GREENING AFRICA THROUGH SCHOOLS

Africa and indeed our country Kenya are very privileged to have Prof. Wangari Maathai, the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and foremost environmental activist as our role model. Prof. Maathai started her campaign  for a better and sustainable environment about three decades ago when few took interest in the diminishing forest cover in this country and long before environmental issues gained prominence at the world stage. She started her work through the Green Belt Movement by mobilizing women groups to establish tree nurseries from where they could get tree seedlings to plant trees from where they could get both fuel wood fuel and timber for their use. However, due to the adverse effects of climate change brought about by global warming, there is need to come up with new ways to augment the work of this great environmentalist.
Africa is known to the outside world for all the wrong reasons including coups, armed rebellion, road traffic accidents, diseases, food shortages, droughts, authoritarian rule and now declining economies due to low commodity prices at the world stage. However, one of the greatest threats lies in the frequent droughts that is impacting negatively on our food production capacities that cannot meet the increased demand as a result of our rapidly expanding population. There is therefore need for national governments in Africa to take the threat seriously and develop contingency plans to mitigate the effects of global warming by increasing forest cover to act as carbon sink. The Kenyan government is presently talking of increasing our forest cover from 2% to 10 % so as to meet the world standards but I don't think this is good enough because environmental issues such as these ones are best discussed at regional levels to get the desired results. It's there imperative that the African Union (AU) also gets involved so that the necessary number of trees are planted as fast as possible to give the desired  impact.
If we take our country, Kenya, as an example, we presently have devolved funds in the form of Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and Local Authority Transfer Fund (LATF) and soon we shall have Counties that will be funded from the national government through revenue allocation. All the rural areas will therefore have funds which could be allocated at the local level for comprehensive tree planting programs with the support of the national government.
The starting point, I think, is for the county governments to draw up strategic plans and involve the national government departments such as water, agriculture, forest and education in the implementation. We have rural schools scattered in all corners of the country and in most cases, they have ample land for establishment of tree nurseries and even forest plantations on  their compounds. Therefore, there is no  better way to involve the community and future generations in such noble projects other through the school children. If for instance, the community is involved in such programs, the school compounds would act as the teaching grounds for everybody on tree care apart from acting as the source for planting materials. In order to make such programs viable and sustainable people could be paid through carbon credits for the trees they plant and care for, whether on private land or public areas. Such payment programs are now available though Carbon Trading and Clean Development Mechanism as outlined in the Kyoto Protocol. I am aware of several families who are already "reaping" money through regular payments just for planting trees on their farms. Africa can never go wrong on this one because unlike coffee and cocoa prices which are determined at the world stage, there is nothing to lose because one is assured of fuel wood and timber regardless of whether the carbon credit comes through or not. Let's go for this one, Africa, and we shall never regret!

AFRICA NEEDS SCIENCE, RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY

When it comes to investment in science, research and technology, Africa remains a backwater continent which is probably at the stage where Europe was in the 17th Century in terms of industrialization. So, we have probably another four centuries to play catch-up with the rest of the world, and certainly nobody will be foolish enough to help us through or worse wait for the struggling kid! Perhaps, the only countries that have put in some investment in this field are Egypt and South Africa because of historical and geographical reasons. Egypt is a neighbor of  Israel, the arch-fiend of the Arab world, and in the case of South Africa, the white supremacist rule by the Apartheid regime in a largely black race continent made them fortify themselves.
If you  take agriculture for instance, which forms the backbone of African economies and where one would expect sizable investment directed, there is very little research and technological investment by the governments alone without donor or foreign country co-funding, and yet we expect to compete with those same countries at the international commodities market. That's utterly ridiculous! There is need to invest in science, research and technology so that we can understand our environment better and learn how to tame it for our utilization, gain and enjoyment. As a continent located in the tropics, Africa is full  of all sorts of diseases, pathogens and vectors which we need to understand well so as to limit their negative impact on us. We need to come up with new crop cultivars and improve on the existing ones so  as to maximize our production per unit area. Most of the soils lack the necessary nutrients and enough organic matter for utilization to give good yields and it's imperative that we research on them and replenish them through fertilization and reconditioning. There is the challenge of the rapidly growing population and climate change that require immediate action before large portions of the population suffer food shortages even much more that it is at the moment. The continent is in short supply of animal proteins which calls for breeding new suitable animals to close the current huge gap. However, it's such a tragedy that even students are no longer interested in studying agriculture and veterinary sciences at the universities due to lack of career prospects. This  is probably because of  the current system of education that emphasizes education as only as an avenue for employment other than acquiring knowledge. It is a well known fact that Africa doesn't have money to import food and has to rely on donors to support the program. There is need to realize that there is such thing as donor fatigue and it's high time we learned to put our money where our mouths are.
On the other hand, if you look at the health sector, Africa is no doubt the sick man of the world. Every imaginable disease, pathogen and vector is available on the continent resulting in high morbidity and mortality rates than any where else in the world, apart from, probably, Haiti. All the medicines and medical equipment including aspirin and syringes are sourced from outside or manufactured under license. Here, as in agriculture, the students who want to join medical careers are hoping to become physicians so as to get employment other than think of how they could contribute to the overall medical knowledge for posterity. Some years ago, when Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) announced publicly that they had managed to come up with medicine to treat AIDS, it caused quite a stir but those on the know took it as a big joke, which it turned out to be, but the general public and the political class were quite excited. Obviously, it's not possible for us to discover medicines for such intricate conditions with our meagre resources and near zero investment in research. Such discoveries don't belong to conjurers but dedicated scientists in well equipped labs that have the cutting edge  facilities that only science and technology can avail. Therefore, like babies learning to walk, we need to take those first steps with whatever assistance we may get from outside but  being aware that once we fall, we are likely to hurt ourselves and it will be upon us to bear the pain and nurse our injuries! Let's wake up now as Africans and put more money in science, research and technology to secure our future.

MIND THE BOSS!

All African countries at the moment are at liberty to proclaim to the world that they are free, independent and sovereign. However, this claim may not be entirely true and could be rather pretentious.
After the end of Apartheid in South Africa, as Nelson Mandela readied himself to take the reins of power, something strange is said to have happened behind the scenes. It is said that the Apartheid government downgraded the nuclear research facilities and dismantled some of the equipment which they carted away, ostensibly, for safe keeping in some western country. This left the aging Koeberg Nuclear power station with no alternative but to import fuel from outside for refueling because it was no longer available locally. It's alleged that this precaution was taken so as to deny the blacks the chance to advance in nuclear science which the Afrikaans considered a preserve of the elite white race. Well, there is majority government led by blacks at the moment, but the real power behind the throne is held by the minority whites who control the industry and the economy.
Before the Israeli commandos landed at Entebbe Airport in Uganda in July 1976, to rescue their citizens who had been taken hostage in an Air France passenger plane that had been taken hostage by the members Patriotic Front for Liberation of Palestine, not many people had realized  that the airport had been constructed by Israeli companies who readily availed the plans to Mossad for planning the rescue operation which was a huge success. This obviously deflated the ego of President Amin who may have thought earlier on that he could secure his homestead at any time  but realized to his chagrin that there was another Boss who knew the nooks better!
In our country, Kenya, it's quite common to find men in bars over the weekend enjoying their favorite Tusker beer as they watch the popular English Premier League soccer. In between, when the discussion is not on who of the players is sleeping where, it's likely to be local politics with everything including why International Criminal Court at The Hague should not interfere in our affairs as a sovereign state. That's fine and pleasant to the ears but are we that much sovereign?
During the investigation of the Anglo-leasing Financial Scandal a few years ago, it was pointed out that a company that had been contracted to construct and equip an ultra-modern military command center was fictitious. Now if we give such sensitive assignments to foreigners, and dubious ones,  where is our sovereignty? Following the recent investigation into the army procurement scandals, it was revealed that an Israeli company that  was contracted to overhaul armored personnel carriers bought from France about four decades ago had actually done a shoddy job. So, you see, the foreigners have the inside information about our military capabilities and will obviously have the upper hand in any conflict.
In conclusion, I don't think that there is any African country at the moment that can claim to be free, independent and sovereign. Any such talk is all hot air because we know that somebody else controls our airwaves, skies, land and sea by supplying the equipment, switch gears and control monitors for the same. Even the equipment that we use in our research labs including mundane items such  as petri-dishes are all sourced from outside Africa. All the military hardware including the fighter jets, never mind even the second hand ones, are sourced from outside and serviced by outsiders. Therefore next time we want to brag of how sovereign we are, we are well advised to be a little bit more modest lest we annoy the Boss! Phew!

LET'S DEVELOP A NATIONAL ETHOS CODE

Due to the the influence of foreign culture, particularly, western because of colonization, black African communities now look more or less like mongrels who don't know whether to follow the fast dying traditional cultures or the allure of western influence which we can't fully comprehend. So, as it is at the moment , we are a race at the crossroads in the sense that we don't know what religion, culture, standards or even language to follow. But then, for how long can we keep this important decision in abeyance before we regress to a rudderless race? Now, if we decide to completely follow the European culture which seems to offer more allure, for how long shall we play-catch before we are fully accepted as an equal? The whites, Jews, Indians. Chinese, Arabs etc. have their  ethos which are closely tied to their cultural upbringing and religion. In fact, among the white people, they go further with their uniqueness such that the Dutch, Italians, Americans, British etc. are easily differentiated. If that's the case, why not Kenyans, Ghanaians, Ugandans, etc? Put it differently, is it possible for us as disparate communities to retrace our cultural steps  but still develop a national ethos code to give us some identity? I think so, although it will require real hard work and determination.
Lets look at housing for instance. In the traditional rural African homestead, there were separate living quarters for the man, adolescent and adult sons, and the mother with the daughters and younger children.  But with the advent of  "westernization", this changed and people started living in single units albeit partitioned with simple materials which didn't give privacy to the family members anymore. I remember, earlier stories in my village, that  pointed  to men who had decided to get "saved" but forgot there is such thing as incest and started abusing their daughters due to this close proximity and erosion of cultural moral standards. However, some may say that  it's easier to to discuss this in the context of rural setups, but surely, how do other races who live in urban centers in larger proportions than us go about it but still manage to  maintain their morals and standards? The present housing state in Kibera, Mathare, and Mukuru slums where fathers have to virtually share the same sleeping mat with their adult daughters is not only abominable but untenable. Our government should sit down with our architects and engineers to come up with high rise buildings that cater for the needs of every family and accord them the necessary privacy. That's one of the codes we need to develop in our ethos.
Traditionally we lived as close knit families where we cared for each other such that the elderly, children, people with special needs were looked after. We collectively participated in ceremonies, family disputes, marriages, etc. Our families are now threatened with disintegration because of foreign influence and we seem to be losing ground quite fast.  However, every community had traditions that helped regulate every day life of families. These traditions are not completely lost and if we wanted we could publish those relevant cultural norms that are acceptable and people could follow them for orderliness. In cases where there are mixed marriages, the two separate volumes of cultural values could be availed and a compromise sought depending on what the couple wants for the children. This could form another important step in developing our ethos.
We are aware that language is an important tool for the identity of any community and the current assault to our mother tongues due to the wrong notion that they are inferior is slowly killing us. We need to go back and publish vernacular books to help teach it at the primary school level. In the urban areas, special tuition could be done over the weekends so that people may learn whatever vernacular language they so wish to pursue without any hindrances.
Religion is certainly important for the moral and spiritual health of any community. But the way Christianity and Islam were introduced to Africans left no doubt that the intention was to undermine our beliefs and make us complete slaves  in the mind. We however know that this assertion and assault by the foreigners was misplaced and wrong. In order to to correct it and get out of this mess, we need to deliberately de-culturilize the minds of our people, starting with the very young , so that we may grow our self worth once more. We could start by introducing debriefing classes in our schools and other public fora so as to gain good ground faster before we lose out completely. People need to know the truth because no religion is superior to the other contrary to foreign assertions. With this outline, I think, it's quite possible to build on it and eventually come up with a national ethos to give us the identity that we need.

THE MAKING OF A "GRIGORI RASPUTIN"

Before the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Russia was ruled by powerful Emperors (Tsars) and the last one was Tsar Nicholas II. The Tsars were autocrats who controlled the lives of people and the wealth of the country. People lived the life of serfs where they were paid meager wages for their livelihood.Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Tsarina Alexandra had an only son named Alexei who suffered from hemophilia. The royal family were introduced to one Grigori Rasputin who was said to have special healing powers so that he could treat their son. With time Rasputin won  so much trust and confidence of the royal family such that he started advising them on senior government appointments including the army, judiciary , public service and even selection to parliament. This made Rasputin  a much loathed person by those aggrieved, jealous and the suffering citizens. Rasputin is said to have been murdered just before the start of the revolution and thereafter the Tsar and his family were also killed during the revolution. It was after this Revolution that USSR was born and grew to become the only super power to rival the USA. So, who is our Grigori Rasputin, you may ask?
After the British arrived to establish a colony in our country at the beginning of 20th Century, they took away fertile land and confiscated peoples livestock who they left  destitute. They subsequently introduced their culture, religion and basic education so that people could learn to serve them. They also subdivided the country into administrative units so as to restrict movement of people to stem any organized uprising. To assist them in the administration they appointed loyal people as Chiefs, headmen and in the Tribal Police (now AP). The loyalists used their proximity to the people to spy on them and report to the colonialists any threat to their power. Thus the seed of future Grigori Rasputins in the name of these quislings was planted. It was through these confidants that the colonial government was able to get inside information about the MauMau which they used to neutralize and kill them. For their effort , the Rasputins were rewarded with promotions, land and livestock confiscated from the MauMau and their sympathizes, etc.
When Mzee Jomo Kenyatta took the reins of power in 1963, he seemed to have accepted the status quo by taking over these colonial administrators and subsequently fast tracking their promotions in the army, police, judiciary, etc. as the white colonial officers left. Obviously, this may look fine from the outside but affirmative action could have been used in this instance to incorporate the children of the Mau Mau. Instead the children of the MauMau families were treated as pariahs by the independent government. Shame!
The  appointed Africans took advantage of their new positions to amass wealth, power and influence all over the land including parliamentary elections. Upon the death of Kenyatta in 1978, President Daniel Moi promised to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor and with new administrative units and rampant corruption, new Rasputins were born.
As we embark in the implementation of the new constitution which has many new positions in the Counties, Senate and Parliament, the Rasputins are positioning themselves in earnest so as to get the "right" people appointed  to forestall any chance of the government going to the wrong hands (read the majority will). As they do their night meetings they are  in good company of those who get lucrative government tenders and contracts so as to generate enough cash to maintain the status quo. The Rasputins are likely to be descendants of colonial Chiefs, clergy, politicians, soldiers, etc. They are the defenders of the status quo. However, we all know that history has an uncanny way of repeating itself , even in the form of the Russian Revolution!

THE TRUTH OF IMPORTED "MITUMBA" (USED) GOODS

At the moment, our country Kenya, is awash with imported "mitumba" (used) goods ranging from fighter jets, navy boats, railway wagons, ATMs, plant and machinery, vehicles, underwear and God knows what else. This from the outside may look fine and acceptable because we think that we are getting a bargain. But how many of us would like to be described as used goods? If not, them why this penchant for anything that has been used and discarded elsewhere? What makes us not demand to be given only what is new and of top quality? Are we really that cheap as a people? Let's look at two examples to enable us understand this complex.
Firstly, in the '70s and early '80s, we had a very vibrant cotton industry in this country that was supported by many small scale farmers particularly in the semiarid ares who supplied the many ginneries with lint that later went to the yarn and cloth factories. We had such big names as Kisumu Cotton Mills (KICOMI), Rift Valley Textile Mills (RIVATEX), Mount Kenya Textile Mills (MOUNTEX) and many others. However, in the late '80s, our political leaders in collusion with outside forces figured out that they could make more money if they imported ready made clothes, yarn and clothing materials, where they could fiddle with the import duty. In their schemes, they also figured out that because the majority of citizens may find it hard to clothe themselves from the imported apparel, so they started importing mitumba, which was available at the world markets at near zero prices and thereby make a killing in the process. So in one clean swoop, our political leaders in cahoots with business associates and imperialists, killed the cotton industry thereby making farmers destitute and with heavy job losses from the factories, distribution, wholesale, retail and the tailors. Thus this important industry was killed and when we were awarded a trade facility through AGOA so as to export clothes to the US at the beginning of this Century, the same political class formed Export Processing Zones (EPZ), and invited investors from Asia, who came in with their yarn and equipment to manufacture clothes that they exported as of Kenyan origin without paying any taxes to the country. Shame!
Secondly, through an industrialization program that was mooted in the '70s, it was felt that we could start motor vehicle assembly plants where we would import completely knocked down (CKD) kits for the purpose. This was meant to create jobs as well as help in technology transfer of assembling vehicles such that once we had the capacity we could build vehicle manufacturing plants in the future. Therefore, Associated Vehicle Assemblers (AVA), Thika Vehicle Assemblers (TVA) and the General Motors assembly line were established. This spawned the birth of industries that started manufacturing brake linings, rubber liners, upholstery, window shields, etc. Whereas we all know that this is the route that has been taken by Asian Countries before the start of their current vehicle manufacturing plants, our political leaders became "smarter" and with the advise of their imperialist friends, they repealed the laws that were meant to protect this nascent industry, and instead started importing ready units so that they could cream out the import duties. The Vehicle assembly factories were reduced to mere shells and jobs were lost in all the related lines. Thus we killed our vehicle manufacturing plants quest because of greedy politicians.
In conclusion, if you look at our import bill from the the used vehicles and spare parts , you will find that it's enormous. We all know that you need to convert the Kenya Shillings to some foreign currency so as to import those goods. Therefore, for instance, the US Dollars that we are burning on those mitumba jalopies, have to come from the tea and coffee that is grown by our rural folks who have to break their backs to produce it, only to be paid a pittance, because we have no say on how much our produce should fetch at the world stage. Yet when we import used cars and parts from Dubai, Malaysia or wherever we have no choice but to pay the price on offer. Now, who is the bigger fool in this case? In all this, our politicians and associates will ensure that they get their fat cuts from the import duties not levied. And who owns the oil distribution companies that supply all the fuel to those contraptions on the roads? you guessed right, it's the politicians and their imperialist friends, who love the ubiquitous Nairobi gridlocks because the longer they take the more cash we fork out in petrol bills to line their pockets. In addition to this, they own the Banks and Insurance companies that expedite the transactions. Now you know; that's the truth and nothing but the whole truth about importation of mitumba in this country. Caution though, next time you want to brag about your "latest" model of Toyota whatever, please, remember the poor tea grower who produced the dollars that financed your import!

DOES OUR WILDLIFE REALLY BENEFIT US?

Unlike all other continents, Africa is teeming with game in both the national parks and private game sanctuaries. We are informed that this is a major attraction that brings tourists to the continent. There are many wildlife conservation projects in Africa that are funded from the West, which actually seem to be doing well, otherwise were that not the case, under the present circumstances in the continent, the big five would probably be threatened with extinction. But, how come that wildlife conservation projects work and not food production projects which equally receive funding through aid and exorbitant loans from the same western capitals? How come we are the only starving continent yet we have friends who visit in droves every year to watch our wildlife and in the process "leaving behind" tons of cash? Where does all the money that we are told comes from tourism go, if it is not put in support of food production projects, water and medicines?
The simple answer to this, which Africans need to know, is that tourism and wildlife business may be transacted on the continent but the cash belongs elsewhere. The private game sanctuaries, which date from the colonial times are retained by the original owners through complex pacts and in some cases with the local political class as shareholders. The tourism revenue we talk about is either there on paper or at best is only a fraction that is actually due to us. Tourism packages including air travel, accommodation, food, drinks and game safaris are concluded and invoiced in western capitals where the big tour companies are domiciled. Therefore, the only real cash we can talk about is the little tips to our tour guides, payment for dance troupes, a little cash to our women in the night and payment for the trinkets they take home as souvenirs. The big money for stay in thousands of private homes and luxury tented camps is also concluded elsewhere. Is it, therefore, any wonder that Kenyans view tourism business and game parks as belonging to the foreigners and not us?
To test the above explanation, let's look at the Nairobi National Park, which is just next to the capital city where we have the biggest concentration of middle income and affluent African families. However when you ask how often they visit the park for relaxation and enjoyment most will answer in the negative. Now, if the sophisticated urban families with reasonable disposable income and with kids who have never seen live cows haven't seen the need to visit a park at the edge of their homes, then I wonder whether they give a hoot if its there or not. Africans continue to be duped by imperialists about the large revenue figures that say, come from tourism and flower exports, but the truth of the matter is that very few if any of us have the time and capacity to look at the audit figures to ascertain whether we get value for money or not. I think it's fine to conserve the wildlife for posterity, but for God's sake, let's demand accountability from this resource so that we may use it to feather the nests for our future generations. It's such a tragedy that those who exploited our wildlife in the colonial times still continue to do so by earning obscene revenues at the expense of the nation when even the neighboring communities continue to languish in abject poverty. It's not enough for them to do window dressing PR shows when they call the press to witness the donation of a school desk here and a sanitary there. That's atrocious!
If this continent had leaders worth talking about, they would demand that all tourists who come here to see our wildlife be required to pay for all their services locally at international rates. In the same vein, all the private game sanctuaries would revert to the government who would in turn run then in conjunction with the local communities. That way, conservation wouldn't be much of a problem because the current human/wildlife conflict would cease as the locals would be getting value for money. But as it is now we have no control of the cash that is derived from this important natural resource but instead it goes to the pockets of those who have little respect for us and would rather we were replaced by the game that they love so much. It's a tragedy!!

AFRICA ISN'T ONE BIG JUNGLE VILLAGE

Africans like all other races such as the Red Indians, Whites, Inuits, Gypsies, Arabs, Jews, Chinese, Indians, Polynesians, Maoris, Aborigines, etc have evolved from stone age era and now lead sophisticated lifestyles with complex needs. However, there is the continued portrayal of Africa, for ulterior selfish reasons, by some of our political leaders, racists, imperialists, churches and NGOs, as one big jungle village that requires occasional handouts because it's vulnerable, simple and needy. Nothing could be further from the truth.
For obvious reasons, churches and NGOs, would want want to display that image so as to persuade gullible donors out there to give out cash in the name of helping a needy Christian village in Africa while knowing too well that most of that cash will end up in their bank accounts to fund their rich lifestyles. This is perhaps the main reason why you will find a proliferation of NGOs and churches in both Africa and Haiti in the name of providing humanitarian aid and fighting HIV/AIDS. On the other hand, some of our political leaders in cahoots with their imperialist friends are also keen to write elaborate proposals for funding in the name of providing water and food in some poor village in their territory with the full knowledge that most of the money will be used to run their campaigns while the remainder is shared by their imperialist minders and local cronies. Political leaders will also use similar methods and sign up for loans to fund scattered and non-sustainable projects all over the country, as a ruse, to confuse the citizens of how hard they are working to alleviate poverty, when in actual fact, they are taking us round and round in circles so as to perpetuate poverty and our vulnerability thereby extending their illegitimate stay.
We should now come out and tell those who care to listen that Africa has come of age and we demand a full menu of services such as potable water, sewerage, motorable roads, hospitals and drugs, schools, electricity, housing, jobs, etc. This means that we should stand up and tell our governments and the so called humanitarian agencies that we can no longer live on handouts alone, but as people, we demand a full compliment of services that will not only meet our basic needs but wean us out of dependency syndrome that continues to subjugate and rob us of human dignity.
Therefore, in order for these services to be provided efficiently and economically, there is need to house people centrally which calls for establishment of new and well planned towns with the necessary facilities and amenities. As we very well know, that once we demand our fair share in any deal, the so called donors will run for the hills, we need to put our house in order and come up with plans for establishment of new towns and those who may wish to join us in the investment and development should come and join in under our own terms! The starting point will be for Africa to learn to wean herself from donor-aid-conditionality and dependency-syndrome and instead come up with home grown solutions to her problems. This means that foreign registered churches and NGOs that pretend to engage in humanitarian assistance, while in fact being agents for the imperialists so as to prolong their stay and our suffering, will be the first in line to go. This, however, isn't going to be easy because of their entrenched vested interests but we have no option other than reclaim our freedom, independence and dignity. Did somebody say, "it's better to die in dignity while standing other than in indignity while kneeling down for the oppressor"? As Africans, we know our needs and in case anybody wanted to assist, he had better learn to consult and treat us with courtesy. And of course, our patient like that of any other race isn't infinite!

IMPERIALIST LABYRINTH IS CHOKING AFRICA

Africa at the moment is suffering poverty and retarded economic not because its case is insurmountable but because of deliberate interference by our former colonialists through a labyrinth of networks such as the World Bank, IMF, foreign embassies, churches and international NGOs which have ensured that Africa remains under their firm grip so that they can continue with subjugation so as to exploit our resources. This means that were Africa to be left alone, or even better, break the imperialist shackles and free herself, we could readjust and reinvent ourselves and become self-reliant. Look, not that the world has never known of worse suffering than the present case of Africa but through mutual respect and assistance, the problems have been overcome.
The Great Depression of the 1930s affected industries, farms, mining and other economic activities leading to massive losses and widespread poverty but through cooperation within nations this was overcome within a relatively short period of about ten years and normalcy returned. Closely following this, the second World War started and Europe being the main theater witnessed a lot of destruction and interference in normal activities. The US arranged massive financial aid to rebuild Europe after the war and within a period of three years growth had returned to pre-war years in nearly all the countries. The Asian financial crisis of 1997 resulted in much damage to the economies of these fast developing countries threatening them with total ruin. However, a financial bail out was arranged through IMF and eventually the problem was overcome. The only exception here was the decision of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who disregarded popular opinion, to go it alone by kicking out IMF out of his country and arguing that they could arrange a more suitable homegrown package than the one offered by IMF. Interestingly what he advocated worked and Malaysia became the first country to wriggle out of the country even before the mighty Japan. This prompted many economists to use the Malaysian model as a case study and countries such as Japan wanting to copy it for use. Eventually, the humbled IMF acknowledged that Dr Mohamad's model was a better one than what they had offered! Finally, the current global financial crisis has rattled giants like the US where industries, banks, financial institutions and insurance companies have collapsed resulting in foreclosures, loss of savings and jobs. However, due to the international cooperation based on mutual respect, countries have been able to contain it and mitigate its effects on their citizens and economies.
The question now, how come that Africa with the multiplicity of assistance arranged through IMF, World Bank, foreign governments, churches and NGOs has not been able to sort out even the mundane issue of food deficit? There can only be one answer to this question. The former colonialists don't want us out of the problems so that they continue the exploitation of the continent. Can Africa learn from Dr Mohamad of Malaysia?
When we look at the amount of money siphoned out of Africa every year through corrupt tenders, outright theft, inflated import bills, under-invoiced exports, inflated loans, etc, I think that there is scope for Africa to emerge out of poverty and eventually build up a financial resource base for growth. But with the current number of despotic leaders and labyrinth of imperialist organizations such as NGOs and churches, it is going to take close to a miracle unless we come up with homegrown solutions by creating awareness and building a social revolution through the masses. Is Africa listening?

THEY FOUGHT THE FIGHT BUT LOST THE FAITH

Whereas our independence fathers and heroes such as Mzee Jomo Keyatta of Kenya and Nelson Mandela of South Africa fought hard for our freedom from the colonialists and made huge personal sacrifices which earned them long term incarceration in jail, they seem to have strayed the course and betrayed our faith after their release and eventually taking the reins of power from the colonialists. What could have happened to these former fire breathing giants of African liberation? Is there a possibility that the colonialist may have used his immense scientific knowledge and technological prowess to alter their physiological chemistry such that once released from jail, they would forget their past crusades and instead preach compromise and reconciliation with the former tormentor? Both Kenyatta and Mandela were released from jail and took the reins of power at a relatively advanced age. Is there likelihood that they may have mellowed with time and age and gone for the soft option of,"it's better half loaf than none", thereby giving in too much easily instead of hard bargaining for our sake? But did they have the energy, capacity and presence of mind to do the hard stuff that was required of them at those difficult transitional stages? However, whatever explanation is proffered, there is enough evidence to show that Kenya went terribly wrong after independence and South Africa has to take drastic measures to avoid similar pitfalls.
Mzee Jomo Kenyatta had great opportunity to lead our country into prosperity and complete freedom but he scuttled the chance when immediately after release he sought to assure the colonialist of his cooperation and intention to forgive even when so many Africans were hurting from the misrule of the British. People had been dehumanized and traumatized for far too long and the least they would have expected from the British was a formal apology and thereafter, then the new head of state would have followed it up with a conciliatory assurance. Similarly, Nelson Mandela upon release used the similar tact that Kenyatta had done earlier and sounded a conciliatory tone even before the lords of Apartheid had time to offer any excuse for the path they had taken over the years to dehumanize the African. Perhaps, both men had naively believed that the former master would behave as a gentleman, as he has always made us to believe, without looking around to see the suffering he continues to mete on innocent children in the name of protecting his wealth and superiority over other races.
The way Jomo Kenyatta started us in this country since 1963 is likely to haunt us for many years to come and will take a very strong leadership to undo the mess of corruption, inequality, animosity, poverty, hopelessness and continued supervision by our former masters. On the other hand, Nelson Mandela may have lost the plot when he opened his doors wide open to his former jailers for advise and even charity support. The idea to form the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) group for affirmative action may sound good but the recent stories about the emergence of a super rich class of Africans in a land where the majority continue to suffer due to lack of basics and unemployment is likely to complicate matters. At the moment, Africa doesn't have the luxury for soft options such as negotiations with the former oppressor because he has neither time nor respect for us. If there was such space in the oppressors' design for the world, then Somalia and Afghanistan would be peaceful countries for the citizens to enjoy. Now that we know, let's not follow the path of our independence fathers unless we want to remain in hell forever!

THE BIG COLONIALIST LIE STILL THRIVES

The top ten economies of the World are the USA, China, Japan, India, Germany, Russia, UK, France, Brazil and Italy. The USA and UK as the centers of the capitalist ideology but both have welfare schemes meant to cushion their citizens and industries in case of severe economic declines beyond individual control. This is particularly true for their industries and agriculture where they routinely intervene to make them competitive so that they don't lose our to the rest of the world. They have subsidized medical care, housing, education, etc meant to cushion their citizens. On the other hand China and Russia profess communism and have some of the most sophisticated technologies in the world. Germany, Japan, Brazil, France and Italy have welfare schemes and strong socialist parties that keep the government in check when there is too much incline to harmful capitalist tendencies. It is through the socialist party and socialist Prime Ministers such Nehru and Shastri that India initiated the Green Revolution and became self sufficient in food to feed a population equal to that of Africa. With all the above, former colonialists and imperialists through their Messenger Boys from the World Bank and IMF have ensured that communism or socialism doesn't take root in Africa. Any intention to intervene either in agriculture or industry by African governments is resisted by the imperialists as detrimental to the economy. What crap! Therefore, the despotic African rulers take advantage of this "friendly" advise to milk his countries dry and fritter the fortunes to the imperialist Bank outside the country for safekeeping. This is why you find that it's only in Africa where leaders own more wealth and land than their own countries (pun intended) in the name of democratic and capitalist forms of governance!
Traditionally, Africans worked together to produce food and create wealth for their communities and families. Today, if one wanted to see the fruits of communism/socialism at micro-level, you need not go further than your own mother, just look at the "merry-go-rounds" and "Chamas" run by our womenfolk which are very successful due to economies of scale. If those women had followed capitalist ideologies, most probably some families would starve to death. however,there is no such thing as pure capitalism or communism but our former colonial masters have ensured that we pursue capitalism so that we are not able to properly utilize the economies of scale to build large resources, enough to get us out of the poverty trap. The big lesson to Africans should have been, had capitalism which we have followed been good, then we could all have been rich enough to afford junkets to outer space instead of dying of treatable illnesses like malaria. But the imperialists know to well that, only fickle and soft brains of Africans, will believe their crap.
Therefore, it's not until we come out of our present trance, where we continue to be mesmerized by western religion and capitalism, shall we realize our folly of having been duped for too long by the colonialist who has pretended to be our benefactor, when he is actually a blood-sucking liar. Communism and socialism has never retarded human progress but lies particularly to Africans from colonialists have!

KENYA AS A CLASSLESS SOCIETY

The three main factors that have contributed into making our country such a divided society of land owners on one hand and the landless on the other are mainly the repressive Provincial Administration, the colonial land and agricultural policies that have been supported by successive post independence regimes to perpetuate bad governance and poverty. Whoever manages to address the the three, whenever that will be, will have succeeded in taking this country to the Biblical Canaan.
The colonial government administration in Kenya was built on the premise of taking away arable land from the Africans and giving it out to the new white settlers to establish large scale farms and ranches. This is the genesis of the landowners versus the landless classes that has refused to go away. To prop up this new set up, The Provincial Administration was introduced and given immense powers through the Chiefs Authority Act to ensure that able bodied Africans were availed to work the farms. The introduction of the Poll and Hut tax was also meant to compel the Africans to work in slave conditions in return of a pittance wage that went into fulfilling their "obligation" to the Crown.
During the Mau Mau rebellion, the Africans were rounded up and set up in camps and the little land and livestock confiscated from them and given to loyalists including the members of the provincial administration and their relatives.The Swynnerton Plan of 1954 ensured that a new class of land owners was created even as more Africans were dispossessed of their land. At the time of independence, we had a great opportunity to remedy the situation but the new greedy and corrupt political class could not let the opportunity pass by without making a killing.
When it became clear that we were to gain independence, a few white farmers panicked and wanted to sell their farms so as to settle elsewhere. Through what was known as the Million Acre Scheme, farmland was bought from departing farmers through a loan from the British Government and the World Bank so as to resettle the landless but this was abused by the new administration by allocating a large portion to the politicians, their relatives, provincial administrators and other government officials. So the problem escalated further and increased resentment, poverty and hopelessness on the masses of the landless. Any dissent was however brutally crushed by the provincial administration who were also put in charge of land transactions.
The newly acquired large scale farms by the new African elite were neglected because the owners could get incomes from elsewhere but ensured they kept the titles for speculative purposes. Successive regimes continued to divide up the country into new administrative units to perpetuate their stay. The increased numbers of provincial administrators was used to do their bidding and for their trouble they were rewarded handsomely through immense powers, allocation of land, good salaries and a free hand to corruptly rob the citizens of their possessions. They were involved in the initiation of land clashes and perpetuated land case by making unilateral and arbitrary judgments.
Therefore, the first step to right up the mess is to totally abolish the Provincial Administration as we know it today and in their place put elected officials according to the new constitution. The second step is to introduce new drastic land policy that ensures all land reverts to government and the land registration abolished. This way every body in the country will become a land utilizer other than a land owner thus leveling the field and creating a class-free society. However, land will be availed for such purposes as farming, housing, industry, forestry, etc. but on a need basis. Thirdly, new lands will be reclaimed from the largely uninhabited areas by supplying them with amenities such as infrastructure, water, schools, hospitals, etc. This will deal the current obsession with land ownership a death knell and will end the border clashes and land cases for ever. This in my opinion is the best option available to us. But is anybody listening?

THE AGRICULTURE AND LAND POLICY CONUNDRUM

Modern agriculture is built on 5 pillars viz. policy, science, research, technology and marketing. We are all aware that we inherited our present agricultural system from the colonial government and as far as I know, no major attempt has been made in the policy so as to make suitable for our needs.
The white settlers arrived in the early 20th Century and set up land agricultural farms and ranches after they dispossessed the African land owners of their land. Through an elaborate system by using the Provincial Administration, they rounded the local able people to work in their farms, almost for a pittance, so that they could afford to pay the compulsory Poll and Hut tax that had been introduced by the government. This confined the Africans to the patchy and and small parcels left to them to grow food crops. Meanwhile, the white farmers were supported through agriculture research, technology and credit schemes to build a vibrant agricultural industry that brought them fabulous wealth which their defendants live on up to date. As if to put the final nail on the coffin of African agriculture, the Swynnerton Plan of 1954, was introduced to reward the loyalists by introducing them to modern agriculture through further dispossession of the little African land by land consolidation and adjudication. After the little that they had had been taken away, the landless Africans were now left with no alternative but to lead a life of serfdom by working on the farms of the new African masters, at least to get food for their families.
The new independent government, with the Million Acre Scheme, that was started so as to buy out the departing white farmers, through a loan scheme supported by the British Government and World Bank, corruptly took away the parcels of land meant for the landless and gave them out to their families, relatives and confidants. This increased landlessness, poverty and hopelessness which may have been the precursor of land clashes and the recent post election clashes.
Everybody knows that agriculture does not thrive on the skys but on land. Therefore when the independence government extended the stay of the Delameres', George Williamsons', Del Monte's, Kakuzis, Unilivers', etc of this world and gave out large swathes of the remaining fertile land to the political class, basically for speculative reasons, we lost track of the land and agricultural policy. Therefore unless a new land and agricultural policy that puts premium on land utilization is put in place for the benefit of the citizens and the country, our agriculture is doomed to fail and it will not put us on track for for economic development. It will continue to benefit a few individuals and corporations at the expense of the citizens and the country.
I think the best option would be to put all the land mass at a nominal value of near zero by making sure all land reverts to the government as custodian and anyone working on it pays premium rent for occupation and utilization. This means that all the individuals and corporations hoarding large parcels of land underutilized and for speculative purposes will find their title deeds worthless unless they put it into productive use for the benefit of the country. This is the surest way of putting an end to land speculation, clashes, cases to ensure every piece of earth in our country is conserved and used productively for our collective benefit. Once a proper land and agriculture policy is laid out, all other components of modern agriculture such as investment in science, research, technology and marketing linkages will fall in place to enable us use land productively and produce enough resources for development and industrialization. Without such a policy, we shall forever remain a third world economy!

THE EDUCATION SYSTEM IS OUR ACHILLES' HEEL

I think one of the best educationists that never was is Mzee Kimani Maruge, who at the advanced age of 75 years, defied all odds and joined 7 year old children to start his primary school education, with a clear mind to enable him learn to read the Bible for himself and be able to keep records of his possessions. How he would have applied the knowledge gained from the education he was getting, is a matter of conjecture, because he died before he could complete his studies. Unlike Mzee Kimani Maruge, who clearly identified his needs for education, our education mandarins together with the past Education Commissions have been unable to offer us an education system that clearly meets our needs so as to solve our daily problems in this country. We inherited a colonial system of education that was meant to prepare the African to work as a servant to meet the needs of the white master and not vice versa. Unwittingly, even with the likes of Ominde, Gachathi, Kamunge, Mackay and Koech Commissions, we have not got to the root of the problem to enable us to come up with an education system that meets the needs of the citizens to serve the country better. We started by looking at education as a means to a career and not one to help us also think how to tame the environment we live in and hence lessen our problems. This is the catch.
A good education system should free our minds from any existing or acquired mental shunts so that we can think freely and clearly to solve existing and any new problems. Education as given by the colonialist was a form of bondage to make us subservient, vulnerable and insecure. Without the total freedom to learn, acquire and apply new knowledge and skills one is reduced to an automaton that could easily be replaced by a robot. Isn't this what we now see around our country? With the proliferation of universities, thousands of Kenyans are spending time and money in search of degrees so that they could enhance their career opportunities to earn better pay. Look at the thousands of primary school teachers who are enrolling to acquire those degrees, never mind their applicability. They are likely to continue to tell the children under them that education is important because after their graduation, may be they managed to get pay hikes and perhaps buy a car. Whereas there is nothing very wrong about that, however, the child will grow with the only knowledge that with higher education, he could as well buy a car. What will stop him take short cuts other than toil day and night if he could carry a few pellets of cocaine in his gut and buy a plane instead? So the question is how do we redeem ourselves and get out of the present mire?
Education, particularly at primary and secondary level should not only be free but compulsory so that people at an early age may learn and internalize their roles and responsibilities in society and the environment. In order for this to happen, new learning materials have to be availed, instruction books rewritten, teachers retrained and above all , everybody has to be made consciously aware that the education they receive is for their benefit, country, humanity so that they may live in harmony with their physical environment. It has to be a classless type of education that provides equal opportunities for the rich and poor; the rural and urban because it's state sponsored. Eventually, once people complete their education, they will have clear roles and responsibilities regardless of the careers they pursue so as to make the necessary contributions for the enjoyment of all. Therefore, it's important to retool our education system so that we may be able to apply the knowledge gained thereof to solve our daily problems because without that we shall continue to suffer and may be perish altogether. That is perhaps, the missing link in our present education system that has proven to be our Achilles' heel in the fight against corruption, poor governance, injustice, poverty, tribalism, etc.

THIS CONSTITUTION CAN'T IMPROVE OUR LIVES

I think, whoever said that "the more things change, the more they remain the same", may have as well summed our present state of politics, where we seem to believe that by merely changing the constitution we are ended for Nirvana. During the recent referendum campaign to change the the constitution, we almost laughed the political and religious leaders out of town, who were described as water melons because we thought that they didn't have any stand or convictions as they seemed to say one thing during the day and do the opposite at nightfall. What we didn't realize is that they were smarter than the majority of us because they knew that no matter what happened, the status quo would be maintained for their continued control of our daily lives. True to their convictions and game-plan, they knew that "a water melon by any other name is still a water melon", to paraphrase William Shakespeare.
Strangely, Kenyans have been described as an overoptimistic lot and sometimes as peculiar. Is there a chance that we could all that wrapped together? Do we really think the new constitution will change our lives for the better with the current lineup of political class?
For starters, the politicians have now positioned themselves to share the seats created by the new constitution. Some have indicated that they want to be our governors, senators and others wish to remain MPs. They continue to do so without recourse to the electorate who they hope to bribe as usual and get elected. This is good for them because they have more seats to share out. But how about us? Do we really believe that our present leaders, like the leopard, will now change their spots to stop corrupt ways, to stop bribing us, to stop inflating tenders for their benefit, to stop tribalism and nepotism and to start thinking about our general welfare other than their selfish interests?
What is not in doubt, however, is that slum dwellers in Kibera and Mathare will continue to live in plastic shacks where they have to contend with "flying toilets". Poor mothers will be detained in hospitals after delivery for lack of medical fees, people will continue to die of hunger when rains fail, the youths will remain jobless and our education system will continue to produce automatons. Talking of our education system, it was devised to produce Africans who could be employed to work as clerks, cooks, soldiers, teachers and gardeners for the colonial masters. We were not trained to think for ourselves but to read and write to take instructions. I don't think that this has changed an iota since independence in 1963. This is the reason why we have to bribe so that our children are employed as teachers and clerical officers. We continue to bribe the army officers, sometimes with as much as KES 300,000.00 so that our daughters are employed in the military. We don't do so for the love to defend our country but so that we may earn a living that will hopefully get our rural and urban families out of grinding poverty.
Therefore, this new constitution will not make us more patriotic, it will not change our education system to make us thinkers, it will not reduce joblessness, it will not reduce poverty, it will not improve food production, it will not reduce corruption, it will not deliver potable water, it will not improve our health system, etc. The new constitution will not change our lives for the better because it will be supervised by the same political class that wants the status quo to be maintained for their own benefit. However, recent revolutions like the Russian, Chinese and the Cuban revolutions of 1917,1949 and 1959 respectively have changed lives of billions of people for the better. It can also take place here for the benefit of the millions of people and our country.

BLACK AFRICA IS THREATENED WITH EXTINCTION

The European invaders who eventually settled in America, Australia and New zealand are credited with so much ruthlessness and single minded resolve to exterminate the aboriginal inhabitants in those lands such that only remnants of the original populations now survive. Thanks to them, the Aborigines, the Red Indians and the Maori of Australia, America and New Zealand respectively now live in pathetic and secluded reserves which are no better than the way wildlife  is kept. Africa didn't fare any better but due to the large population, harsh climate and tropical diseases like malaria which claimed the lives of many invaders, they found the continent rather inhospitable. However, always smart and never to be deterred by what could be tamed, they sold the people into slavery, exploited the resources  and which they continue to do, may be forever.
The colonialists not only violated the African land and bodies but they invaded our minds and souls. Through their education system and religion they have managed to totally control our minds such that we can't do anything without looking over our shoulders lest we annoy the big brother. We have been converted to automatons that are switched on/off at will. Everything that now happens in Africa is regulated to work in a clockwork fashion with the control switch either in Europe, USA or God knows where else they have fixed it. The controllers run our elections, initiate our coups, control our Agriculture, Finances, Military, Education, Health, New Constitutions and even the air we breathe.
When the system of Apartheid ended in South Africa, there was a great sigh of relief and optimism that Africa  had finally  found its groove and  there was even talk of  a renaissance. But Alas, even before the euphoria of celebrations was over, the controllers had already worked out how to extend their stay and end our party mood. They quickly created a new class of super rich Africans that was aptly called "Black Empowerment Group". Now the poor black African from Soweto has to reckon how to fight the new Apartheid because his optimism and expectations have all suddenly evaporated into thin air. The housing and jobs are simply not forthcoming and in order to cool his nerves, he has resorted to killing Black Africans from other countries. Once he realizes xenophobia is not the answer to his state of joblessness, perhaps he will learn there is such thing as tribalism and nepotism in Africa. But interestingly, while this takes place, the white man will watch with glee as he continues to enjoy his wealth from the mines and industries without any recourse to the pesky blacks. The problem for the greater black Africa is that if South Africa falls for this game-plan, then even the little optimism that is left in us will dissipate.
The great African Novelist, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, may have missed the Nobel Literature Prize this year, as was hoped, but he still remains a giant patriotic son of this continent. Through his writings and speeches, he has reminded us time and time again to reclaim our minds and souls from the colonialists but we continue to dismiss him as a daydreamer. Even the so called professors of western education cannot comprehend the meaning of what Ngugi is saying because of their present mental shunts. We have a big problem in Africa at the moment because if our professors cannot see the need to decolonize our minds, as advocated by Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, then it would be preposterous to expect a despotic African ruler to stop raiding the central bank and stashing the loot in an overseas colonial bank account even as his people starve to death. Unless we decolonize our minds, Africa will soon be extinct!

"SONKO" IS BORN OF CAPITALISM

In the new Kenyan lingo, we are made to understand that anyone who acquires wealth dubiously is dubbed a "Sonko". The name has gained so much popularity that even kindergarten children are fighting over the name. Perhaps, the more "appropriate"  one for the innocent little ones is "Sonkolet"! With this kind of trend, we shouldn't be surprised if a few mothers may have picked the new name for their newborns. I suppose that in the name of equality, our women who qualify, may as well  go for the more gender sensitive title of "Sonkoness"!
Anyway, this clamor for a name, ostensibly meant for dishonor is rather ridiculous and disconcerting! However, there is a good explanation to this trend. Slavery, foreign religion, colonialism and capitalism brought in a new change to the African traditions of dignity and honor. For instance, during slavery, one didn't need to worry by selling others to slavery provided they were Africans. Thus, as either pious Christian or Muslim, you needn't worry about incurring the wrath of your god, never mind the African god. The colonialist freely ex-appropriated African resources for his own benefit and that of his country.
The newly crowned African Chief had no qualms following in the footsteps of his master because he believed his actions were blessed so long as he did it in the name of the "Crown". On the other hand, the "Man of God", the missionary, could do exactly what his compatriot, the administrator, was doing to the African in the name of expanding the kingdom of God. Therefore, "Sonkos" arrived a long time ago in this country but the new African elite and rulers have taken the title to "higher levels of glory", by robbing the commoner to amass his personal wealth. By so doing, he has managed to sanitize and glorify theft to be acceptable to all, including innocent children.
You see,  all around us these days, we have the good company of Sonkos who earlier on supplied expired drugs to our hospitals, supplied obsolete equipment, supplied chalk dust as water treatment chemical, sold pubic land , buildings and toilets, awarded fictitious tenders for supply of government inventory including arms, exported non-existent gold so as to earn export compensation, imported rotten food for the hungry, created IDPs so as to benefit, ad nauseum. These are our leaders, captains of industry, MPs, church ministers and our fathers generally. They are all happy to be referred as Sonkos because they drive the latest make of Mercedes Benz, live in palatial homes, throw lavish parties, holiday in the French Riviera, bank offshore, have companies registered in the Isle of Man, Cayman, or whatever. They do this  so as to earn recognition and create personal wealth at the expense of the country and its inhabitants. Let's not forget that they also marry "beautiful" women and have the chubbiest of the children. They visit prayer houses regularly, play hard, "work" hard and kill others sometimes. This is the world of capitalism that is controlled by  true Sonkos. Karibu!

ALTERNATIVE LIVELIHOODS IN SEMI ARID AREAS

For a start, I must confess that I have a soft spot for cattle keepers, particularly the African Zebu,  in the the semi arid regions of this country, often referred to as pastoralists, because my own father had a small herd that financed my education. So you now see why I have to write this article!
Anyway, we are all aware that people living in the semiarid regions have for a long time kept large herds of livestock as the only means of livelihood because it was a well paying occupation and  there wasn't a better alternative available to them. However, because of population pressure, dwindling land space, recurrent droughts due to climate change and general insecurity, there is need to avail alternative livelihoods to these vulnerable communities  so that they may lead comfortable lives as is expected of all citizens.
History shows that the colonialists carved large swathes of land in the semiarid areas particularly where there were permanent sources of water  which they fenced off as ranches where they kept livestock and game animals. The new political elite after independence joined them and they still continue as shareholders in those enterprises. The local people were left to fend for themselves on the fringes of these ranches without the necessary intervention by the government which continues to date. However, because of the problems cited above, this is facing threat and is no longer sustainable.
The Tiania and Igembe communities are well known large scale keepers of the African Zebu in the lower areas bordering Isiolo and Samburu from where they supply beef to the entire Meru region and even to Nairobi. However, this business is now threatened by the growing population, lack of grazing pastures due to frequent droughts and cattle rustling particularly from the neighboring Samburu community. In fact I can count several families who have been left destitute due to this insecurity. In the recent past they have had to move their cattle to the Meru National Park and sometimes to neighboring Tharaka and Chuka in search of pasture. This is definitely a veritable case of  inevitable conflict  that will escalate border conflicts within these communities and therefore not sustainable.
It is well known that the mighty US, China, India, Israel and Australia have large semiarid areas but they have now tamed them through the use of modern technology and put them to good agricultural production. This is what we need to do as a country in our semi arid areas, other than the present talk of leasing them out to foreigners, when our own people are starving. Any move towards leasing out these lands is like an insult to the indigenous communities who still are kept out  in the share of the lucrative ranches, some of them, run by foreigners. There is,  however, nothing wrong with foreigners investing in proper land utilization in this country so long as it is well regulated and doesn't deny the citizens their rights and perpetuate colonial mentality.
The way to go is  to support the pastoralists by providing credit schemes to restock and destock as necessary,  providing water, introducing new and better breeding stock, providing feeds and marketing linkages. Those who wish could  also engage in other agricultural activities like beekeeping and irrigated commercial agriculture. That's the way to stop cattle rustling and make our citizens happy and more productive. Arming home guards  or occasionally disarming others is simply outdated!

COMMUNITY FOOD SECURITY SCHEMES

Foreign Aid and Donor supported  national food security programs have been open to abuse by officials put in charge in the past through major corruption scandals such that they have had very little impact on the intended targets. I think it is  now time to retool those schemes in such a way that they emanate from the needy communities themselves incorporating homegrown structures in order for them to serve their intended purposes. It is possible to come up with credible and sustainable food security schemes with components of local resource mobilization and where necessary seek external assistance.
Therefore, with such schemes available, it is possible to help out communities such as Tiania, that suffer predictable famine cycles to overcome their food security problem within a reasonable timescale. The most important aspect, is to have a permanent secretariat in place with  a supportive and willing local political leadership. The scheme has to be registered as a public Fund that has the capacity to mobilize resources from varied donor sources. Once that is done the following outline may be considered but not necessarily in this order.
i) Budget - An annual budget has to be drawn with clear streams of resource mobilization and allocation. It should also have a component of emergency funds that may be used to help needy cases in times of crop failure. The budget should also include a small component of no more than 10% to help run the secretariat.
ii) Resource Mobilization - This is a key component of any such scheme to help achieve the goals and make it sustainable.
iii) Plan - A plan has to be put in place for both the immediate and long term goals.
iv) Credit Scheme - Once the scheme has been established, it is important to come up with a credit scheme to help the farmers acquire the right inputs at the right time. The credit could also be used in new value chains such as preservation, packaging, transport and marketing support.
v) Improved breeds and cultivars -  Farmers live in different ecological zones and have varied land parcels on which they farm. This means different family needs have to met by availing improved breeds of livestock and the right plant cultivars.
vi) Storage and Marketing - These two components are crucial to successful farming. Lots of produce has been lost before due to poor storage but it could be minimized by availing, for instance, small scale grain dryers at family level or food preservation technology that adds value to the produce and keeps it longer for the market. Grain losses due to weevils and other pests could be minimized by use of the right storage facilities and chemicals. Farmers under such schemes could also produce and market together so as to cut on overheads.
The above components are by no means exhaustive but they could be used as a starting point for any community that wishes to get out of the hunger and poverty trap. There is no more manna from western governments and donors, which means that we have to learn to be our brothers keepers, through local resource mobilization, to fight the current scourge of hunger. I recommend that whoever reads this should think of how they can help their own community start such a scheme. And if yours is not a needy community, please, walk over to the neighbouring one and help them out!

LET'S AVERT A LOOMING FAMINE IN TIANIA

Whereas the weatherman and other experts have told us to brace up for food shortages in the next few months due to the La Nina effect, I doubt whether food deficient communities such as my Tiania, have put any contingency measures yet to mitigate the likely disastrous effects on the many vulnerable people, particularly, in the lower marginal areas of Rwanda. However, I think that we still have some lead time which we could utilize to mobilize resources to enable us to stock up reasonable amounts of food nearer to the affected residents.
The months of November and December are well known food deficit months (Uruura) and due to the predictability of this occurrence, it's possible to stem the problem once and for all if we approach it positively with the necessary inputs. There is need for our two area MPs, Hon Peter Munya and Hon Kilemi Mwiria to get actively involved in any plans towards this end so as to give it the necessary political goodwill that it deserves. Any further procrastination on their part will only mean that we shall result to emergency response that may not get enough funding and continuity, to plan to make the area food secure in the near future.
The two constituencies of Tigania East and Tigania West have a combined budgetary annual allocation of KShs.120 million from the Constituency Development Fund with a component for emergency purposes. Now, if we used part of the funds available to set up a secretariat to mobilize resources for the imminent crises, I think that, it's also possible to expand its mandate to lay groundwork for future food production for a secure future. The secretariat will need to collect the necessary data through a baseline survey so as to quantify the needs of the vulnerable families and school children who may require to be fed at school starting in January 2011.
I know this is not an easy task but we need to get started to get our people out of the cyclical trap of famine and poverty. We are aware that maize is being harvested in Western  and the Rift Valley areas and if  measures are taken urgently, it is possible to secure it at good prices. Let's start mobilizing local resources and where necessary ask our friends wherever they may be to supplement our efforts. But most importantly, the time is of the essence now and a lot can be achieved to  help the most vulnerable before it reaches crises levels.

EQUITY IS THE HALLMARK OF MERU COUNTY

In a traditional polygamous Meru homestead, even where there were as many as seven mothers, equity was upheld for everybody including the children who were never left to suffer from want regardless of the industry of their biological mothers. Now that we have a brand new Meru County represented by seven MPs, who represent the mothers in the homestead,  I would like us to start off in a new order that will take into consideration the diversity of the 1.5 million residents so as to make everybody happy and comfortable.
The seven MPs viz. Ntoitha Mithiaru, Mithika Linturi, Peter Munya, Kilemi Mwiria, Silas Muriuki, Gitobu Imanyara and Kiraitu Murungi have the unenviable task of preparing the ground work to make this a reality. They will also need to remember that although the Merus have been divided into two counties, the Muthambi, Mwimbi, Chuka and Tharaka should never be treated as foster children, for to do so, will propagate the colonial mentality of administrative boundaries that have brought in a lot of strife and animosity in our country.  The task ahead is enormous but it can be made easier if it's tackled diligently by sober minds devoid of selfish considerations that were the defining points in the creation of the districts and other administrative units in the past.
I think that the new county has its cloth cut out in the form of a benchmark that can be found in the South Imenti Constituency led by Hon Kiraitu Murungi. This constituency should serve as the model on which to grow the new county. Therefore instead of lengthy secret meetings, ostensibly, to find ways of establishing the new county, let's ask Kiraitu Murungi to avail the blue print for his constituency to the other six MPs so that they may give it an informed critique and thus improve on it for adoption at the county level. Perhaps, the residents of South Imenti may feel uncomfortable to enter this marriage with some of the laggards but everybody needs to be given assurance that their needs will be accommodated such that the lifestyles of all residents improve instead of retrogressing.
Therefore, as much data as possible needs to be collected and analyzed in order to lay out an acceptable and progressive plan for a prosperous future. The MPs have to find a working formula to bring the stakeholders at a round table conference where notes can be compared and plans charted. However, if people continue in the same old order of keeping secret cards under the table or playing out clan stereotypes, we may not achieve equity for all residents, which I think, should be the vision for our new county.

A CASE FOR COMMUNITY MUSEUMS

Some African communities and languages are slowly dying but painfully so for those who are forcefully assimilated into other peoples culture against their will. Obviously, we all know that no culture is static or superior to the other and more importantly, none will ever be the ideal. But there is the human attachment, a sense of honor and pride that make us all want to cling to what is traditionally ours even at the expense of derision and sneer from those that think that its antiquated and retrogressive. Thus the Turkana, the Masai and the Giriama should be assisted to cultivate and preserve their rich culture presently seen through dress, dance and various traditional rituals despite the avalanche of assault from the Western influence.
Our new constitution is a fresh lease of life for our cultural heritage because it encourages their growth and preservation for the enjoyment of the concerned communities and others. The National Museums of Kenya and the National Archives have done a great job in the preservation of our artifacts but we need to understand that they were set up by the colonialists who may have neglected what was not important to them. Therefore, the new counties, communities, national government and other stakeholders need to come together to close the existing gap.
For instance, we are aware that there is equipment and software available that could help synthesize, record and preserve languages  for further research and development. This could be the start of writing in our local languages so as to produce dictionaries, works of fiction and even scientific books. African religions and beliefs were neglected and in some cases subdued if not obliterated altogether. We need to revisit this important part of our heritage and research , record and preserve it.
Traditional surgical procedures such as making body marks through cuts and circumcision are slowly dying but there is need to research them further and understand why our forefathers introduced them instead of the current ignorant belief that they should never have come into being.
Droughts and famine are now a common place in Africa due to various factors but one of them is the slow death of drought tolerant crops which had existed for thousands of years. In Tiania for example, millet was a staple food that was replaced by maize and we kow the consequences. A very hardy bean, dolichos lablab (Nchaabi) has been replaced by phaseolus vulgaris (mung'au) for no apparent reason apart from that the later is the food for those educated. Therefore in order to preserve our cultures, languages and even traditional crops and vegetables, we need to build new community museums that will contain research and learning centers, libraries, archives, exhibition rooms and even botanical gardens.
There is everything to gain by preserving our cultural artifacts, values and languages as opposed to neglecting them now only for future generations to suffer cultural disorientation because of our present state of ignorance.

THE NEW MERU BOND

The Meru community with a population of about 2 million people comprises the following sub-groups:- Igembe, Tiania, Tharaka, Imenti, Igoji, Mwimbi, Muthambi and Chuka. The members of the community speak the same language although with varying intonations. Lets now briefly look at  opportunities and weaknesses that are present but which need to be strengthened for the benefit of everybody in the two counties.
The Tharaka, Tiania and Igembe occupy the lower and largely semi-arid ecological zone while the rest are served by the Mount Kenya forest zone with ample supply of surface water. The Tharaka, even though  are on the lower zone, have large rivers traversing them but just like the Ukambani region which is served by the country's largest rivers, they have not harnessed these waters for agricultural production, perhaps, due to lack of political will and resource mobilization.
The Imenti, Chuka, Mwimbi, Igoji and Muthambi were highly favoured by the Swynnerton Plan of 1954 because of their capacity to grow cash crops such as tea and coffee and therefore have had a head start in the cash economy. Although the Igembe have Miraa as a cash crop that brings in a lot of money, it's not benefiting the larger majority because of high level of illiteracy and other reasons. In fact the industrious and suave Somalis have now taken over the farms and marketing  of Miraa and unless this issue  is addressed urgently, it could be a time-bomb in the waiting.
The new wonder of Meru, the Mitunguu Irrigation scheme is currently producing lots of bananas and while it benefits the Imenti, the Tharaka next door have not benefited at all.
The Tiania and Igembe have lots of unresolved land cases that have hampered development. This together with lack of surface water will need addressing to bring them to tolerable human levels like the other members.
The bulk of meat eaten in Meru is supplied from the cattle found in the Northern Grazing ares of Tiania and Igembe. This is now threatened by insecurity which should be resolved as matter of priority.
The Meru National Park is a potential cash cow for the new county that can generate lots of revenue for the utilization by the residents.
The border disputes which have escalated in the past and caused deaths and destruction of property, need utmost attention because the scars are still fresh in some corners.
Therefore, the Meru who share a common origin, boundaries, language and culture should find strength and enough resouirces from the two counties and utilize them for the benefit of the residents.The creation of the new two counties should serve as a challenge for the community to discard the old order that divided them and find new synergy to forge ahead to a prosperous future.

THE TIANIA ARE DYING DUE TO LAND CASES

The Tiania community of Meru has earned the dubious distinction as the most litigious among other Meru communities due to endless and unresolved land related cases with some dating as far back as 40 years. Let's now look at a brief genesis of this sordid state of affairs.
The colonial government through the Swynnerton Plan of 1954 introduced land adjudication and registration in the native reserves which hitherto were regulated through  local community agreements whereby land was viewed as the property of the community that occupied, cultivated and grazed livestock on it without much attachment to individual or selfish utilization. Obviously, as Prof. Okoth Ogendo taught me many years ago, there are pros and cons to the Swynnerton Plan, but that is a story for another day. The plan meant that those who cultivated several parcels of land, some in different Eco-zones, had them surveyed, put together and allotted a temporary number pending the issuance of a land title deed once all the parties involved were satisfied that the process had been done fairly. Whereas this exercise went smoothly in the neighboring Imenti community, this was not the case in Tiania where selfish and corrupt members of the local Provincial Administration colluded with the government land officers to punish clans and individuals who were considered anti-government and as perceived enemies. Pieces of land were hived-off from the "bad"clans and passed to the favored clans while individuals in the local Provincial Administration, their families and friends were generously rewarded from chunks of land curved from the unwanted individuals, the poor and the illiterates particularly if they didn't belong to the colonial religion. This is why you find that the former members of the Provincial administration and their confidants have large pieces of land in the middle of poverty and misery in Tiania. These members of the local Provincial Administration planted the first seeds of disaffection in Tiania and the poor and those affected lodged their claims to their stolen land but the new corrupt Independent government wasn't sympathetic to their cases either. Although land committees were supposed to be chosen by the community and thus neutral, the powerful Provincial Administrators  armed with  the repressive Chiefs Authority Act ensured that their relatives, friends and cronies were put in the committees. Therefore, it's easy to guess who got justice and who got the shorter end of the stick at the end of the day. In order to cover their tracks of iniquities, the retired Provincial Administrators and their associates have continued to influence local politics such that politicians get sucked into the imbroglio or at best are made redundant in the equation.
The main beneficiaries of these unresolved cases are the lawyers who have made a fortune out of it and the greedy and rich people who have joined in to take advantage of poverty and illiteracy so as to buy land on the cheap. Therefore, unless we manage to exorcise the ghosts of our forefathers who sowed the seeds of greed and corruption in land cases, the Tiania will remain litigious, poor and hungry leading to many early visits to the grave.The situation is now getting complicated by the day because the first generation of litigants and witnesses are dead, records have been compromised or lost and soon it will be a case of "dead men tell no tales". What a shame! The challenge now is to the local politicians who need to show leadership by leading from the front otherwise they also risk dubbed the "leaders of litigants". The situation is now grave and needs urgent attention from those with some moral fiber and human hearts.

WHY WE CAN'T FEED OURSELVES

The question that might have crossed the minds of some Indians, during the recent Commonwealth Games in Delhi, is probably, how on earth our country with a relatively small population, only 5% that of India and with world class athletes is not able to run away from pervasive hunger by being food sufficient!
The Green Revolution, which took place in India in the "60s is chiefly credited to the eminent Agricultural scientists, who used their knowledge to introduce and propagate new crop cultivars which made their country, a once net importer of food to become food sufficient and feed its population of 800 million souls. What may be lost to some observers,  however, is the role played by the second Prime Minister of India, Lal Badur Shastri, who gave the necessary political goodwill and appealed to the nation to support the project. Unfortunately, Shastri died in 1965 in USSR in suspicious circumstances before the full impact of the project he had committed himself so much to see through. You may also need to know that Shastri like Mahatma Gandhi, well known for his socialist policies, who abhorred accumulation of personal wealth at the expense of others is said to had only 4 Rupees in his bank account at the time of his death. Try telling this to  the current crop of African political leaders and they will most likely  run you out of town!
Unless, our country is able to get a reincarnation of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Shastri, we are likely to remain food deficient in the foreseeable future. Let's briefly consider our present state.
Firstly, commodity trade has for a long time been used by those in political power and their associates to enrich themselves at the expense of the country. Thus, importation of fertilizers, rice, maize, wheat and sugar is done in such a manner that artificial shortages are created in the country by fiddling with the tenders for importation such that the prices to the farmer and consumer are made exorbitant thereby interfering with production and economic parameters. Secondly, it's well known that export flowers and horticultural crops bring in a lot of foreign exchange but due to a complex scheme that involves under-invoicing, the country loses a lot of money. Thirdly, we all  know that Coffee and Tea are prime exports but unfortunately, they compete for arable land with food crops even though we have no control of their returns.
Therefore, nobody should cheat us that we cannot feed ourselves because we lack rains, arable land, technology, etc. That's all trash! The only good reason why we can't feed ourselves is due to lack of political goodwill, the present system of capitalism and pervasive corruption. That's the painful truth.

KACC IS A DEAD DUCK IN THE WATER

Why on earth did anyone ever think of setting up  the Kenya Anti-corruption Authority in our present environment of capitalism? Capitalism is about private enterprise, wealth creation and individuals profiteering even if this is at the expense of the state or the majority. After all, it's all about a free market economy, where people strive to get out the most from their investments. This makes it difficult to describe a corrupt intention in a situation where there is a very thin line between profiteering and corrupt dealings.Isn't the purpose of forming KACC, therefore, meant to dupe us as the government plays with the fickle minds of citizens?
We may not have anything personal against the past leaders at the helm of KACC, such as the sharpshooter Hon Harun Mwau, the Shakespeare quoting Justice Aaron Ringera and the present oratorical PLO Lumumba but does anybody truly expect any tangible results from them that may eventually pull our country out of the present mire?
Based on the recent history of our country, our past leaders, Presidents Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel Arap Moi were wealthy land owners with vast interests in all conceivable types of business. One would have expected, because of their state duties, they may not have had the time to attend to those vast businesses and therefore the onus was left to their partners and associates. Obviously, in a capitalist environment like ours, the partners in turn would be expected to use their close proximity to the heads of state to make a tidy sum for themselves and families. We should expect a contagion effect in this kind of scenario because the smell of money is never bad. Now that our economic and governance policy hasn't changed since 1963, isn't it safe to say that the present and future leadership is likely to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors because none can accuse then of committing any crimes? Simply put, PLO or any other government official has no business at Integrity House, in the name of fighting corruption,  because if they did their jobs diligently as expected, they would prosecute every one including the mama mbogas at Marigiti, because in our case, you can't differentiate the act of corruption from that of zealously growing a  business. Fidel Castro, the quintessential face of leaders for the poor, will tell you that he had to overthrow Fulgencio Batista and his corrupt regime because it had joined hands with  the capitalist America to fleece and subjugate the citizens of Cuba. Corruption and capitalism have never been strange bedfellows and KACC has no business coming in between them. I think the present remit for KACC is like that of a dead duck in the water.

CAPITALISM IS BAD FOR AFRICA

The US is known for all things grand. It's the biggest economy, the mightiest military,  has the wealthiest individuals, the biggest industry,  the center for democracy, the wealthiest Christian Church, etc. the list is long. However, behind the facade of this honor and grandeur, there is a little blot in a country haunted by racial segregation and poor blacks who can't get access to health care, food or housing in this country of plenty. What a contradiction! On the other hand, if you make a boat journey from Florida to Socialist Cuba, a few nautical miles away, every one has access to what the poor Americans lack. What irony! Don't you be surprised because what you have just seen is the mean and ugly face of capitalism at its best versus that of a meek socialism at peace with itself.
Some historical background may be in order here. Modern US was founded by the white European Christians who did everything to take away forcefully what belonged to the aboriginal Indians. They founded a Capitalist and Christian country using resources plundered from Africa using African slaves. Even though slavery was abolished it took a long time for racial segregation to peter out legally in the US. Civil Rights movements led by the Baptist Minister Rev Martin Luther King Jr among many luminary black activists led to the eventual scrapping of the racial laws. However, up to date, discrimination on skin color is still common in the US and is being perpetuated by Evangelical Christian leaders who should know better. It was recently reported in the press that Rev Pat Robertson, the mercurial face of Christian America, saying that Haiti deserved to face the wrath of God through calamities such as earthquakes because they had kicked out Christian French colonizers from their country. It is however known that the French left after they had milked the country dry of its resources and abandoned it as a mere piece of barren earth. Capitalism and Christianity have cohabited for a long time and they are discriminatory against the poor and therefore black Americans should not expect any reprieve soon.
In black Africa, Christianity walked hand in hand with colonialism and it continues to perpetuate it to date. In a capitalist state, you can't rein in corruption, you can't care for the majority poor because the owners of wealth will revolt and withhold their support to the government. Governments in capitalistic states are controlled and run by the wealthy regardless of how the majority vote. This explains why the US President Barack Obama was chided by the Evangelicals and Wealthy Republicans when he signed the Health care Bill to avail medicines to many more poor Americans. They even had the cheek to brand him an African who wanted to bring socialism to America! One wonders why they would oppose such a move when they pretend to be Christians whose tenet is to care for all and particularly the underprivileged. We now know better.
When we were debating the recent constitution referendum, the Christian Church, opposed its adoption under the pretext that they wanted to stop dumping of fetuses in Nairobi river and elsewhere because  it encouraged abortion. They even got a leg up from the Evangelicals in the US. The truth, however, is that they wanted the status quo. For the first time, there wont be compulsory teaching of religion in schools because this can be challenged in court. This automatically denies the Christians a malleable chunk of young minds who after conversion perpetuate its growth. As capitalists, perhaps, they are tasting a dose of their own medicine by being reminded that there is no such thing as free lunch. They have to work harder to get new converts!
Therefore, if Africa is to move forward, it has now to move away from the clutches of both Christianity and Capitalism. The children and the adults will need to learn the benefits of socialism versus the evils of capitalism. We need to know that countries such as Russia, China, Brazil and Cuba have progressed due to equitable resource allocation and level playing ground which has enabled citizens to be productive and patriotic due to peace of mind offered by systems that remove fear and offer hope. We need to build socialists parties that have mass following and structures ready to take over power from the capitalists legally and peacefully. Can someone do a manifesto for the true socialist African Party for black Africa?