High Cost of Fuel In Kenya Consumer's Burden

                                                                                                By Nyagaka Nyakundi

Fuel prices have once again hit the roof in Kenya this ending  week,in a development that has seen business owners here offload the burden on defenseless consumers.

The business owners have now  increased prices for some essential commodities and services ostensibly to contain the increase ,but underlying is the fact that the prices have been inflated to levels that can pass for  consumer exploitation.


The most affected of these consumers are Kenyans living in the outskirts of Nairobi and thus have to commute to work daily.A spot check by The Hard-nosed Column has established that matatu operators have  increased fare by 100 per cent,an unprecedented phenomenon.


Earlier this year,a body was set up to regulate fuel prices here,but that seems to have not borne fruit as reports indicate the  recent increase is beyond  fuel prices in other international markets.

The country lacks a strong consumer-protection organization,something that exposes consumers against exploitation.

Currently,the price of unleaded petrol stands at ksh100 per liter  in many gas stations,a sh8  increase from ksh92 previous cost.

But even then consumers here are not complaining,a situation that could cause more  lethal     consumer exploitation.

The End Of Despots In africa is Approaching Fast

The End Of African Despots Is Finally Here

The recent current of  revolutions  here  in Africa should be a warning sufficient to cause both obvious and subtle African dictators  adequate jitters.Like in the olden struggles for  people- backed political systems,the latest wave of unrest here shows clearly what happens when people are fed up.They can  mount a mammoth  protestation march  that may serve to enlighten the  dictator one or two things about the source of his power.In the  effort of  revolutionaries of old ,the issue was wrenching  power from demigods claiming the power had been accorded to them by the divine.

Now it is about taking the power from  people who have made themselves gods,callously oppressing the people who have,curiously,given the power to them.

Let us begin our examination with an interesting case of a not-so-obvious dictator who was caught mid stride grooming his son to take up dictatorship from him after a three-decade stay at the helm.Folks,we are talking about President -impose  Mubarak--I forget his first name.In the past few years the signs  of an impending political upheaval has been  very apparent in Egypt.But Mubarak has always seen it as something  small.The president  has  used the country's economic strength as a justification for dictatorship.He is likely to be toppled,not by a coup,but by the people.

In Tunisia the president took to his heels after an unnerving  protestation at his leadership.Now,Am not very familiar with  Tunisia's system ,but I have it at the back of my mind that African leaders of a certain generation behave alike.They are  heroes when they are given power,but they soon become wolves when they  realize how much power they have.

Talking about generations,let's journey together to Zimbabwe.President-impose  Robert Mugabe(he has more names)will probably let go of power in his death.The only struggle he is familiar with is that against colonialism.He forgets we are now in post-colonialism or,better still,neo-colonialism.

If the things we are seeing happening here are anything to go by,Mugabe will most likely realize presently that power is not from himself but the people who  are now suffering in the name of sovereignty.These are signs of things to come.Amnesty is on offer for  Mugabe and his type now.

S.Sudan Cessation Victory Means a Lot More

                                                                                               By Nyagaka Nyakundi

If  Southern Sudan successfully pulls away from the north,, then that eventuality  would be   the  latest development in the world  history of nationalism.In many ways, the prospect is similar to the re-establishment of  Poland  years after it was  annexed by its  greedy European counterparts in the run-up to the second world war.

Further,it would sound reprieve to millions South Sudanese,scattered in all directions of the world as a result of war occasioned  by unending disputes  to become what is now euphemistically referred to as 'S.Sudanese in the diaspora'.From their horrendous accounts and testimonies it is apparent that the southerners have over the years been victims of oppression and marginalization.

The northern region ,led by President El Bashir,has been widely blamed for   using   resources to develop Khartoum at he expense of the southern part.The voting was largely inspired  by this belief.

Initial results currently indicate an overwhelming  support for a  break-up with over 70 per cent of those who cast their votes   rooting for an independent South Sudan.Asked about their feelings about the moment and the possibility of establishing their own country,the southerners display emotional optimism.They cannot imagine staying as part of the north.

While casting his vote at Juba on first referendum day,  the leader of the south briefly recounted the long journey to the cessation vote which began with the arduous negotiations in Kenya.However,it was clear that  peace cannot be compromised.

As witnessed,all eyes are now on South Sudan.And there are many reasons for this.One of the possible reasons could be the region's enormous resource endowment.Besides oil and  a myriad of other minerals,S.Sudan boasts fertile soils and a climate that supports Agriculture,putting her  at a greater possibility of becoming the latest African economic hub.


Abyei,rich in oil deposits,lies on the border between the two regions.The north has already indicated a possible war if the south does not let go of it.However,Abyei will go to the ballot soon to decide where it belongs.This is one of the hurdles the leaders of a possible independent S.Sudan are mulling over.

For the rest of the world,S.Sudan remains a pleasant anticipation that is expected to end bloodshed.,

Kenya AG Takes Uncharacteristic Decision

In a development that is in all ways unusual for Kenya's longest serving Attorney General,Mr Amos Wako has  directed the arrest and prosecution of a  high-profile politician  in  Kenya's coalition government.


Mr wako has never recommended  a prosecution of government officials at all during his time despite cases forwarded to him for approval.

 But  now Wako,who completes his tenure as stipulated in Kenya's new constitution in the course of the  year, has  given Kenya's anti- corruption  body-Kacc -the green light to charge Mr Henry Kosgey for abuse of office which  allegedly happened in his tenure as industrialization minister,taking the number of cases against the minister to two.

The case involves the importation of vehicles under Kosgey's authority , which the attorney general claims did not follow the law hence corruption.

Confirming  the  corruption case recently,Kenya's anti- corruption body  director prof. ,PLO Lumumba said Kosgey was indeed  in the number government officials with pending prosecutions waiting for the attorney general's approval for hearing in court.

The minister was also mentioned in connection with the county's post-election skirmishes that left over 1000 people dead in its wake by international court prosecutor Luis Moreno -Ocampo.According to Ocampo who has already made the names public, the  minister is among the key suspected perpetrators of the 2008 electoral mayhem.



However,Kosgey,who has served consistently as member of parliament since 1979, has dismissed both of the charges leveled against him saying  the first has no truth, and that he did nothing wrong in the latter except exercising his official discretion.


The ICC has promised to prosecute  six key suspects in two years  on account of the magnitude of their responsibility in the violence,a reality  that  late last year sparked discontent in parliament resulting in Mps passing a bill to withdraw Kenya from the Rome Statute which makes the country party to the ICC.But even then the president has not signed the bill into law.

If prosecuted,Mr Kosgey will become the first  person to be taken to court on Wako's  consent in his(Wako's) lengthy  period as the country's second attorney general.

Mr Wako faced backlash  two years ago when he acquitted a  British baron who had allegedly shot  an African mason dead citing lack of sufficient evidence.

To many,this latest action is new for Wako.Is Wako out to clear his legacy?

United States America---Hard up For Food?

The world's wealthiest country is currently facing a  food deficit unprecedented  in many years of the super power's history.

One out of  four  families are on food stamps, a situation that  will in all likelihood go down to President Obama's  challenge box ,and an additional string on the bow of his detractors as well.He might  now  be forced to rethink the country's food policy,and rightly so,in the interest of the American people.

But  on  a broader perspective,this situation is not so much about America.Rather,it is about Third World countries that are so often dependent on  food aid.

If  the CNN  fox pop undertaken  recently is anything to go by,Americans are not going to continue  devoting much of  their  food  in  aid while their own citizens have not enough food to eat.They can only do so if there is a surplus,which is not the case now.In this  situation,countries must now brace themselves to meet their own citizen's food requirements in a sustainable way.

Africa--for the bulk of the countries  belong here--must now set both  long-term and short-term  measures in place  aimed at ensuring that the situation is mitigated.We are a continent endowed with all sorts of resources,ranging from minerals to fertile soils and favorable weather for agriculture.Yet every year colossal sums of money is spent on importing food.

There are many success stories that our leaders can emulate ,Egypt for instance,so we can change from relying on rain-fed agriculture to  sustainable agriculture through properly organized  irrigation.

For how long shall we catch a cold when  the Big Brother sneezes?We have all the means to feed our people.The trouble is that we are not willing in the least!

ODM's Catch 22 Political Situation

Since the 2007-2009 disputed  general election  that culminated in violence and the loss of over 800 lives and scores uprooted from their homes,the name 'The Hague' has been held in fear by Kenya's political elite ,and in admiration by the public.The country's justice system is full of holes.So the crafty politician(there are many here)  who led  the 2007 mayhem in any way was expected to get away with his callous role in the electoral aftermath.


Most of the suspects implicated in Justice Philip Waki's now both famous and infamous envelope,are actually  holding key positions in the current coalition government that was   midwifed by Koffi Annan among other imminent persons in 2009.Justice Waki was asked to investigate the perpetrators of the violence.

Once he was done,he fowarded the names of the culpable people to Mwai Kibaki(President Of Kenya) and dispatched a copy to Koffi Annan.It is expected that they (the suspects)will face justice owing to the confidence exuded by chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo on his recent tour of the country.This is known.What is still unclear is when?

Early this year,Mr Ocampo  issued hints of the names in Waki's envelope.Newspapers  tried to link the hints and to some extent Kenyans have a vague idea of who might be indicted in the International Criminal Court(ICC).

This week, one of them(Mr William Ruto),in a move that has since sent shock waves particularly  in the Orange Democratic  Movement (ODM),started out of Nairobi to The Hague.According to him,he  seeks to set the record straight on the
issue.

Might he spill the beans and land many in trouble?Or was Raila's decision to  distance himself from him a political misstep?It is every politicians worry here currently.

Granted,he was a sworn friend of Prime Minister,Raila Odinga whose ODM has been mentioned in connection to the violence by such erstwhile friends as Isaac Ruto of ODM.
Has ODM been caught in an intricate situation?Well,time will tell.

Rekindle ASK Show's Glory

Rekindle ASK Shows' Glory
I attended this years Nairobi International Trade Fair and,honestly,I was impressed.There was a great deal to learn  what with the myriads of exhibitions from both local and international circles.My enthusiasm was renewed,having put to paid attending ASK shows a few months ago ,a culmination of disappointments.The Nairobi Show was  at all not  a disappointment;but district(now county) shows are quite a disappointment.

In July this year  I had the opportunity to attend a similar ASK  show in my home county and,frankly,instead of  meeting an exciting ,educative spectacle,I came face to face with the irony it was.The last time I had attended was 2007 and I was hoping things had changed.I was mistaken.

There was nothing new;the same old camel rides,merry-go-rounds(initially meant for children but now taken up by grown-ups),and the disco.Yes,the disco.

To me, ASK Shows main object is agricultural exhibitions ,among other innovative  technological and educative exhibitions.Entertainment,thus,should be peripheral.Yet in many counties across the country it is central..Young people today in counties go to the show mainly to dance,not to learn.

Where went the good old days  when ASK shows would be a festival ingrained in ones memory,something to talk about,something that left one longing for the next?

Simply put,ASK Shows have lost their sweet,old glory in county circles and somebody has to do something about it.Face painting,the man walking on poles the disco and kichwa bila Mwili or Mama Samaki are a great entertainment.But times have changed and we need more educative stuff.