People Web International

By PWI Reporter Kenya

Internally displaced persons received yet another hostile reception in Trans-nzoia County after the post election victims from the county and leaders blocked them from entering the 600 acres land purchased by government to settle them.

The displaced persons were first rejected in Narok and coast and yesterday they were also chased by residents in Trans-nzoia County.

The leaders, squatters and IDPs who received the planned resettlement of over 700 IDPs from other parts of the county to a private land in Trans-nzoia County stormed at Kwanza DC’s office before they turned back the IDPs who were transported in parastal buses and government trucks.

The IDPs were forced to turn their lorries and buses around and drove fast to the Trans-nzoia west DC and Kitale police station for protection.

The IDPs and leaders from the county later proceeded to the farm and took possession of the land believed to have been purchased by the government.

Security armed with riot gear were deployed to guard the farm about 30 kilometers from Kitale but were overwhelmed by hostile local landless people that had invaded the farm.

Forestry and wildlife minister Dr Noah Wekesa while in Keese secondary school told residents that he will not allow IDPs from other areas to be settled in the county at the expense local ones.

Dr Wekesa said the government should instead resettle IDPs from the county that were displaced in 1987, 1997, 2002 and 2007 who were languishing in IDPs camps.

“I will not allow IDPs from other counties to settle in Kwanza constituency because Trans-nzoia has more IDPs and squatters than any other place in the country." said Dr Wekesa.

Parliamentary aspirant Janepher Masis and nominated councilor Pius Kauka termed the move as incitement by the government saying Kwanza was volatile and wrestling IDPs from other counties could complicate the conflict in the area.

Councilor Kauka said IDPs from Teldet, Gatatha, Katwaka Nasianda GSU Salama GSU A/B, Cheptumbelio, Gitwamba and Kiminini were still languishing in camps.

The leaders complained that IDPs programme was implemented selectively and vowed to protest to the highest authorities including filing a case in court.

The squatters from Sabaot, Bukusu Turkana and Pokot who live adjacent to the controversial land have also invaded the farm.

Contacted for comment, north rift regional commissioner Wilson Wanyanga assured the IDPs from Nakuru that they will settle in the farm.

Mr Wanyanga warned leaders who were inciting residents to invade the farm that they risked being arrested. He said the government was working on the Trans-nzoia case and soon the victims of post election will be resettled along with landless people. He said he had called leaders from the area to be formally informed over government moves and asked them to be patient and keep the peace.

Tension is high at Kwanza district as a group of squatters continue to invade the purchased farm in Endebess division.

-- by Johnstone Wanjala - PWI Reporter Kenya - kenya@peoplewebinternational.com

20-04-2011

By PWI Reporter Kenya

We treat the poor no better than chewing-gum stuck to our shoes.

If you are poor in Kenya, you must never fall seriously ill. If you do, your descent into hell will begin. Assuming you have a local clinic, you will in all likelihood be given the shoddiest treatment there. Misdiagnoses are legion; but because the victims are poor, no investigation is ever conducted. If you are sent to hospital, you will not be allowed near a bed unless a sizeable sum is deposited. Seriously injured people often go from hospital to hospital pleading for treatment. Many die in the process.

If you are poor and in hospital, your kith and kin will be treated like animals when they come to visit you. They will be kept waiting at the gate for hours, even though you are in a serious condition inside and might be in your final hours. Watchmen take a particular delight in tormenting the poor, even though they are poor themselves.

If you are poor and you die in hospital, your grieving children might not even be allowed to see your body until the bill has been settled. Your children will be faced with the twin traumas of coping with the shock of your departure, and raising the money to clear your final bill (an amount beyond their collective reach). If your bereaved children gather the guts to ask the doctor why you died, they will very likely be shouted at and thrown out. Because you were poor.

If you are poor in Kenya, don’t expect the state to be your friend. Someone I know recently spent a night in jail. His ‘crime’? He happened to be crossing the road when the Head of State’s majestic convoy was passing, and he didn’t make way in time. Because he was poor, he was tossed into a cell without any further questions. It took the intervention of his employer to stop him from languishing in goal for days.

If you are poor in Kenya, you are the easy target of every policeman. You will be frisked on any pretext, and more often than not relieved of your mobile phone and what little money you have in your pocket. If you are poor in Kenya, you don’t want to be in your slum when the police come looking for criminals. Because your life has no value, it will be easily extinguished in the melee. No questions will be asked later.

If you are poor in Kenya and have a job, you will spend every penny you earn putting your children through school. You will have outstanding loans hanging over your head all of your life. Despite this your children are unlikely to prosper, because they will have only received the most rudimentary education which will not allow them to rise out of poverty. They will inherit your poverty, your loans and your outstanding hospital bill.

If you are poor in Kenya, you don’t want to be a young female. Your poverty will sufficient license for every lust-filled male to view you as easy game. Your body will become the playground of others.

If you are poor in Kenya, you have no protection: not against criminals, not against the state, not against daily insults and derision.

If you are reasonably well-off in Kenya you may never experience these things. You will generally be treated with respect. Doctors will take the time and trouble to talk to you. Watchmen will never block your entrance. Policemen will be wary of incurring your wrath. Teachers will give personal attention to your child. You will lead a life of dignity, like every human being should.

Poverty is Problem Number One in Kenya. We can lose ourselves in all the fancy discourse we like; it doesn’t go away. The chattering classes can analyze the likely political scenarios in December; they can discuss how many tourists are coming to Kenya this year; they can have forthright debates on Tony Blair’s legacy, or whether Nicolas Sarkozy is a good French president for Africa, or whatever else preoccupies them. If they lifted their noses from their glasses and closed their mouths for a moment, they would see that they are a tiny minority, an affluent little island of fun surrounded by a heaving, seething sea of abject misery.

There is no easy answer to this problem. A certain amount of poverty is inevitable, after all. But to strip a large part of the population of all esteem is inhuman and unforgivable. Those with means, education and know-how are painting silly castles in the air, when those around them eat off garbage sites.

The causes of poverty are complex; its solutions have many dimensions. Better health, better education, better opportunities are pre-requisites. A thoughtful approach to economic participation is necessary. This requires big ideas and innovative schemes. But more concern, more awareness, more sensitivity is within each person’s grasp. A poor person is just you with less money. Step one is to realize this.

-- by PWI Reporter Kenya - kenya@peoplewebinternational.com

A business growth idea.

When you step back and look at the culture statements of Coca Cola Hellenic, The largest soft drink company in the world. One of them states, WE ARE A LEARNING CULTURE.

What does this mean, and how important is this for achieving organizations business objective?

To put it bluntly, from my experiences around the world, I do not think THERE IS A MORE IMPORTANT COMPONENT to achieving organizations business objective than to embrace a learning culture. And there is NO BIGGER BARRIER TO BECOMING WORLD CLASS, THAN THE ABSENCE OF A LEARNING CULTURE, and MEANING AN ORGANIZATION THAT IS DISEASE RIDDEN BY THE POLAR OPPOSITE TO A LEARNING CULTURE.

The disease is called NIH. It’s common in many companies. And absent from the World Class ones.

NIH is a simple term for a disease called, "NOT INVENTED HERE".

Not invented here is a disease that can infiltrate an organization. It is borne of pride, a pride so strong, that there is an inherent resistance to new ideas that did not come FROM THE PERSON THEMSELVES. It’s also a mix of arrogance. A person, or organization, believes that it is simply impossible that anyone can come up with a better idea than they can. Or, their ego is so fragile, that they fight against any good idea NOT coming from them, as it pains them to think, or consider, THAT SOMEONE ELSE JUST MIGHT BE BETTER THAN THEY ARE.

For these people, it is easier to deny reality, and live in a fantasy land, than to address reality. Instead of getting better, improving themselves, they shy away from the fight, and kill the new idea as "stupid" simply as this is the easy way out. It's hard work to get better. It's easier to kill things instead.

NIH can manifest itself in many ways. Here is how you can hear it expressed sometimes............


"I don't need to hear more of your idea. It's stupid and it would never work. So let's just forget it, we are not going to test it or think about it for another minute. You are wrong and I am right"

"I don't care about what they are doing in Singapore or China, I only care about Nigeria. And in Nigeria we do X and Y and Z........"

"This is how we have always done it. So I am not interested in your "new and better" way of doing things. It has worked for us in the past, and we will keep on doing it like we do now....."

"That's a nice idea. But it is not your job to help on this part of the business. It is MY JOB. So I will now throw your idea in the garbage and suggest you do your job, and I do mine, and we stay out of each other's business"

The list can go on and on. And sometimes you don't hear it expressed, but the people with NIH are THINKING THIS:

"Oh my God.....that is a good idea. But I will look bad if the idea progresses because X works for me, and I did not think of it first. So maybe big boss will think they can replace me by Y person? I am scared. So I have to kill this idea before anyone sees it......"

"It’s a bad idea. I won't even consider it. I hate all ideas that don't come from me, because I MUST be the center of attention. All my life my mommy and daddy told me I was the greatest person in the world, and I have to be the greatest all the time. The greatest always come up with the ideas; so naturally, I will kill any idea that comes from anyone else other than me. Of course my ideas are always best---my mommy told me so!"

"If I accept this idea, this means, implicitly, that I am accepting that this person is BETTER than I am. I can't handle this, even if it is truth. All my life I have made excuses. If I lost a race it was because I didn't feel good that day. Now for this, my excuse is the idea is stupid and I will kill it. Because I cannot handle the fact that someone came up with a better idea than I did".

Again, I can go on and on. I think all of us know what I am talking about here, and all of us have seen this in action. NIH is deadly.

Nothing kills a business faster. Nothing kills creativity faster. Nothing kills motivation faster. It's the worst disease an organization can have.

It's a complete failure of leadership, of a manager, to keep priorities right. Instead of doing what is right, FOR THE BUSINESS AND FOR THE PEOPLE, we end up doing what is right for someone's ego. It's terrible. We sacrifice the business growth that can help thousands, to simply massage the ego of a weak manager. It's actually worse than terrible, it is a tragedy.

It is selfishness in the worst sense of the word. An individual hurts not only the other person, but an entire organization, just so they can feel better about themselves, and manage a fragile sense of self-worth.

Strong managers admit they make mistakes. It takes courage to do this, it take nothing to cover your ass. Strong managers accept ideas from ANYONE. They realize that NOBODY IS SMARTER THAN EVERYBODY. Strong managers build up their people, and ALWAYS do what is right for the broader organization. They would never put themselves before the needs of many. And, strong managers are open minded, and seek to learn and grow EVERYDAY, from wherever the learning comes from.

The elimination of NIH, creating a real learning culture is how greatness is achieved. It is how organization will make it to world class. It's that simple.
Let me tell you a story.

You want to know why CHINA is kicking the world's rear end right now, why China will pass the US very soon, that’s my prediction why China will be the world power. I'll tell you why. And it has nothing to do with 1.3 billion people. Population alone means nothing.

Mr. Jim was touring a few months ago a major factory in Shanghai, and he met the Plant Manager who spoke very little English. But what English he did know, he kept using on him.

"Mr. Jim, you have seen many plants from around the world. I want you to give me feedback, tell me what you see, and tell me what I can do BETTER to become the best plant in the world. That's what we want to be. So please, give me your global view".

He harassed Mr. Jim the whole day. Would not stop. Mr. Jim eventually promised to write him. After 3.days Jim wrote him a long note of advice. Now he sends updates on progress.

I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT PLANT WILL BE BEST IN WORLD IN 5 YEARS OR LESS. Why?

They want to learn. They want to get better. They don't have any arrogance or false pride. They don't go around pounding their chests and saying how great they are. They are open to the world, and see possibilities. They aren't ashamed to admit "The Germans do it better" and reapply. Their sole objective is to be the best, and ego has no place in the equation.

I frankly don't understand how any businessman can ever say, "I don't care about Singapore" or have any intellectual curiosity to go see the place. I mean, let's face facts. In 1965 Singapore declared independence from Malaysia, a country of 1 million people living in a SWAMP. They had a lower standard of living than most of Africa! The day after they declared independence, the New York Times wrote an editorial which said, "The country of Singapore will not SURVIVE to see the year 1966".

Well they had only a million people, and ZERO natural resources. But they had leadership and they had a learning culture. So they adopted policies and programs from the US, UK, China, you name it, they studied it and learned and adopted what works. They took the US system of forced integration to make peoples of different cultures live and work together. They took the banking system of Switzerland. The land policy of Malaysia. On and on. And what did they get?

Today, the country is the financial center of ASIA. The standard of living is HIGHER THAN THE UNITED STATES, going from third world to first world in a GENERATION. The child mortality rate is LOWEST IN THE WORLD. And Singapore is now considered the World's most livable city. It’s a success story unlike any the world has seen. In 45 years from nothing to world power. Now why wouldn't any businessperson who can put their ego aside for a minute, not want to learn and maybe reapply? Is there really NOTHING anyone can learn from this? Really, there is.
Records recently reveals that in USA about 500 businesses are established every month while 500 collapses every month too. But if every business man who reads this article from PWI follows it closely there will be improvement in there business.
1. The vision of every organization is to be world class.  As I have always told people TALENT IS NOT ENOUGH. The best natural runner MAY NOT win an Olympic Gold. Talent is not what wins medals. ATTITUDE IS. Talent coupled with NIH will not result in World Class organization.  THE UNDERLYING SECRET IS TO BE A TRUE LEARNING CULTURE. One that embraces learning, debate, and constantly striving to do right for the organization and people.

2. Net, the largest obstacle to business growth and achievement of business objective is NIH. It does not exist everywhere, but there is a pocket of it everywhere. We must stamp it out. Get it out of our every organization and people.

3. This starts with a long and hard look in the mirror. It starts with the senior most leaders, then the function heads, and then to each and every one in the organization. Are you guilty of any of those symptoms of NIH noted above? If so, you need to be cognizant of it, and STOP IT. Only you can do these yourselves. You must be the leaders your people you to be; Egoless, open to new ideas, Embracing changes.

4. I would ask all of us to be OPEN to new ideas. Stop killing them. Test them. Encourage our people to have them.

5. Finally, and most importantly perhaps, I want to ask each of us to become role models of a learning culture. This can take many shapes and forms. But some examples:

----Each of us, in our personal lives, TRY SOMETHING NEW EACH MONTH. Whether it is a new sport, or a new restaurant, or new food. TRY IT. Don't be so closed minded!  How do you know you don't like Sushi if you never tried it?  Maybe take a new language lessons?

----TRAVEL TRAVEL TRAVEL. Don't fall into a rut of going to the 'same old place' each year. Go somewhere new. And honestly, if you can make it/afford it, go to Asia and especially Singapore or China. You will be blown away. Trust me.

----Call out NIH in the organization. Just call it out. Ask someone, if you see the wrong behavior, "Sorry, but do you have NIH?"  

WE CAN DO IT. WE WILL DO IT.

Let us embrace a learning culture, NOW.

"If one wants to improve, be content to be considered foolish and daring"   Epictetus, 90 AD.

-- by Marvin K. O. - PWI Reporter South East Nigeria - south.east.nigeria@peoplewebinternational.com

If you want to know what lies ahead for any society, look at the quality of its education. For young people, education is a critical factor. It prepares individuals, as well as societies, to manage their environment for survival as individuals and communities.

 This was long ago recognized in traditional Africa, where informal education of the youth was compulsory, free and universal. Everyone was taught the customs, practices and values of their people. They were prepared for responsible adulthood and equipped with valuable skills, trades and the cultural philosophy of their society.

The changing times demand that we give quality education and training to the youth so as to add value to their and our collective life as a society. Government and other player must consciously endeavor to address this basic right and strive to achieve education for all, which is one of the Millennium Development Goals that Kenya is beholden to.

The idea of universal primary education was first mooted in Kenya in 1973. When marking the 10th anniversary of independence, founding President Jomo Kenyatta declared that primary education would be free from January of the following year. Increasing economic hardship, however, saw the introduction of school fees.

Thirty odd years later, fresh efforts are made to provide free primary education. Some meaningful steps have been made in this direction, but a lot remains to be done.

In many parts of the country, the pupil-teacher ratio is still far from satisfactory as it stands at about 1:60, when it should be 1:40. In some schools, there are more than 100 pupils to each teacher.

This erodes the quality of teaching. In most parts of the country, especially in the rural areas, many children learn under trees or in substandard classrooms.

The children are exposed to the natural elements and other physical circumstances that make learning difficult. While some children are hungry at school, have no access to proper medical care, no uniforms, no sanitary facilities and suffer from the shortage of teachers, others experience the opposite. Standards should be improved so that all children- irrespective of background and circumstance – get quality education.

In free primary education, a lot has been done in the provision of textbooks. While there are still many problems to grapple with at the primary school level, more should be done in regard to secondary schools and other post-primary institutions. Poverty and the adverse economic conditions are such that many parents cannot afford to take and retain children in secondary schools even though the institutions spend less than a dollar on each child a day.

By the United Nations standards, any one who lives on less than a dollar a day lives below the poverty line. It is difficult to imagine how this paltry figure is spread out in schools to cover three meals a day, books, laboratory equipment, new technology, sports facilities and a wide range of co-curricular needs.

It becomes worse when school fees are raised. Different ways of funding secondary education should be sought. How do we increase chances of more students joining high school and at the same time ensure quality education? How do we make the universal average standards in high school qualitative? How do we tap skills, technology and knowledge acquired in high school?

These are the questions we must think about and solve to successfully address the question of life beyond universal primary education.

-- by Johnstone Wanjala - PWI Reporter Kenya - kenya@peoplewebinternational.com

RIVERS, NIGERIA - The River state Governor and Peoples Democratic Party PDP Governorship Candidate In River State, Yesterday flag-off his political campaign in Ahoada East LGA in Rivers State. With more than 3000 PDP supporters in attendance, the event took place in St. Peter’s Church field in Ahoada East LGA of Rivers State following the declaration of his interest to run a second term in office on the platform of the ruling People’s Democratic Party PDP about 8 months ago and later emerged the Parties flag bearer in the recently concluded PDP state primary election. 

Speaking at the event, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi pleaded with the people of Ahoada East LGA to come out massively and vote for the entire People’s Democratic Party candidates during the upcoming April 2011 polls. He also expressed confidence in the ability of the entire PDP candidates’ victory at the polls. 

However, he expressed dissatisfaction on the conduct of the contractors handling several projects in the area, he therefore condemns their attitude towards execution of their jobs. He lamented that some of the contracts that were awarded has been abandoned by the contactors handling them and therefore plead with them to come back to complete their jobs. He therefore concluded by adding that license of some of the contractors will be revoked if they are not able to complete their various projects within a stipulated period of time.

Speaking about security, he pledged to continue to make security of life and property his priority in the state if voted into office for the second time. Referring back to what the security situation used to be before his assumption office about 4 years ago, stressing that the entire state has been completely been sanitized of armed-robbery, kidnapping, street-touts, etc..

Also speaking at the event is a PDP Chieftain in the State and Former Chairman of the Rivers State Television (RSTV) High Chief Ezebalike (JP). In his opening speech, he expressed dissatisfaction on what he called neglect on the part of the Governor of the people of Ahoada East LGA. According to him, the Governor has visited other Local Governments in the State on a regularly scheduled Town Hall Meeting except Ahoada where he failed to keep to appointment. Town Hall Meeting is a scheme initiated by the Governor himself to meet with the local people at the grassroots’ level to discuss issues that border those most. 

Among those who spoke briefly at the event includes: Rivers State PDP Chairman, Chief G.U. Ake, Present Chairman of the Ahoada East Local Government Council, High Chief Ikegbidi W. Cassidy, Hon. C. C. Nwuche and host of other party members from the area.

In Omoku the Local Government Council Headquarters of Ogba, Egbema, Ndoni LGA (ONELGA), where the Rivers State Governor Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi visited within the week and concluded a successful party rally where more than 4000 supporters were in attendance.

Similar event took place in the Bayelsa State capital, Yenagoa where President Goodluck Jonathan flag-off his campaign in his own home state on Tuesday following his conclusion of the party rally in other south-Eastern states like in Anambra state, Abia State, Enugu State, Imo State, Ebonyi State and Rivers where he won support of majority including some opposition parties like the All Progressive Grand Alliance APGA and PPA. 

In Yenagoa the Bayelsa State capital, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan addressed his people of Ijaw Ethnic group in their own native language. He promised them proper representation in Government, economic development in the State and good governance among others. He also charged his people to vote for the People’s Democratic Party PDP during the April Election.

Dr. Timipre Silva the Bayelsa State Governor and also the ruling People’s Democratic Party PDP candidate in the State also spoke briefly at the rally.   

-- by PWI Regional Reporter South East Nigeria - south.east.nigeria@peoplewebinternational.com

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