private enterprise
written by Truthseeker , February 16, 2008

A great deal of work has been out in these last five years, in an effort to improve the environment for business. Much more needs to be done still, especially to keep investors from fleeing, perhaps giving them guarantees that they will be compensated if a mob decides to take a match to their property.

This may not sound concrete at the moment, but I believe every effort needs to be expended to ensure as many Kenyans as possible own some part of their country. I have spoken with a few people who applied for the Youth Fund and they complain that the finances allocated are insufficient and that they are compelled into forming large groups (??!!) in order to qualify for such funding? I do not know how much of this is true, but we must keep insisting that private enterprise is the only way out of poverty.

Perhaps greater success is being achieved with those who already own businesses? I know a number of mama mbogas for who even Ksh. 50,000 would be the means to becoming millionaires and employing many other Kenyans.

I had the idea, have not thought it through that county councils in the marginalised areas could invest in electricity generation, like the Marsabit one, energy which can then be supplied to KPLC. Energy is going to get more and more expensive and the greener we can get, the less expensive the energy we produce, the better it will be for all Kenya. With a transmission cable running south that is almost 600kms long already factored into that project, there is opportunity running all the way down for others to feed into the grid at much lower cost.

Stop Privatisations.
Neither political party seems to have caught on yet to just how immoral and debilitating privatisations are. For all the celebration about how great it was that 300,000 people applied for KenGen stock, I am sure that number is now down to something like 37,000, 0.1% of our population!

Affirmative action
Is there a way to compel people into forming co-ops? Maybe even using CDF money? Can money be set aside to train people in business all around the country. Ndiang'ui recently told us here about the Githunguri Dairy Project and as others have said, it would be useful to see how a similar model could work in the fish industry, or in the livestock industry, or even why not have similar milk projects all across the country.

Tax-breaks for businesses investing in social welfare, and a premium for those investing in these in the 'marginalised areas'?

Incentives for Nairobi- Central Kenya-based entrepreneurs of a Western extraction to start up businesses in their home regions?

Will think more on these later.

Organizing
written by mkosakabila , February 16, 2008

Truth. Very nice, especially voluntary group action for mutual benefits. I'll think more on these too. But I do know a number of projects in Makueni, Mbeere and Kitui where grain farmers have formed participatory marketing groups, which they are using to of course market their products, circumvent middlemen and thus assure better product prices etc. By pooling their resources they have also been able to smooth the negative effects of price and weather fluctuations. Also the more organized the group, the higher the income each recieved from the collective enterprise. Some of the things they needed to enhance performance included basic accounting skills, some credit. They are even considering federating.

I know of other similar groups in central province as well.These ones are mixed groups and women are the decision makers, esp for handling money (i wonder why...flashback to wa mnazini songs). They are also pretty successful. Like the previous group they need financnes to increase the scale of their activities.

So you are right, Truth, there is opportunity to work with groups to achieve some modest goals. The enterprise doesnt have to be individual, it can be group, voluntary and mutually beneficial.

Head in the Sand?
written by Nyabs , February 16, 2008

It is interesting the way the memo from Kinyua avoids mention of the current political crisis.

No meaningful economic activity will take place under the current impasse.

So my recommendation would be:

1. Compensation to owners of businesses and properties that were torched by arsonist.

2.More funding for equipping and motivating the police force to strictly enforce the law, protect property and safeguard the right of Kenyans to own property wherever they so wish.

3. Subsidies to farmers to enable them get back to their feet after the chaos.

4. Tax relief, waivers to businesses and salaried Kenyans. All of us have had our finances affected negatively in one way or the other by the chaos. The waivers should however be for a limited period.

5. Allocation of funds to social safety net programmes that ensure that the poor among us are not pushed to the desperate measures we have seen some resort to.

6. Allocation of funds to programmes that tackle the root causes of poverty.

7. Serious infrastructural development, especially in the closed regions of Kenya, North Eastern and Upper Eastern come to mind. Construction of the Mombasa to Busia highway to international standards and its protection from economic saboteurs.

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written by manta ray , February 16, 2008

One way of getting people to work is to teach peasant families especially in Western Kenya how to farm Tilapia on their small plots, and then become contract suppliers to a processing factory or factories in Kisumu, privately owned by themselves through a cooperative, or by private individuals with the money to invest. Indeed, this can be done throughout the country including Central Kenya.
There are fisheries officers posted to every district in Kenya with no work to do, yet they have the same knowledge as agricultural extension officers.
The mentality that you can farm Tilapia only as a food source is not just wrongheaded, but shallow. Tilapia farming, properly organised, can be an extreemly lucrative activity lifting thousands out of poverty, if the goal is to EXPORT the product directly, NOT through middlemen.
Did you know that Tilapia fetches higher prices than Nile perch in the EU market? It is popular as a health food because it contains less fat than many fish and is also organically prepared, unlike a lot of Ocean fish which contain cancerous preservatives.

With regard to the Budget, one proposal would be to give incentives to Big companies to relocate from Nairobi to smaller towns like Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Thika and so on in exchange for paying lower taxes, and as long as the Govt provides the necessary infrastructure. This will create local jobs and prevent aimless rural-urban migration.

sorry to butt in
written by Stephen Wanyama , February 16, 2008

Maybe Kinyua was trying to keep his head in the sand so as not to have sand kicked into his eyes? It does hurt, has happened to me once or twice. I have not yet got my proposals in order, but Nyabs, two things.

A lot of the work the GoK has been able to do has only been possible because of a large tax take. It will be impossible to rebuild without asking Kenyans and Kenyan firms to fork out more, unless of course we start borrowing. Now borrowing is a net transfer of funds from the middle class to the upper class, especially as I am sure interest rates will be going up with the demand. That will make the rich richer and further impoverish the middle class.

We cannot afford social safety nets. I am with Truthseeker and mkosakabila (hope I got it right). Let us fund people who own businesses, or those who want to start them. Let's pay good money for farm produce and hopefully return people home. But still, I do not think the violence was at all to do with poverty, it was about incitement to hatred.

One good thing that has come out of all this, the shilling has fallen in value. Perhaps we can also ask that instead of aid some of our past debt is forgiven? Do you know I looked at some paper, and we have since about the time Moi got to state house, been paying out more from Kenyatta's borrowing that we were actually receiving!! Anyhow, this will be crucial, especially as with the global economic downturn, with the fall in our credit rating and the credit crisis, I cannot see too many people showing an interest in that international bond of Kimunya's. Capital will have to be raised locally.

I like the idea of a land tax as an equalising measure that does not stifle growth. Maybe we should also institute an inheritance tax?

But by all means the most urgent business will be to answer questions such as why is it that there are few if any businesses left open in Kisumu after the Asian, Kisii, Somali and GEMA have left? Why are there no fish co-ops, why are sugar-cane co-ops dead? I believe enterprise is loathed everywhere in the world (look at Ethnic Chinese in S E Asia, look at Indians in the UK. Kenyatta and Amin expelled Asians for this same reason, envy, the green-eyed monster that now eats at the ODM.

When Kenya is grown-up, I propose that we start to take the land back, from the Kenyattas, Odingas, Mois, Kibakis, Ndegwas, Kosgeis, any land that was got through political patronage. How nice it would have been if people had invaded the plots of land thieves instead of attacking hard-working peasants.

vulnerability, again
written by mkosakabila , February 16, 2008

At the risk of being summarily dismissed by those who hold the purse, I will throw one more proposal into the kitchen sink. As a reminder, Kenya is at least 80 percent semi arid to arid. The dominant production system here is, well, yes, pastoralism. Of various kinds. The arid lands management program has done a good job of putting together a drought warning and management protocol, conflict resolution systems, contributing to the land tenure policy debate etc. I havent heard much about livestock insurance schemes.

Im not sure what kinds of arrangements can obtain but seems to me that a scheme that is distinctly pro poor can be helpful to lower vulnerability and improve coping, no? If combined with favorable livestock pricing and good animal health care, our livestock industry and local livelihoods can be boosted, significantly. Again, such schemes can be organized on a group basis or in whatever ways that increase possibilities of success. I can hear the cultivating types already screaming. Deal with it.

Unlike you sir, Im afraid I dont want my past debt forgiven, id like to pay it off, at least the principal. The favor id ask the foreign masters, oops, our esteemed development partners, is that they help recover the stolen loot that is sitting pretty in their banks. Quickly. In fact if they do that, id pay off the interest too. Quickly.

(...)

Please note that poultry is excluded from this proposal.

ps. is there a time frame re dealing with this glitch?!

...
written by James Watt , February 16, 2008

Kenyatta expelled Asians? First I'm hearing of it. The record needs to be put straight on Onyatto. From reading this blog, you'd think he's the father of all evil. I certainly can't say anything for or against the man. I wasn't around. At least he and Moi will go down with a legacy of having left a stable nation. In Mois case we'll slightly overlook the land clashes. What I recall though is that Kenya wasn't doing too badly till the iron curtain fell down in 1988. Thats when prices exploded within a very short span.The West could now affords to flex its muscles without fear of the second pole of power, the USSR. There were also suddenly a lot of eastern European countries who needed to be built up.
On the topic at hand. I think Kenyan needs to make the transition from a mostly agrarian to a manufacturing economy. We need to invest a lot of money towards that sector. Secondly we need to invest some cash in improving some small stuff, which are losing us a lot of money. The traffic in Nairobi is ridiculous. If someone put his head towards solving that, I"m sure a lot of money would arise.

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written by Muciimi Mbatia , February 16, 2008

Here are my two cents:

The first thing we need to do is make agriculture profitable. This will make it attractive to young people and more serious investors, solve our food problems, and help us stave of the runaway rural-urban migration that strains services, and populates slums with the angry unemployed. Kibaki's first term did a lot for the agricultural sector, but more is needed.

However, in order to revitalize agriculture we need to do two main things. We need to improve security in the rural areas by building more police stations and equipping police with transport and other facilities. We also need to improve infrastructure for the ease of transportation of agricultural produce.

Any mention of agriculture conjures up the image of the high potential lands in Central, Rift Valley, Western and Nyanza. I think Kenya has a lot of land that has not been exploited - the so-called ASAL areas. We need to dig more boreholes, harvest rain, seed clouds, and undertake all manner of irrigation. At the same time, we need to vary the mode of production so that farming in those areas becomes as important as pastoralism.

As far as manufacturing and services are concerned, we need to realize that we cannot initially succeed in every single area. Thus, we must concentrate our efforts into just a few sectors. Here are my choices:

HEALTH: We have the trained manpower to make Kenya the country of choice for any patient in the world. We should aim to transplanting all parts of the human anatomy. You want a new head, we give you a new head. and you can chose whether you want Mungiki head or a Kalenjin Warrior head. We can sell a tourism package that includes health tourism and conference tourism. There are a lot of sick people in America and Europe who can't get good affordable healthcare, provided by good caring people. Kenyans, before they are told to fight by their warlords, are very caring people. I think we should make both Nairobi and Eldoret the joint health capitals of the continent.

Recreation city: the government should push forward its idea of establishing a brand new sin city at Isiolo. This will create considerable jobs in construction. First priority for these jobs should go to locals, meaning all manual jobs. The rest of Kenyans should get the more specialized jobs.

Transport: Think Atlanta, Georgia, where the airport contributes huge sums of money to the Georgia economy. Nairobi should have the biggest and busiest airport in Africa. Every airline going to any destination in Africa should land in Nairobi. We are much more centrally placed than Jo'burg.

Software and computers: The good thing about software is that there are no bulky things to be bought and assembled. We have many colleges that offer computer science. We need to create a High Technology Council that will market Kenya's potential in this area. We also need to invest more in training.

Education: Kenya should cash in on the hunger for education in Africa. This means we have to establish more colleges and universities and pay professors more so that we can attract all those sulking Nigerians and Indians currently teaching in the coldest places on earth. When people think of good education, they should think Kenya. African students should be coming to study in Kenya, and we can create incentives for them. Education should be Kenya's main export.

Similar thread
written by mainat , February 16, 2008

I started a similar thread here , so maybe you can just pull in some of the ideas other Kenyans came up with.

re: Similar thread
written by aeichener , February 16, 2008

I started a similar thread here, so maybe you can just pull in some of the ideas other Kenyans came up with.

It's an interesting thread, but many of your readers did obviously not pay close attention to the question. The contest is for an allocation of existing funds within the present legal framework, NOT for proposals towards new legislation that would first have to be introduced, passed and enacted, however necessary these latter may be.

Alexander