Today is the second day of celebrations following the inauguration of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States. While this event is historic in more than one way the inauguration was keenly watched and celebrated by Kenyans where Obama traces his roots as his father was Kenyan. Indeed many Kenyans have high expectations arguing that the elevation of Obama will definitely result in the trickling of especially economic benefits to the country. But are these expectations realistic?
On the one hand, Obama has created additional awareness on US citizens on what is available in Kenya in terms of culture and other tourist attractions. Therefore Kenya is definitely going to benefit from the influx of US tourists who have developed a keen interest in understanding Obama's ancestry.
The country is also expected to benefit politically in terms of governance as the Obama has placed on the spot corruption in government which has been a major stumbling block in the development of the country. The radar on governance may result in less corruption and more attention to human rights. Also, the elevation of Obama is likely to be taken upon by the country's youth as an inspiration to aspire for political office and bring about the much-needed reforms in the country's governance.
I think what Kenyans should appreciate is that Obama is not a Kenyan but a US citizen. He is the President of the United States and owes no allegiance to Kenya or Africa for that matter. American problems will always have a priority. Therefore his first priority is to tackle the monumental problems facing the U.S., and especially tackling the biting recession that has complicated the lives of Americans. Any economic policies that he will come up with will be those having a direct impact in alleviating the effects of the recession.
Overcoming the recession is not going to be easy. It is also likely to occupy the diary of the president's four year calender of his first term. Remember also that how he manages the U.S. economy will also affect his chances of being elected for a second term. By the time the recession is finally taken care of it will be probably in the third or forth year of his term, with limited time to turn his attention to other countries especially in Africa and specifically Kenya.
Kenyans should definitely take pride in themselves after having one related to them become the US president. But they should not expect that this will result in direct benefits to the country. At the end of the day, Kenyans are responsible for their country, no one else.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Kenya Corruption: Is It Payback Time For Election Financiers?
Ladies and gentlemen, as you read this, prominent personalities in Kenya and overseas are lining up their pockets to reap maximum paybacks for having contributed immensely to the election campaigns of the grand coalition partners, President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga. The recent revelations of mega corruption deals from Grand Regency to maize shortage to Triton Oil scandal are just but the tip of the iceberg.
Impeccable sources have indicated to this blogger that the reason why Kibaki and Raila don't seem to be moved by the corruption deals is that their campaign financiers are the direct beneficiaries. With tight controls and oversight on the public purse effectively implemented by parliament and the general alertness by the public, no single cent can be spent from the public funds without raising alarms in the country. The alternative to reward these campaign contributors is to turn a blind eye to their business dealings even if this results in the suffering of millions of Kenyans.
A case in point is the maize shortage in the country that is said to have been stage-managed by powerful politicians and businessmen to make a killing out of artificial high prices. Sources indicate that these politicians and businessmen continue to reap super profits by exporting the maize to Southern Sudan, which is experiencing acute grain shortage. This is despite a government ban on all maize exports.
The other example is the Triton oil scandal. Triton is said to have 'siphoned' out 126,000,000 litres of fuel worth Ksh 7.6 billion (US$ 100 million) from Kenya Petroleum Company (KPC) refinery in Mombasa without the knowledge of KPC management and the financial institutions that had financed the consignments! Wow! The truth of the matter is that people high up in the government knew exactly what was happening but chose to look the other way as Mr. Yagnesh Devani, the owner of Triton, and a major contributor in the 2007 election kitties of various politicians, reaped maximum benefit by selling, essentially, free oil, at the expense of financiers in Kenya, Europe and the Middle East. The subsequent rantings by government officials about that old line, 'leaving no stone unturned', is just but cheap talk, a smokescreen.
Now the government will have to bail out KPC from the claws of the financiers by paying them off with tax-payers money to the tune of at least Ksh 7.6 BILLION as the banks are threatening to put KPC under liquidation to recover their funds. This is at a time when hunger threatening millions of Kenyans has been declared a national disaster. This means Mr. Devani will have effectively reaped from the taxpayers.
The story about how the Libyans came to own a prime hotel in Nairobi, The Grand Regency, at a throw-away price has already been widely reported. Then there was the awarding of almost a perpetual monopoly to a company handling grain imports at the Mombasa port by the Prime minister.
Recently, the son of a prominent politician facilitated the importation of 80 containers of sand, yes, SAND, into the country by a businessman of Asian origin. This was after various clearing agents refused to be involved in the deal. The relatively young businessman who is a millionaire is a close friend to the politician's family and is also said to have contributed millions of shillings into the politicians 2007 campaign kitty.
The list is endless.
One of my sources implied that the election campaign financiers are in a panic as no one is quite sure how long the coalition government is going to last. Therefore they have engaged a higher gear to ensure that their investments are recouped before the coalition collapses, as no one is able to predict who will be in charge if the coalition between Kibaki and Raila were to collapse.
Where will be Kenya tomorrow with all these vultures circling it? No one knows.
Impeccable sources have indicated to this blogger that the reason why Kibaki and Raila don't seem to be moved by the corruption deals is that their campaign financiers are the direct beneficiaries. With tight controls and oversight on the public purse effectively implemented by parliament and the general alertness by the public, no single cent can be spent from the public funds without raising alarms in the country. The alternative to reward these campaign contributors is to turn a blind eye to their business dealings even if this results in the suffering of millions of Kenyans.
A case in point is the maize shortage in the country that is said to have been stage-managed by powerful politicians and businessmen to make a killing out of artificial high prices. Sources indicate that these politicians and businessmen continue to reap super profits by exporting the maize to Southern Sudan, which is experiencing acute grain shortage. This is despite a government ban on all maize exports.
The other example is the Triton oil scandal. Triton is said to have 'siphoned' out 126,000,000 litres of fuel worth Ksh 7.6 billion (US$ 100 million) from Kenya Petroleum Company (KPC) refinery in Mombasa without the knowledge of KPC management and the financial institutions that had financed the consignments! Wow! The truth of the matter is that people high up in the government knew exactly what was happening but chose to look the other way as Mr. Yagnesh Devani, the owner of Triton, and a major contributor in the 2007 election kitties of various politicians, reaped maximum benefit by selling, essentially, free oil, at the expense of financiers in Kenya, Europe and the Middle East. The subsequent rantings by government officials about that old line, 'leaving no stone unturned', is just but cheap talk, a smokescreen.
Now the government will have to bail out KPC from the claws of the financiers by paying them off with tax-payers money to the tune of at least Ksh 7.6 BILLION as the banks are threatening to put KPC under liquidation to recover their funds. This is at a time when hunger threatening millions of Kenyans has been declared a national disaster. This means Mr. Devani will have effectively reaped from the taxpayers.
The story about how the Libyans came to own a prime hotel in Nairobi, The Grand Regency, at a throw-away price has already been widely reported. Then there was the awarding of almost a perpetual monopoly to a company handling grain imports at the Mombasa port by the Prime minister.
Recently, the son of a prominent politician facilitated the importation of 80 containers of sand, yes, SAND, into the country by a businessman of Asian origin. This was after various clearing agents refused to be involved in the deal. The relatively young businessman who is a millionaire is a close friend to the politician's family and is also said to have contributed millions of shillings into the politicians 2007 campaign kitty.
The list is endless.
One of my sources implied that the election campaign financiers are in a panic as no one is quite sure how long the coalition government is going to last. Therefore they have engaged a higher gear to ensure that their investments are recouped before the coalition collapses, as no one is able to predict who will be in charge if the coalition between Kibaki and Raila were to collapse.
Where will be Kenya tomorrow with all these vultures circling it? No one knows.
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