Kenya and Singapore Monday signed an agreement that will ease air connections between the two countries.
The agreement, witnessed by Prime Minister Raila Odinga will allow Kenya Airways and Singapore Airlines to operate in the two countries.
In the air services agreement, the two countries granted their designated airlines rights to operate in either or both countries.
Under the agreement, air carriers from Singapore and Kenya have the flexibility to operate any number of air services between and beyond both countries.
The agreement also grants the airlines of the two countries the right to make stops in each other's territory. It also grants them the right to operate between the territories without any limitations or restrictions on capacity, frequency or aircraft type.
The agreement was signed by Kenya's Minister for Transport Mr. Ali Chirau Mwakwere and his Singaporean counterpart Raymond Lim.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong.
The two countries also signed another agreement on technical cooperation.
On the technical agreement, the government of Kenya, in its efforts to enhance the development of its infrastructure to support vision 2030 expressed the desire to share Singapore's developmental experience and expertise.
The government of Kenya agreed to engage Singapore Co-operation Enterprise (SCE) in the planning and implementation of affordable and sustainable public housing system.
SCE was also asked to conceptualize, implement and manage three special economic zones in Mombasa, Kisumu and Lamu.
The technical agreement was signed by Kenya's High Commissioner Festus Kaberia and Mr. Alphonsus Chia, the CEO of Singapore Cooperation enterprise.
Earlier Mr. Odinga and Mr. Lee HsienLoong held talks at the latter's palace where they explored various areas of economic and technical cooperation between Kenya and Singapore.
Prime Minister Odinga said there was need to increase Kenya's economic portfolio in Singapore to address the imbalance which is currently in favour of Singapore on the ratio of 1:10.
Noting that Kenya was open to trade and investment, the PM asked the Singaporeans to invest in Kenya's technical and infrastructure fields especially in ports, communications and tourism.
"We have also prioritized the development of energy sector and we are making investments in the production of geothermal, wind, solar, biomass and ethanol."
He assured his host that Kenya was ripe for investment adding that the government had embarked on reforms to address concerns raised by international investors notably corruption, bureaucracy ,insecurity and poor infrastructure.
Noting that Kenya could be the entry point for Singapore into the East African region, Mr. Odinga pointed out that the East African community was a large market of 170 million people.
Mr. Lee Hsien Loong lauded the signing of the two agreements saying his government will quickly follow up on the signing by increasing its technical and economic presence in Kenya.
Earlier, Mr. Odinga was accorded an official reception at Istana palace in Singapore city during which he inspected a colourful guard of honor mounted by detachment of the Singaporean forces.
Mr. Odinga visited the Singapore Housing Development Board, the Singapore Mass rapid Transport (SMRT) and Changi International airport.
The PM is accompanied by the Minister for Industrialization Mr. Henry Kosgey, the Minister for Transport Mr. Chirau Ali Mwakwere, the Minister for Housing Mr. Soita Shitanda, the Minister for Trade Mr. Amos Kimunya, the Minister for Information and Communications Mr. Samuel Poghisio and an Assistant Minister for Finance Dr. Oburu Oginga.
Source:kbc.co.ke/
Showing posts with label Kenya’s image. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kenya’s image. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Kenya: Kkk Alliance Plans Simama Rally Hijack
Nairobi — THE Kikuyu-Kalenjin-Kamba alliance is planning to hijack a rally of Simama Kenya scheduled for January 31in Bungoma.
The KKK alliance wants to make Eugene Wamalwa its point man in Western province because it believes he can check the influence of Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy ODM Leader Musalia Mudavadi.
The plan has been hatched is to "test the waters" in western Kenya where Prime Minister Raila Odinga's ODM party still enjoys significant support, according to two key ministers in the KKK alliance.
"We are determined to build support for our alliance even though our opponents want to brand us tribalists. We want Eugene to join us so we will be in Bungoma to tell Kenyans that we have a national outlook," said one minister.
Agriculture Minister William Ruto is likely to attend the rally.
"I will be attending that meeting myself and all plans are on to have the minister attending but this is subject to confirmation at a later date," Cherengany MP Joshua Kutuny, a close confidante of Ruto, said yesterday.
The KKK alliance came to light last year with Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Agriculture Minister William Ruto and Tourism Minister Najib Balala as its leading lights.
The two ministers said yesterday that all four had yet to discuss the issue but there was a general consensus among their supporters that KKK people should make its presence felt at the Simama rally.
"If you won't see us, you will hear from us. I ask you to look at those who will attend and what interests they will be representing," said one of the ministers.
Simama Kenya was started last year by Jimmi Kibaki, son of the President, to mobilise the youth before 2012.
For more send your comments to radioshabelle@ymail.comThe Simama rally was organized by to declare Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa a presidential candidate but has caused controversy with some local MPs threatening to disrupt it.
Jimmi Kibaki is expected to attend the meeting.
Kamukunji MP Simon Mbugua, a close associate of Uhuru, warned Jimmi to stop holding rallies in constituencies where he was not invited.
"Who is Jimmy Kibaki? He is an imposter. He is hanging on his father's clothes and some of us are not happy about his maneuvers. We would rather Wamalwa takes keen interest on this," Mbugua said.
Wamalwa is battling for Ford Kenya chairmanship and has already declared he will run for President in 2012.
MPs allied to Kalonzo, Uhuru Kenyatta and Ruto are being encouraged to attend the rally.
"We have been asked to grace the rally in Bungoma. I have however decided that I will remain in my constituency to attend to other serious matters but I wish those who will be headed to Bungoma success," said Keiyio North MP Lukas Chepkitony.
Eugene Wamalwa traveled to Uganda this week with Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka on an official visit.
"Why do you think the VP flew to Uganda with him? I can tell you for sure that Eugene is part of the bigger KKK plan to penetrate western Kenya," said an MP close to Kalonzo.
Wamalwa denied that he was part of the KKK alliance and insisted that Simama Kenya is going to make an alliance with Ford-Kenya, a party he hopes to take over later this year.
"We do not want to be dragged into alliances we are not part of. What we are seeking to do is make an alliance with all young Kenyans so that we can achieve smooth generational change," said Wamalwa.
Jimmi has in the past denied that his father is grooming Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta as his successor.
But analysts say the President has strategically placed Uhuru at a vantage position to take over the central Kenya mantle once he retires in 2012.
Yesterday Tony Gachoka, Simama's spokesman, said they would not allow anyone to hijack their function.
"Simama Kenya is going to Bingaman to launch our National Campaign for Generational Change in the leadership of Kenya come 2012. No amount of threats or doomsayers will deter us from doing so," stated Gachoka.
"All our supporters will be heading to Bungoma on that day. We are going there to show solidarity with Wamalwa and from then onwards we shall stand side by side each other all the way to 2012," Kutuny said.
He said that plans were underway to ensure as many MP as possible from the Ruto camp attend the function to show their support.
Kutuny said they supported Ruto's presidential bid but will be in Bungoma to support Wamalwa before the two negotiate on whom to support in 2012.
Relevant Links
East Africa
Kenya
"Wamalwa is a good man, we are looking forward to working with him and so I will be very much willing to be in Bungoma on that day," Konoin MP Dr Julius Kones said.
However Kimilili MP Dr Eseli Simiyu warned Wamalwa to tread carefully.
"Wamalwa he is a young man but what befell Elijah Mwangale and recently Dr Mukhisa Kituyi is squarely coming to him. He is finished," Eseli said.
"This is a deliberate attempt by some people from Central Province to come and undermine the local leadership. We want to say to them, they can come, but they must know they are strange guests," Eseli said.
All MPs from Western Kenya have agreed to give the rally a wide berth, according to him.
Source:allafrica.com/
The KKK alliance wants to make Eugene Wamalwa its point man in Western province because it believes he can check the influence of Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy ODM Leader Musalia Mudavadi.
The plan has been hatched is to "test the waters" in western Kenya where Prime Minister Raila Odinga's ODM party still enjoys significant support, according to two key ministers in the KKK alliance.
"We are determined to build support for our alliance even though our opponents want to brand us tribalists. We want Eugene to join us so we will be in Bungoma to tell Kenyans that we have a national outlook," said one minister.
Agriculture Minister William Ruto is likely to attend the rally.
"I will be attending that meeting myself and all plans are on to have the minister attending but this is subject to confirmation at a later date," Cherengany MP Joshua Kutuny, a close confidante of Ruto, said yesterday.
The KKK alliance came to light last year with Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Agriculture Minister William Ruto and Tourism Minister Najib Balala as its leading lights.
The two ministers said yesterday that all four had yet to discuss the issue but there was a general consensus among their supporters that KKK people should make its presence felt at the Simama rally.
"If you won't see us, you will hear from us. I ask you to look at those who will attend and what interests they will be representing," said one of the ministers.
Simama Kenya was started last year by Jimmi Kibaki, son of the President, to mobilise the youth before 2012.
For more send your comments to radioshabelle@ymail.comThe Simama rally was organized by to declare Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa a presidential candidate but has caused controversy with some local MPs threatening to disrupt it.
Jimmi Kibaki is expected to attend the meeting.
Kamukunji MP Simon Mbugua, a close associate of Uhuru, warned Jimmi to stop holding rallies in constituencies where he was not invited.
"Who is Jimmy Kibaki? He is an imposter. He is hanging on his father's clothes and some of us are not happy about his maneuvers. We would rather Wamalwa takes keen interest on this," Mbugua said.
Wamalwa is battling for Ford Kenya chairmanship and has already declared he will run for President in 2012.
MPs allied to Kalonzo, Uhuru Kenyatta and Ruto are being encouraged to attend the rally.
"We have been asked to grace the rally in Bungoma. I have however decided that I will remain in my constituency to attend to other serious matters but I wish those who will be headed to Bungoma success," said Keiyio North MP Lukas Chepkitony.
Eugene Wamalwa traveled to Uganda this week with Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka on an official visit.
"Why do you think the VP flew to Uganda with him? I can tell you for sure that Eugene is part of the bigger KKK plan to penetrate western Kenya," said an MP close to Kalonzo.
Wamalwa denied that he was part of the KKK alliance and insisted that Simama Kenya is going to make an alliance with Ford-Kenya, a party he hopes to take over later this year.
"We do not want to be dragged into alliances we are not part of. What we are seeking to do is make an alliance with all young Kenyans so that we can achieve smooth generational change," said Wamalwa.
Jimmi has in the past denied that his father is grooming Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta as his successor.
But analysts say the President has strategically placed Uhuru at a vantage position to take over the central Kenya mantle once he retires in 2012.
Yesterday Tony Gachoka, Simama's spokesman, said they would not allow anyone to hijack their function.
"Simama Kenya is going to Bingaman to launch our National Campaign for Generational Change in the leadership of Kenya come 2012. No amount of threats or doomsayers will deter us from doing so," stated Gachoka.
"All our supporters will be heading to Bungoma on that day. We are going there to show solidarity with Wamalwa and from then onwards we shall stand side by side each other all the way to 2012," Kutuny said.
He said that plans were underway to ensure as many MP as possible from the Ruto camp attend the function to show their support.
Kutuny said they supported Ruto's presidential bid but will be in Bungoma to support Wamalwa before the two negotiate on whom to support in 2012.
Relevant Links
East Africa
Kenya
"Wamalwa is a good man, we are looking forward to working with him and so I will be very much willing to be in Bungoma on that day," Konoin MP Dr Julius Kones said.
However Kimilili MP Dr Eseli Simiyu warned Wamalwa to tread carefully.
"Wamalwa he is a young man but what befell Elijah Mwangale and recently Dr Mukhisa Kituyi is squarely coming to him. He is finished," Eseli said.
"This is a deliberate attempt by some people from Central Province to come and undermine the local leadership. We want to say to them, they can come, but they must know they are strange guests," Eseli said.
All MPs from Western Kenya have agreed to give the rally a wide berth, according to him.
Source:allafrica.com/
Denis Ndiso of Kenya wins Mumbai Marathon
MUMBAI: Around 6 am in January, the streets of Mumbai are still dark. Walking through Bandra you can’t hear any birds, not even the roosters that
many people still keep, although a call to prayer comes from a mosque. The only others in the streets are newspaper boys, municipal sweepers and a few old ladies on their way to early morning mass at Mt Carmel’s Church. Quite absent are the runners who have been a constant feature in the past few months, practising for the Mumbai Marathon.
And then you turn the corner at Lilavati Hospital, and there they are. A most unusual traffic jam for this time of the morning announces the presence of the official starting point for the half-marathon in the ground in front of Rang Sharada Hotel. Autos driven by bleary-eyed drivers wrapped in shawls against the (for Mumbai) mild morning chill disgorge runners in skimpy shorts and vests, too charged to feel chilly. Some jog up and down on the spot to warm up, while others pin on their numbers, watched by the traffic police, friends and family and slum dwellers clutching lotas who look morosely at the starting point ground where, in true Mumbai fashion, they were used to relieving themselves a few days back.
In some ways this is the best place to see the impact the marathon has had on Mumbai. Proportionately, the number of runners of the full marathon has increased from 2,500 registrations last year to 3,500 this year, and the dream run always has the most runners, with 22,000 people puffing it out this year. Yet the full marathon remains the preserve of the hard-core runners, including professionals like the Kenyans who everyone knows are going to win, and spoken of with awe, almost like they’re a superior species. And the dream run, while it gets the most people, is really just a Sunday free-for-all.
To run all 21 km of the half-marathon though requires real commitment, yet it is not beyond the reach of most people. Given average health and adequate preparation, many people can finish it, and for the past six months many have been preparing to do just that. Last year, 10,000 ran it, this year 11,000 have signed up, and at these Bandra Reclamation grounds they are ready to start, kicking off with the biggest thrill of all — being the first large group of runners to cross Mumbai’s new Bandra-Worli Sea Link. Some are super fit, but many look just healthy and all look ready to go the whole way.
At 6.45 am, just as the sky starts lightening, the gun goes off, and the runners surge out of the gate. A pack of really serious runners quickly separate themselves, and then come the rest, trying not to push and shove, some running with friends, some striking out on their own. Here, this correspondent did the more regular Mumbai thing and went to the station to take a train to the finish line outside CST station, but a friend who did the run tells me of the exhilaration of getting on the Sea Link: “At one point there’s an incline down and as you look ahead you can see the whole bridge packed with the runners. And the sun is coming up over the city and above there’s a helicopter keeping track and as it went over, all the runners waved out to it!”
Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com/
many people still keep, although a call to prayer comes from a mosque. The only others in the streets are newspaper boys, municipal sweepers and a few old ladies on their way to early morning mass at Mt Carmel’s Church. Quite absent are the runners who have been a constant feature in the past few months, practising for the Mumbai Marathon.
And then you turn the corner at Lilavati Hospital, and there they are. A most unusual traffic jam for this time of the morning announces the presence of the official starting point for the half-marathon in the ground in front of Rang Sharada Hotel. Autos driven by bleary-eyed drivers wrapped in shawls against the (for Mumbai) mild morning chill disgorge runners in skimpy shorts and vests, too charged to feel chilly. Some jog up and down on the spot to warm up, while others pin on their numbers, watched by the traffic police, friends and family and slum dwellers clutching lotas who look morosely at the starting point ground where, in true Mumbai fashion, they were used to relieving themselves a few days back.
In some ways this is the best place to see the impact the marathon has had on Mumbai. Proportionately, the number of runners of the full marathon has increased from 2,500 registrations last year to 3,500 this year, and the dream run always has the most runners, with 22,000 people puffing it out this year. Yet the full marathon remains the preserve of the hard-core runners, including professionals like the Kenyans who everyone knows are going to win, and spoken of with awe, almost like they’re a superior species. And the dream run, while it gets the most people, is really just a Sunday free-for-all.
To run all 21 km of the half-marathon though requires real commitment, yet it is not beyond the reach of most people. Given average health and adequate preparation, many people can finish it, and for the past six months many have been preparing to do just that. Last year, 10,000 ran it, this year 11,000 have signed up, and at these Bandra Reclamation grounds they are ready to start, kicking off with the biggest thrill of all — being the first large group of runners to cross Mumbai’s new Bandra-Worli Sea Link. Some are super fit, but many look just healthy and all look ready to go the whole way.
At 6.45 am, just as the sky starts lightening, the gun goes off, and the runners surge out of the gate. A pack of really serious runners quickly separate themselves, and then come the rest, trying not to push and shove, some running with friends, some striking out on their own. Here, this correspondent did the more regular Mumbai thing and went to the station to take a train to the finish line outside CST station, but a friend who did the run tells me of the exhilaration of getting on the Sea Link: “At one point there’s an incline down and as you look ahead you can see the whole bridge packed with the runners. And the sun is coming up over the city and above there’s a helicopter keeping track and as it went over, all the runners waved out to it!”
Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com/
Friday, December 11, 2009
Branding can improve Kenya’s image
Youths set up a road block in Naivasha during last year’s post-election violence. Political environment largely affects the business environment and consequently the final country risk grade. Photo/REUTERS
Posted Friday, December 11 2009 at 00:00
Marxist Lenin once quipped that “Politics always obediently follows economics”.
The politics in most African nations have never been so alluring and Kenya is no exception.
Few African countries can brag of well entrenched democratic regimes and most are often led by kleptocratic dictatorships.
This is has continuously been negatively affecting business environment as well as attracting foreign investors who are fed with news about our failed systems and widespread corruption.
Ripple effects
Failure to address these issues has ripple effects and ultimately affects international country risk ratings.
Country risk refers to the risk of investing in a country, dependent on changes in the business environment that may adversely affect operating profits or the value of assets in a specific country.
Undoubtedly, political environment largely affects the business environment and consequently the final country risk grade.
The country risk rating as at November 18, 2009 on Kenya by the authoritative Economic Intelligence Unit is horrendous.
Kenya’s overall rating was grade D which simply means a very uncertain political and economic outlook.
A business environment with many troublesome weaknesses can have a significant impact on corporate payment behaviour.
Corporate default probability is high.
A close look at the components advising the rating gives the scorecard; Security risk C, political stability risk D, government effectiveness risk E, legal and regulatory risk D, macroeconomic risk C, foreign trade and payments risk C, financial risk C, tax policy risk C, labour market risk D and infrastructure risk E.
The country ratings system allows a company to assess the average corporate payment default risk, for example repayment of credit in a given country.
It also indicates to what extent a company’s financial commitments may be affected by local business and economic/political environment within a given country.
Source:businessdailyafrica.com/
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