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Post by job on Dec 14, 2006 22:52:55 GMT 3
Folks,
These two greedy wazees, Moi and Kibaki are simply annoying. Clinging onto Kenya's resources by all means, even retired Moi jostling his way back to the epicenter of our public resources.
The recent revelations about ownership of Safaricom and the disposal of Telkom- a public asset- clearly shows just how the Presidency is arrogantly abused in Kenya.
In plain terms Kibaki and his predecessor Moi truly believe in their hearts that Kenya "ina wenyewe",...yaani them.... and they can whimsically give away a piece of it anytime.
The President unilaterally trades Kenya's public assets in a manner he solely dictates,...... which actually translates into Kenya being sold for 10 pieces of silver, so long as the President's cut (kick-back) is huge.
Wazee Moi and Kibaki have both ruled Kenya for a collective total of nearly 30 years and they don't seem to prospect about retirement.
Moi and now Kibaki have been on a rampage selling Kenya to Foreign multi-nationals for a song, not sparing even our priceless "wanyama wa msituni". Weren't we told by Kibaki's Ministers that our hippos and elephant's were supposedly headed in the direction of Thailand as a "gift" to the now overthrown Prime Minister. Giving away our priceless heritage in exchange for what?
The other Mzee called Moi (in complicity with Kibaki) disposed off Telkom Kenya, a public asset, at a seriously under-valued price and as if that's not enough........facilitated yet another loss of more than $ 10 million ( close to 1 billion shillings) just for dubious & shady behind-the-scene transactions. By the end of the deal, Vodafone's kickback to Moi was a 5% share of Safaricom under the name Mobitelea Ventures.
Since we all know that Safaricom (which has Moi's 5% share that he never paid a cent for) is East Africa's most profitable company, dominating the market (of course with partial government assistance- in the name of regulating the sector, yet blocking fair competition).....we can safely say that the Office of the Presidency, as it is today, is purely an avenue arrogantly used to acquire stakes in top performing companies while fleecing the public.
With a subscriber base of about 4.5 million, Safaricom rakes in about $ 154 million a year of which Moi pockets a cool 1/2 Billion shilling per year through his Mobitelea Venture, thanks to the kick back facilitated by Vodafone at the expense of wenye nchi wa Kenya.
The political twister here is quite intriguing. Esther Koimett, Kenya's Investment Secretary who happens to be a daughter of "the New KANU Chairman Nicholas Biwott " sits in the Safaricom board. You can now see how the investments that keep coming are first vetted by the Biwotts, Mois and Kibakis.
Biwott's Mobil company also recently secured a 3 billion oil supply deal to KENGEN. With Saitoti's reinstatement to the Cabinet ( & his "redemption" from Golenberg economic crimes)... the equation is complete. Moi, Biwott, Saitoti, Kibaki, Eddy Njoroge, Michuki and company.........the self imposed wenye Kenya.
If you think this looting is confined to the telecommunications sector then you better get out of town. All sectors including the Banking sector ( Kimunya has maintained studious silence on the multi billion money laundering Charterhouse & Nakumatt saga), .......and agric sector ( multi billion shilling single-sourced sugar importation tenders,..... over-night, chopper flying multi-millionaires KIPRUTO KIRWA and MUKHISA KITUYI, -also happen to be some of the outstandingly wild sycophants of Kibaki).....all have not been spared.
Ministers selling land back to the government at over inflated prices.....does the name Njenga Karume sound familiar?
Ministers evading tax and single-sourcing insurance tenders at City hall,.....do you know the Minister Ndwiga?
Musikari Kombo and his Indian Kalasinga friend have also grabbed a piece of the Mara game reserve which by the way, all Cabinet Ministers recently scrambled to get a piece of.....and the Muthee at state House has already told them to build Tourist Hotels which are currently in shortage....watch the construction rush in Mara/Narok.
It is an open secret that Former finance Minister David Mwiraria has built his son, a doctor, a fully equiped mid-sized hospital in Parklands, all apparently without loan trails?
We shall soon tell them we know these things.
Like I repeatedly say, the passage of two crucial legislative pieces,..that hold so dear to these Wazees (Moi & Kibaki),...........The Privatization (Public Assets Disposal) Bill,.....and the revised Procurement Bill, Kenyans ain't seen nothing yet!.
We know the Michukis, Karumes, Murages., Njoroges, & other DP pillars, in the heart of this current regime are already too busy out-doing Moi's last minute helter-skelter deals that he signed off just prior to leaving office.
Most of these Kibaki handlers who were pre-placed in strategic public-positions of advantage,.......are well set to make onslaught onto Kenya's public entities, corporations and Parastatals,.......Railways (deal done),...next,.......KPA,...KRA,....etc etc,.... wooi..... Ngai fafa!
Wealth aqcuisition by whatever means is crucial to the success of Kibaki's future plans in Kenya. But don't we already know that?
Anyone bound to stand in their way must be shoved aside,......in preference of either a sycophant or a tribal loyalist,....did we not witness Brown Ondegos exit from KPA, immediately after he expressed fears about illegal acquisition of the parastatal to some confidantes in Washington DC last year?
Githongo's own insight, has told us in Kiraitu's words & admission,....that the very Kenyan taxpayer, was to be robbed in excess of Shs 5 Billion,....to fund "Sultan" Kibaki's 2007 elections.,......The Exchequer funding an incumbent's re-election!!!!Something we have fought against since Independence.
According to Githongo, more than 200 billion shillings has been lost under the facilitatory watch of these two Wazees Moi and Kibaki.
Coupled with the current wastage and plunder by the current cabinet like say.....80 Ministers and Assistant Ministers, who cost the tax payer for cars alone, 1 billion shillings a year (including the check recently sent to Daimler Benz for the new Benzes),...you can understand why services are not reaching the people.
Lets put the shs 200 billion lost under Moi and Kibaki (Goldenberg, Anglo Leasing, other "fleecing" procurements, under valued Public Assets disposed, etc etc) to perspective for the ordianary mwenye nchi........
That figure in numerics is Kshs. 200,000,000,000.00 That is two hundred billion shillings! From the Central Bank's point of view, that is a cool EUR 2,200,429,445.00, or US$ 2,600,888,888.00.
Consider this. If this amount - 200 billion shilllings - were to be shared among all the 212 constituencies, each one would get Kshs.800,761,905.00. Yes 800 million for say Ganze constituency.
And what about the grains. At Kshs1,200 for a 90-KG bag of maize, the amount would buy 160,033,333 bags. The population of North Eastern Province, the region recently hit by famine, is 963,143. Every single household would get 200 bags of corn and spare some for export, or for planting.
As for education, the average cost of secondary school education in Kenya per year is about Kshs30,000. This money would pay the school fees for 6,600,333 students per year. Virtually free secondary education for all Kenyan kids.
In the academic year 2002/2003, University of Nairobi loans board disbursed Kshs.284,982,500 to 8,426 students. That was Kshs.33,822 per student. The 200 billion would pay for 5,800,567 students at UoN for one year. There are 6 public universities and 13 private universities in Kenya with a student population of 50,000. That would have paid tuition for the entire university student population for a long time to come.
According to the World Health Organization's statistics, the cost of a hospital stay in Kenya is Kshs.269.44 per person per night. This stolen money under Moi and Kibaki would cover the hospital stay for 32,711,401 Kenyans (all Kenyans) for 20 nights.
The same statistics show that the cost of an out-patient visit to a health centre, at the current 50% subsidy is Kshs.118.21 per visit. The amount would cover out-patient hospital visits for all Kenyans for eternity. Imagine what wonders it would do to all those sick children scattered all over Kenya's hospitals. At 7% HIV+ prevalence, sufferers would benefit too. But I guess to Wazee Moi and Kibaki that's the job of Bill Gates and the World foundations and charities.
And how about shelter. The cost of building a 3-bedroom stone house in the rural area is about Kshs.250,000. Let's assume that this is the median for the entire country. With 200 billion stolen under Moi and Kibaki, that would provide decent housing to 800,000 Kenyans.
Finally, since land is the most important asset in Kenya, let's assume that the median cost for one acre of land is Kshs.100,000. Right there,with the money fleeced by Sultan Kibaki and Sultan Moi 2,000,000 Kenyans each would be receiving title deeds.
hatutakaa hivyo hivyo
unedited Job
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Post by kamalet on Dec 18, 2006 9:48:38 GMT 3
Job,
The problem with emotional outbursts, is that they inevitably lead to peddling of lies to justify the anger. In your post above you have peppered it with so many lies that I actually decided that we need to correct some of them!
The current perception is that Moi may have had a hand in Mobitelea and this continuously looks more likely. But I also think that people are barking up the wrong tree when we fail to ask the likes of Mudavadi and Okemo what their role was in the privatisation of Safaricom since they were in the know. But we need to remember these are prominent ODM characters that need shielding. It is therefore surprising that you actually accuse Kibaki of complicity :
The other Mzee called Moi (in complicity with Kibaki) disposed off Telkom Kenya, a public asset, at a seriously under-valued price and as if that's not enough........
For starters, Telkom Kenya has not been disposed off, and if anything, it is the sale of part of its holding in Safaricom that is intended to streamline Telkom before its disposal to the public.
What about poor Esther Koimett? It would appear to you that mtoto was nyoka ni nyoka. She sits on the board of Safaricom as a representating of the PS Treasury in her role of Investment Secretary. You may never know this, but I am reliably informed that she was instrumental in the stalling of the sale of Kenya Re to Gideon Moi and the Zimbabweans. But that is besides the point. Frankly I have always thought she was in her present appointment by merit, and not by virtue of her parentage! In any case, she has done very well recently with the privatisation of Kengen and Mumias as well as the forthcoming IPO of Kenya Re.
The other one that tickled me was the deal between Kobil and Kengen. If you had actually bothered to check, this deal was publicly tendered as required by law, and the tender was won by Kobil. The other companies involved in the tender did not raise a complaint, and again you should have known that under the law the contract would not have been signed off until after the expiry of 21 days since opening of the tenders to allow for any appeals. How we see this as a form of "new corruption" totally amazes me.
Finally about Mwiraria's son who is a doctor. The young fellow is employed at the newly built and opened Karen Hospital and which is owned by the Gikonyo family and a number of other investors. Dr. Gikonyo is Mwai Kibaki's doctor and the younger Mwiraria is training to become a cardiologist hence his involvement with Dr. Gikonyo. It is not clear where this hospital in the Parklands area is that is mid size and fully equiped!!
We could go on and on uncovering the lies you have peddled or yarns that you develop premised on rumour and ignorance, but it would serve little purpose since your objective is not the search for truth, but political gratification that is achieved in whatever manner possible!
Stop these lies!!!!
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Post by mongobeti on Dec 18, 2006 20:41:19 GMT 3
I read somwhere that now Trans-Century Investments has now taken 20% stake in the Rift Valley Railways. For the uninitiated, Trancentury Investments, is an outfit created in 2003 by MKM to entrench their hold on Kenya's vital economic sectors. It is certain the interest in Railways is not about profitable investment in railway infrastructure -it has alot to do with Kenya Railways extensive real estate holdings stretching from Mombasa, Nairobi through to Kisumu. The stake puts them in pole position in the eventual disposition of these properties, and at what price. Smells bad...
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Post by mongobeti on Dec 18, 2006 20:50:16 GMT 3
The safaricom lie is one that requires a full fledged public inquiry. For example Vodafone paid a fee of $55 million for the safaricom licence. Valuation of subcriber base was put at 30,000!4 years later it is 4.5 million. Even the most conservative of estimates could have done a better job. The result is that safaricom was able to recoup the licence fees in the first year of operation -and will foverer be making super profits on a licence they got for a pittance
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Post by job on Dec 18, 2006 20:50:32 GMT 3
Kamale, First of all I don't know what you mean by -emotional here. If you happen to be, don't think everyone does. I will just prove to you below,..... how you are just a plain liar who instead is very quick to label others liars. What is in dispute about Moi's ownership of Mobitelea ? Did Mobitelea acquire a stake in shares of Safaricom through unclear means? Was there a trade-off between Vodafone & the public portion -Telkom Kenya or not? You clearly know that the portion of Telkom in the deal is a public asset. It cannot be disposed of as if it is Moi's private property. What lie is here? All I see here is your rush to defend thievery. I'm aware the disposal of all liquidity and assets owned by Telkom as a parastatal (public entity) is not yet done, but is in the works Sir. For your information, I repeat my statement that the disposal of Kenyan public assets is riddled with corruption mainly through gross undervaluing of the entities. This is one thing that was midwived during the last days of the Moi government, coincidentally with Esther Koimet (Biwott's daughter) as Investment secretary...and is now being officially delivered by the Kibaki government,...and who is the Investment secretary again? Esther Koimett....what a coincidence. Esther Koimet almost facilitated the sale of Kenya-Re ( a public asset) to Moi (& Gideon) for one-third it's value . Moi and his shielders Zim-Re of Zimbabwe almost bought the entire Kenya-Re for 800 million shillings when it was valued at more than 2 billion shillings. Who halted the sale? Three MPs filed a successful court injunction BLOCKING THE SALE : Prof. ANYANG NYONGO, WAFULA WAMUNYINYI, and MUSIKARI KOMBO.......PERIOD. The ruling was made by Justice Hayanga...later suspended by the so called "radical surgery" of the judiciary. www.nationaudio.com/News/DailyNation/19092002/Business/Business65.htmlNowhere did Esther Koimet (Biwott's daughter) save Kenyans from being FLEECED by Moi. It was infact Esther Koimet who tried to facilitate the sale of Kenya's public asset for a song to her mentor Moi. So Bwana Kamale, stop your LIES henceforth. About Esther Koimet's performance under Kibakis government,.......Which independent institution has evaluated the disposal of KENGEN and Mumias rating them successful? Is it you ? Wait for the moment when that's unveiled. I will repeat (for your information that -Public Assets disposal is one area where grand corruption is minting flawlessly...........Telkom, Railways, KPA, KRA...etc. Afterall, Kibaki had just learnt that its easier (or is it lazier) to just bring in the former Moi "Loot-soldiers" more experienced in looting to do the job on his behalf. Your sleuth activities will not help sway public opinion no matter how many online fora you grace this time round bwana. Now on the Shs 3 billion deal between KENGEN and Biwott's KOBIL. I don't just know how the f@$%&ng stupid you guys think Kenyans are. Have you heard of phrases like conflict of Interest, single-sourcing through intimidation etc etc. What did you expect the "failed" bidders to do when there was obvious collusion between one bidder (Biwott) and KENGEN through advance manipulation (including that of the contract price)? That's no different from single-sourcing or plain thuggery. In whose judiciary do you expect them to get fair recourse? The marriage between Biwotts (including the koimetts) & the Michukis, or plainly Kibaki & Moi is of no good to KENYA,..period! It's all about them and fleecing the nation dry. On Mwiraria's son,......I never mentioned anything about Gikonyo or Karen hospital,.....I'm talking about Parklands. Kamale, I will not fall for your simple noosing baits luring me towards you-know-what. I stick with what I said,...... Go to Parklands and find a hospital coming up with no loan trails Sir. And I will not hesitate to add that the former Finance Minister, together with Chris Murungaru and Nicholas Biwott (plus her favourite daughter & "lootsoldier" Koimett) will remain one Kenya's deadliest Sultans. What should these fellows be doing near our resources? As for you continue doing what you're paid to do knowing that it's not easy to distort the truth. IT IS YOU INSTEAD WHO SHOULD STOP PEDDLING LIES AND DEFENDING THE INDEFENSIBLE unedited. Job
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Post by kamalet on Dec 19, 2006 12:27:48 GMT 3
Kamale, On Mwiraria's son,......I never mentioned anything about Gikonyo or Karen hospital,.....I'm talking about Parklands. Kamale, I will not fall for your simple noosing baits luring me towards you-know-what. I stick with what I said,...... Go to Parklands and find a hospital coming up with no loan trails Sir. And I will not hesitate to add that the former Finance Minister, together with Chris Murungaru and Nicholas Biwott (plus her favourite daughter & "lootsoldier" Koimett) will remain one Kenya's deadliest Sultans. What should these fellows be doing near our resources? As for you continue doing what you're paid to do knowing that it's not easy to distort the truth. IT IS YOU INSTEAD WHO SHOULD STOP PEDDLING LIES AND DEFENDING THE INDEFENSIBLE unedited. Job Job, Perhaps you can actually tell me where the 'new hospital is being built' as well as its proposed name and I will go there to confirm. In the meantime I will treat this one from you as a mere rumour!!For your information, a few phone calls made and I can confirm to you that the fellow is running a newly opened surgery at Chaka Place within the Hurlingham area. He still has patients at karen hospital. What about Mobitelea? I have not defended Moi, and have infact suggested that it looks more likely that he was involved. But have you stopped to question the role of the ministers involved then as you have done for the Kibaki cohorts? I need you to also question this to remain objective!!!! As you choose to be selective who you go to bed with politically...perhaps you should let kenyans and Kibaki (for that matter!!) make that selection too!!!
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Post by roughrider on Dec 19, 2006 17:54:51 GMT 3
The frenzied disposal of public assets during Kibaki’s tenure is noteworthy in its haphazardness. There is no method in the madness. For example, this could have been a good way to address inequity by deliberately empowering the poor to hold equity. In a country of wide ethnically tinged inequalities it follows that a large majority of the retail investors flocking the stockbrokers’ are able to converse in one local tongue.
But even more interesting is that the proceeds are being used for questionable, recurrent expenditure. This is sad because nobody in his right mind sells family silver to pay the electricity bills!
The use of drug money to buy stock is scary – these sales seem designed to allowed drug money to be laundered into the country and presented as legitimate finance.
Also of note is the rapidly evolving shareholding structures of the companies; It appears there is a carefully planned series of activities to transfer and concentrate assets into the hands of a few individuals; the entire hullabaloo about retail investors in Kengen, Eveready, Scangroup, equity, mumias… etc is a smokescreen. Add the other procurement issues, water and bus company privatizations etc and you can see what is up: economic hegemony.
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Post by job on Dec 20, 2006 0:03:52 GMT 3
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Post by job on Dec 20, 2006 1:24:10 GMT 3
This is the kind of questionable public-assets-disposal I'm talking about.....mere transfer of public (Kenyan) assets for peanuts into the hands of politically connected members of an ethnic hegemony.
Trans-Century’s 20pc stake in railway heralds arrival of a takeover baron
By STAFF WRITER ( The East African )
Trans-Century’s acquisition of a 20 per cent stake in the Rift Valley Consortium, the entity that has taken over the running of the Kenya-Uganda Railways, is its first acquisition outside the energy sector.
The local investment company — owned by a group of businessmen and well-known allies of President Mwai Kibaki — has in the past three years been on an acquisition spree, spending millions of dollars on purchasing shares in one listed company after another.
Its first major deal was the acquisition of East African Cables in 2004.
The leader of the group is an emerging acquisition artist and corporate magnate, James Gichui, himself a major investor and chairman of the Internet company Wananchi Online.
The company is structured as a closed-end fund — a private investment company through which its members pool resources for onward investment to appointed fund managers.
According to a shareholders’ agreement signed by the parties, the group’s chief executive, Tony Wainaina, will sit on the board of RVR as a representative of the group.
It is not clear how much Trans-Century paid for the stake.
But in view of the fact that the agreement — signed with the two governments of Kenya and Uganda and the international lenders — required RVR to raise $24 million in equity, it can be inferred that Trans-Century has coughed up 20 per cent of the equity amount: something in the range of Ksh336 million ($4.8 million).
In East African Cables Ltd, by far the group’s largest acquisition, Trans-Century is the beneficial owner of about 15 million shares.
At the present share price of Ksh450 ($6.42) per share (Ksh45 following the recent share split) the current value of this investment is about Ksh6.7 billion ($95.7 million), a massive appreciation considering that Tran-Century came into the company when the price of the stock was in the region of Ksh13 (US cents 18).
Trans-Century has in the past said that its intention was either leverage on or dispose of some of these shares to raise the funds necessary for investment in the company.
The group’s other major acquisition was the purchase in October 2005 of 2.13 million shares in the Kenya Power and Lighting Company Ltd.
The shares, which formerly belonged to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), were purchased at a price of Ksh300 million ($4.28 million). The acquisition did not come without controversy, as it precipitated a major change in the power balance within the company.
The disposal of the shares by NSSF, which had previously held 8.5 million shares in the company, effectively reduced the combined holding of the Treasury in the company to 48.4 per cent, thus pushing the government into a minority position in the shareholding of the power utility.
Prior to the acquisition by Trans-Century, the combined shareholding of the government and the NSSF amounted to 51.03 per cent, a majority position that qualified KPLC to be treated as a parastatal in terms of the State Corporations Act.
Trans-Century’s advent started a major debate about whether or not KPLC was still a parastatal. In the ensuing furore, both the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the President ruled that KPLC was still a parastatal.
The group’s huge appetite for acquisitions was to come out again when Mr Gachui wrote to the Central Bank of Kenya in July this year seeking the authority to acquire 1.8 million shares of the Development Bank of Kenya — representing 10 per cent of the equity of the company.
Early this year, the deal succeeded making the company a minority shareholder in one of the most highly capitalised of the small banks.
Trans-Century’s membership comprises local corporate executives and businessmen. The vice chairman of the group is Zaph Mbogua, while directors include Peter Kanyago, Robin Kimotho, Joseph Kamau, Kariithi Njogu and Joseph Karago.
The group’s acquisition spree has not been all smooth going, though.
Last year, it entered into negotiations with the Commonwealth Development Corporation plc of the UK for the purchase of 28,635,000 shares, representing a 24.9 per cent stake in Kenya’s largest mortgage company — Housing Finance Ltd.
Trans-Century’s representatives held several meetings with officials of the Central Bank of Kenya and formally applied for an approval of the transaction.
The group had to seek the approval of the Bank because, under the Banking Act, no institution can transfer more than 5 per cent of its share capital to an individual or an entity without the approval of the regulator of the market.
On its part, Housing Finance wrote to the Bank, informing the regulator that it was aware of the negotiations going on between the parties and asked to be given the go-ahead to register the transfer of shares held by the CDC group to Trans-Century when the negotiations were finalised.
In this takeover bid, Trans-Century joined hands with another local investment club under the name Baraka Africa Fund Ltd, chaired by a Nairobi businessman, Chege Gitura.
Baraka, whose vice chairman is a former managing director of the Kenya Tea Development Agency, Eric Kimani, has several directors, including George Maina, Michael Matu, Mukiri Githei, John Muthige, Kibuga Kareithi, Mbage Ng’ang’a, Martin Malinda, Jeremy Peckham and Caesars Molebatsi.
The deal did not succeed.
Trans-Century also has minority interests in Equity Bank and Zambia Metal Fabricators, a company listed on the Lusaka Stock Exchange.
The group is active on the Nairobi Stock Exchange as well as the local venture capital market through Aureos East Africa Fund and Business Partner International Kenya Ltd.
Joining Trans-Century on the Board of RVR will be ICDC Investment Ltd and Babcock and Brown of Australia.
ICDCI is a local investment house, the largest shareholder of which is the state-owned Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (CDC).
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Post by job on Dec 25, 2006 0:59:47 GMT 3
The grabbing and looting proceeds at full throttle,...while gross impunity of the hegemony manifests boldly.
Stop Kenya-Re sale, urges MP ************************* Story by TONY KAGO Publication Date: 12/25/2006
The intended sale of Kenya Reinsurance Corporation shares to the public should be suspended, shadow Finance minister Billow Kerrow has said.
The Initial Public Offer (IPO) scheduled for next month should be put on hold until the issue of corruption among top executives and the board is sorted out.
Mr Kerrow also called for the sacking of managing director Johnstone Githaka and financial controller John Kinyua over dubious deals running into millions of shillings.
Mr Kerrow, who first blew the whistle on the dealings at the firm in September 2003, said the Government's failure to take action was proof that it was not committed to the fight against corruption.
He asked the Capital Markets Authority not to allow the listing of the corporation at the Nairobi Stock Exchange.
"The rules are very clear. If there are corruption allegations made against the board and its management, the issue must be sorted out first before approval can been given."
On Friday, Finance minister Amos Kimunya, while admitting that the corporation was riddled with massive corruption, ruled out the suspension of the privatisation programme.
Cleared the air -------------------- "The process will go on as planned. We shall have cleared the air by then," said the minister.
Mr Kimunya said the corporation's accounts would be audited by the CMA to ensure that the public was not fleeced.
Insiders blew the whistle on the shady deals at Kenya Re only a month before the Government sells some of its shares. The firm hopes to raise Sh1.5 billion from the IPO.
As part of preparations for the IPO and to comply with prudential guidelines, the corporation has been disposing of its non-core assets across the country.
In a letter to the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission, the firm's workers have questioned some of the transactions, claiming they will reduce the parastatal's investments in property by 32 per cent.
The workers are worried that the transactions will open a floodgate for the transfer of key properties to members of the management board.
Mr Githaka and Mr Kinyua are under intense pressure from the Treasury to resign for investigations.
Questions have been raised about the disposal of Kenya Re's assets. Some officials have also been accused of using the corporation's money to clear their personal mortgages and filing false travel and sitting allowance claims.
Open to scrutiny ----------------------
But Mr Githaka said: "All transactions at Kenya Re have been done above board and are open to scrutiny."
The negative reports could be circulated by employees who feared retrenchment once the parastatal is sold to the public, he said.
Meanwhile, the three-year term for the firm's board has expired.
Chairman Charles Ngari Kibuchi and board members Jacob Haji Ali, Iruki Kailemia, William P. Mayaka and Nellius Kariuki, were appointed on December, 18, 2003.
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Post by bkichwa on Dec 25, 2006 5:59:23 GMT 3
This is the kind of questionable public-assets-disposal I'm talking about.....mere transfer of public (Kenyan) assets for peanuts into the hands of politically connected members of an ethnic hegemony. Your cause could be helped if you could show where the impropriety is. Merely posting news articles that state facts of deals that Transcentury is involved in, then jumping to conclusions that it is all grabbing and looting, will not hold much water (readers are not fools). Explain the impropriety (eg. is TransCentury's ksh 900 million proceeds towards a 20% stake in the Railways company an undervalued purchase price?). Yours is otherwise bar talk , which in some quarters is defined as "deducing a lot of hot, sensational and unsubstantiated claims from stuff you hear on the street, or read in the papers". Btw, it would be refreshing to see you similarly send passionate daily missives of the Mollases Land deal, whereby it is common knowledge, that the Odingas purchased that land for a price that was grossly undervalued, with respect to its market value at the time. We all know it was a political scratch-my-back-I-scratch-yours, with Raila and Moi (Kanu and NDP - the Mollases land doled out for peanuts, to borrow from your vocablulary, in return for support in parliamentary bills by Raila's NDP ). I find the current cries of the "sale of Kenya" by Moi and Kibaki so damn hypocrital. Sh!t has been going on forever from Moi days, why the concern now? Why not point out some of your favorite politicians of the previous regime, who are also infamous for the same? Objectivity please - these partisan posts convince no one.
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Post by job on Dec 27, 2006 2:31:28 GMT 3
bkichwa,
Quoting you...
"I find the current cries of the "sale of Kenya" by Moi and Kibaki so d**n hypocrital. Sh!t has been going on forever from Moi days, why the concern now? "
and again...
"Merely posting news articles that state facts of deals that Transcentury is involved in, then jumping to conclusions that it is all grabbing and looting, will not hold much water (readers are not fools)"
So just what shi.t are you talking about that has been going on from Moi days( noted the ommission of Kenyatta days) if there's no grabbing and looting.
Your statement about readers not being fools is quite appropriate. They actually know when looting and grabbing (you call it shi.t) transpires. Happy new year fella.
Job
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Post by kamalet on Dec 27, 2006 14:23:21 GMT 3
Job,
I think you are diverting attention to the points made by Bkichwa be only looking for what Kenyatta or Moi did.
I imagine that the reason behind the Trancentury article was to imly that by virtue of the association of its owners with the present government, then there must by some form of impropriety in their investment in RVR. Would also suggest that the larger investment by the German bank involved in the consortium was also proper by virtue of Kibaki not having 'german friend' who own the bank?
There are those like Job who demonise Trancentury only on account of its ownership rather than look at its contribution to the Kenyan economy. My regret is that in failing to see positives in the growth of such Kenyan companies who are involved in legitimate business enterprise, they would rather politicise the work these Kenyan business men are doing. In the meantime, let us wait for the government to change our lives.....!!!
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Post by aeichener on Dec 27, 2006 15:10:26 GMT 3
The main impropriety in my eyes is the privatization of Kenya Railways at all. If one wants to privatize in such a reckless manner, why not going serious all the way, right to the core, and privatize the job of Kenyan President, hiring a retired British diplomat to fill it? He would certainly do better than the present incumbent. Alexander
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Post by kamalet on Dec 27, 2006 15:41:15 GMT 3
In the true sense of the word, KR was not privatised but had its services consessioned to RVR - if you wish the closest example to the arrangement is the British Rail system.
As for privatising the kenyan presidency and filling it with a british diplomat....Clay???...is in my view thinking a bit small in the context that British is better!!!
We get what we deserve!
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Post by aeichener on Dec 27, 2006 16:34:10 GMT 3
In the true sense of the word, KR was not privatised but had its services concessioned to RVR - if you wish the closest example to the arrangement is the British Rail system. Okay, conceded. Thanks for the precision. In practice however, these "concessions" smell a lot like the heydays of colonialism in Africa and Asia (esp. China and its notorious railway concessions). And British Rail is the despised negative example of entire Europe, how NOT to run a railway. You are right again. I purposely invoked the Kenyan umbilical cord to her former overlord. But indeed, Bernd Mützelburg would have a wider scope. You know his post-Kenyan career, I presume. One can occasionally come to such a cynical conclusion, alas. Alexander
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Post by bkichwa on Dec 27, 2006 23:49:13 GMT 3
Job,
Kindly explain the impropriety. Your posts are lacking in substance that proves your concluding claims of grabbing and looting by Transcentury. They hence appear as conjecture, and unfortunately even further as having an underlying agenda premised on the demonization by any means necessary, of those you oppose/dislike, etc (Kibaki and Co. obviously).
Like mentioned earlier, objectivity and substantiated claims, will serve your cause better.
Happy New Year to you too.
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Post by job on Dec 29, 2006 0:02:30 GMT 3
Bkichwa, I don't need to go the Githongo way by posting dossiers, signed papers or playing recorded tapes for you to engage me in ping-pong and see-saw games. If you have made up your mind that no impropriety is going on under Kibaki's fantastic and corrupt-free government, that's your right. On a serious note, I'm not about yapping here aimlessly. I don't think there's any need to argue over what you yourself subconsciously acknowledged has been happening (what you call Sh!t) even during the Moi era. If there's no substance in these claims why do you think the sale of all the slated parastatals has not been on schedule. Why is the sale of Kenya-Re delayed? Do you think arising claims of conflict of interest, undervaluing of assets and insider manipulation of accounts, is considered impropriety? My claim is not specific to any one parastatal,......just read my title above,...... it is about the general sale of Kenyan public assets to political cronies and foreigners. If it was improper during Moi's era it is still improper under Kibaki's regime,...that's the bottomline. So the issue about why people are complaining now doesn't arise,...people raised the same issues under Moi's reign. When we as Kenyans start to collectively view public assets as Kenyan (in a social sense) and guarding them from irregular acquisitions to foreign multinationals in complicity with a few local collaborators and homeguards......for a few pieces of silver....then we'll be opening a new chapter. For instance, I think it's a loss and not a gain, for say an ordinary villager in Kangema when for instance Kimendeeero or Biwott buys 2% of Railways and lets the foreign multinationals acquire the remaining 98% for a song. The loss extends to all Kenyans in that sense. There's no enterpreneurship to be proud about in such wanton loss and trickery of the public. Plainly stated,.....this is looting and grabbing of Kenyan assets by multinationals and a few local politicos! I hope you get my drift. If the IMF & Worldbank prescribed the pill of privatization of parastatals so we may service our external debts and inject efficiency in the corporations,....then how come the same Nyangau's who run the companies down end up owning them alongside the foreigners after the sale? Two groups of folks have their mouths watering whenever Kenya sells its public assets,...the foreign multinationals and the homeguard sharks period. Bkichwa, as a vivid example,.... I believe you know about how the Kenyan public lost its 49% stake at Firestone EA (held under the state corporation ICDC) to one scrupulous "enterpreneur" called Naushad Merali and his so called Sameer Investments company. (figuratively,... when you see Merali, you should see Moi and Kibaki right behind him. ) In 1995, the Mois and Biwotts ordered the now defunct PRC (Parastatals Reform Committee) to recommend that ICDC offloads its 49% Firestone shares at the NSE. That was just a gimmick because according to the Auditor General, Corporations 1996 report,.... Naushad Merali and his Sameer group got pre-emptive rights and bought all those shares for sh 100 million. (for source see below)
Their true value according to the Auditor general was sh 500 million (that's the gross undervaluing song I keep talking about)...........BUT WAIT A MINUTE. Three years down the line in 1999, the same shares were re-floated and sold at the NSE for sh 1.5 Billion. Merali made a 1500% profit in 3 years. To be honest, Merali's genius here is the genius of grabbing and looting since he could have still made profit by buying the shares at their regular value. Don't forget that Merali's Sameer under it's subsidiary Yana Co. also bought East African Cables from a British Holding company in 2000 for sh 110 million when Moi refused KPLC & KenGen from buying the company's electric cables (economic sabotage). EA Cables true value at the time was sh 274 million. >>>>>FAST FORWARD to 2003. The first acquisition by Kibaki and his cronies at Trans-Century was the purchase of East African Cables from Merali. Talking of impropriety,.....Kibaki had by then simultaneously appointed Trans-Century's god father Eddy Njoroge as KenGen's Managing Director (overt & unveiled conflict of interest). The rest is history,.......you know how EA Cables & KenGen are performing at the NSE. Track down the business interests of Trans-century and you will see the Sharks, Homeguards and Sultans partitioning and selling Kenya under the guise of privatization. When one investigative journalist published the Moneybags story below,.........exposing the impropriety and regrouping of the Moi loot-soldiers with the newborn Kibaki loot-soldiers,.......the muzzling of the press began in earnest. eastandard.net/archives/cl/hm_news/news.php?articleid=10174&date=8/01/2005The government promptly charged this reporter (days after its publishing) but all the charges were later dropped. Why? Be the judge. I know the government has the temerity to attempt to muzzle our right to freedom of speech and expression, just as they're trying to muzzle the press freedom. But I'll repeat that Kibakis and Mois have put Kenyan assets on sale to multinationals and their homeguard mafia.unedited. job
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Post by kamalet on Jan 2, 2007 9:19:23 GMT 3
>>>>>FAST FORWARD to 2003. The first acquisition by Kibaki and his cronies at Trans-Century was the purchase of East African Cables from Merali. Talking of impropriety,.....Kibaki had by then simultaneously appointed Trans-Century's god father Eddy Njoroge as KenGen's Managing Director (overt & unveiled conflict of interest). The rest is history,.......you know how EA Cables & KenGen are performing at the NSE. Track down the business interests of Trans-century and you will see the Sharks, Homeguards and Sultans partitioning and selling Kenya under the guise of privatization. When one investigative journalist published the Moneybags story below,.........exposing the impropriety and regrouping of the Moi loot-soldiers with the newborn Kibaki loot-soldiers,.......the muzzling of the press began in earnest. eastandard.net/archives/cl/hm_news/news.php?articleid=10174&date=8/01/2005The government promptly charged this reporter (days after its publishing) but all the charges were later dropped. Why? Be the judge. I know the government has the temerity to attempt to muzzle our right to freedom of speech and expression, just as they're trying to muzzle the press freedom. But I'll repeat that Kibakis and Mois have put Kenyan assets on sale to multinationals and their homeguard mafia.unedited. job Job, I want to agree that the Firestone deal was dirty and many Kenyans did raise their concerns then, only that they would fall on deaf ears! You also seem to have a grouse with foreign equity participation in Kenyan corporations. My question to you would be do you think that Kenyans have the financial capability to buy into and manage some of the corporations? Take the Railways concession (which you continuously refer to a sale!). An IIT was issued and also published in the Kenyan media where the Kenyan and Uganda governments announced the proposed concessions. This meant that Kenyan companies were also invited to participate. To my recollection on Magadi Soda (if you would like to call this Kenyan!!) made the cut! What RVR has done is cover a financing gap brought in by the failure of one of the consortia members, Grinrod of South Africa to meet its financial obligation. The companies that covered the gap were ICDCI who came in October followed by trans-century in November and finally Babcock & Brown of Australia in December and the three organisations acquired a 40% stake in RVR. With regard to the Trans-century E.A Cables deal, I think seeing a conflict of interest in the role of Eddy Njoroge of Kengen and the purchase of E.A Cables is a bit misplaced. Kengen does not distribute power hence requires no cables. That is the role of KPLC - a very different parastatal. Eddy was not appointed MD of Kengen by Kibaki but by Moi. Trans-century did not start business in 2003 as some people tend to think but in 1996 - a whole 7 years before Kibaki became president! As for disposal of public assets, I think it is right for government to get out of business and let the private sector do it. I think our past history of doing things has always been wrong where there were sharks awaiting to buy into the company. The modus operandi was always to cripple the company and sell it for a song. I think this Kibaki government has changed this where the companies are first turned around then sold as profitable enterprises. Take for instance the case of Mumias. When Kidero was appointed MD in 2003, the company registered a loss of 218 million, but this was reversed in the following year when the company made a profit of 1.2 billion rising to 2.2 billion in 2006! So when the government sheds more shares in December they are able to make much more than they did with a higher number of shares at the IPO. The same strategy is being used for Telkom - first turn it round, then go for an IPO. The turn around funds will come from the proposed Safaricom IPO. If you asked me, that is good business strategy unlike the Moi method of going cheap! Unfortunately, political blindness cannot let some people see things this way!
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Post by aeichener on Jan 2, 2007 17:57:03 GMT 3
The modus operandi was always to cripple the company and sell it for a song. Which is exactly - EXACTLY - what has happened right now in the case of Kenya Railways. (I do equate the concessioning to a sale for practical purposes, in view of its economic and labour consequences.) Alexander
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Post by kamalet on Jan 3, 2007 8:38:33 GMT 3
Alex,
Just a note to the administrator Bw. Oloo. Perhaps because you are an aethist, you may not appreciate the sensibilities of some of the members of your forum.
It would appear that after posting a certain number of times, one graduates from the level of Senior Member to GOD - which I notice Alex has now attained. Some of us are religious and I hope I do not have to stop posting in Jukwaa to avoid the rank of GOD!!!
Alex
Concessioning of Railways is perhaps better than outright sale as the assets of a Railways corporation are perhaps to huge to manage an outright sell off. You are right that KR was perhaps dead by the time of the concessioning and we all know when it started dying! It should never have died in the first place!
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Post by KOLONEL BRISK on Jan 3, 2007 10:43:29 GMT 3
Thanks Kamalet for bringing this to our attention. Personally i would refrain myself from being called Allah, God, Buddha, Nyasaye or Mungu, out of respect for others. Freedom comes with responsibility, it is not a license. I believe Brother OLOO will wisely address this. I do not think it was out of ill motive. The name God is descriptive and especially when used with with a Capital G. James Brown (P.b.u.h) was the godfather of Soul. In this case the terminology has been applied in a restrictive form.
Thanks all for the diversity of opinions in this forum, critics bring the best out of us.
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Post by aeichener on Jan 3, 2007 11:07:28 GMT 3
I agree with both. I mentioned it myself when I saw my newly elated status for the first time.
Can we accord me (and others) a more fitting title upon reaching the half millenium, like, say, "Bodhisattwa"? That would suit me nicely.
Alexander
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Post by roughrider on Jan 3, 2007 16:04:31 GMT 3
Obviously 'God' is unacceptable in its insensitivity. 'Elder' might be more appropriate, and African I applaud the half millennium but obviously quantity says very little about quality; don't get me wrong - Alex writes very high quality posts and many of them, but this may not apply equally to others... and so should people get titles merely out of the number of posts? Take one Wanyee who only copies and pastes stuff about the 'Titanium mining scandal'; what happens when he pastes a million articles on the 'scandal'? He might just be labelled the 'God of all gods'... and might even sneak his way into greek mythology of gods. I suggest delligent posters like Alex should get a Jukwaa card and T-shirt from the administrator. Still on such matters; i was kind of expecting an annual report from Jukwaa like i get from other sites and from being a retail investor (sometimes the value of shares is less than the cost of making glossy annual reports he he he ;D) Just triffling thoughts these, perhaps unimportant.
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Post by bkichwa on Jan 12, 2007 21:09:49 GMT 3
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