

The capital is a long term investment, perhaps shouldn't be done now. Their are more pressing issues I agree.

Okay, you have a reasonable point, but the mentality has to shift. A growth package that includes creations of jobs, investments and buisness opportunities outside of Nairobi.

But thats my point though, Nairobi wont' loose its commerical appeal with a no capital. N.Y hasn't lost it due to D.C and Sao Paulo with regards to Brasilia. The incentives by both foreign and local investors will always be in Nairobi. But with wealthier secondary towns, their will be different opportunities.

All I'm commenting on is based on my own personal travels with a close Kenyan friend of mine. We drove from Nairobi down to Mombassa and it was quite disproportionate. Northern Kenya near the Somalian border is even worse, with annual droughts killing cattle and threatening many people. I hope your right though, your Kenyan so I'll take your word for it.

Alex, you are very right regarding the Northern part of our country. Its simply as if we don't live in the same country. Developmentally, they are at least 20-30 years behind the rest of the country. Its so bad that people there refer going to Nairobi as going to "Kenya'' even when they themselves are in Kenya.

The journey from Nairobi to Mombasa is very unrepresentative of the country. Most of the open spaces you saw were mainly game parks and a few in between towns that dont have much activity in them.

To get the best picture of Kenya would have been to travel westwards through the Rift valley to Kisumu/ western Kenya or towards the Mt Kenya region. These regions are where majority of Kenyans live and also the economic heartland of Kenya.These parts of Kenya are fairly well off and are improving. Though there are still many pockets of poverty, there is a visible momentum in its reduction in the last four years. Things are getting better and I hope the north joins the prosperity bandwagon.

[Alex Roney]

Originally Posted by Kenguy

[/B]


Alex, you are very right regarding the Northern part of our country. Its simply as if we don't live in the same country. Developmentally, they are at least 20-30 years behind the rest of the country. Its so bad that people there refer going to Nairobi as going to "Kenya'' even when they themselves are in Kenya.

The journey from Nairobi to Mombasa is very unrepresentative of the country. Most of the open spaces you saw were mainly game parks and a few in between towns that dont have much activity in them.

To get the best picture of Kenya would have been to travel westwards through the Rift valley to Kisumu/ western Kenya or towards the Mt Kenya region. These regions are where majority of Kenyans live and also the economic heartland of Kenya.These parts of Kenya are fairly well off and are improving. Though there are still many pockets of poverty, there is a visible momentum in its reduction in the last four years. Things are getting better and I hope the north joins the prosperity bandwagon.

I've never been anywhere west of Nairobi, matter of fact my experience of Kenya is quite linear. Nairobi and Mombassa and passing through everything in between.

[Kenguy]

Originally Posted by Alex Roney

I've never been anywhere west of Nairobi, matter of fact my experience of Kenya is quite linear. Nairobi and Mombassa and passing through everything in between.

I hope that you visit Kenya again and head to the west and central regions of the country. It will give you a better perspective of Kenya.

Most visitors are quickly shuttled to the game parks and Nairobi/Mombasa the moment they land in Kenya and leave the country with images of nothing else but memories of the capital and the wildlife they viewed on their stay. Hardly anyone ventures westwards which would give a more wholesome experience of the country.

Though Im not saying that the rest of Kenya is rosy, it is improving gradually and that in itself is wonderful when one looks into the not too distant past.

[Alex Roney]

Originally Posted by Kenguy

I hope that you visit Kenya again and head to the west and central regions of the country. It will give you a better perspective of Kenya.

Most visitors are quickly shuttled to the game parks and Nairobi/Mombasa the moment they land in Kenya and leave the country with images of nothing else but memories of the capital and the wildlife they viewed on their stay. Hardly anyone ventures westwards which would give a more wholesome experience of the country.

Though Im not saying that the rest of Kenya is rosy, it is improving gradually and that in itself is wonderful when one looks into the not too distant past.

I've actually didn't go in a safari, thankfully I wasn't in those obnoxious western tourist groups. When I arrived at the international airport in Nairobi, a close Kenyan childhood friend of mine picked me up. I pretty much stayed with him for 18 days, 11 of which we spent in Nairobi. It was a great experience of relaxing, going out at night be it at night clubs and restaurants.

Your right about the drive to Mombassa, I was expecting an interesting road trip, but it takes a loooong time. 7 hours of going down with not much "activity". The road wasn't to good I must say, They should add a view lanes and just completely had another layer of asphalt. To many pot holes and far to bumpy.

I'd like to go trecking in the rift valley, it probably as an amazing scenary. I reckon to go on another trip, however next summer it will probably be India.

[Kenguy]

Originally Posted by Alex Roney

I've actually didn't go in a safari, thankfully I wasn't in those obnoxious western tourist groups. When I arrived at the international airport in Nairobi, a close Kenyan childhood friend of mine picked me up. I pretty much stayed with him for 18 days, 11 of which we spent in Nairobi. It was a great experience of relaxing, going out at night be it at night clubs and restaurants.

Your right about the drive to Mombassa, I was expecting an interesting road trip, but it takes a loooong time. 7 hours of going down with not much "activity". The road wasn't to good I must say, They should add a view lanes and just completely had another layer of asphalt. To many pot holes and far to bumpy.
I'd like to go trecking in the rift valley, it probably as an amazing scenary. I reckon to go on another trip, however next summer it will probably be India.

I see that you must have visited the country quite a while back. The road to Mombasa has been completely redone and is now one of the best roads in the entire E.African region (trust me, I travel alot across the region and I am impressed at the level of workmanship on the road.) I also hope they expand it in future.

Im sure you would enjoy a trip to the rift with all its lovely scenery along the way. I wish you a pleasant trip to India next summer.

[Alex Roney]

Originally Posted by Kenguy

I see that you must have visited the country quite a while back. The road to Mombasa has been completely redone and is now one of the best roads in the entire E.African region (trust me, I travel alot across the region and I am impressed at the level of workmanship on the road.) I also hope they expand it in future.

Im sure you would enjoy a trip to the rift with all its lovely scenery along the way. I wish you a pleasant trip to India next summer.

Do you have any pics? Because I travelled along this road in July lol! Is their only one route or perhaps I've been in Europe for to long.

[Kenguy]

Originally Posted by Alex Roney

Do you have any pics? Because I travelled along this road in July lol! Is their only one route or perhaps I've been in Europe for to long.

Unfortunately, I dont. I travelled on the road in August and it was OK to me. They only had a short stretch as you enter Mombasa to recarpet but the rest of the road was fine. Thats funny because we both used the road a month apart and you said it was full of potholes?

[Kisumu Ndogo]

Wednesday September 12, 2007
By Brian Adero

The Government has released details of the 20 flagship projects that will kick off its Vision 2030 development strategy. The plans cover everything from building three resort cities and supplying cheap fertiliser, to the creating a Dubai-style free trade port and industrial parks for small businesses.


The State also plans to build and fully equip 560 new secondary schools, employ 28,000 teachers and make other changes to the education system to create the workforce for the new economy. Planning and National Development minister, Mr Henry Obwocha, revealed the list of projects on Tuesday while launching the Sector Working Groups, the teams that will lead planning in the various areas.

Although no figures were provided , President Kibaki in May said the Government would spend some Sh500 billion over the next five years on the 20 key projects. Speaking at event, Finance minister Mr Amos Kimunya said the working groups would allow development partners, the private sector and other stakeholders to give their input on the plans.

"This enhances transparency in the budget process and facilitates wider ownership of public-funded programmes," he said.

Key areas

Vision 2030 is a six-pillar strategy that is aimed at steering Kenya to ten per cent GDP growth by 2012, and becoming a middle-income country by the year 2030. The six sectors chosen under its "economic pillar" are tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, trade, information technology and financial services. Apart from investing in these six areas the Government will also spend money on security, infrastructure, public sector reform, people development and land reform.

To spur growth in tourism, the Government plans to build three resort cities. These will be Isiolo and two unidentified coastal towns. There are plans to limit the number of tourists visiting "premium parks" like Nakuru and Amboseli. Money will also be spent on improving tourist visits to less popular parks as well as to Western Kenya destinations. The Government is aiming for "high end play at four key sites in Western circuit and 1,000 homes stay sites".
To help improve farming, the Government plans to push through new laws on agricultural reform, shake up the land registry, and develop a master-plan on land-use. Obwocha said the sector will also benefit from a "three-tier fertiliser cost-reduction programme". Farming input prices will be lowered by local blending and manufacturing, as well as improvement in purchasing and the supply chain.


One of the big ideas to grow wholesale and retail trade is the creation of a free trade port to serve the regional market. This, Obwocha says, will effectively "bring Dubai to Kenya". Large-scale producers will benefit from the creation of "wholesale hubs" — markets and auctions at which groups of producers can sell their products in bulk. Small-scale retailers, on the other hand, will be organised in new markets to semi-formalise informal players and help them grow.

Other projects listed by the minister include the development of industrial and manufacturing zones. Businesses will be grouped together in "special economic clusters" by industry and target players offered various incentives.

Obwocha added that the Government will also pilot five industrial parks for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in various urban centres. These will be run with help from local authorities. The information technology sector’s projects are centred around developing a showcase park for the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

The BPO park will have "world-class infrastructure developed by top international IT suppliers". Competitive incentive packages will be offered to call-centre companies interested in being located in park. This, the minister said, will provide "a one-stop shop for administration, talent and services".


In the financial sector, emphasis will be placed on creating bigger and more efficient banks and reforming the pension system. The Government will also issue a sovereign benchmark bond to take advantage of cheaper foreign borrowing opportunities as well as work on a strategy to harness remittances from Kenyans in the Diaspora.
As resources are poured in the 20 flagship projects, the plan also calls for other enabling changes that will be critical to driving growth. To support the resort cities, tourist circuits, wholesale hubs and other projects, money will be spent on building key roads to the various locations. Many of the flagship projects — such as the "special economic clusters" — will also benefit from subsidised energy costs. The State will also support the development of transport, telecommunication and construction initiatives around flagship projects.

Public sector reform will involve having "proactive delivery units" drive flagship projects, aggressively pursuing target investors, and coordinating infrastructure and land purchase. The Government plans to simplify and reduce taxes to help move informal players to greater formality. Obwocha said funding would be provided for training programmes to support the quantity and quality of talent needed in each key sector.

Under land reform and security, the Government will develop a land use master-plan, using a publicly-accessible land registry to identify and zone certain areas for specific types of activity. The plan also calls for increased spending to assure security for investors and Kenyans in general.

Under Vision 2030’s "social pillar", the plan focuses on seven broad areas: education, health, housing, water and sanitation, environment, gender, and youth and vulnerable groups. The State also plans to build and fully equip 560 new secondary schools to accommodate the increasing number of students graduating from primary schools. Some 28,000 new teachers will be hired to improve quality and end localised teacher shortages. The government will also establish a computer supply programme to help equip students with modern IT skills.

In the pastoral districts, the State will build at least one boarding primary schools in each constituency "to ensure that learning is not disrupted as people move from one place to the other". A voucher programme will also be rolled out in five poor districts enabling the poor to access education. Community health centres will be integrated into the national health system to promote preventive health care as opposed to curative intervention. The Ministry of Health will cease to run the country’s health institutions. Instead, the Government will encourage independent operations at district, provincial and national hospitals.

Mombasa Resort
image hosted on flickr


A mandatory National Health Insurance Scheme will also be created to promote equity in Kenya’s healthcare financing. Health funding will be sent directly to hospitals and community health centres as opposed to district headquarters. The State will also scale up the output-based approach to healthcare to enable disadvantaged groups such as the poor and orphans get medical attention from preferred institutions.

Under plans for water and sanitation, the Government plans to improve water resource information and management by rehabilitating the hydro-meteorological network. To increase water harvesting and storage, two multipurpose dams — with a storage capacity of 2.4 billion cubic metres — will be built along rivers Nzoia and Nyando. Another 22 medium-sized dams with a capacity of two billion cubic metres will be build in various arid and semi-arid areas.

Obwocha added that more money would be pumped into the Women’s Enterprise Fund under projects intended to support the youth, women and vulnerable groups.

The State will also establish a "consolidated social protection fund" for cash transfers intended to help orphans, vulnerable children and the elderly.

To address housing needs, the Vision 2030 plan calls for the building sector to produce 200,000 housing units annually by 2012. The Government will enact the Housing Bill, 2006, to enable one-stop approval for housing developers keen to take on the challenge. It will also to establish a secondary mortgage finance corporation to increase access to housing finance.

Obwocha’s presentation was the most detailed view of the Vision 2030 play revealed yet. It sets the ground for the development of the Vision’s first Medium-Term Planning process for 2008 to 2012. Once sector teams are in place, the Government will create a Vision Delivery Commission to fast-track the inplementation of flagship projects. Government spending will then be shifted towards meeting the medium term priorities and getting started on the road to being a "middle-income country".

[nairoberry]

Race to build ‘Next Mara’ sites kicks off
Written by Solomon Mburu

Tourists at the Maasai Mara01-October-2007: The race for rights to put up new tourism facilities at the Meru Conservation Area has officially kicked off with the publication of a notice inviting bids for leases.

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) in conjunction with Isiolo and Mwingi county councils are offering nine sites for development of accommodation facilities.

The sites are Kenmare, Kidani, and Golo 1 in the Meru National Park, Golo 2, Burqueque, Machet and Malka Yaka in the Bisanadi National Reserve, Ekima in Mwingi National Reserve and Kambi ya Simba at the Kora National Park.

Successful bidders will get 20-year leases renewable for 5 years. Investors should put up eco-lodges and luxury tented camps not exceeding 60 beds.

Billed as the ‘Next Mara,’ the conservation area offers investors a new vista of investment since all developments at the Masai Mara have been stopped until a new management plan is in place.

Developments in the world-famous conservancy was stopped amid complaints that uncontrolled human activity was threatening its ecosystem.

Mr Ken Esau, who co-ordinates development of the Meru Conservation Area, said only investors able to make investments worth about Sh500m would qualify for the leases.

Mr Esau said stakeholders set high standards to eliminate weak contenders and ensure the conservancy remained a high-end tourism destination.

A new management plan for the area that was unveiled in July this year, opened 13 new sites for development. During the unveiling of the plan, the KWS director, Dr Julius Kipng’etich, said facilities in the area would have to meet the expectations of high-end tourists.

The area has of late benefited from investments estimated at Sh1.2 billion targeted to return the park to its former glory in the ‘70s.

However, the recent boom in tourism has attracted investments with the French Development Agency, the French Global Environment Facility and the government contributing to give it a facelift.

Among other developments, roads have been constructed at a cost of Sh251 million, two airstrips rehabilitated while a 43-kilometre electric has been put up at a cost of Sh35 million.

[nairoberry]

CCK donates funds for assembly of local PCs
Written by Okuttah Mark

The proposed local assembly of computers under an initiative dubbed ‘Madaraka’ has received a new lease of life with the donation of seed capital to two organisations involved in the project.

Communications regulator CCK has donated a total of Sh10 million to the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and the Kenya College of Communications Technology towards the project.

Lack of funding had meant that no units have been assembled locally since last year when the initiative was unveiled. The project aims at providing quality and affordable PCs to the market amid fears of dumping of electronic waste in the country in the form of outdated PCs and other computer hardware and software.

The other two universities undertaking the project —University of Nairobi and Strathmore University — are in the process of arranging financing with donors.

Information Permanent Secretary Dr Bitange Ndemo said the price of Madaraka will be about half that of similar computers with similar specification.

Already, JKUT is using 100 of the ‘Madaraka’ computers assembled at the institutions. The PCs are part of pilot computers they assembled last year when the project started .

CCK Director General Eng. John Waweru said with ambitious ICT initiatives aimed at delivering high speed broadband to the country already in place, access to affordable personal computers is going to be key for development of Kenya.

The Vice-Chancellor of JKUAT, Prof. Nick Wanjohi, said ‘madaraka’ computers will be marketed in the East African region and beyond. The project is seen as one way of transfering ICT skills to students.

[nairoberry]

Digital city plan to raise property rates in Athi River
Written by Morris Aron

Property experts are predicting a rise in prices in commercial and residential property in Athi River with the planned construction of East Africa’s first ever digital city in Nairobi’s satellite industrial town.

The development comes as a boon for the area which is already witnessing high property transfers as speculative developers move in .The concept is also bound to increase the number of companies in the town.

Mr Tirop Kosgey, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Housing , told Business Daily that many developers were looking towards Athi River for plots to develop either for family occupation or for speculative purposes in anticipation of property price appreciation.

The area has also seen remarkable increase in the number of people moving away from Nairobi because of high rents. “ Many individuals are buying plots along the Athi River-Kitengela stretch. There are those who are moving to the area because of cheaper rental houses or to work in the industries around the town,” said Tirop.

Some are buying land and constructing houses in readiness for occupation when Mombasa Road is converted into a modern dual carriage- highway. Saccos and other investment groups have also shown renewed interest in the area. Only recently the police Sacco bought property at Valley View to house its members. But property prices vary.

In a distance of 100 metres, for example, price variations are as high 30 per cent as firms arbitrarily set prices based on demand—real or perceived.
Property experts have pegged the development on increased demand from developers and tenants. Nuh Omar of Jambostar properties approximates that a 100m by 150m piece of land goes for between Sh450,000 and Sh 600,000.

“The number of inquires that we have received from people intending to buy the land is so high. Their only concern is the sewerage and water services,” said Umar.

The planned increase in the number of developments is set to stretch basic amenities such as sewerage and water services as most of the residential neighbourhoods are not connected to the main sewer or water lines.

Export Processing Zone’s public relations officer John Chifalu said although the exact location of the digital city was yet to be identified, EPZA was increasingly getting enquiries from companies wishing to relocate their IT centres next to the planned digital city.

“EPZA zone and the buildings in it are all IT compliant and fully cabled. It would definitely be a plus if it located within the boundaries of the EPZA,” said Chifula.

Recently Kenya and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) entered a Sh67 billion partnership to establish East Africa’s first digital city.

The initiative is expected to create new jobs as major corporations set up base and use local resources to conduct their business.

[nairoberry]

Safaricom to expand seamless mobile network
Written by Okuttah Mark

02-October-2007: Safaricom is in talks with mobile phone operators in South Africa and Mozambique that will allow its subscribers to use the service while in those countries without having to pay fees applicable to international calls.

The talks are meant to expand the geographical scope of the Kama Kawaida service, which enables pre-paid and post-paid subscribers to make and receive calls while outside Kenya without incurring roaming charges.

Safaricom and MTN Rwanda yesterday teamed up to launch a similar service that will expand the seamless mobile network services to Rwanda. Safaricom said the service, through a reduction in communications and business costs, will help its subscribers especially businessmen, reduce operating costs.

The Rwanda arrangement comes eight months after it was launched in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania by Safaricom, Vodacom Tanzania and MTN Uganda.

Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph said the subscribers of the two mobile companies, both pre-paid and post paid will be able to make international calls on their current tariff plans with no roaming charges while travelling within the two countries.

MTN Rwanda has 600,000 subscribers while Safaricom has 7.2 million subscribers. The two network operators will avail their airtime vouchers across the two East African countries.

The service is automatically activated once a subscriber moves across the border and there is no sign- up fee charged. He said that the extension of Kama Kawaida to Rwanda is expected to significantly by promoting regional commerce.

“We believe the affordability and convenience of this new service will significantly ease telecommunication in the region and foster economic and social integration.

Safaricom’s competitor Celtel Kenya has also been expanding its regional reach through its product One Network the world’s first borderless mobile network currently serving six countries in Africa - Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda covering about 160 million people.

The service enables subscribers to move freely across geographical borders in these six countries without roaming call surcharges.

[africanman]

I have been an advocate of decentralization for years. I think that all tourism related Federal headquaters should be in Mombasa, Nakuru or Eldoret should have most farming related Federal offices their and I think we can do more to spread wealth and responsibility. We would also have a country where different people move to farther regions in the country bringing new ideas and development all over the country. It makes no sence to have to travel to Nairobi to take care of an administrative issue with cities like Nakuru, Eldoret, Mombasa, Kisumu and Thika. Strengthen the regional cities and make Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu and Eldoret national cities that will attract upwardly mobile individuals. If the government does do this, you will be surprised how many people will choose to move to these other cities.

[chui]

Originally Posted by Kisumu Ndogo

Wednesday September 12, 2007
By Brian Adero

The Government has released details of the 20 flagship projects that will kick off its Vision 2030 development strategy. The plans cover everything from building three resort cities and supplying cheap fertiliser, to the creating a Dubai-style free trade port and industrial parks for small businesses.


The State also plans to build and fully equip 560 new secondary schools, employ 28,000 teachers and make other changes to the education system to create the workforce for the new economy. Planning and National Development minister, Mr Henry Obwocha, revealed the list of projects on Tuesday while launching the Sector Working Groups, the teams that will lead planning in the various areas.

Although no figures were provided , President Kibaki in May said the Government would spend some Sh500 billion over the next five years on the 20 key projects. Speaking at event, Finance minister Mr Amos Kimunya said the working groups would allow development partners, the private sector and other stakeholders to give their input on the plans.

"This enhances transparency in the budget process and facilitates wider ownership of public-funded programmes," he said.

Key areas

Vision 2030 is a six-pillar strategy that is aimed at steering Kenya to ten per cent GDP growth by 2012, and becoming a middle-income country by the year 2030. The six sectors chosen under its "economic pillar" are tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, trade, information technology and financial services. Apart from investing in these six areas the Government will also spend money on security, infrastructure, public sector reform, people development and land reform.

To spur growth in tourism, the Government plans to build three resort cities. These will be Isiolo and two unidentified coastal towns. There are plans to limit the number of tourists visiting "premium parks" like Nakuru and Amboseli. Money will also be spent on improving tourist visits to less popular parks as well as to Western Kenya destinations. The Government is aiming for "high end play at four key sites in Western circuit and 1,000 homes stay sites".
To help improve farming, the Government plans to push through new laws on agricultural reform, shake up the land registry, and develop a master-plan on land-use. Obwocha said the sector will also benefit from a "three-tier fertiliser cost-reduction programme". Farming input prices will be lowered by local blending and manufacturing, as well as improvement in purchasing and the supply chain.


One of the big ideas to grow wholesale and retail trade is the creation of a free trade port to serve the regional market. This, Obwocha says, will effectively "bring Dubai to Kenya". Large-scale producers will benefit from the creation of "wholesale hubs" — markets and auctions at which groups of producers can sell their products in bulk. Small-scale retailers, on the other hand, will be organised in new markets to semi-formalise informal players and help them grow.

Other projects listed by the minister include the development of industrial and manufacturing zones. Businesses will be grouped together in "special economic clusters" by industry and target players offered various incentives.

Obwocha added that the Government will also pilot five industrial parks for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in various urban centres. These will be run with help from local authorities. The information technology sector’s projects are centred around developing a showcase park for the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

The BPO park will have "world-class infrastructure developed by top international IT suppliers". Competitive incentive packages will be offered to call-centre companies interested in being located in park. This, the minister said, will provide "a one-stop shop for administration, talent and services".


In the financial sector, emphasis will be placed on creating bigger and more efficient banks and reforming the pension system. The Government will also issue a sovereign benchmark bond to take advantage of cheaper foreign borrowing opportunities as well as work on a strategy to harness remittances from Kenyans in the Diaspora.
As resources are poured in the 20 flagship projects, the plan also calls for other enabling changes that will be critical to driving growth. To support the resort cities, tourist circuits, wholesale hubs and other projects, money will be spent on building key roads to the various locations. Many of the flagship projects — such as the "special economic clusters" — will also benefit from subsidised energy costs. The State will also support the development of transport, telecommunication and construction initiatives around flagship projects.

Public sector reform will involve having "proactive delivery units" drive flagship projects, aggressively pursuing target investors, and coordinating infrastructure and land purchase. The Government plans to simplify and reduce taxes to help move informal players to greater formality. Obwocha said funding would be provided for training programmes to support the quantity and quality of talent needed in each key sector.

Under land reform and security, the Government will develop a land use master-plan, using a publicly-accessible land registry to identify and zone certain areas for specific types of activity. The plan also calls for increased spending to assure security for investors and Kenyans in general.

Under Vision 2030’s "social pillar", the plan focuses on seven broad areas: education, health, housing, water and sanitation, environment, gender, and youth and vulnerable groups. The State also plans to build and fully equip 560 new secondary schools to accommodate the increasing number of students graduating from primary schools. Some 28,000 new teachers will be hired to improve quality and end localised teacher shortages. The government will also establish a computer supply programme to help equip students with modern IT skills.

In the pastoral districts, the State will build at least one boarding primary schools in each constituency "to ensure that learning is not disrupted as people move from one place to the other". A voucher programme will also be rolled out in five poor districts enabling the poor to access education. Community health centres will be integrated into the national health system to promote preventive health care as opposed to curative intervention. The Ministry of Health will cease to run the country’s health institutions. Instead, the Government will encourage independent operations at district, provincial and national hospitals.

Mombasa Resort
image hosted on flickr


A mandatory National Health Insurance Scheme will also be created to promote equity in Kenya’s healthcare financing. Health funding will be sent directly to hospitals and community health centres as opposed to district headquarters. The State will also scale up the output-based approach to healthcare to enable disadvantaged groups such as the poor and orphans get medical attention from preferred institutions.

Under plans for water and sanitation, the Government plans to improve water resource information and management by rehabilitating the hydro-meteorological network. To increase water harvesting and storage, two multipurpose dams — with a storage capacity of 2.4 billion cubic metres — will be built along rivers Nzoia and Nyando. Another 22 medium-sized dams with a capacity of two billion cubic metres will be build in various arid and semi-arid areas.

Obwocha added that more money would be pumped into the Women’s Enterprise Fund under projects intended to support the youth, women and vulnerable groups.

The State will also establish a "consolidated social protection fund" for cash transfers intended to help orphans, vulnerable children and the elderly.

To address housing needs, the Vision 2030 plan calls for the building sector to produce 200,000 housing units annually by 2012. The Government will enact the Housing Bill, 2006, to enable one-stop approval for housing developers keen to take on the challenge. It will also to establish a secondary mortgage finance corporation to increase access to housing finance.

Obwocha’s presentation was the most detailed view of the Vision 2030 play revealed yet. It sets the ground for the development of the Vision’s first Medium-Term Planning process for 2008 to 2012. Once sector teams are in place, the Government will create a Vision Delivery Commission to fast-track the inplementation of flagship projects. Government spending will then be shifted towards meeting the medium term priorities and getting started on the road to being a "middle-income country".

I wish ODM had such elaborate plans, then I would have more confidence in them as opposed to endlessly talking about majimbo