Doing Business but Suffering in Silence

According to the World Health Organisation, gender-based violence is a major public health and human rights problem throughout the world. Though the assault is carried on in the privacy of the home, the violation is widely seen as a "private" family affair, and for some - a normal part of life.

In Kenya, an estimated 49% of married women were physically abused by their husbands (Borwankar et. al, 2008). Though violence against women mainly occurs in the form of physical and sexual assault; it takes many forms including emotional abuse, verbal abuse, and economic abuse.

Economic abuse includes the controlling of finances; not allowing one's partner to venture into enterprise; taking a partner's money without her permission; denying access to, or knowledge of finances as well as using a partner's finances or credit for personal gain.

Socialisation of the girl child

Women entrepreneurs fall victim in part to economic abuse due to familial socialization from the time of birth. From a tender age, socialization which is the process of inheriting norms, customs and ideologies differentiates girls from boys. As boys grow up, they learn to be the head of their future homes as well as being the main (if not only) breadwinners. Girls in turn are socialized to be the home makers and caregivers.

In some settings, a girl’s day starts early. She wakes up to go fetch water and ensure breakfast is ready before she sets off to school. Her brother on the other hand has the luxury of sleeping in. Between the two, the chances of attaining higher grades are in favour of the boy. Then there is the practice of early marriage that dooms young women to lives where they never have the opportunity to actualise their aspirations.

Though education is one way in which women can emancipate themselves from the grip of the culture of male domination, the education system has only served to perpetuate the proposition that women should be more “arts” oriented than their science oriented brothers. Women are under-represented in tertiary institutions where they would have had the opportunity and facilities to hone their entrepreneurial skills. This in turn adversely affects their business growth potential.

McDowell and Pringle (1992) have argued that women are not only constantly defined in relation to men, but are defined as dependent and subordinate to them as well. This has been manifested in the low numbers of women entrepreneurs in “manly” sectors such as manufacturing. Women tend to operate micro service oriented enterprises with low possibilities for growth. The International Finance Corporation in Kenya has found that despite their potential, women-owned businesses which predominate in trade and service sectors, are smaller and less likely to grow.

And, all their early experiences and nurtured perceptions result in some established women entrepreneurs being disempowered when it comes to making independent decisions about how to spend their business profits as well as the direction for their businesses’ growth. Moreover, though many women empowerment programes focus on entrepreneurship development as a means to empower women, they neglect to design and implement ways to address gender based violence towards so-called “empowered” women.

WHO Controls The Purse Strings?

Then there is the issue of who actually “wears the trousers”, or has control of the household or business budget. Though single-motherhood and female headed households are becoming more common, these homes tend to be poorer than male headed homes.  According to the International Fund for Agriculture & Development (IFAD), the reasons are that female headed households tend to have a higher dependency ratio in spite of their smaller average size, and also have less access to resources.

An unfortunate trend has also been recognized where there is the self-perpetuating cycle of these women heads of household also causing their daughters to assume the same roles of unpaid house-help and caregivers, whilst their sons are urged to study so they can in future pull the family out of poverty.

Thus the question for development experts is: what is the use of trying to improve women’s livelihoods while such male dominating norms and perceptions continue to thrive?

Ending the silence

Through the emergence of micro-finance pioneered by Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, financial institutions and policy makers have come to acknowledge the challenges women entrepreneurs face, not least in accessing loans. However once credit is given, who is to say that the beneficiary can keep to the loan agreement if her partner insists on having if not a share then all of the money?

Lack of access to education and opportunity, and low status are correlated to violence against women. Long term socialisation and inaction has meant that many women do not seek help or report abuse when it occurs. Cultural norms, lack of awareness, community pressure and widespread insensitivity of officials have also contributed to the fact that the majority of women who are abused suffer in silence.

Though the educational system needs to take into consideration the inequalities of the girl child when they enroll in school, it is ultimately most vital that there is a committed move to strengthen policy and legal frameworks to recognize economic abuse and outlaw all forms of gender based violence.

Watch USAID Kenya Adressing Violence Against Women

Statement from Professor Wangari Maathai on the Mau Forest Complex in Kenya

Press release, December 2, 2009

Nations of the world are preparing to meet at Copenhagen for the latest round of negotiations to agree on a global treaty to limit greenhouse gas emissions. It is expected that reafforestation, and reduced deforestation and forest degradation, will be key solutions to the climate challenge.

It is extremely important, therefore, for Kenya to be seen to support protection and conservation of forests, including the Mau, which at 400,000 hectares is the largest forest complex in East Africa. Twenty-five percent of the Mau has already been destroyed through human settlements, cultivation of crops and monocultures, and grazing of livestock. Along with the other four water towers, the complex supports the livelihoods of more than 70% of the people who live around them. Some rivers from the Mau complex flow into trans-boundary lakes, including Turkana and Natron, the breeding grounds for flamingoes, and Victoria, the source of the Nile.

The value of the Mau complex is enormous, with respect to the various sectors it supports. It plays a significant role in regulating rainfall patterns and the climate, and in making possible agriculture, power generation and tourism. Experts have already warned that the continued destruction of the Mau forest will cause catastrophic environmental damage, resulting in massive food crises and compromising the livelihoods of millions of Kenyans, and the possible collapse of the tourism industry. 

While the Kenyan government has a responsibility to ensure that all Kenyans are taken care of, it is also true that no settlements should have been allowed in the Mau forest in the first place. While the government was wrong to encourage these settlements, it cannot hold millions of Kenyans hostage in an effort to justify its own mistakes or appease people it misled. Therefore, the Hon. Prime Minister Raila Odinga and the government are right in demanding that all human settlements in the Mau and other forests cease.

While neither the PM nor the government has all the solutions for the Mau complex, and indeed for all the internally displaced people in the country. Therefore, what the government needs is support both from within and without in order to meet the challenge. Politicians are being hypocritical when they pretend that all displaced Kenyans are not equally in need. National leadership should be seen to care about all Kenyans, and not be driven by self-interest. But when it focuses on only certain communities or regions, it ceases to be national leadership and instead becomes tribal leadership. 

With that kind of ethnically-driven leadership, Kenya is doomed. Indeed, it is that kind of leadership that led us to settle people in gazetted forests in the past, allowed leaders to allocate themselves public goods, or incited Kenyans to kill each other after the 2007 election. Kenyans should be commending the Prime Minister for providing the right kind of leadership, and should be encouraging him to move ahead with the ongoing efforts of saving the Mau and all our forests—for the sake of present and future generations.

Community Youth Katiba meetings

Following the publication of the Harmonised Draft of Kenya's Constitution, the Community Youth Katiba meetings have now been confirmed.

The community meetings will be low cost activities whose purpose is to collate the views of the youth in the draft constitution. The meetings in the provinces will last between 3 and 5 hours maximum.

The Community Youth Katiba meetings schedule is:

1. Western Province (Busia, Bungoma, Kakamega) 7th December 2009

2. Nyanza Province (Kisumu, Kisii, Siaya) 8th December 2009

3. Rift Valley Province (North Rift, Nakuru, Narok) 9th December 2009

4. Central Province (Nyeri, Thika, Kiambu) 10th December 2009

5. Nairobi Province (North, South, East) 8th and 11th December 2009

6. Eastern Province Embu, Meru, Machakos) 12th December 2009

7. North Eastern Province (Wajir, Mandera, Garissa) 14th December 2009

8. Coast Province (Voi, Mombasa, Malindi) 15th December 2009

9. Collating of the views and Presentation of the memorandum to the CoE on 17th December 2009 

For more information, contact:

Emmanuel Dennis Ngongo
Convener - NYC

P.O. Box 8799 - 00200
Nairobi Kenya
Cell: +254 722619005
http://emmanuel-ed.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Emmanueldennis
www.nyckenya.org

Read the Harmonised Draft of Kenya’s Constitution here

Kenya's Youth Fund Board resign

What's Your Poverty Footprint?

A recently published report titled "Oxfam Poverty Footprint: Understanding Business Contribution to Development" poses serious questions - even for youth entrepreneurs operating micro-businesses. In fact, we would go so far as to say that the nascent stage of business, is exactly the right moment to think about the question: What is my enterprises' footprint on society?

The report which is a prequel to a second outlining the actual methodology for undertaking a footprint survey outlines the reasons why it is important for entrepreneurs to consider their business impact. The report posits that an awareness of the effects of a business on society and people living in poverty can help a business to improve it's operations, understand risks and present new opportunities. 

Specific areas of focus include assessing value chains, how the business affects  the wider society's standard of living and the social implications of environmental practices. And though Oxfam stipulate that such a footprint survey should be undertaken by independent researchers, ultimately it remains the responsibility of business owners to ensure that their enterprises leave a lasting and positive legacy.

Read Oxfam Poverty Footprint: Understanding Business Contribution to Development Report

Know Your Constitution

The Harmonised Draft of Kenya's Constitution was launched with huge fanfare this week in Nairobi. The draft has been greeted both with skepticism as well as the hope that this document will be the foundation for a new dawn for Kenya. 

But what does the harmonised draft mean for Kenya's youth? With less than 30 days, it's important for us to get acquainted with the draft Constitution, and more important for us to make our voices heard, as the future of Kenya is OURS.

Read the Harmonised Draft of Kenya's Constitution here

Sambili: Warios reinstatement is final

African Achievers Award International 2010

The African Achiever Awards aims to reward excellence among Africans on the continent and Africans in the Diaspora. The excellence displayed by Africans, no doubt, enhances the positive image of Africa and Africans.

Criterion

The criterion for African Achiever Award, broadly speaking, is to have contributed to the enhancement of the positive image of Africa and Africans in any part of the world. As simple as the criterion sounds, there are numerous people who satisfy this criterion which means that the best of Africa’s Best are matched against each other to produce a high quality list of African Achiever Awards Award recipients. The African Achiever Award is highly prestigious and highly coveted.

Eligibility

Submissions are welcome from any institution based in UK and Africa including corporate headquarters or branch offices of international institutions.

Entrants may submit for multiple awards. However, the shortlist for the following categories will be decided by an independent editorial board.

The categories include:

• Accountancy, Banking & Finances
• Beauty, Business, Building, Construction & Property
• Community Development, Charity, Legal
• Community Development, Corporate Social Responsibility
• Communication & Media, Health
• Fashion, Future Leaders - Religious Impact
• Sports, Science & Technology
• Entertainment, Innovation
• Future Leader, Public Sector
• Life Time Achievement, Online sports media Telecommunications
• Voluntary - Disabled people

How can I nominate or be nominated?

You can nominate yourself for an award or be nominated by someone else.

The awards celebrate African people who have:

• Shown innovation or creativity in their volunteering
• Demonstrated leadership in creating and developing projects
• Used their energy, commitment and enthusiasm to raise awareness
• Created something worth replicating elsewhere and inspired others
• Demonstrated a willingness to develop their talents into new areas

AAI Nomination Form 2010

The standoff at Kenya’s Youth Fund does not serve the youth

On Wednesday 21st October 2009, the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Hon. Prof. Hellen Sambili reinstated the Youth Enterprise Development Fund’s former CEO Mr. Umuro Wario, after a - yet to be made public - Kenya Anti Corruption Commission investigation report that cleared Mr. Wario of any criminal culpability in his activities prior to his suspension and subsequent termination by the Youth Fund’s Board.

In June 2009, the Partnership for Change released a report (published here on this blog) questioning the true reasons for Mr. Wario’s dismissal from the fund, in addition to queries concerning:

• Single sourcing of contracts prior to and during Mr. Wario’s tenure as CEO.
• The contentious partnership with Enablis East Africa, that Mr. Wario himself claimed was the main reason behind his termination, and
• The corporate governance structure of the Youth Fund's Board with regards to conflicts of interests among named members.

So far the Youth Fund’s Board has not deigned to acknowledge nor respond to the questions, despite the Partnership posing the queries not only in the mainstream media but in youth forums. As Yipe.org’s work is focused on the youth entrepreneurs, we too tried to ask questions when given the opportunity, only to be met with the response that our enquiries lacked any substance, and were based on fallacious reports.

As a result of the Fund's deafening silence, sadly we have become fully aware that the Youth Fund’s Board is only interested in retaining full and complete control over this most important national fund; so much so that the Board will go to any lengths (at whatever cost and detriment to its reaching the 3 million of unemployed youth that require it’s assistance) to ensure that Mr. Wario is not allowed back into the Fund’s secretariat.

To spend in the range of millions of precious Kenya shillings  to reiterate what has been roundly publicized on our television screens and radios to endear Kenyans to their point of view, has exposed the high handed attitude by the Youth Fund’s Board. Why run to the media now, when in June 2009 the Board fronted by the Chairperson disparaged the same media as being in cahoots with political enemies?

Nevertheless, the Youth Fund’s public statement and extract of the auditors investigation published on Wednesday October 28th, brings onto the fore further questions. 

On reading the two page - full colour advertisements* placed in yesterdays Daily Nation and Standard newspapers, it is indeed stupendous that the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission (KACC) exonerated Mr. Wario if the Commission’s investigators were aware of the damning evidence of the State Corporation Inspectorate’s office outlined in the published extract. Surely the KACC investigations would have involved interviewing the Fund’s staff and Board members in addition to the State Inspectorate?

The Youth Fund's Board has stated that it never referred Mr. Wario’s case to the KACC, though in their published statement released yesterday, Mr. Wario is guilty of a wide range of derelictions and/or omissions of duty that would have landed any other public officer in an interrogation room at Integrity House. Yet the Board was benevolent enough to not forward Mr. Wario’s case to the KACC even as they accused him of mismanagement of funds and assets.

Indeed the extract from the report by the Inspectorate of State Corporations confirms the Board’s allegations of gross violations that are in contravention of both the Anti-Corruption Economic Crimes Act 2003, as well as the Public Officers Ethics Act.

1.    The Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, 2003 (ACECA)

The Youth Fund by virtue of being a State Corporation is a public body as per the 2003 Act; and Mr. Wario by virtue of his employment at the Youth Enterprise Development Fund fell into the category of a public officer.

The Act defines corruption as including abuse of office or breach of trust. Mr. Wario’s disregard for financial and recruitment procedures (concern #4), attempted diversion of funds without adherence to due process (concern #6) and non-transparent use of financial resources (concern #8) would have surely made him culpable of being charged with corruption.

Furthermore, Mr. Wario’s acts regarding procurement outlined in the advertisement are in breach of the ACECA 2003 s. 45(2), which states that:

(2) An officer or person whose functions concern the administration, custody, management, receipt or use of any part of the public revenue or public property is guilty of an offence if the person —
 (b) wilfully or carelessly fails to comply with any law or applicable procedures and guidelines relating to the procurement, allocation, sale or disposal of property, tendering of contracts, management of funds or incurring of expenditures.

According to concern #5 of the extract from the report by the Inspectorate of State Corporations, Mr. Wario was guilty of flouting established procurement rules, and as such is liable under ACECA s. 45(2)(b).

2.     The Public Officer Ethics Act, 2003. (POEA)


Under the POEA 2003, Mr. Wario flouted s. 8 which states that:

8. A public officer shall, to the best of his ability, carry out his duties and ensure that the services that he provides are provided efficiently and honestly.

According to the published extract of the Inspectorate’s report, Mr. Wario was guilty of insubordination (concern #1), had a dismal performance in discharging his duties (concern #2) and lacked strategic direction and execution (concern #3).

This raises the following questions:

• Why did the YEDF Board not forward Mr. Wario’s case to the KACC seeing that in their paid advertisement they claim that he is responsible for the loss or mismanagement of tax payer funds? This points to the Board’s failure in stewardship of public funds and accountability not only to the Exchequer, but to all Kenyan taxpayers and most importantly to the nation’s youth entrepreneurs.
• The KACC should also answer how it found Mr. Wario not culpable in the face of the damning report by the Inspectorate of State Corporations. If the Commission was diligent in its duties, surely it would have discovered the report; or have they investigated the report and subsequently dismissed it?

However one cuts it, due process of the law must and should be followed. Instead of publishing expensive advertisements in the local dailies, the YEDF should press for Mr. Wario being charged and if guilty convicted under ACECA.

Justice can still be done. Under ACECA 2003, the YEDF can now forward their evidence to the KACC which stipulates penalties under  section 48:

48. (1) A person convicted of an offence under this Part shall be liable to —
(a) a fine not exceeding one million shillings, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, or to both

Section 35(4) of the Act further allows the Board to pursue Mr. Wario even after they terminated his services, which is what any steward of public resources would have done.

Mr. Wario can only be judged in a court of law and not in the public court. To spend money that COULD and SHOULD have been used to empower young business people, only makes the Youth Fund look just like what they accuse Youth Minister Hellen Sambili of – acting with impunity!

Read the Youth Fund Board's statement

* A phone call to the Daily Nation this afternoon quoted Kshs. 437,000 per full colour full page. Advertisements were also placed in the Standard thus costing approximately 1.5 million shillings. Such a sum could have been invested at Kshs. 50,000 per venture in 30 youth owned enterprises

Youth Voices and Actions on the Reform Agenda

The youth of Kenya, uniting under the leadership of the following organizations namely; The Youth Agenda (YAA), Nyanza Youth Coalition, Kenya Muslim Youth Alliance (KMYA), Kenyan Network of Grassroots Organizations (KENGO), Coast Education Centre (COEC), and Citizens Assembly meet in Nairobi beginning October 24, 2009 to discuss the pressing issues surrounding the reform agenda. 

Taking cognizance of the fact that Kenya has a large, ever growing, educated, and yet increasingly frustrated youth population; and acknowledging that the unprecedented violence sparked off by the dispute over results of the 2007 presidential election brought a new focus on the large number of dissatisfied youths, a section of youth leaders was prompted to come together upon realizing that there is an urgent need to sensitize and mobilize young people towards a reconstruction of their country by constructively getting them involved in taking control of their political, social and economic welfare through a creative and strategic engagement in the reform process. 

It is in view of the foregoing that the youth leaders have mobilized young people to a national conference in Nairobi to enable them add their voices to, and take both personal and collective responsibility in demanding the implementation of  fundamental reforms as stipulated in the National Accord.

In demanding the implementation of the National Accord, the leaders also seek to marshal the youth behind resisting manipulation and plunder of public resources by the ruling elite and instead deploy their numbers, energy, courage and devotion to actively demand for transparency and accountability, and advocate for an end to the pervasive culture of impunity, corruption and violence.

A pre-conference workshop will evaluate the current state of affairs in the country in order to facilitate a comprehensive briefing of participants to be drawn from all constituencies of the Republic of Kenya who will be attending the National Conference scheduled for November 17, 2009.

Signed on behalf of the youth organizations by;

Hassan Ole Naado

Member, Steering Committee

Umuro Wario back at the Youth Fund

So does this mean finally we get answers regarding the Fund's corporate governance?

Read "A Fish Rots From Its Head – Crony Capitalism Exposed At The Kenya Youth Enterprise Development Fund"

Toxic Business: Africa’s Scavenger Entrepreneurs

It’s a common site in most African cities – waste dumping sites where hundreds of scavengers search daily for pieces of scrap metal, plastics and other waste materials to sell for a profit. These scavenger entrepreneurs though are risking their lives in search of money for survival. In these dumps, there are toxic wastes that can be fatal. 

Just this week on twitter the most famous tag word was “Trafigura”, the company accused of condoning the illegal toxic dumping of a mix of petroleum residues, sulphur and caustic soda that in August 2006 led to the death of 12 people and more than 100,000 Ivorians seeking medical treatment.

According to the Basel Action Network (BAN), a disproportionate burden of toxic waste, dangerous products and polluting technologies are currently being exported from rich industrialised countries to poorer developing countries.

And mass-scale instances of toxic waste poisoning such as that in Ivory Coast is not unique. In March 2008, hundreds of people in Mombasa complained of illness after a consignment of leaking chemical containers were dumped in Kipevu near the port. The symptoms experienced by the residents of the nearby slum were eerily similar to those who suffered from the toxic slops distributed in 18 dumping sites around Abidjan. Nausea, miscarriages and diarrhoea amongst other symptoms caused many to seek treatment.

In February 2009 a joint investigation by the Independent newspaper, Sky News, and Greenpeace also exposed the story of tonnes of toxic waste collected from British municipal dumps and sent illegally to Africa in flagrant violation of UK laws to ensure that “its rapidly growing mountain of defunct televisions, computers and gadgets are disposed of safely”.

Indeed e-waste is slowly emerging as a major sort of refuse, according to Kenya’s National Environment Management Authority. From these, the scavenger entrepreneurs risk their lives collecting metals for re-sale from disused computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, copiers, fax machines and mobile phones.

Africa is indeed an ideal dumping ground. Apart from the inability of local environmental agencies (where environmental management laws exist) to adequately police dumping of waste, corruption also allows agents to dump waste throughout cities. And unfortunately, for the Continent’s scavenger entrepreneur’s this is the only way they can make a living.

In pictures: Kenya scavengers

A good story sells

A recently published blog post by David Roodman titled “Kiva is not quite what it seems” has been causing quite a stir in cyber space. Not so much because of the provocative title mentioning Kiva - a pioneer and probably the best known Person to Person (P2P) micro-credit organisation; Roodman’s post also questions the real intentions why people choose to fund a micro entrepreneur from Cambodia, Kenya or Guatemala for that matter.

Roodman posits that a reason for the success of Kiva and similar internet based lending portals is because for as little as US$ 25, more people can become benefactors. Helping others has become a cheap commodity and not only the super-rich Bill Gates and Warren Buffett’s can now claim the title “philanthropist”.

Similar to the P2P lending model, goods from developing countries that sell on western supermarket shelves bear stories – some of them wild. This has been largely propagated by fair trade products. However, nowadays even a pesticide sprayed beetroot from Bulawayo must carry a story. A honey product from Kenya cannot just simply be labelled “Kenyan honey”. What’s required is a long tale weaving in a tapestry of sensory words probably going along the lines of “…this honey comes from the honey bee whose hives are in Africa’s savannah plains ... The scents from the eucalyptus ensure a wild …”.

Indeed, the more evocative the story about the terrain or about how poor the farmers who produced it are, the better.

This is what consumers want – a feeling that when they put a spoon of honey in their morning tea, they feel part of that savannah so alluringly described on the product label. And it is these stories that add a couple of dollars or Euro’s onto the unit retail price. On some e-commerce websites selling African “ethnic” products, 2 kgs of maize flour which is the staple food for most East and Central African countries goes for US$ 10. The same product in an upmarket supermarket in Nairobi costs less than a quarter of that price. The point is that with good marketing, consumers pay more for the “story” than the product itself.

With rampant corruption constantly being reported in Africa, an ennui among citizens of western nations has emerged. Commonly people question why donor aid is poured into large infrastructure projects such as roads and geothermal plants yet there are numerous instances of money being siphoned off by corrupt public officials in Africa. Just last week it emerged that World Bank money earmarked for free primary education in Kenya had been stolen; thus begging the question why fund such a project when if you gave an entrepreneur a bit of money they could then be empowered enough to send their children to a fee paying school?

Media stories on Africa which in most instances focus on crises’ or the potential for crisis have made people who would otherwise dip into their pockets to alleviate hunger on the Continent averse. Thus when one sees a picture of Mary from a village just outside Kampala who has a banana kiosk, the need to assist Mary overrides the need to assist Fatma in a refugee camp in Eastern Congo.

In an age where people are sponsoring small businesses’, children and even guerrillas in Rwanda, what does this all mean for entrepreneurs either seeking funding or wanting to sell their products on the export market?

In a nutshell there is a palpable and growing demand for “virtual tourism” – a state where one can experience a lifestyle from the comfort of their seat in front of a computer monitor, or perhaps when they hold the honey jar from somewhere in Africa, gently open the lid, and smell the scent of the wild.

Read “Kiva is not quite what it seems” here

Much ado about "Governance"

As entrepreneurs facing the worst economic crisis in our lives, it is pretty difficult to keep our businesses’ afloat; let alone take the time to follow all the “reform” talk going on around us.

This week alone, Kenya proved that it did not have the political goodwill to try the perpetrators of 2008’s post election violence and even mediator Kofi Annan is in town to assess the implementation of Agenda 4 of the Accord.

Another development this week is the publishing of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s Index on Governance. The word “governance” the way it is bandied about seems to be akin to the word “impunity” which doesn’t seem to have a standard definition. To us business people, governance comes in the form of having public services such as a steady supply of electricity and water. It is also important when it comes to that monster we call “corruption”. In essence, good governance translates into fewer indirect costs.

According to the website, “the Ibrahim Index measures the delivery of public goods and services to citizens by government and non-state actors … using indicators across four main pillars: Safety and Rule of Law; Participation and Human Rights; Sustainable Economic Opportunity; and Human Development".

So what does the Ibrahim Index tell us about the effect of (good) governance on business? In a nutshell the following:

• Good governance ensures our personal security.
• Human rights are not divisible from business competitiveness.
• Social unrest is not good for business.
• Judicial independence and the strength of the judicial process are important for business.
• Transparency, accountability as well as corruption in the public sector adversely affect business.
• Countries scoring high on the Index have a superior quality of infrastructure coupled with the provision of reliable utilities.
• Economic policies that promote sustainable business are vital.
• Rural provision of public goods are essential for growth.

The missing Kshs. 8 billion: Uncovering Kenya's pyramid schemes

On 14th January, 2009 the Hon. Minister for Co-operative Development & Marketing appointed a Taskforce to look into the operations of pyramid schemes. The appointment of the Taskforce was a reaction to the hue and cry from victims of pyramid schemes and other related schemes.

The Taskforce held public hearings countrywide where views from the victims were received. A lot of data regarding the particulars of the investors, directors and promoters of pyramid schemes was collected during the exercise. Interviews were also held to provide opportunities to directors of pyramid schemes, individuals and groups to give information on the role they may have played in the pyramid schemes saga.

270 pyramid and other related schemes were identified with148,784 investors registered as having invested a total sum of Kshs. 8,178,737,402.

The top ten institutions in terms of amounts invested were:

• DECI , founded by one George Donde and his sister, Mary Odinga with 93,485 investors amounting to a total of Kshs. 2,405,518,832.00
• Clip Investments Sacco Ltd 5,846 1,993,866,422.00: The taskforce discovered that a director of Clip Investments Sacco, Peter Ndakwe bought plots in Runda estate worth Kshs. 200 million. He later transferred the property to a company in Panama "at the height of complaints by investors". The transfers of the four plots in Runda L.R 1470/15,14970/14, 14970/7 and 14970/6 were made on July 11,2006 and April 20, 2007, when the crisis broke out.
• Kenya Business Community Sacco Ltd with 921 investors amounting to Kshs. 780,698,218.00. In early 2007, The Standard newspaper reported the founders of Deci (listed above) and Kenya Business Community had previously been involved in another financial scam, Kenya Akiba, banned in 2005. 
• Sasanet Investment Sacco Ltd with 629 investors amounting to Kshs. 739,948,412.00; and whose director is identified as Michael Chege. Sasanet allegedly bought 30 units of flats worth Sh60 million in Sunrise Estate, 11.5 acres of land in Nyari Estate, Nairobi, four flats along Chaka road in Nairobi and later sold 32 flats at Sh2.5million each in Nairobi’s Imara Daima Estate through his advocate Ajaa Olubayi. 
• Jitegemee Investment Sacco Ltd with 3,828 investors amounting to Kshs. 494,401,600.00. Jitegemee was faulted for dual registration both as a limited liability company and as a co-operative society.
• Circuit Investment with 1,392 investors amounting to a total of Kshs. 348,943,103.00. The director of that company which closed in September 2007 was Emilio Kifue Mwangi.
• Family In Need Organisation (FINO) with 4,580 investors amounting to Kshs. 157,280,553.00. Investors in the scheme were told they would double their initial investment after three weeks.
• Global Entreprenership with 9,206 investors and a portfolio amounting to Kshs. 139,006,632.00.
• Spell Investment with 544 investors amounting to Kshs. 120,326,860.00 whose deceased director was Boniface Anderson. At his death Sh200 million held in his account at Stanbic Bank was transferred to his mother. 
• Mont Blanq Afrique with 774 investors amounting to Kshs. 82,834,000.00. The directors are listed in the Task Force report as being the same as those for Jitegemee. 

Read the Report of the Taskforce on Pyramid Schemes here

Kenya’s IDP crisis: Only history can judge our collective inaction

In the aftermath of Kenya's 2007 general election over half a million people were displaced. Fleeing homes, loosing livelihoods and loved ones. To date some of the 2007 internal refugees still remain both in camps and transit sites. Yet the anomaly of internal displacement is not new to Kenya. From pre-independence, many Kenyans have been forcibly removed from their homes, having to settle elsewhere as refugees within their own country.

In contemporary history, the IDP crisis has been closely linked to the country’s electoral process, particularly with the advent of the country’s multi-party era. The crisis became the proverbial elephant in the living room – a topic that was too taboo to mention. For years following the post-election clashes of the 1990s the Moi regime swept the issue under the carpet, maintaining that there were no IDPs. However, with more freedom of expression and opening up of the media airwaves, the plight of IDPs has gained more limelight.

Kenya’s internal conflict has been almost like clockwork set to the political scene during general election years of 1992, 1997, 2002 and 2007 as well as the constitutional referendum of 2005. Every five years people have had to flee their homes and that is why the IDP situation falls into the category of a “complex emergency”.

So why term Kenya’s IDP crisis a complex emergency? For the simple reason that unlike natural catastrophes, people loose all they have in a matter of minutes yet the underlying cause is politically instigated and conflict-generated (Macrae and Zwi, 1994).

The United Nations’ Office for Co-ordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) (which draws its definition from the UN's Inter-Agency Standing Committee) defines complex emergencies as ‘a humanitarian crisis … where there is total or considerable breakdown of authority resulting from internal or external conflict …. (IASC, 1994). However, this reliance on authority breakdown has been criticized. David Keen author of the book "Complex Emergencies" writes on OCHA's definition having shortcomings arguing that in the case of 1994 Rwanda, the problem was not so much the breakdown of authority, rather that the "authority" being imposed was "ruthless” and had “vicious efficiency".

Indeed Kenya has always had a government, and the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement stipulate that it is this same government that should ensure that the IDPs receive requisite humanitarian assistance, are resettled and reintegrated back into society. However the Kenya government has mismanaged this obligation.

The Government’s Ministry of State in charge of Special Programmes initiative to resettle the nation’s IDPs has been dubbed “Operation Rudi Nyumbani” (return home) which includes financial assistance and transport among other short- term measures.The causes of displacement and obstacles to resettlement have not been adequately addressed and the Ministry's stop-gap activities have failed to assure Kenyans that the Operation is not just a PR exercise so the government looks good to donors.

There has also been a disturbing tendency where anyone (whether an IDP or an interested party such as the Kenya Human Rights Commission) who questions how an unaccountable government can accountably distribute funds and materials to IDPs are met with torrents of abuse and muzzling.

Queries on government commitment and initiatives to assist IDPs to ensure long-term peace have centered on: poor co-ordination and corruption; insecurity; child and gender based violations; inadequate shelter and compensation for loss. The Kenya Human Rights Commission in an October 2008 report “A Tale of Force, Threats and Lies” even accused the government of forcing IDPs to go back to their homes.

As for the UN and those that adhere to the IDP Guidelines and rules regarding complex emergencies, they have been confined in that they have to deal with the government of day and trust that the government will most effectively and equitably distribute humanitarian assistance. However when the lives of people and those of future of generations are at stake, a dire need emerges to make sure that this complex emergency does not become a permanent one. It is thus imperative that the international community demands that the government ensures that the rights of all IDPs are upheld.

Indeed recent political events have shown the danger of inaction in enforcing strict observance of ethical standards regarding resettlement. Just last week, the government decided to compensate settlers in the Mau forest. This is hardly the first time such a compensation scheme has been conceived, however the common occurrence has been that the majority of the money falls into the pockets of the fat cats who grabbed the land.

The eponymous Ndung'u report which investigated illegal allocation of public land, lists no less than the families of former presidents Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi as those who grabbed public property earmarked for squatter resettlement. On this issue, Nobel Laureate Prof. Wangari Maathai was today quoted in the media saying, “… the Kenya government does not have money, it’s your taxes. So if they don’t have taxes they will ask the World Bank to give them money to come and compensate leaders who misused their power (to acquire) land they should never have acquired …”

As it is, the Ministry of State for Special Programmes requires more funds which will come from the National Budget and the excess from donors. Isn’t it about time to first question whether Operation Rudi Nyumbani has been a success and whether indeed the government should still spearhead IDP assistance?

In August 2000, Fr. John Anthony Kaiser, a crusader for the rights of internally displaced persons was murdered. He was vocal speaking out on the injustices meted out to the displaced. However, almost a decade later, even more people languish miserably exiled from their homes.

As it is who knows how many more people will join the ranks of IDPs come the next general election, or for that matter the anticipated constitutional referendum? We also need to re-examine our outlook towards Kenya’s IDPs. In an age of reality television where shows such as Big Brother Africa keep viewers glued to their screens; alas when it comes to our brothers and sisters living in camps we are no longer voyeurs. Indeed, there is no difference between our IDPs and those in Darfur, yet though our eyes face the screen watching news stories on their plight, we no longer see the real suffering; we no longer question why this is happening; we only say a silent prayer that come 2012, we will not be the ones taking up airspace as IDPs.

Is it only in Kenya where we have become immune and impervious to news stories on corruption, impunity and gross violations of human rights? Could this be because this is the country where even those that engineer and carry out grand larceny on our nation’s coffers have the opportunity to transform themselves into televangeslist? Is that why we do not find it dysfunctional to watch the IDPs in their tattered clothes which cover emaciated bodies and hold up despondent faces?

Slum Safari’s: Tourists pay for the squalor and stench of poverty, not development

There was uproar on twitter this morning regarding Kibera Tours, a website advertising slum tours in Africa’s largest slum. Indeed Kibera Tours is not the first nor will it be the last outfit trying to make money out of poverty. Tourists seeking such experiences can go to Dharavi in Mumbai - the biggest slum in Asia, the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, South Africa’s townships or even Mexico City’s garbage dumps.

Such escapades have been made even more popular by celebrities who sometime go by the title “Ambassadors” such as Angelina Jolie and Chris Rock, who after a tour of the ramshackle huts, having had to hold their breath while passing the open sewers, ducking the flying toilets while walking the narrow footpaths and in front of a trash heap, maybe surrounded by big bellied snot nosed children, express outrage at the poverty and make impassioned pleas for more money to assist the people. Even the Oscar award winning movie Slumdog Millionaire put comedy into the scenario.

The ironic thing is that Kibera has the most number of NGOs, INGOs, CSOs, FBOs, CBOs, students on their gap year or whatever name they go by per square foot compared to the rest of Kenya. Yet, poverty persists, maybe a prime example of the economic law of diminishing returns.

Recently at Yipe.org we met a youth group from Kibera who told us they were into “eco tourism”. When we delved into their enterprise further, there was nothing eco friendly about their business. It was slum tourism pure and simple. However the lead entrepreneur was un-phased and said why care what it’s called or what it’s about when you make US$ 20 on a bad day! – this in a place where the majority live on less than US$ 2 per day.

Reading the customer testimonials on the Kibera Tour website makes one wonder whether the inhabitants have been dehumanised. Among the customer reviews posted on the site a few stood out:

“This is what our guests said after joining about our tour, our organisation and about Kibera: ‘It feels safe’ … ‘Very interesting to see. Unique experience! Friendly people! Solidarity and happiness. Impressive!’ … ‘Impressive to see how strong the people are’ … ‘I thought first it was very dangerous, but now I think every one was friendly and helping each other'….” And the list goes on …

So what is on display: the people or the slum environment?

The reviews above teeter dangerously close to the environmental determinism movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that got away with saying things such as people that live in the tropics are lazy, slothful and riddled with venereal diseases amongst other slurs. To objectify the “people” of Kibera in such a way is even worse because they don’t receive the cash for the tours; the tour companies do.

Further, objectification of the people comes on the advice posted on the Kibera Tours site to the tourists:

“Please don't hand out anything during the tour. So don't hand out money, sweets, pens, balloons and so on. This can create chaos and quickly may establish the assumption that tourists equal gifts”.

So, how come slum tourism seems to be the hottest business idea around, judging by the number of people involved? Well, it’s really simple. For an entrepreneur seeking to venture into such an industry the entry barriers are low; so low they are almost negligible. Kibera is an informal settlement which means it officially doesn’t exist. The sprawling slum has a reputation of being dangerous, so even police or local authority presence is low – so you can pretty much do anything without too much interference.

The startup costs are also minimal – the slum is already there and with rural-urban migration it continues to grow. No need to invest in infrastructure on that score. The “people” are also there for the tourist’s viewing, and with high fertility rates coupled with high unemployment levels (which would otherwise take them out of the slum) the total package is there.

What about attracting customers? With internet access getting cheaper one can within no time set up a slum-safari site and get interest from eager do-gooders from afar. Without much government regulation the dollars, yen, euros or whatever other currency goes direct into your pockets. In fact you don’t even need to share it with the “people”.

Demand is also inelastic, it would take a great calamity for a do-gooder’s heart to change (demand) and poverty (supply) will remain and even grow – making a perfect equilibrium point. Finally there are no sunk costs; indeed it is in the interests of such entrepreneurs that the slum stays just the way it is. Slum upgrading initiatives are thus the only threat for the business. Tourists won’t pay to tour high rise concrete apartments equipped with basic living facilities even if the people living there are the “people”. Tourists pay for the squalor and the stench of impoverishment, not development – that they do by donating money to aid agencies.

But what to do when even the larger travel companies are joining the fray? Victoria Safari’s which operates throughout East Africa has a package called “Africa Slums Tours” calling it “pro poor tourism”. From its website pro poor tourism is described:

“the concept of pro poor tourism in Africa is not new as it has been and is being practiced in South Africa. Soweto and Shanty tours in Johannesburg and Cape Town respectively are not new tours but have been ongoing slum safaris that are changing the face of South Africa's Slum areas. Kibera Slum dwellers in Nairobi - Kenya are gradually beginning to reap the benefits of Kibera Slum Tours just as other Kenya Slums dwellers, courtesy of Victoria Safaris.”

If slum dwellers have been benefiting then wouldn’t that mean there would be no more slums to visit? Besides that, there is also the worrying aspect of the logo of Eco Tourism Kenya at the bottom of the Africa Slums Tours web page. Ecotourism Kenya is a civil society organization that was founded in 1996 to promote ecotourism and sustainable tourism practices in Kenya. Is slum tourism then sustainable tourism?

So will slum tourism continue to thrive? Of course as long as the barriers to entry remain low, and the government does its best to do nothing to uplift the lives of the millions of Kenyans living in informal settlements. And it is doing that job very well!