fromJudy Miriga
The role and impact of Chinese economic influence operating in Kenya today is without Way Forward Strategic Plan for Sustainability. Will sink Kenyan poor into deeper joblessness, landlessness and without capacity Development to Local Community or to the Civil Society and is considered not balancing or progressive, but is corruptedly maneuvred under back-door deals.
1. The sectors of Chinese full blast activities in Africa is Worrisome
Evidence and information is gradually building up in Kenya on the full extent of corruption and impunity with Chinese Prisoners and Chinese Army Officers operate as workers in Road Construction in Africa. These Chinese workers are finding their ways deeper into the local villages and are now owning traditional firms through the pretence of loaning local firms for two roll-over plantation harvest, then these plantation will be handed over back to the local community. There is an alarming rapid presence of Chinese invasion in Kenya for Natural Resources, Minerals specifically Gold, Titanium, Diamond, Coal and Petrolium including Agricultural plantation and in Fishing. There are report leeks that states there is breaking ground project by Chinese and Chinese workers in the local villages in the rural within the communities of HomaBay, Rachuonyo, Suba, Nyamira, Migori and Kuria, where Kisiis have been put to purchase huge pieces of land from the Luo Local poor peasants for the promotion of Agriculture and fishing in South Nyanza with intention to improve rural livelihoods and reduce poverty. The Oil and Gas pipeline is expected to run from South Sudan through Kisumu in Kenya to Libya. This plan was also formerlized in Uganda while on African Union meeting.
Details of this information have not been discussed in Parliament, made public or the community became educated before being taken by surprise.
“The Government of Kenya has been implementing a seven-year Multi-Sectoral Southern Nyanza Community Development Project using credit from International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) from 2004-2011.
The Project Management Unit (PMU) is based at Homabay.
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China has become unscrupulous corrupt business investment taking place in Kenya and Africa today.
The Chinese Lie, Cheat and Steal their way through economic business entreprise transactions and advancement. They took advantage over African poor leadership and rooted for their self interest for invasion in Africa through corruption. The environmental climatic impact created from oil drilling and coal and mineral mining has serious health hazards repercursions against humanity living within those areas. It is time the Internatiaonl Community intervene to help African Governance Legislate Mineral and Coal mining into Constitutional implementation to safeguard economic value of Kenya’s resources. It is also against the UN International Treaty to import prisoners or Armed personnel to take local people’s jobs as the Chinese have done.
In Kenya, the breaking of the ground has commenced. The Project is Government supported through five (5) components titled “Community Empowerment; Agriculture and Livestock; Primary Health Care; Domestic Water Supply”.
This is being noted not only in the much more evident penetration of Chinese into the greater African Continent but Chinese influence is growing Globally as seen in their Chinese Export branded products that really are not Chinese products origin, but Kenya, with other African based produce that are flooding the International market without intervention or regulatory system imposed on their activities of invasion in Africa. We are concerned that Chinese have imported their Prisoners and Armed Forces to work in Kenya which is against common rules or ethics of the International Law, e.g.
The domestic consumer and labour force are being undercut for Chinese mushrooming commercial sector – thus the Chinese Economy is expected to gain and grow bountifully from Kenya’s and Africa’s corrupt out-of-code-rule principles. The potential economic growth which does not benefit Kenya or the People of Kenya or Africa in any way, but engage poor Kenyans and the rest of African Nations they operate into deeper poverty and homelessness… since wholesale trade through large-scale Chinese agriculture and fishing are being imported and exported by traders and suppliers of Chinese Citizens located within Kenya, Uganda, Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan and most specifically the whole of Africa – It is also notable that Chinese are engaged in local Village Community retail trading which is attracting growing presence of small Chinese prisoners traders in Kenya and have turned to street vendors etc.,
The extracting mining sector that are corruptly maneuvred are without the observance of public health, environmental and climatic conditions have not been considered, providing effects that are against the International Treaty of the United Nations and are an abuse to Human Rights in Kenya as well as the whole of Africa, and this is a serious concern.
Chinese are already making huge profits and are building their economic capitals in fuel supply deposits of raw materials with other raw materials and minerals they collect from Kenya and the surrounding of Africa e.g. titunium, uranium, where their industries are based in Uganda and other parts in Africa, and are manufactured, packed and distributed as finished products “Made in China” to places all over the world.
Industrial minerals such as platinum, chrome, manganese, cobalt, nickel, tin, lead, zinc and copper are transported by Chinese workers imported in Kenya and has posed a problem, how this process will affect Gross Product Trading Commodity quantification. It will be quite difficult to tell what %age of natural resource collectibles do they make in comparison to tons of profit they make from their invasion to potential resource capacity in Kenya and Africa.
The construction sector in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and Congo has created a Large-scale infrastructural projects for Chinese prisoners and Armed Personnel, where they work in roads, railways, dams, hydro-schemes, power lines etc, but major social projects, such as public housing, hospitals, clinics, schools, sports stadiums etc are not in their major plan. Our local community professionals and experts have been starved from accessing or participating or partnering in the same contracts, making Kenya and Africa very vulnerable incase their perceived terms of service expires.
Kenyan public aught to have been given advance notice and information and Parliament allowed to debate on the same to make Chinese Agenda situation in Kenya valid and authentic.
They recently brought in floating clinics run by the Armed Navy Clinical Officers at the Port of Mombasa. This raised eyebrows when Kalonzo Musyoka was seen inspecting the guard of honor. These clinics are suposedly to provide medical attention to Kenyans what a foolhardy, there is more than meets the eye in this episode.
The huge capital equipment supply sector some of which were imported from India, including large scale heavy construction machinery and transport equipment are presently everywhere in Kenya and many other parts of Africa and are seen at the construction sites in Kenya and the rest of Africa where they have holed up in serious business. My question is, where is the public gains in all these activities as well as Kenya and Africa economic balance, where are the job opportunities for our poor Kenyans, where is the income balance for Kenya and Africa economic value in all these activities which were funned through back-door deals?
We are informed that the Chinese financial sector paid to politicians gifts and upfront concessional ‘soft’ loans, large scale interest free grants to government and parastatals entities which are attached to many of the above projects, we demand for tabling of those benefit fringes. We believe it is part of corruption practiced against the principles of New Constitution. We demand for transparency before things fall apart.
We concluded these leaders either have personal vested interest that which make then ineffective to change, or do not know what to do in Way Forward strategic plan, or are too compromised in corrupt deals that have killed the fabric of economic stability, to be trusted with the Safely Implementation of the New Constitution. The reason they are not able to provide Civil Society educational empowerment to transition the effectiveness of the Reform Agenda. It is therefore imperative that there be a comprehensive Induction Course, they too participate in the transformational reform empowerment preparedness while they are out of the active mainstream operational block. This is another reason why International Community should help set-up the Interim Government urgently and why it is paramount important to secure progressive establishment of the New Constitution.
Consequently, we have concluded that Kenyan leaders have failed to meet the measure of standards and discipline expected of them by the Public who voted them to office. They have failed to apply logistics as is necessary to safeguard public utilities, interests and security.
These Politicians have compromised public interest into their own personal self-centeredness opportunity for Gold Mining for themselves and their families and foes at the expense of Taxpayer being overburdened by excessive billions of dollars in debts.
They have proved they are unable to curb explosion of invasion by Somali Pirating based in the centre of the City of Nairobi in Eastleagh with corresponding Al-Qaeda and Al-Shabaab, We have seen their elusiveness in looking the other way when Terrorism is steadily creeping into the rural village community by the Chinese, allowing the Internally Displaced People continue to torment under inhabitable conditions, a case of political machination.
Kenyan Leaders and those of African bad leadership have let the Chinese go by their own rules that benefit Chineese people in the business-game cards, incorporating their corrupt principles of business regulators. The Chinese have been given an open check to heavily bill and in-debt Kenyans and taxpayers through faked loans. These Chinese do not respect or care about Abuse of Human Rights of the people of Africa, they do not observe the environmental pollution, nor observe the International United Nations Treaty. Many things have gone wrong, people disappeared from their work places, others died mysteriously but these conditions have been kept silence. There are many threats and fears all around.
These Leaders have made homelessness circumstances a fashionable lifestyle for them in exchange to live a life of afluence at the pain of majority poor who are hardly keeping up with the struggle for survival.
They have proved they are unable to make Kenyans progress, be safe and Secure and be able to provide fundamental peace and unity under Truth Justice and Reconciliation, by stubbornly keeping Bethwel Kiplagat on Public Service when public opinion believe he is fully compromised and smeared, a suspect thought to have participated in one way or the other in assassinations on people like Robert Ouko and others, and having involved in Huge Land Cases that need investigations and legal justice jurisdiction.
All corrupt leaders including Wetangula, Ongeri, Bethwel Kiplagat, Kimunya, Michuki, Moi and Kibaki with others not in list, must be arraigned in Court for justice to prevail. Those still in Government public service must step aside while being investigated.
These leaders have continually been seen making hulabaloos in political gimmicks, gamblings, squables, Wrangles, tag-of-war that are stiffling progress with no effort to putting in place modalities for forward strategy to undertake urgent case scenario of joblessness and in the making of adjustments to make haste in implementation of the New Constitution. They are busy working out how to under-cut and syphone ways and means to throatle the New Constitution and incorporate their corrupt methods and system so the Status Quo remain the way they are. They are not considerate of the CHANGE we all want for better life.
2. The Riddles of the Chinese operating in Africa
Further investigation is urgently required on the precise nature of the Chinese entities operating in Africa. Their existance in Kenya and the rest of Africa is complicated by the fact that most governments in Africa are corrupt and not open and transparent about their international economic relations and investment MoU agreements. The Chinese government and Chinese economy is similarly, or even more sneaky, opaque and difficult to access and engage.
For the benefit of the people of Kenya/Africa, we demand for urgent legal investigations and Accountability, profitability, acceptable International norm in business criteria, responsiveness and commitments according to standardized value, and that the International Community of the World intervene and step in to save this ugly situation before things are unmanageable or go out of control, and whether some are semi-state with details of business affiliations or state enterprises that are not only backed by the Chinese government but could, in significant ways, be potentially accountable to political/economic directions, conditionalities and requirements from the African/Chinese authorities.
For the above reasons, and for the urgency of circumstances that prevail in Kenya, we ask the International Community, the United Nations with all other International Authorities to help us institute an Interim Government to help Manage constitute and moderate the New Constitution without it being muddled like it is already being confused, so to go by and adhere the Reform Agenda Strategic plan put in place when things fall apart. There is no more trust left in the Coalition Government after it has cracked and segmented itself into ugly disintegration conflict of interest. By the end of the day, the Country will be so divided without remorse or unity for common good. Kenyans poor also cannot go on for far too long without the Civil Society and the Local Community getting into serious engagement of Development values. These political leaders have no idea of the pain that has befell the general public, to them, it is business as usual. Things must change and they must change now, if delayed, there will remain nothing to be salvaged. Constitutional Implimentation must be completed as was passed at the Referendum without alteration or amendments. These present politicians are so badly compromised that there is nothing good they will bring forth without a second helping hand of the Interim Government Management.
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
Kenya pays Sh81m to polish image
Kenya Government having their priorities all wrong…..Yet there are people dying for luck of medicine,children dying for luck of food……Nyongo gave tips of faked malaria medicine finding ways into Kenya…..
President Kibaki addresses Kenyans living in New York where he hosted them to a reception. PHOTO / FILE
By DAVE OPIYO and Agencies dopiyo@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Saturday, September 25 2010 at 22:00
Kenya Government spent Shs. 81 million to spruce up its image in Washington which was badly damaged by the 2007 election-related violence, yet they have made no marked improvement to improve situation in Kenya.
According to a report in the American publication The Hill –– the government last year hired Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter and Associates (CLS) to handle Kenya’s public relations and the Moffett Group to provide lobbying services.
Part of the lobbying effort has been to show that the country has turned the corner after the violence in which more than 1,000 people were killed.
The PR firm has circulated newspaper clips and press releases trumpeting Kenya’s new Constitution and its cooperation with the International Criminal Court to prosecute those responsible for the violence.
The lobby groups representing Kenya have stressed the needed for the country to “seize the moment” and improve its image in Washington, DC seat of the administration of President Barack Obama, whose father was Kenyan.
Last year, government spokesman Alfred Mutua said the government wanted to cash in on the Obama presidency to promote trade with the US and attract more tourists.
According to the report, lobbyists for the government have mainly been focusing on strengthening security ties, as well as increasing trade, between the two countries.
They have also been pressing Congress and the Obama administration to pay more attention to the threat from groups in Somalia including al-Shaabab as well as working to secure a direct flight between Atlanta and Nairobi.
Toby Moffett told The Hill said his firm was hired to help CLS because of its experience with US-Africa policy issues.
Lobbyists for Kenya have been in talks with US lawmakers to win approval from the Transportation Security Administration for security clearance for a possible Delta Airlines flight route.
Comments:
Submitted by Edkobu
Posted October 24, 2010 05:16 PM
Such thrives in our country, because our justice system is broken. For the last nearly twenties years or so corruption has been a way of life to most prominent politicians and public servants. Some have been adversly mentioned but they are still enjoying their freedom if not still in piblic offices. JUSTICE, we need justive now. Send one or two to prison and see what will happen.
Submitted by kiria_wara
Posted October 24, 2010 04:50 PM
If it stinks, it is rotten; If you don’t smell the stink, you are deep in the rot. (Dis)Hon. Wetangula, for a lawyer, pretends to be in the woods on this, laughable. But he ain’t even a good actor, and it appears he knows lots more, but won’t and can’t tell. Those are just way too mn scams, all in a span soooo short.
Worse, Wetangula had the audacity to look down on colleagues as idiots, lying thro’ his teeth, and belittling our collctive Kenyan intelligence.
CHINA IN AFRICA
China is Africa’s second-biggest trading partner, behind the US
Between 2002 and 2003 two-way trade doubles to $18.5bn
By 2008 trade tops $100bn – China exports $51bn, imports $56bn
Almost all imports come from oil-rich nations: Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, the Republic of Congo, and Sudan
Sources: China Daily, Reuters, Council on Foreign Relations
China Aims to Boost Bank Loans to Africa
Date: Monday, October 11, 2010, 8:53 AM
China aims to boost bank loans to Africa / A recent World Bank study showed that Africa needs $93 billion in annual infrastructure spending, with at least $45 billion relying on external financing.
China aims to boost bank loans to Africa
Oct 9 (Reuters) – China, criticised in the West for overlooking human rights abuses in its business dealings with poverty-stricken Africa, will encourage commercial banks to lend more to the continent, a Chinese trade official said on Saturday.
Beijing pledged $10 billion “preferential” loans to Africa in 2009, but Zhong Manying, an official at the Ministry of Commerce, said that was not enough.
“In view of Africa’s demand for funds, the $10 billion is too limited,” Zhong told a news briefing.
A recent World Bank study showed that Africa needs $93 billion in annual infrastructure spending, with at least $45 billion relying on external financing.
Zhong shrugged off talk that increased Chinese loans may actually worsen debt problems.
“What is the most important thing for Africa? Survival and development,” she said.
Chinese banks have already started to pour money into Africa.
Last month, Ghana said it had signed nearly $13 billion worth of loan deals with two Chinese state banks, namely China Development Bank and the China Exim Bank.
A Chinese loan deal to Democratic Republic of Congo was trimmed to $6 billion from $9 billion last year after the IMF raised concerns the contract, which used mineral reserves as a guarantee for infrastructure projects, would plunge the central African country deeper into debt.
For TIMELINE on major deals between China and Africa, please click on.
Chinese investments in Africa hit $32.3 billion by August 2010, spurred by a cooperation model of “resources for projects and credit”, the ministry said in a separate statement.
China’s trade with Africa is expected to top $100 billion in 2010, from $91.1 billion in 2009, according to the ministry.
Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said last month that China takes a different tack on extending aid to developing countries, eschewing tough terms demanded by Western donors.
“Some friends from Western countries ask me why China continues to give foreign assistance to some countries with bad human rights records or problematic political regimes,” Chen said.
“I tell them that the social and cultural systems are different and the development path and political regimes are diversified and there is no one single way.” (Reporting by Zhou Xin and Kevin Yao; editing by Nick Macfie)
Kenya: Roads Network to Spur Lake Economy
Allan Odhiambo And Michael Oongo
15 September 2004
Nairobi — A road network is to be built around Lake Victoria with Chinese funding.
The roads – and a causeway linking Budalang’i, in Busia, and Bondo’s Osieko beach – are expected to greatly boost fishing and other activities in the region
Sometimes the investment is good-intentioned, Still, very few investments require Senate approval,”What is lacking here is the mechanism whereby we could match private sector people or enterprises in China with their potential partners,” In addition to refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners and other major appliances, the Qingdao, China-based company makes cell phones, flat-panel televisions, laptops and other consumer electronics. Haier America has focused so far on appliances, its best-selling product being a window-unit air conditioner. In marketing the China, the Chinese companies, should be transparent about their intentions and abilities….Future Chinese investment holds great job-creation potential for their Citizens in foreign African land, this is a form of discripancies. Chinese firms should be open about their intentions in the U.S. and vocal about the benefits their investments will provide the community. This deal must be broken and start a fresh.
Chinese Workers exported to Africa
by Lydia Polgreen, New York Times
March 25th, 2009
Chinese and Guinean workers toil shoulder to shoulder on a sun-blasted construction site at this crumbling city’s edge, building the latest symbol of an old and sturdy alliance: a $50 million, 50,000-seat stadium.
This city is littered with such tokens of a friendship that first flowered when Guinea was an isolated and struggling socialist state in the late 1950s.
But so far Guinea has not gotten what it really wants from the world’s fastest growing economy: a multibillion-dollar deal to build desperately needed infrastructure in exchange for access to the impoverished nation’s vast reserves of bauxite and iron ore.
As global commodity prices have plummeted and several of China’s African partners have stumbled deeper into chaos, China has backed away from some of its riskiest and most aggressive plans, looking for the same guarantees that Western companies have long sought for their investments: economic and political stability.
“The political situation is not very stable,” Huo Zhengde, the Chinese ambassador here, said in an interview, explaining the country’s hesitation to invest billions in Guinea, where a junta seized power after the death of the longtime president in December. “The international markets are not favorable.”
Just a year ago China appeared to be upending the decades-old order in Africa, stepping into the void left by large Western companies too timid to invest in the continent’s resource-rich but fragile states as the market for copper, tin, oil and timber soared to new heights. In the new scramble for Africa’s riches, China sought a hefty share.
With a no-strings-attached approach and a strong appetite for risk, China seemed to offer Africa a complete economic and political alternative to the heavily conditioned aid and economic restructuring that Western countries and international aid agencies pressed on Africa for years, often with uninspiring consequences. Rising China, seeking friends and resources, seemed to be issuing blank checks.
Today, China’s quest for commodities has not stalled. State-owned companies are bargain-hunting for copper and iron ore in more stable places like Zambia and Liberia. But Chinese companies are now driving harder bargains and avoiding some of the most chaotic corners of the continent. African governments facing falling revenues are realizing that they may still need the West’s help after all.
“We have seen in the recent past Chinese companies wade into countries nobody else would,” said Philippe de Pontet, an analyst at the Eurasia Group, a private research firm. “That may be changing.”
In 2007 China announced a $9 billion deal with Congo for access to its giant trove of copper, cobalt, tin and gold in exchange for developing roads, schools, dams and railways needed to rebuild a country roughly the size of Western Europe and shattered by more than a decade of war.
But that deal is now in doubt as falling prices have left Congo in a much weaker negotiating position. It also suddenly finds itself needing the help of the International Monetary Fund, which has objected to writing off the country’s old debt even as Congo takes on what amounts to new mineral-backed loans from China. Congo’s political and ethnic turmoil remains deep, and its economy is near collapse.
A year ago those factors seemed irrelevant. Chinese companies did not flinch from making deals to search for oil in the pirate-infested waters off Somalia, or to mine industrial metals in places like Zimbabwe.
Unlike many Western companies, Chinese state oil companies had no qualms about doing business with the government of Sudan, which has become an international pariah because of the conflict in Darfur.
China espoused a new model for African investment: mutually beneficial trade between sovereign nations with none of the meddling so common among Western donors and investors, with their demands for labor and environmental standards, as well as respect for democracy and human rights.
These policies proved popular among African governments, and trade between Africa and China grew to more than $100 billion by 2008, from less than $10 million in the 1980s. African leaders spoke openly about China’s offer of an alternative to the edicts of Western-dominated institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
But here in Guinea, which has some of the world’s largest deposits of bauxite, an ore needed for making aluminum, that hope has all but collapsed.
“The Chinese have changed their strategy,” said Ibrahima Sory Diallo, a senior economist in Guinea’s Ministry of Finance and an advocate for Chinese investment. “They are not going to inject $5 billion into an unstable country in an uncertain market climate.”
French colonists once called Guinea a geological scandal, so rich are its deposits of valuable minerals. Despite years of mining and billions in profits, Guinea remains one of the poorest and least developed countries in Africa.
So it is no surprise that Guinea’s government, first under Lansana Conté, the strongman who ruled for 24 years until his death last year, and the junta that replaced him, wanted to tap China’s cash and building expertise.
China’s approach to securing minerals in Africa has been to sign agreements to build huge projects in exchange for minerals. In Angola, this kind of arrangement has guaranteed Chinese access to oil in Africa’s fourth largest oil producer, which is now booming after emerging tattered and broke from a vicious civil war that lasted decades. Chinese and Angolan officials trumpeted this partnership as a model for Chinese investment in the continent, a win-win relationship benefiting both countries.
But that formulation has proved problematic in an economic downturn. African governments are now realizing that these deals are in essence loans against future revenue, and falling prices could leave them saddled with giant piles of debt.
That is what appears to have happened in Congo. At current prices Congo would struggle to meet the stringent production targets in the Chinese deal, said Patricia Feeney, executive director of Rights and Accountability in Development, a Britain-based advocacy group.
“The Congolese have raised expectations so much that they could rely on Chinese and turn their backs on Western donors, and in the process they have probably managed to alienate people who were willing to help,” Ms. Feeney said.
In Guinea, China has backed away from what Guinean officials portrayed as a done deal to build a much-needed $1 billion hydroelectric dam.
“The dam is not a gift; it is an investment,” said Mr. Huo, the Chinese ambassador. “That is what win-win means.”
Guineans are increasingly suspicious of Chinese investment. Many people see Chinese companies as being just as exploitative as Western ones, if not more so. After the military took power in December, it raided Chinese companies suspected of selling fake medicines, but the raids degenerated into open looting of Chinese businesses, tapping a vein of resentment long suppressed.
Hamidou Condé works bare-chested under the relentless sun, digging a hole for the foundation of a new hospital being built by a Chinese company, yet another symbol of Chinese-Guinean friendship.
Mr. Condé, 35, who has two wives and four children, said that he had been digging in the hard rock with a shovel, pick and ax for two months, but that he had yet to receive any pay from his Chinese taskmasters.
“We work like slaves,” Mr. Condé said. “And like slaves we are not paid. The Chinese bring nothing good to Guinea.”
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Wetangula:
Civil servants at the heart of dodgy dealings
By JOHN NGIRACHU jngirachu@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Saturday, October 23 2010 at 22:00
One of the most eagerly-awaited debates in Parliament will be on Tuesday afternoon as MPs discuss the damning report of a departmental committee which found taxpayers lost hundreds of millions of shillings in dodgy deals abroad.
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Debate on Sh1.1bn Tokyo embassy scam shelved
The revelations contained in the report by the Defence and Foreign Relations Committee, if adopted by the House, will represent the biggest known scandal since the grand coalition came into office.
In a series of deals which committee chairman Adan Keynan described as epic fraud, it was found that Foreign Affairs ministry officials ignored recommendations from civil servants and independent valuers to saddle the public with huge bills that could have been avoided.
Some of the deals were inexplicably rushed, attempts were made to sanitise those that had gone sour, sale agreements were signed by people without authority and large amounts of money were channelled to accounts not in the Central Bank of Kenya.
The scandal, which was first highlighted by the Sunday Nation, threatens to end the public careers of Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang’ula and permanent secretary Thuita Mwangi.
In this special report, we outline the irregularities pointed out by the committee, whose findings were tabled before the House last Thursday.
Nigeria
Kenya acquired three pieces of prime land in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1972, ostensibly to build the embassy, chancery and the ambassador’s residence. In 1991, the Nigerian government decided to move its political capital from Lagos to Abuja.
The city’s planners allocated all friendly countries prime property in the new city to build their embassies and envoys’ residences. Kenya then decided to sell the beach plots and use the proceeds to build in the new capital.
The Lagos plots were described as among the choicest pieces of land in Nigeria as they neighboured the home of former president Ibrahim Babangida, the British High Commission, the French Mission and British Airways, with the office of the governor of Lagos right opposite.
But, before the sale, a team headed by Albert Musasia, now the director of Immigration Services, was sent there to see whether disposal would be prudent. Mr Musasia’s team was of the opinion that, while Kenya should build a new embassy in Abuja, it was better to keep the Lagos property.
He was later transferred to the Immigration ministry, the team’s opinion disregarded and the three plots sold off. According to Mr Keynan, the lawyer who oversaw the transaction was not paid, and Nigeria’s Foreign ministry has sent a demand note for Sh94 million to settle his bill.
The twist in the Nigerian tale is that the money was never used to build the new embassy as the ministry saw it better to use it to pay for the cost of putting up the embassy in Tokyo, Japan. The ministry said this money had been transferred to the Central Bank of Kenya but it has emerged that it ended up in the ministry’s account in London.
It was later transferred to Nairobi and subsequently to Tokyo, and the upshot of all this was that, by the time the proceeds from the sale of the beach plots got to Tokyo, an estimated Sh9.8 million was lost. In Nigeria, the ministry’s staff were left without an office, and are “squatters” in a building owned by Kenya Airways.
Mr Keynan told Parliament that Kenya’s Immigration officer in Lagos carries the tools of his job – visa forms and the rubber stamp – in a bag as he has no permanent office.
Japan
According to the report of the Keynan team, the deal to buy land in Tokyo marked the epitome of all that had gone wrong in the purchase of land by the Foreign ministry. President Kibaki had requested for land from the Japanese government through Senator Tetsuro Yano, who is the president of the Upper House, when he visited Kenya in 2008.
The request was granted and the ministry was offered land in Minato Ku, described as a diplomatic enclave that is three minutes’ walk from Japan’s Foreign Affairs ministry, and five minutes from both the Emperor’s residence as well as the Japanese National Assembly.
But the ministry decided to buy land far from the enclave, where it would have had 80 other foreign missions for company in addition to the convenience of being centrally located. Interestingly, Mr Wetang’ula told the committee that the shape of the plot was not suitable for the construction of the embassy and chancery and it was located in an archaeological zone, meaning the Japanese government could excavate it for fossils and artefacts at any time.
But the entire Tokyo area is an archaeological area and the shape of the plot did not matter as it would have been possible to build a tall building that could even be rented out. As Mr Keynan put it, “It is like being offered a plot right here next to Parliament, but then to say that Ruai is spacious, let’s go and build in Ruai.”
The committee says in its report that the ministry went ahead to buy the land in Tokyo despite advice from the lawyer handling the case, a Mr Kijima, a Kenyan architect based in Japan, Dick Olango, and a real estate agent called in to advise on the matter.
Among the most interesting aspects, however, is the manner in which some Sh1.4 billion, the equivalent of 80 per cent of the cost of the land, was handed over. A cheque was issued but with instructions that payments be made in cash.
Another notable aspect of the deal is that there were two sale agreements; one signed by permanent secretary Thuita Mwangi and another by Allan Mburu, who was the Charge d’Affairs at the embassy. But Mr Mwangi was in Nairobi at the time of the meeting, and Mr Mburu was not authorised to transact on behalf of the government.
The notable thing is that Kenya has a title deed for the piece of land. Mr Keynan said the committee suggested to Nobuo Kuriyama, who sold the land, that he could take it back and return the money and he offered about Sh450 million, yet he had been paid Sh1.7 billion.
The minister wrote to the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission on October 1, 2010 asking its director PLO Lumumba to initiate an investigation into the Tokyo deal. This is unusual, given that the corruption watchdog began investigating the matter in May this year after the Sunday Nation reported the unusual goings-on in Japan. Was he, as Mr Keynan said, trying to extricate himself from a deal that had suddenly acquired the taste of unripe fruit?
Egypt
Kenya acquired a plot in Cairo in the late 1980s. Although there was no official policy on the acquisition of such property, the move was considered reasonable but no development was undertaken on that plot. The land was sold after a policy on acquisition of property to house embassies abroad was developed and adopted by the ministry.
It fetched $677,246 (Sh54.2 million) and the proceeds were to be used to build the ambassador’s residence. But when the money was sent to the ministry’s account, 10 per cent was missing, which the Central Bank of Kenya noticed, according to evidence by the bank’s governor Prof Njuguna Ndung’u.
Mr Keynan said the committee disputed the price at which the plot was sold but since the deal was closed, it was only fair for the ministry to track down the missing amount. “As an administrative measure, or as a prudent financial mechanism, the ministry must be prepared to find out what happened to the remaining 10 per cent,” he said.
Pakistan
The government bought a plot in Islamabad, at about the same time the one in Cairo was acquired. The ministry has since designed a plan to construct an ambassador’s residence and the chancery there.
But Mr Keynan said when the team visited the city, they found that the construction is only 40 per cent complete, the contractor was not on site and the cost has shot up by Sh157 million from the original Sh366 million.
The MP said the contractor had tried to create the impression that work was going on when he realised that the Parliamentary committee was in town.
Belgium
The acquisition in 2008 of the property in Brussels marked an attempt by the ministry to adhere to procurement procedures. A committee was formed to participate in the acquisition of the land, a valuation was carried out and the price was set at 3 million Euros (Sh381 million).
The ministry got an independent valuer who varied the figure to 3.1 million Euros, but the seller was asked to include the cost of second-hand furniture – despite the fact second-hand furniture is useless in Europe making the price Sh85 million higher.
According to Mr Keynan, the ministry also acquired a 90-year-old building, whose alteration would require the approval of the Belgian cabinet and the mayor of Brussels. “The only good thing about it is that it is located in a central area in Brussels. But everything else went wrong,” said Mr Keynan.
He said staff at the Kenyan mission subsequently wrote a letter to complain over the matter, and copied it to the president of the European Union as well as the Foreign minister.
Comments:
Submitted by Edkobu
Posted October 24, 2010 05:16 PM
Such thrives in our country, because our justice system is broken. For the last nearly twenties years or so corruption has been a way of life to most prominent politicians and public servants. Some have been adversly mentioned but they are still enjoying their freedom if not still in piblic offices. JUSTICE, we need justive now. Send one or two to prison and see what will happen.
Submitted by kiria_wara
Posted October 24, 2010 04:50 PM
If it stinks, it is rotten; If you don’t smell the stink, you are deep in the rot. (Dis)Hon. Wetangula, for a lawyer, pretends to be in the woods on this, laughable. But he ain’t even a good actor, and it appears he knows lots more, but won’t and can’t tell. Those are just way too mn scams, all in a span soooo short.
Worse, Wetangula had the audacity to look down on colleagues as idiots, lying thro’ his teeth, and belittling our collctive Kenyan intelligence.
Kenya pays Sh81m to polish image
Kenya Government having their priorities all wrong…..Yet there are people dying for luck of medicine,children dying for luck of food……Nyongo gave tips of faked malaria medicine finding ways into Kenya…..
President Kibaki addresses Kenyans living in New York where he hosted them to a reception.
By DAVE OPIYO and Agencies dopiyo@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Saturday, September 25 2010 at 22:00
In Summary
Lobbyists focusing on security and trade ties with the US
The government has spent at least Sh81 million in the past year to spruce up its image in Washington that was badly damaged by the 2007 election-related violence.
According to a report in the American publication The Hill –– the government last year hired Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter and Associates (CLS) to handle Kenya’s public relations and the Moffett Group to provide lobbying services.
Part of the lobbying effort has been to show that the country has turned the corner after the violence in which more than 1,000 people were killed.
The PR firm has circulated newspaper clips and press releases trumpeting Kenya’s new Constitution and its cooperation with the International Criminal Court to prosecute those responsible for the violence.
The lobby groups representing Kenya have stressed the needed for the country to “seize the moment” and improve its image in Washington, DC seat of the administration of President Barack Obama, whose father was Kenyan.
Last year, government spokesman Alfred Mutua said the government wanted to cash in on the Obama presidency to promote trade with the US and attract more tourists.
According to the report, lobbyists for the government have mainly been focusing on strengthening security ties, as well as increasing trade, between the two countries.
They have also been pressing Congress and the Obama administration to pay more attention to the threat from groups in Somalia including al-Shaabab as well as working to secure a direct flight between Atlanta and Nairobi.
Toby Moffett told The Hill said his firm was hired to help CLS because of its experience with US-Africa policy issues.
Lobbyists for Kenya have been in talks with US lawmakers to win approval from the Transportation Security Administration for security clearance for a possible Delta Airlines flight route.
China Aims to Boost Bank Loans to Africa
FYI
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Sent: Mon, Oct 11, 2010 6:22 am
Subject: Fw: China aims to boost bank loans to Africa / A recent World Bank study showed that Africa needs $93 billion in annual infrastructure spending, with at least $45 billion relying on external financing
China aims to boost bank loans to Africa
Oct 9 (Reuters) – China, criticised in the West for overlooking human rights abuses in its business dealings with poverty-stricken Africa, will encourage commercial banks to lend more to the continent, a Chinese trade official said on Saturday.
Beijing pledged $10 billion “preferential” loans to Africa in 2009, but Zhong Manying, an official at the Ministry of Commerce, said that was not enough.
“In view of Africa’s demand for funds, the $10 billion is too limited,” Zhong told a news briefing.
A recent World Bank study showed that Africa needs $93 billion in annual infrastructure spending, with at least $45 billion relying on external financing.
Zhong shrugged off talk that increased Chinese loans may actually worsen debt problems.
“What is the most important thing for Africa? Survival and development,” she said.
Chinese banks have already started to pour money into Africa.
Last month, Ghana said it had signed nearly $13 billion worth of loan deals with two Chinese state banks, namely China Development Bank and the China Exim Bank.
A Chinese loan deal to Democratic Republic of Congo was trimmed to $6 billion from $9 billion last year after the IMF raised concerns the contract, which used mineral reserves as a guarantee for infrastructure projects, would plunge the central African country deeper into debt.
For TIMELINE on major deals between China and Africa, please click on.
Chinese investments in Africa hit $32.3 billion by August 2010, spurred by a cooperation model of “resources for projects and credit”, the ministry said in a separate statement.
China’s trade with Africa is expected to top $100 billion in 2010, from $91.1 billion in 2009, according to the ministry.
Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said last month that China takes a different tack on extending aid to developing countries, eschewing tough terms demanded by Western donors.
“Some friends from Western countries ask me why China continues to give foreign assistance to some countries with bad human rights records or problematic political regimes,” Chen said.
“I tell them that the social and cultural systems are different and the development path and political regimes are diversified and there is no one single way.” (Reporting by Zhou Xin and Kevin Yao; editing by Nick Macfie)
Angus Blair, of Beltone Financial, who advises companies investing in North Africa, thinks not.
“They are trying to be friends with everyone”, he said.
“But in the end, in one form or another, China is going to have to take a stand if it wants to maintain its long-term interests. It is quite clear that behind the scenes China is seeking to increase its power and its influence over the past decade, and they have done it to major effect.”
It has to be said of course that there are plenty of major Western companies operating in countries with oppressive governments.
And Mr Wen insists that Chinese oil companies are taking only a fraction of the resources their big American counterparts are taking.
Nonetheless as the Western banks start to retreat, withdrawing their money under growing financial pressure, it is China with its billions of dollars of foreign reserves that holds the cards.
And so far, they have signalled they mean to drive home that advantage.
China pledges $10bn Africa loans
China has cultivated strong economic ties with Africa
China has pledged to give Africa $10bn (£6bn) in concessional loans over the next three years, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has said at a summit in Egypt.
The Chinese leader is attending a two-day forum on China-Africa cooperation in Sharm el-Sheikh, attended by officials from 50 nations.
“We will help Africa build up financing capacity,” Mr Wen told the summit.
Several heads of state and government are attending the meeting, including the Presidents of Sudan and Zimbabwe.
Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak inaugurated the forum, the fourth of its kind, and spoke of “peace, security and growth,” and of “boosting cooperation between China and Africa.”
Mr Wen also said China is planning to create environmental programmes for Africa, including 100 clean energy projects.
China Development Bank (CDB) on Monday extended a 50 million U. S. dollars loan to Kenya’s largest Equity Bank.
The loan will be used to boost small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya.
Key beneficiaries of this funding are those involved in agro- processing for value addition for exports. The credit line will be spent on factory establishment and imports of machinery. “It is significant that Kenya and Equity bank becomes the first beneficiary of this SME fund for Africa. It reflects the growing relationship between Kenya and China”, CDB Chief Executive Officer and Governor Jiang Chaoliang said during the signing ceremony in Nairobi.
The facility is for a six-year period and will be advanced to SMEs at interest rates of between 3 and 7 percent, making it the cheapest source of funding for sector in the country.
The signing of the facility is a culmination of years of study on the Equity Bank’s model and how it can be replicated on rural China. On its part, Equity has been seeking funding and transfer of low cost housing technology and long term funding for SMEs.
The facility was signed in Nairobi today after three years of negotiation. “The signing signifies south to south cooperation and collaboration to address our common challenges,” Jiang said.
The facility will allow Equity Bank advance long term development loans to the SMEs sector at affordable interest rates in a bid to spur the sector which plays a crucial role in the social economic development of the country “We are proud to be the first beneficiary of this support by CDB and will allow us grant our SME customers long term facilities for development at very affordable interest rates”, Equity Bank chief executive Dr James Mwangi said.
Equity now becomes the first beneficiary of the Chinese 5 billion dollar fund for the development of small and medium enterprises in Africa.
The funding will address, lack of access to affordable credit cited as one of the key challenge facing the development of the SME sector in Kenya, thus stifling its growth and profitability.
Kenya to deepen cultural cooperation with China: official
20:03, May 07, 2010
The Kenyan government has vowed to deepen further existing cultural cooperation with China based on mutual trust and positive engagement.
The country’s Director of Culture in the Ministry of State for National Heritage and Culture Gladys Gatheru told Xinhua in an exclusive interview on Friday the ties between the two countries have developed rapidly in recent years due to frequent high-level exchange visits. “The cordial relationship can be demonstrated by exchange visits at high level and friendly and fruitful cooperation in many areas of development,” Gatheru said.
She said the East African nation has benefited immensely from the cultural ties with Beijing and cited training opportunities, marketing of cultural goods and services of the parties through cultural festivals and exhibitions; and gaining of experiences of the parties through exchange of experts and expertise in various fields.
According to Gatheru, Kenya is receiving support through programs and or project sponsorship through grants and appreciation of cultural diversity and narrowing of cultural differences with China. “Cultural exchange program encourage inter-cultural interaction and therefore encouraging the appreciation of diversities of culture through learning of the other party’s culture. This also narrows the culture divide,” she said.
The director of culture said her country attaches great importance to cultural relations with China, noting that Nairobi was ready to work with Beijing to further expand their cultural ties and deepen cooperation in the field of visits.
Kenya and China trade diplomatic relations have significant historical dimensions, starting with the Ming Dynasty.
Although China embraced communism and Kenya at independence adopted a capitalist system, their relations have largely remained cordial.
China was the fourth country to recognize Kenya’s independence in 1963 when the two countries exchanged diplomatic representations.
The Chinese embassy in Kenya is arguably their largest embassy in Africa both in terms of size and employees.
Gatheru said Kenyan universities are developing Chinese language programs, there technical scientific cooperation while ministry of information officials attend exchange schemes.
“The specific significance of the cultural exchange program is that these programs are learning experiences through exchange of experts, exchange of cultural practitioners and cross exchange of ideas,” she said.
“Experts and cultural practitioners are exposed to new skills, techniques and experiences that are beneficial to both as well as the development of the culture sector of both parties.”
Gatheru lauded the relationship between the two countries, saying they were very “vibrant, friendly and cordial.” “The cultural cooperation agreement is reviewed after every two years with inputs if any and understanding from both parties,” Gatheru said.
China views Kenya as a gateway to the region and it has become a key focus of China’s trade and economic strategy in Africa.
Being a war-free country with stable political situation has made Kenya an ideal regional base for Chinese investors to expand their business in Africa.
Currently China offers favorable loans to Kenya, builds roads, hospitals and schools for less developed areas, sets up malaria prevention and control centers as well as sends volunteers to train the locals.
Gatheru said deepening of bilateral and cultural cooperation and increasing cultural exchange programs are crucial in promoting further the cultural ties between the two friendly countries.
The official said increased exchange of information, skills, technology transfer and manpower between the two parties are also crucial in enhancing cultural ties. “There is however need to deepen cooperation between Kenya and China in areas of culture, communication, economy and politics,” she said.
Gatheru said these will result into greater understanding and appreciation of each other’s culture and more education opportunities and exchange of experts in culture sector. “A more developed cultural industry sector particularly the cultural tourism sector and appreciation of the cultural economic and political life of each party are some of the positive reflects that will result from increased cultural ties,” Gatheru said.
She expressed the government’s determination and commitment to enhance the existing cultural relations through exchange visits at all levels for the benefit of the peoples of the two countries.
Gatheru said President Mwai Kibaki’s recent visit to China, the third one within a period of five years underscores the close relations between Kenya and China.
These relationships, she said, will continue to flourish characterized with mutual beneficial partnerships in various sectors including infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, trade and tourism.
Source: Xinhua
Kenya Sitting on Unexplored Wealth Reserves
Updated 16 hr(s) 41 min(s) ago
By Lillian Aluanga
It has been four years since the Justice Samuel Bosire-led commission released its report on the Goldenberg scandal.
At the centre of the scandal on fictitious gold and diamond exports from the country was a previously unknown Asian businessman and dozens of Government officials whose dealings are believed to have eaten into a sizeable chunk of the economy.
While many could easily have laughed off the prospects of such mineral reserves at the time, recent discoveries of commercially viable gold deposits in Migori and Narok counties, coal in Mwingi and possibilities of oil reserves in northern Kenya have elicited excitement.
“The mineral industry is underdeveloped. There has been failure to build capacity around this sector because it has not been considered a priority area for development,” says Daniel Ichangi, a geology lecturer at the University of Nairobi.
The mineral industry is underdeveloped. There has been failure to build capacity around this sector because it has not been considered a priority area for development,” says Daniel Ichangi, a geology lecturer at the University of Nairobi.
According to geologists in Nyanza, gold deposits in Rongo and Nyatike can support large scale mining for up to 15 years. This –– for a country endowed with a variety of mineral resources in almost every region –– could have a huge impact on the economy.
Ichangi, who also chairs the Association of Professional Societies of East Africa, categorises the country’s mineral reserves into four: Metals, industrial minerals and rocks, and gemstones. Oil, gas, coal and groundwater make up the fourth category that is crucial for generating energy.
“Gold has potential in Nyanza and Western regions along the Archaean terrane, which extends into northern Tanzania and South Eastern Uganda. It has also been encountered in some parts of Coast, Pokot and Turkwel,” says Ichangi.
He lists copper, another metal whose reserves are found in Migori County’s Macalder mines. Then there are zinc and lead deposits, which come with traces of silver, occurring in Kinangoni and Vitengeni areas at the Coast.
Iron Existence
Studies have also shown the existence of iron in Eastern parts of the country, while titanium, whose mining has often generated controversy among locals and multinational companies in Kwale, is found at the Coast.
“We can also look for uranium and chromium. Usually, manganese deposits tend to come with iron, and there is also potential for its exploration,” adds Ichangi.
Kenya Chamber of mines Chairman Cedric Simonet says the mineral industry’s contribution to the GDP currently stands at about three per cent, a figure that could be doubled within five to seven years, if a conducive investment environment is created.
“The Government has, since the colonial period, overlooked the potential of the mineral industry as a driver of the country’s economic growth. This is now changing, but there is still significant under investment in this sector, whose relevant laws are obsolete and unfit for both local and foreign investment,” says Simonet.
Kenya’s largest mines are in Magadi, known for its production of soda ash, Kenya Fluorspar in Kerio Valley and the titanium projects in Kwale. Small deposits of gemstones are scattered across rural areas, but the most active gemstone mines are at the Coast.
According to Ichangi, the gemstones category largely comprises rubies, green garnets and sapphire deposits scattered across the Eastern, Coast, and Northeastern regions of the country. While rubies and green garnet occurrences are high in Taita Taveta, sapphire is found in areas around Garbatula, East Isiolo, Mwingi, Kitui and other parts of northern Kenya.
“We haven’t even scratched the surface yet in the discovery of gemstones,” says Ichangi, who points to inadequate expertise in exploration, as one of several reasons for this. Under the industrial minerals and rocks category, limestone deposits at the Coast come in handy for manufacturers of cement, while marble, also used in construction, occurs in eastern parts of the country, Kajiado and Pokot areas.
As Kenya struggles to find her footing in the world of mineral exploration, other countries on the continent have these resources to thank for thriving economies.
“South Africa’s, economy is largely driven by minerals and technology around it. Botswana has a thriving diamond industry. Zimbabwe once had a mature gold industry, while Ghana, popularly referred to as the ‘Gold Coast’ also has potential for oil and gas,” says Ichangi.
South Africa’s wealth is built on its vast mineral resources with nearly 90 per cent of the platinum metals on earth, 80 per cent of manganese reserves and 41 per cent of gold occurrences.
Driven
Closer home Ethiopia is among major producers of oil and gas in the Ogaden region, Tanzania has recently discovered gas, while South Sudan has vast oil reserves. Besides Chad and Nigeria that have oil and gas deposits, Uganda was recently added to the list of oil producing countries, churning out about two billion barrels of the black gold.
Besides a Mining Act dating back to 1940, faulted for the slow pace of reform in the sector, Simonet points to the need for enhancing research capacity to find more viable mineral deposits in the country.
Simonet says many sections within the Mining Act remain unclear, particularly in relations between land rights and mineral rights, and that an overhaul of the legislation is urgently needed.
“All successful mining countries in Africa have recent legislation (post 1995). A new draft Bill is currently in preparation and is largely satisfactory to the industry, but there are a few critical issues which must be ironed out to avoid unnecessary complications in licensing,” he says.
China’s Local Governments Woo Foreign Investors
Trevor Williams
Atlanta – 10.19.10
If it’s true that China is making things tougher for large foreign companies at the national level, the silver lining might be that most new investors won’t have to deal with the central government in the first place.
As China grants provinces, cities and districts more authority over their own economic development, they have become increasingly active in wooing overseas companies, experts said at a China Town Hall event hosted Monday by the World Affairs Council of Atlanta.
China’s political landscape, though seemingly monolithic, is growing more diverse, and leaders in various regions are competing against each other for investment projects, said Fei-ling Wang, an international affairs professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
“In different localities, the Chinese officials are doing different things regarding foreign investment. Some are more tolerant, more cooperative, more accommodating; some are less so,” Dr. Wang said. “There is a way for foreign investors to take advantage of the situation of diversification and seek the best accommodation possible.”
Last month, the Ministry of Commerce said that it would give provincial governments authority to approve investments worth up to $300 million outside certain sensitive sectors. The previous limit was $100 million.
That means companies with smaller investments in non-controversial industries should focus mostly on cultivating relationships with provincial governments, possibly drilling down to the city or district levels, said Ira Kasoff, who just left his job as U.S. deputy assistant secretary of commerce for Asia to enter private consulting.
“If you’re looking somewhere outside of Beijing, you’re going to want to cultivate partnerships with the local officials,” he said, adding a caveat for companies that might be abutting the value threshold.
“If it’s on any kind of scale, you want to make sure that the national authorities are on board as well because they can come in later and say, ‘No, you’re not allowed to do this,’ and cause problems.”
Duluth
-based AGCO Corp., a major tractor and agricultural equipment manufacturer, courted various cities when looking for a place to build a $100 million plant in China. It finally settled on the Wujin Hi-Tech Industrial Zone in Changzhou, a few hours’ drive west of Shanghai.
AGCO chose the zone for its developed supplier network for machine manufacturing, skilled labor pool and the “entrepreneurial approach” of the Changzhou and Wujin governments in attracting western companies, Hubertus Muhlhauser, AGCO’s general manager for Eastern Europe and Asia, told GlobalAtlanta.
Changzhou celebrated AGCO’s investment at a investment convention last month, as U.S. and European firms continued to complain that China’s investment rules favor domestic companies and freeze them out of the country’s lucrative government procurement market.
Mr. Muhlhauser pointed out that government incentives played big part in AGCO’s investment decision.
Further mechanizing food production in the world’s most populous nation is “pure survival,” so the central government is subsidizing purchases of new tractors, he said.
AGCO also got help from the local government in the form of free rent and sales and value-added tax exemptions, said Russell Cai, deputy director for investment promotion at the Wujin zone.
On a national scale, actions perceived as favoring domestic firms are really the gradual removal of preferential treatment for foreign companies, he said.
“For the local government, we still promote much more supporting policies for foreign companies than for the local companies,” Mr. Cai said.
Dr. Wang said there is a rising backlash among a minority of Communist Party officials in Beijing against the tax breaks and incentives given to foreign investors over the years.
“Inherently the Chinese government and the political elites, especially nationalist elites, have a suspicion and resentment to the presence and development of foreign investment,” he said.
Despite problems with transparency, especially with regard to the process by which foreign firms get listed in China’s procurement catalogue, the country remains remarkably open to foreign investment, especially considering that it’s still an emerging market, Dr. Wang said.
The more export-oriented jobs and useful technology the investors can provide, the better they will be received, he added.
China’s central government is targeting companies in clean energy, high-tech and automotive and machine manufacturing, among other sectors.
G20 summit agrees to reform IMF
By Andrew Walker Economics correspondent, BBC World Service
23rd October 2010
The US will still retain its veto on key decisions at the IMF
Finance ministers from the G20 leading economies have agreed reforms of the International Monetary Fund, giving major developing nations more of a say.
At a meeting in South Korea, they agreed a shift of about 6% of the votes in the IMF towards some of the fast-growing developing countries.
Those nations will also have more seats on the IMF’s Board, while Western Europe will lose two seats.
But the US will retain the veto it has over key decisions.
Such decisions require an 85% vote – Washington holds 17% under the IMF’s weighted voting system.
The ministers also agreed to refrain from competitive devaluations of their currencies and move towards more market-determined currency systems.
‘Currency manipulation’
The talks in the city of Gyeongji come against a background of strains in financial markets which some have called a currency war.
Playing Tribal Card in ICC probe wrong
Published on 02/10/2010
It is disheartening that a section of politicians now want to play the ethnic card in a serious matter such as the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s investigations of post-election violence that rocked the country in 2007/08.
The ICC matter was on Friday discussed at a meeting of MPs from President Kibaki’s Party of National Unity (PNU) in which speakers lamented that a certain community appeared to be the target of the international sleuths.
That politicians now want to play the ethnic card to whip up sympathy against the ICC is most unfortunate, given that the over 1,000 lives were lost, and more than 500,000 people displaced and property worth millions of shillings destroyed during the mayhem.
We should not forget how the ICC ended up taking up the role of investigating post-election cases. After the 2007/08 violence, Kenyans were in agreement that if we do not break the five-year cycle of violence, then the country would risk sliding into anarchy.
The consensus was that impunity has to be dealt with by bringing those who masterminded the violence to book, but above all, undertake reforms to cushion the country against future lawlessness.
So far, the wheel of reforms has been moving on fairly well, with Kenyans having overwhelmingly returned a ‘Yes’ verdict in the August 4 constitutional referendum and a new Constitution promulgated on August 27.
The best option for bringing perpetrators of violence to book would have been the setting up of a local special tribunal because ICC is a court of last resort. Such a tribunal would have netted a wide range of suspects, unlike ICC that will only target the key suspects.
However, efforts to put in place a local special tribunal were frustrated by the lords of impunity, with at least three attempts to have a Bill tailored to facilitate establishment of the tribunal failing in Parliament.
MPs blocked a special tribunal by taking the rallying call in Parliament, “Don’t be Vague, it’s The Hague”. It is some of the same MPs who blocked the special tribunal and paved way for the ICC that are now alleging the ICC is biased in its investigations.
Their actions then are what effectively put the country’s case at the doorsteps of the ICC.
It is disappointing that the same politicians are now threatening to challenge the on-going ICC investigations in Parliament, on the basis that its investigations target one community. Their argument is misguided because they are using only one leaked document to advance their claims.
It is not convincing to argue that the ICC investigations will only be directed by the report from the United Nations’ Office of the Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide (OSAPG) based on its mission in Kenya in February 2008.
There are obviously other documents that the ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is relying on and many more leads that he is following to build his case.
We urge politicians to let justice take its own course. If there is any one linked to the violence and there is evidence incriminating him or her, let that person carry his or her own cross.
As leaders, politicians should be working towards bridging the tribal divide and promoting national cohesion instead whipping up tribal sentiments.
As the ICC issues indictments for the suspects in a few months’ time, Kenyans should expect the suspects to clutch on to the tribal card to save their skins. Kenyans should not be hoodwinked into believing that their tribe is under siege. They should not forget that since the colonial times, the ruling elite has used the tribal card to divide and rule.
When politicians campaigned for the trials to be done at The Hague, most of them were under the understanding that ICC investigations will take ages to be complete. Moreno-Ocampo has, however, surprised many by moving faster than expected.
We urge all Kenyans of goodwill to support ICC so that we may exorcise this country of the demons of impunity for the benefit of the current and future generations and put the nation on the road to stability and prosperity.
Why ICC’s quest for justice should spare no effort, no one, no matter what
Published on 04/10/2010
Public Watchdog
Today, we begin with a rhetorical question: Are political actors engaged in delusory and self-assured security?
Last week, we witnessed an emergence of restlessness, in political environment with growing unsettling political theatrics in all levels of the hitherto point-headed political class. Why?
The hard reality of the moment is that the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigative mandate on Kenya’s post election violence appears now unstoppable. The opportunity, to find alternative local solutions was squandered by the collective political leadership.
That opportunity is now in the past and hard realities of the hour is up-and-coming. In our social political environment, which is largely a winner-take it all, society — political supremacy machinations are always at play. Thus, currently political actors are engaged in sustained finicky political intrigues.
Intrigues, self-denial
The gravity of the situation should become clearer in the next few weeks and our leaders must focused on serious social political implications. The current demagogic intrigues, self-denial and pointing at political opponents or playing party politics are unhelpful.
It is this point which Public Watchdog seeks to delve into and avers that individuals’ roles, and not communities, must remain the subject of any fair and objective investigation.
What then are the pertinent issues? Firstly, it must be understood, that in the end, it will be individuals and not the collective guilt of any community, which shall be liable for any offences.
Yes, these individuals would have come from some communities, but the culprits are the guilty ones not their respective communities.
It is difficult to imagine how ICC could target individuals coming from one community or one political party. Indeed, those who are against any local solution have advanced such meddling risks in favour of an ICC solution.
In this respect, current machinations from those exercising political authority suggest such risks of potential manipulations for political expediency was not a misplaced preposition.
Secondly, It has now dawned on some of our political leaders that the ICC threat is real and cannot allow current or future political establishment control.
Indeed, ICC must protect its international integrity and jurisdictional mandate by assuring independence and objectivity. This should ‘ring-fence’ it against local influences and targeted vindictiveness on opponents by local political actors of influence.
Thus, ICC must carry out independent investigations — and cannot — and must not rely entirely on previous investigative work, which could have been muddled. This is critical to ensure and assure integrity of the process, without administrative and political influence.
Political tool
The dire consequences of these investigations in people’s careers cannot be underestimated or wished away. ICC, therefore, cannot afford to be seen to target any one group, but to conduct fair and objective investigations. The entire political leadership, and other actors at all levels of the political divide, can no longer feel safe.
It should be a case of a truly, “no stone left unturned” high-level investigation. It should spare no one, and no effort to indict those thought to bear the greatest responsibility for the post-election violence of 2008. The political class should end their finger pointing and crying whoop-de-do.
Thirdly, the ICC investigation will not become a political tool of fixing political opponents or ascending to political power. Neither can ICC facilitate political horse-trading and building of political alliances, based on security as a means of payback.
It is also now apparent that no individual or political party should feel so powerful, as to meddle in the ongoing probe or even prevent the investigations or try to help in any allegiance.
As a people, we can only, rein in impunity if those in positions of authority are subject to accountability, including facing justice to assure justice for all.
Kenyans, have also now realised that money, as a means of influence, cannot extend to infringement of the rights of others. Money can get one the best lawyers, but must not be seen to prevent justice and buy freedom of impunity.
In the end, ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo and team will need prove that they have a case for indictment, but the accused must have their day in court.
The judges and lawyers will question them in court and give them a final opportunity to prove their guilt or innocence.
However, the truth must be told. Any indictment will have far-reaching political consequences on careers of the individuals and they must, therefore, take the matter seriously.
For this matter is of compelling public interest!
Comments to: publicwatchdog@standardmedia.co.ke
Only Radical Change will Improve Image of Police
Published on 02/10/2010
To most Kenyans, police officers are corrupt, brutal and uncaring and should be avoided as much as possible.
This image of the police forces has been built over time and reinforced by the actions and inactions of its officers. Images of three or more policemen beating up a helpless woman with batons during peaceful demonstrations without caring to know whether she was one of the demonstrators are etched in the minds of Kenyans. News of young men arrested by police and their bodies later found dumped in forests with bullet wounds have become commonplace.
Traffic police officers receive bribes from Public Service Vehicle conductors in the full view of passengers and passersby and they harass road users without a cause.
That the image of the police is in dire need of mending is not in doubt. This week they retained a public relations firm, Gina Din Corporation, to do the sprucing up.
But merely marketing the police as an outfit undergoing reform will not have an impact unless the police embrace change and take radical steps towards modernity and respect for human rights.
Gone are the days when force, fear and brutality were the hallmarks of effective policing. The police must start seeing citizens as clients, and theirs as a service to clients. They must also respect the laws they are mandated to enforce. By doing this, they will begin to change the image of the police in the minds of the citizenry.
Bill of Rights not a blank cheque for truants
Published on 01/10/2010
By Njoki Ndung’u
One of the challenges of implementing the new Constitution as promulgated on August 27, is how to ensure institutions approach their mandates in a holistic manner that cross references the entire value system in the document.
For example, while the Judiciary has to be commended for the gusto with which they now approach cases filed under the Bill of Rights, the entirety of national values must be implemented in toto. A delicate balance is required in addressing rights and freedoms while upholding the rule of law necessary for the maintenance of law and order. It is sometimes difficult to find a midway position between equality of all Kenyans and yet promote the protection of the marginalised, as it is to provide social justice for everyone and non-discrimination of anyone at the same time.
For this reason the provisions of the Constitution are neither a blank cheque on which each Kenyan can demand rights without qualification nor is it carte blanche for the criminal or civil law enforcement arms of Government. And even as we boast the most progressive Bill of Rights in this part of the world, the caveat on its application still stands. Law can limit any right, except those provided under Article 25.
This means an Act of Parliament or subsidiary legislation can place a limitation that would be reasonable and justifiable in an open democratic society. So, that for example under Article 49, the right to be released on bond and bail is not necessarily automatic.
Where the Criminal Procedure Code determines that serious offences like murder and robbery with violence attract capital punishment, it may, depending on the circumstances of each case, be justifiable in a democratic society to keep suspects charged with these crimes within the confines of a secured facility to protect witnesses. Similarly a repeat offender or a regular habitual criminal may need a custodial stint in remand as a deterrent towards addressing recidivism. This limitation is perfectly in order if it will ensure the enjoyment of the right to bail of a particular offender would prejudice the rights and freedoms of other Kenyans.
In a working democracy we need to insist that rulings emerging from the Bench pay fidelity to the provisions of Article 24, so that a confirmation of a right is also seen within the context of whether that right can and should be limited. If this is not done, it is possible to erode the civil and criminal justice system and slide towards a breakdown of the rule of law and the maintenance of law and order, which in its very essence is a key plank in any democratic State.
Similarly, if it appears possible that one can escape from a contractual obligation or civil action by invoking the Bill of Rights or international ratified conventions without condition, the framework for private sector investment and business growth will surely and shortly be stunted. For the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, to work effectively it must support institutional structure of national policy to provide its citizens with essentials of a democratic State such as the provision of security and safety for all, and creation of an environment that spurs economic growth by protecting a free market economy. The bottom line is that enjoyment and protection of rights and freedoms of the collective membership of our society generally and the Nation as a whole will often have to take precedence over the rights of any one individual or a group of persons in particular.
Go Slow on Reforms, Minister urges Saitoti
Updated 16 hr(s) 44 min(s) ago
By Stella Mwangi
An Assistant minister has urged the Office of the President not hurry reform process in the provincial administration.
Higher Education assistant minister Asman Kamama urged the OP to work within the five-year period as stipulated in the new constitution to reorganise itself.
Kamama appealed to President Kibaki and Internal Security minister George Saitoti not to allow politicians to interfere with the reforms in the ministry.
The Baringo East MP said the provincial administration is entrenched in the new constitution.
The legislator, who held a consultative meeting with professionals from his constituency, praised the provincial administration saying it play important role in maintaining law and order.
“The Office of the President should not be in any hurry to effect reforms since the implementation schedule gives them up to five years,” he said.
Leaders have been issuing conflicting information on the fate of the provincial administration in the light of the new supreme law.
Kenya Invites New Bids for Cross-Country Railway
Kenya invites new bids for cross-country railway
Updated 16 hr(s) 51 min(s) ago
Kenya Railways has invited fresh bids for work on a railway to run between Mombasa and the Ugandan capital Kampala, expected to triple train speeds and increase regional trade.
Kenya Railways said in a newspaper advertisement it had asked for bids for consultancy services for preliminary design and environmental and social assessment services for the section of the railway between Mombasa and Malaba at the Kenyan border.
Kenya Railways cancelled a first bid when expressions of interest came in too high for its budget. It re-advertised but that bid was also cancelled by Government procurement authorities when a losing bidder won an appeal.
The railway , which will run on a standard gauge, is meant to supplement an existing metre-gauge railway that the British built at the turn of the previous century.
The Government says Mombasa’s port handles more than 16 million tonnes of cargo annually, a total which is forecast to jump to 30 million tonnes by 2030.
Most cargo travels from Mombasa by road to Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi.
Earlier in the year, Kenya Railways said its aim was for the railway to be operational within three years and to carry 10 times as much freight.
Tender documents on the website show consultants are expected to conduct studies on infrastructure design, identify a suitable route for the line and give estimates of market demand and revenue forecasts. Uganda will build its side of the railway.
The Evolution of Economic Partnership Agreements
Updated 18 hr(s) 9 min(s) ago
By Luke Anami and Stephen Makabila
The history of the Economic Partnership Agreements dates back 30 years ago, when most of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries exports entered the European Union (EU) market without being charged any import duties.
This was as a result of a non-reciprocal preferential market access that the EU extended to ACP countries, first under the Lome Conventions of 1975-2000 and later under the Cotonou Agreement of 2000-2007.
The 31 EU-member countries have been negotiating EPAs with African countries, like Kenya, and those in the Caribbean and the Pacific since September 2002.
EU’s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) is a trade arrangement through which the EU provides preferential access to imports from 176 developing countries to the EU markets, Kenya included, through reduced tariffs.
Despite this preferential tariff system, the share of Kenya’s exports in the EU market has remained very low. In order to address these issues, the EU agreed to address these concerns through an alternative trade arrangement.
In this regard, the EU extended a non-reciprocal preferential market access to Kenya and other ACP countries. The arrangement was meant not only to look at the North-South cooperation but South-South trading opportunities through regional integration and enhancement of access to the global market.
But this arrangement was faced with problems. The first hurdle the EPAs faced in the formative stage was failure to adhere to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules and negotiations on trade agreements.
It should be noted that trade pacts all over the world are usually conducted under the auspices of the WTO that commenced its operation in 1995. It is the only global international organisation dealing with the rules of trade between nations.
The WTO, which replaced the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provides a framework under which member states negotiate and formalise trade agreements.
The agreements are then signed by representatives of member governments and thereafter ratified by their respective parliaments.
It came as no surprise when at the WTO, the non-reciprocal preferential market access that the EU was extending to Kenya and other ACP countries came under attack on account of being incompatible with the WTO rules.
Under the EU/ACP pact, Kenya opens her market to EC products as EU opens her market to Kenya’s products on what is referred to as an asymmetric basis. That is to say the EU opens 100 per cent of her market while Kenya opens less than 100 per cent.
Even from a layman’s perspective, such a trade pact favours the EU countries. The WTO ministerial meeting of 2001 gave the EC and the ACP countries up to 31st December 2007 to rectify this anomaly.
Kenya and the EU undertook to address this anomaly through a framework of a new trade regime in form of Economic Partnership Agreements that had already been provided for in the Cotonou Agreement of 2000.
The negotiations on EPAs were launched in 2002. They revolve around market access, sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), agriculture, services, investment and competition.
Kenya to host China-Africa meeting
Published on
By Beauttah Omanga
Kenya has been nominated to host the next forum on China-Africa co-operation on legal affairs.
The decision was reached at a conference in China where Attorney General Amos Wako and Law Society of Kenya chairman Kenneth Akide represented Kenya.
The delegates agreed the next meeting would be held next year.
The conference resolved to promote co-operation in areas such as mutual legal assistance, arbitration and mediation in settling commercial disputes.
According to a statement, it was also agreed China and the African states build a mechanism for the establishment of a permanent secretariat for the forum.
The choice of Kenya to host the next meeting signifies the country’s increasing international appeal as a destination for conference tourism.
CharterHouse: CBK Directors Seek assurance
Published on
By Martin Mutua
Two Central Bank of Kenya directors have sought assurance from the Parliamentary Committee on Finance they would not be breaking the law if they gave information on the closure of Charterhouse Bank.
Director of Banking Supervision Rose Detho and Director of Banking, National Payments systems, External Payments and Reserve Management Gerald Nyaoma briefly appeared before the committee to seek the assurances, yesterday.
Mr Nyaoma, who was the director of banking supervision fours years ago when Charterhouse Bank was closed, expressed fear that the information they hold might contravene the banking confidentiality law.
However, MP Chris Okemo assured them they were within the law and nothing would happen to them.
“You will not be breaking the law because if you read the new Constitution and the Powers and Privileges Act, you will realise that you will not be breaking the law,” he added.
Okemo further informed the two that the committees have the same powers as the High Court according to the new Constitution, and can enforce the attendance of witnesses and examine them on oath and even compel them to produce documents.
Closed Down
Detho had been appointed to run the bank under statutory management, but instead of doing so as required by the Banking Act, she took over and closed it down.
Former CBK Governor Andrew Mullei, who supervised the closure of Charterhouse Bank, has since snubbed the committee and vowed not to appear before it. The committee has now put Mullei on notice, warning that it would invoke the National Assembly Powers and Privileges Act to compel him to appear before its members.
Okemo yesterday told The Standard they had referred the matter to Parliament’s legal department so that they can advise the committee on how to go about the matter. CBK Governor Njuguna Ndun’gu has also been summoned again.
Juba Abandons Plan for Rail Link to Kenya
Published on 12/04/2010
BY JACKSON OKOTH
South Sudan will commence building a modern railway line linking it with east Africa next month after a Kenyan initiative hit a brick-wall.
This railway line is expected to facilitate the movement of goods and people to and from Juba to any part of the wider East African region including Mombasa, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti.
This new railroad — to be known as the East African Rail (EAR) — will connect Juba in South Sudan to Gulu and Tororo, from where it will join the existing Kenya-Uganda railway.
This is considered the largest project being undertaken by New Sudan Foundation on behalf of the Government of South Sudan (GOSS).
The decision by South Sudan to construct the $7 billion 750km railway link between Juba and Tororo in Uganda follows delay by the Kenya Government to implement an earlier deal to construct a rail connecting Juba through Lokichogio to the planned Lamu Port.
“We have abandoned plans to build a railway from Juba to Lokichogio through Kenya, hitting the existing network at Rongai,” said Castello Garang Ring Lual, special advisor to South Sudan President Salva Kiir.
South Sudan has also dumped an earlier deal to build a parallel railway line linking it with Lamu.
The first phase of the EAR project will involve rehabilitation of the Tororo-Gulu railway line at a cost of $3 billion.
The second phase will be involve construction of a modern high speed standard gauge line from Gulu in Uganda to Juba at a cost of $4 billion.
The project, aimed at linking Juba, through Nimule, Gulu and Tororo is being financed by the US-based Ayr Development Group. Other partners in the project are the New Sudan Foundation, Thyssan-Krupp — a German steel firm and Mosmetrostroy, a Russian construction company.
Power broker
The late Alex Mureithi — nephew of President Kibaki, fronted the Juba-Lamu rail link project. Mureithi was then a well-connected power broker and political lobbyist.
The idea had first been mooted by the late John Garang, then leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).
But when he died five years ago in a helicopter crash, after only three weeks as Sudan’s First Vice-President, he died with the drive to link Kenya and South through rail.
With a referendum coming next year, and the likelihood that separatists could win the vote, pressure is mounting for South Sudan to find an alternative route to the sea.
“We will be landlocked if people vote to secede, leading to possible hostilities with the north before relations normalise,” said Lual.
While a railway line through Lokichogio to Rongai provides the shortest and cheapest link to the port of Mombasa, South Sudan has now abandoned this route due to the shareholder wrangles and flawed business plans of Rift Valley Railways (RVR), the concessionaire operating the Kenya-Uganda Railway.
It was during the time of Transport Minister John Michuki and his PS Gerrishon Ikiara that the process of privatising the Kenya-Uganda railway begun.
Although South Sudan, still involved in war with the North, requested that privatisation of this line be held until Juba is connected, that did not happen as South Africa’s Sheltam suddenly appeared on the scene.
When it became clear that the concession could not be postponed, South Sudan began discussions with officials in the Uganda Government.
With an annual turnover of over 80 billion euros, Thyssan-Krupp’s portfolio will be responsible for the project design and planning, while a Russian firm will execute the actual construction of the rail.
When complete, the South Sudan-Uganda rail will be operated as a public-private-partnership (PPP), with both Uganda and Sudan becoming shareholders together with Ayr Development Group.
Hostile territory
With this railway gateway, South Sudan will ship its voluminous natural resources, without crossing what could be a hostile territory in Khartoum.
“We need the railway and the Mombasa or Lamu sea port to export crude oil. However, the bottlenecks that still exist with RVR must be sorted out fast,” said Lual.
Efforts by South Sudan come at a time the East African region is pushing for huge infrastructure projects.
While the African Development Bank (AfDB) is funding Burundi’s multibillion-dollar infrastructure plan, Kenya is raising funds from the domestic money market through infrastructure bonds, with a huge presence of the World Bank.
Recent discoveries of extensive oil deposits in Uganda and South Sudan have also triggered a huge appetite for large construction multinational firms.
Moribund network
While Kenya is the region’s business capital, it continues to suffer lost economic opportunities and clout with a congested Mombasa Port and a moribund railway network.
South Sudan has already indicated that if Kenya does not move fast on the railway connection between Lokichogio and Lamu, it will seek for an alternative corridor through Addis Ababa and Djibouti.
The South Sudan railway link to Uganda is a standard gauge modern line that will have fast passenger locomotives, cruising at 160 km/hr and 120 km/hr for freight trains.
However, this speed is expected to slow down when the trains reach Tororo, entering the 40 km/hr dilapidated Kenya-Uganda Railway.
The New Sudan Foundation has been pushing the Kenyan Government to clear Ayr Development Group to construct a new line from Lokichogio to Lamu.
“We have also made a proposal to Prime Minister Raila Odinga for the group to construct a railway link between Juba and Lokichogio where Kenya will pick up from,” said Lual.
Thyssan-Krupp, a Germany steel maker, was among the first big multinationals to show interest in proposed railway project linking Mombasa to Juba. However, its bid to win this big-ticket contract went up in smoke partly due to Kenya’s political ping-pong.
A recent commitment by China to develop the Lamu port as well as build an oil pipeline connecting the facility to South Sudan and Ethiopia, appear to have edged out the Germans.
Troubles for Thyssan-Krupp blew up when key Kenyan ministers pushing for its interests in the Kenya-Uganda railway project, were dropped from the cabinet.
This incident followed a split within President Mwai Kibaki’s administration after one side was defeated in a national referendum on a new constitution.
China has not made any firm financial commitments on the Lamu project until it completes a feasibility study.
Oil refinery
Construction of the $4 billion Lamu port is part of the Northern Corridor project, which includes construction of road and rail links, an oil pipeline to South Sudan and Ethiopia and an oil refinery at Lamu.
The entire plan is expected to cost $20 billion. A less congested Lamu port provides South Sudan with the shortest link to the sea and an alternative exit point for the country’s extensive crude oil and mineral deposits.
Presently, crude oil from South Sudan is refined and exported through a port in Khartoum.
All eyes will be on RVR and its plan to overhaul the Kenya-Uganda Railway, a severe bottleneck to countries depending on the link and the port of Mombasa.
Latest details indicate that a shareholder agreement has already been worked out between Ambience Ventures, subsidiary of Cairo-based Citadel Capital and TransCentury.
Their plan is to invest an estimated $250 million to revitalise the Kenya-Uganda metre-gauge rail concession. They are also to facilitate the development of a standard gauge line linking Kampala to Mombasa.
-jokoth@standardmedia.co.ke
Is China propagating a culture of dependence?
However, the Chinese have been accused of not being any better than Africa’s former colonial masters when it comes to their labour practices.
A few weeks ago, Chinese mine managers shot and wounded 13 of their employees in southern Zambia over a pay dispute, sparking a countrywide outrage in the southern African nation.
And this is not just the first incident in the country. A few months ago, local workers at a Chinese-owned copper mine went on strike demanding better working conditions.
The strike turned into a riot, and reports indicate that the mine’s Chinese manager fired into the crowd, injuring several people in the process. More episodes on the continent capture the increasingly icy Afro-Chinese labour relations.
A year ago in Mozambique, an argument broke out between a provincial governor, Mr Mauricio Vieira, and the China Henan International Cooperation Group (Chico). After winning a contract to build a new water supply system to service the capital Maputo and other surrounding towns, the firm had barely begun work when complaints from local workers about poor treatment at the hands of the Chinese bosses surfaced.
The worst reported indignity — of workers wearing badges bearing the word Escravo (Slave) — turned out to be a case, apparently, of mistranslation. However, unwittingly, those badges have turned prophetic of the nature of labour relations between Chinese enterprises in Africa and their employees. From Mali to Madagascar, Kenya to Zambia, workers’ restiveness abounds.
In Niger, the local Tuareg community dubbed the SOMINA mining operation Guantanamo, whereas in Namibia, on taking issue with their ill treatment, workers were told to “suffer now so that future generations can enjoy”.
In 2008, a Kenyan community blocked road construction works demanding that they be provided with water for domestic use and for their livestock. This was at the height of a severe drought, and the Chinese contractor had denied the community access to the only borehole with water around. In Niger and Zambia, workers live too close to uranium pits and work without any protective gear, exposing them to hazardous substances.
Resentment toward the Chinese practice of importing labour from Asia is increasingly visible. Many African countries have high levels of unemployment and want the Chinese-run firms to hire more local workers. The firms have been accused of taking away local jobs while robbing the continent of its natural resources, violating labour laws and fuelling corruption.
In February, the National Union of Mine Workers organised a protest in South Africa following a government decision to award special visas to 50 unskilled Chinese labourers, who were to construct new premises for the Chinese consulate in Cape Town.
In Kenya, where a number of Chinese firms are constructing major roads, the expectation was that they would involve local labour. However, the preference to use machines has led to discontent, putting the Kenya’s Government labour-intensive programme in the spotlight.
Brewed hatred
There are around 70,000 Chinese living in Angola. This high (and growing) number has brewed hatred among the locals, leading to violent attacks that range from robberies to kidnappings.
Some see this trend as a means of the locals getting revenge for discriminative labour practices, while, to others, the Chinese are simply easy prey because of their presumed affluence.
Three years ago in Ethiopia, nine Chinese oil workers were killed and seven of their colleagues kidnapped by the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front. In Botswana, grievances in the construction sector are at the forefront of public debate.
More recently, four Chinese were arrested after they assaulted their Batswana colleagues working on the Francistown Stadium construction project. The Africans earned themselves the beatings after revealing their miserable working conditions to some visiting parliamentarians.
On various manufacturing and construction projects, Asian and African employees have different pay structures. Most African workers are undocumented and treated as casual employees, thus depriving them of corporate benefits like insurance, allowances and paid vacations.
The availability of labour has emboldened the Chinese firms to disengage fidgety workers and hire new labourers. Local businesses have also voiced their concern over the refusal by Chinese firms to use locally available materials in their projects.
Preferential trade deals the Peoples’ Republic of China signs with African governments, coupled with cheap Chinese goods and state subsidies, have provided Chinese businesses with an upper hand over local businesses, denying them the linkage necessary to grow their income.
For instance, in Kenya, local cement manufacturers and paint makers have complained about being locked out of the multi-billion deals Chinese firms are undertaking
China calls UN findings on arms in Darfur ‘groundless’
Beijing, China (CNN)
— China blasted as “groundless” Thursday a draft report that says Chinese ammunition has been used in the bloody Darfur conflict this year. The nation has called for a review before the report goes to the Security Council for approval.
If China blocks the draft from becoming final, a “dangerous precedent” would be set, a Western Security Council diplomat told CNN.
No other delegation in the committee supports the Chinese position, said the diplomat, who did not want to be identified out of concern that it would cause further problems in releasing the report. He said the report met the expected standard and therefore should be sent to the Security Council.
China denies that it has violated a 2004 embargo by supplying arms to the volatile Darfur region, a charge that has been hurled against the Communist nation before.
“China has been implementing the Security Council resolutions on sanctions against Sudan in a comprehensive, earnest and precise manner,” said Ma Zhaoxu, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry. “It is inappropriate of the panel to make groundless accusations based on this unconfirmed report.”
Another United Nations source — who has seen the draft report but did not want to be identified because the report has not yet been formally submitted to the Security Council — told CNN that the panel of experts found evidence that Sudanese forces used more than a dozen types of Chinese ammunition against rebels in Darfur over the past two years.
At a Sudan Sanctions Committee meeting Wednesday, the expert panel briefed member nations on recently manufactured shell casings from Chinese ammunition that were collected at a site where U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur have been attacked several times, the source said.
The date of manufacture of the shell casings is crucial. Previous panel reports also have pointed to Chinese ammunition in Darfur. Beijing, however, has in the past said Chinese armaments there predate the 2004 Darfur embargo.
Violence in Darfur has been on a grim uptick this year, and May was the deadliest month since a U.N. mission deployed there in 2007.
As many as 300,000 people are believed to have died, and at least 2.5 million have been displaced from their homes in Darfur since fighting broke out in 2003 among the government, the government-allied Janjaweed militia and other armed rebel groups, according to the United Nations.
The conflict has been marked by widespread atrocities, including the murders of civilians and the rapes of women and girls.
China accounts for 90 percent of small arms sales to Sudan, which human rights groups have described as the “weapon of choice” for the Janjaweed.
Last week, China abstained from a vote to extend the mandate of the Security Council panel of experts that has been issuing reports on Darfur since the embargo was imposed.
China’s representative, Yang Tao, said the panel needs to improve its methods and conduct its work under “the principles of objectivity and accountability.”
In a news briefing in Beijing earlier this week, Ma, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said China hopes to see enduring peace in Sudan. “We sincerely wish an early and proper settlement of the Darfur issue,” he said.
The panel’s report is expected to be formally sent to the Security Council next week, the U.N. source told CNN.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW:
Diplomat says China could set “dangerous precedent”
U.N. source: A panel found evidence of Chinese arms in Darfur
China denies violating an arms embargo in Darfur
Violence has been rising in the conflict-torn region
China is Building a New National Theatre in Senegal
By Christian Fraser
BBC News, Sharma el-Sheikh
China sees vast opportunity in Africa. Since 2001 total trade has grown tenfold – last year it stood at $107bn (£63.7bn).
Add to that the significant sums of financial aid and direct investment that are on offer and you can see why the representatives of the 50 African states who have travelled to the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh are extremely keen to hear what China has to say.
There are the giant oil producers of Libya, Nigeria and Angola, the mineral-rich governments of central Africa and of course the leaders the West has turned its back on – Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe and Sudan’s indicted President Omar al-Bashir are both here.
Money talks
But whichever country they come from, the African leaders all understand one thing.
“Africa needs infrastructure,” said Youssouf Ouedraogo, a special adviser to the president of the African Development Bank.
Mr Ouedraogo recognises that in exchange for the oil, gas, and minerals that drive China’s fast expanding economy, there is hard cash available for Africa’s biggest projects.
“We need the ports, roads, electricity, the airports to help Africa’s poorest country grow. You can’t do that without money for infrastructure.”
Information Center News and Events Statement by hon. Peter Anyang’ Nyongo, Minister for medical services during the launch of the study on the Strategic Review of NHIF & Assessment of the Private Health Insurance Providers on 19th July 2010 at Afya House, 11.00 am
Washington — Chinese companies are among those that are competing to win a contract for building a pipeline that would pump oil produced in South Sudan through a Kenyan port, according to a report on the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
The controversial project would enable the landlocked South to avoid transporting its main export through the pipeline that runs through the North until it reaches Port Sudan.
“China is one of the parties that has been invited to participate,” Alfred Mutua, a Kenyan government spokesman told WSJ. Most analysts believe southerners will vote to secede from the north in an emotional referendum on independence due in less than three months, the culmination of a 2005 north-south peace deal ending Africa’s longest civil war.
But the North is wary of letting the oil-rich South go without arranging for a wealth sharing formula that would prevent an economic collapse in post-referendum Sudan. Currently the North and the South are splitting the proceeds of crude in accordance with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in 2005.
The Government of South Sudan (GoSS) has frequently accused the North of underpaying its share in oil revenue through concealment of true export figures.
About 75 per cent of Sudan’s proven reserves of 6.3bn barrels are in the south but the pipeline that carries the oil to export terminals and refineries runs through the north.
Sudan exports 60% of its oil to China. Sudanese production accounts for 7% of China’s annual consumption. Beijing therefore has a vested interest in ensuring that the South Sudan referendum goes smoothly so as not to threaten its multi-billion dollar investments in the East African country.
The Wall Street Journal said that China has recently dropped its opposition to South Sudan secession which was based on long-standing ideology which is against independence movements abroad, for fear that it embolden separatist sympathies at home.
Beijing has cracked down, often violently, on independence protests in Tibet and Xinjiang. Beijing also considers Taiwan a breakaway province and seeks reunification, by force if necessary.
“It is a delicate issue for China,” said Dru Gladney, an expert on Chinese minorities at Pomona College in California. China has until now portrayed itself as a leader of developing countries, he said. But its own rapid development has changed that relationship. “Encouraging a so-called separatist movement is one that is going to complicate that [noninterventionist] position very much.”
China has a pragmatic reason for tolerating a potentially independent south: It is home to 80% of Sudan’s oil reserves, including most of the China National Petroleum Corp.’s four oil concessions, granted to it by Khartoum. Beijing’s stake amounts to 40% of Sudan’s oil industry.
GoSS last week assured China that its investments would be protected should the South vote for separation from the North.
“The largest investment in southern Sudan today is Chinese. They have invested billions of dollars in the oil sector, and have a large number of Chinese workers in the oil fields,” said Pagan Amum, secretary general of the south’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).
“We have given assurances to the Chinese leadership delegation to protect the Chinese investments in southern Sudan, and are desirous to see more investment in the future,” he further said.
Anne Itto, south Sudan’s minister of agriculture, and SPLM deputy secretary general told reporters after her return from China last August that the Chinese government fears that its assets in Sudan’s oil would be “a waste” if the south opts for secession. “A lot of wild rumors have been getting to them, that if the south separates, there will be insecurity, and if there is insecurity, their assets worth billions of dollars in the form of pipelines and so on will have been a waste,” she said.
Itto added that she had told Chinese officials that “if they want to protect their assets, the only way is to develop a very strong relationship with the government of Southern Sudan, respect the outcome of the referendum, and then we will be doing business”.
In 2008, China opened a consulate in Juba, the south’s capital, an unusual move for China in a place with separatist aspirations. Last week, a Chinese Communist Party delegation visited southern officials. Top officials from the south have also visited China, said Li Baodong, China’s U.N. ambassador, in an interview during a United Nations Security Council diplomatic mission to Sudan this month.
Mr. Li said the referendum is “their internal affair and we are not getting into it. We respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country.”
WSJ said that until early this year, Beijing staunchly opposed independence in Sudan’s south. But that stance has appeared to shift as the international community has pushed the vote.
“I don’t think anyone believes that the referendum process can be stopped,” said Fabienne Hara, an Africa specialist in New York for the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. “It is pragmatism.”
While it is caught between its stance on separatism and its economic-self interest, Mr. Gladney of Pomona said Beijing had reluctantly made its choice. “It’s whichever cat catches mice–and in this case, the cat that supports a separatist, Christian group will catch more mice for China,” he said.
China has provided shield to the Sudanese government, dominated by the National Congress Party (NCP), from sanctions at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and remains Sudan’s major seller of weapons.
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fromVijay KRKM Shah
Whilst I appreciate CRITIQUE it is my humble opinion that what is being said is describing a reflection in the mirror. Kenyans’ have the capacity to understand the long term effects (which are in their own hands). We are not Dumb. Be grateful for the Milleniums experience and overwhelming gesture of friendship shared. Lastly MOTHER EARTH is for the human race to SHARE without exclusion.
God Bless
MAY NOBLE THOUGHTS COME TO YOU FROM EVERWHERE
Vijay KRKM Shah
How the Communist Chinese Party and their espionage unit fund terrorist and genocidal dictators that oppress world women’s rights.
More likely than not they will use their proxy agents to invade. Then once weakened come in with SOE’s.
Over four years ago, America suffered the worst terrorist attack in its history, caused by a terrorist group largely known as al Qaeda. About a month after the attack, it was first reported that Communist China bought unexploded American cruise missiles from al Qaeda in order to “reverse engineer” them, i.e., use them to advance its own cruise missile capabilities. That report was just confirmed on Nov. 29. The subsequent silence from mainstream media has been deafening. What gives here? For over four years, as the democratic world has fought the War on Terror, Communist China has managed to stay out of sight and out of mind, despite the information above and immediately below. Even the pro-democracy, anti-Communist movement has largely been quiet on this. This remains a terrible and dangerous mistake. For those new to this topic, what follows is a quick synopsis of Communist China’s actions regarding al Qaeda and the Taliban. 1998: After the American cruise missile attack on al Qaeda, Communist China pays up to $10 million to al Qaeda for unexploded American cruise missiles. 1999: A book by two Communist Chinese colonels presents a battle scenario in which the World Trade Center is attacked. The authors recommend Osama bin Laden by name as someone with the ability to orchestrate the attack. September 11, 2001 (yes, that date is correct): Communist China signs a pact on economic cooperation with the Taliban. Just after September 11, 2001: The Communist press agency makes a video “glorifying the strikes as a humbling blow against an arrogant nation.” Also after September 11, 2001: According to Willy Lam (CNN), the Communist leadership considers al Qaeda to be “a check on U.S. power,” and only decides to back away from it after deciding that “now is not the time to take on the United States.” Also after September 11, 2001: As Pakistan mulls a request from the United States to allow its troops to be based there for operations against the Taliban, Communist China—a 50-year Pakistan ally—announces it would “oppose allowing foreign troops in Pakistan.” Also after September 11, 2001: U.S. intelligence finds the Communist Chinese military’s favorite technology firm—Huawei Technologies—building a telephone network in Kabul, the Afghan capital. November 2001: As U.S. Special Forces and local anti-Taliban Afghans are liberating Afghanistan, Communist China, through public statements and behind-the-scenes actions, tries to prevent what it calls “a pro-American regime” in Kabul. 2002: Raids of al Qaeda hideouts by U.S. Special Forces and allies net large caches of weapons from Communist China, including surface-to-air missiles. This comes weeks after the U.S. government warns that al Qaeda terrorists in the U.S. would try to use said missiles to take down American planes. April 2002: Then-Communist Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, while visiting Iran, rips the U.S. military presence in Central Asia. Late summer 2002: Almost a year after Afghanistan’s liberation, a three-man delegation from the Taliban—led by Ustad Khalil, purported to be Mullah Omar’s right-hand man—spends a week in Communist China meeting with cadres, at their invitation. August 2002: Intelligence from the post-Taliban Afghan government reveals that Communist China has turned a part of Pakistan deemed under its control (most likely “Aksai Chin,” the piece of disputed Kashmir that Pakistan gave to its longtime ally in the 1960s) into a safe haven for al Qaeda. May 2004: Media reports expose how the Communist Chinese intelligence service used some of its front companies in financial markets around the world to help al Qaeda raise and launder money for its operations. Yet Communist China continues to claim that it is our friend in the War on Terror, and foolish supporters of “engagement” continue to believe it. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s not merely al Qaeda that has received Communist support (for more on Communist China’s extensive ties to terrorists, check out my book on the subject), but given the nearly universal acceptance of al Qaeda as an enemy of the democratic world, one would think that the above information would be enough for a serious and thorough reexamination of our relations with the Communists. After all, Communist China’s reasons for supporting anti-American terrorists are not difficult to ascertain. The U.S. is the main obstacle to the Communists’ plans for conquering Taiwan, replacing Japan as the lead power in Asia, and replacing the U.S. as the lead world power. If Communist China fails in any of these, its reliance on radical nationalism—the regime’s raison d’etre since the Tiananmen Square massacre—will backfire badly. Thus, the Chinese Communist Party sees the United States as the chief threat to its power, and its survival. Yet President Bush has not once demanded that Communist China end its support for al Qaeda—indeed, he has not even acknowledged the existence of that support. Sadly, he is not alone. In fact, those of us who insist on spreading the word about this are in the distinct minority. If we are to win the War on Terror, this must change. The War on Terror is, in fact, part of the Second Cold War—the cold war between Communist China and the democratic world. As such, the War on Terror can not and will not be won unless the free world sees the Chinese Communist Party for what it really is: an enemy. The road to victory in the War on Terror ends not in Kabul, Baghdad, Tehran, or Damascus, but in Beijing. America and her allies will never be secure until China is free. D.J. McGuire is President and Co-Founder of the China e-Lobby, and the author of Dragon in the Dark: How and Why Communist China Helps Our Enemies in the War on Terror. http://www.homelandsecurityus.net/al%20qaedas%20link%20to%20other%20countries/al_qaeda%20china%20tie.htm http://rideriantieconomicwarfaretrisiii.blogspot.com/
Rider I
Chinese invade everywhere, and they only deprive, caring for nothing other than money. They are full of lies and wishes for murder and destruction. Those chinese businessmen are avatars of selfishness. They always act unfairly. They don’t believe the need of fairness.
Fellow Kenyans,
Kenya Peoples Rights Organization (KPRO) has for some time now received a number of complaints from the public in respect of Chinese nationals and companies operating in Kenya on a number of issues particularly the following: –
1.That Chinese living and working in Kenya have been the source of untold grief and misery to many rural Kenyan communities due to their indiscriminate hunting and killing for food, of highly valued domestic pets such as dogs. These incidences have been experienced across the country and as a result there has been a groundswell of bitter complaints.
2.That individual chinese nationals either already living in Kenya or entering the country as tourists have been known to engage in petty businesses e.g. hawking, which should be a preserve for Kenyans, thereby depriving our people of their source of livelihood.
3.That some of the Chinese nationals working in Chinese Companies in Kenya (particularly in the construction sector) have engaged in immoral activities that have resulted in un-planned and unwanted pregnancies only for their employers to transfer them from one road-work site to another in order to assist such errant individuals evade the ensuing parental responsibilities.
4.That Chinese companies operating in Kenya employ discriminative work policies such as employing Kenyans, mostly, in low-cadre ranks with very poor pay and even poorer working conditions, qualifications not withstanding.
5.That unlike western companies, Chinese companies operating in Kenya encourage corrupt practices especially in securing Government Tenders and related favours.
6.That while Kenya had almost won the war against poaching in our National Parks, the current mushrooming of the Chinese companies and citizens in Kenya and their insatiable appetite for game trophy has almost reversed the gains made over the years in this regard. This has decimated the Elephant and Rhino populations across our national parks.
7.That in terms of volume-of-trade between Kenya and China, the scales are heavily tilted in favour of China – meaning we create more jobs and more prosperity for Chinese and not for us here at home.
8.That due to China’s poor human rights record both within China and around the world, riots have been reported in many African countries in which they are involved in natural resource exploitation.
In light of the foregoing, there’s urgent need for the Government of the People’s Republic of China to intervene in these matters in order to forestall inevitable nationwide public protest against her nationals and Chinese companies operating in Kenya.
Peter Kamau
Executive Director,
Kenya Peoples’ Rights Organization.