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Post by nereah on Oct 16, 2009 14:25:33 GMT 3
www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/673010/-/uo0uv6/-/from the pm's official website, i can tell that this is the second official trip by the kenyan statesman to the people's republic of china. from the content of the pmps's dispatch(see above link) i can deduce that this is a significant engagement and i am keenly monitoring its outcome both at the political and economic level. pm's entourage bett(roads),kimunya(trade) and keter(energy) betrays a hint of kenya's mission. lastly i am curious to know why kenya government and pm's office in particular does not travel with kenyan businessmen and women( assuming none went based on the news story above) there are wealthy kenyan business people who through such groupings as chamber of commerce and industry or private sector alliance would sponsor their trip to strike clean business deals on the sidelines of the bi-lateral engagements. opm and treasury would also have sponsored representatives of business entrepreneurs(medium and micro) from each province to such trips and facilitate meeting between kenyan business people from tourism,auto,information technology etc and their chinese counterparts. did i hear someone snort?
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Post by nereah on Oct 16, 2009 14:29:27 GMT 3
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Post by phil on Oct 16, 2009 15:20:02 GMT 3
This trip has everything to do with infrustructure development worth billions of dollars. The lamu port, Moyale Highway and Railway, etc worth a mind boggling 3.5 billion U.S. Dollars. It appears the proposed batter trade between Kenya (Lamu Port development) and Qatar (Tana River farms) backfired. It is significant that the PM is spearheading the fortunes of the grand coalition in international diplomatic and business circles going by his recent trip and one-one-one with US President Barack Obama and now this trip which will see him attend high profile meetings in China, Sweden and France. Might as well say Kibaki has retired and it is the PM who is marketing this country. Chinese, Kenyan PMs vow to boost trade, infrastructure cooperationChinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R) meets with Kenya Prime Minister Raila Amollo Odinga (L) in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Oct. 16, 2009. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)Here's the full background focusing on China from Business Monitor International: China May Sponsor Lamu PortKenya - Infrastructure - Oct 15 2009 The Kenyan government has entered into talks with China over the development of the Lamu Port and related road and rail links. China has been one of the most active proponents of infrastructure development in Africa over recent years, but thus far its involvement in Kenya has been limited. A delegation from Kenya is currently in China discussing prospects for Chinese investment in the port project, according to the Financial Times (FT). While discussions are at an early stage, the Kenyan government is hopeful that Chinese investment will provide a much-needed boost to the country's port sector.In late 2008 Kenya and Qatar were reportedly in negotiations over a US$3.5bn plan to build the port. In return for financing the port, the emirate would lease 40,000 hectares of land to be used for food production. However, no deal was ever secured, and China is now being eyed as a more appropriate suitor for the project. According to Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinja, 'the Chinese offer the full package', as cited by the FT, in terms of expertise and financing, the latter of which would potentially come from the Export-Import Bank of China. In Line For A Boost? Kenya And China Trade Data, US$mnSource: IMF Direction of Trade Statistics Kenya To Be Added To The List? Chinese Invesmtents In Infrastructure In Sub-Sahara Africa, 2001-2007Source: Building Bridges: China's Growing Role As Infrastructure Financier For Sub-Saharan Africa, World Bank, July 2008 The project under discussion not only includes a new port at Lamu but also the development of road and rail links to the port for what has been described as Kenya's 'second corridor'. The development of a new port and associated infrastructure in Kenya would provide China with a route to export oil from Sudan - where it is heavily invested - and a route for its exports out of Ethiopia, which are most likely to be related to food produce. In addition, it would establish the necessary infrastructure for exporting any oil discovered in northern Kenya. The development of a port at Lamu would certainly improve the condition of the country's port sector, as congestion at the Port of Mombasa is a major problem. The proposed port would specifically cater for northern Kenya's trade needs. BMI notes that the port would not only reduce congestion at the Port of Mombasa, but would also offer an alternative route for trade to and from Kenya's landlocked neighbours, which is likely to be one of the main attractions for China to the project. China has been one of the largest forces in the development of infrastructure in Africa over recent years. In return for access to natural resources, the country has built roads, bridges and other core infrastructure. However, with Kenya having little to offer in terms of proven mineral resources, it has not received the same attention as countries such as Ethiopia, Nigeria, Angola and Sudan. Guinea may become the latest beneficiary of Chinese investment in Africa, with negotiations for a deal worth US$7bn reportedly under way. Despite the country's lack of proven resources, China has some history in Kenya; in 2006 it was awarded a contract to refurbish Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi and in 2008 China Overseas Engineering Group was awarded a US$48mn contract to expand Kenya's third largest airport - Kisumu airport - as well as a US$105mn contract for the reconstruction of a road. China is also involved in Kenya's nascent oil industry, holding exploration rights for the Lamu basin and having plans to start prospecting for oil in northern Kenya by the end of October. Recently, Kenya's cash-strapped government has called for increased Chinese investment in infrastructure and energy projects in the country, and this port project could be the answer to its call. The Chinese government is reportedly planning to invest US$5bn in Africa through the China-Africa Development Fund, and Kenya hopes to reap the benefits of the investment plans.
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Post by nereah on Oct 16, 2009 16:52:38 GMT 3
Might as well say Kibaki has retired and it is the PM who is marketing this country. thanks phil for the captivating insights. three points though: first, is the absence of uhuru or a key representative like joseph kinyua who wields special powers as far as signing bilateral treaties including grants and loans are concerned. given the weighty facts in your posts above, one would have expected the treasury to be represented by no lesser person than uhuru. if anything, i think the china mission is more significant than france where uhuru will be joining raila. secondly, the withdrawal or halt of the arab investments in lamu port and tana river farms brings to focus kenya's foreign policy. wetangula has some job on his hands.remember the libyans are also gobbling up the kenyan pie? if it was kibaki traveling to china would wetangula have skipped the leg of tour? i doubt.he has no excuse on this unless i am wrong. thirdly, is the absence of balala and ministry of tourism in this business delegation.i would have thought that the minister and kenya tourist board team would take advantage of this trip to reposition kenya in the china's tourism market. i am saying that it is wrong for the pm to market kenya without being accompanied by key line ministers of foreign affairs and tourism.
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Post by politicalmaniac on Oct 16, 2009 18:15:22 GMT 3
China's voracious appetite for natural goods , combined with their unaccountable amoral political philosophy, is vary scary. I wish there were some trading partners who have a sense of individual and human rights. The West aint all that too.
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Post by nereah on Oct 19, 2009 11:18:47 GMT 3
This trip has everything to do with [url=http://www.st China is also involved in Kenya's nascent oil industry, holding exploration rights for the Lamu basin and having plans to start prospecting for oil in northern Kenya by the end of October. Recently, Kenya's cash-strapped government has called for increased Chinese investment in infrastructure and energy projects in the country, and this port project could be the answer to its call. The Chinese government is reportedly planning to invest US$5bn in Africa through the China-Africa Development Fund, and Kenya hopes to reap the benefits of the investment plans. phil, you were spot on. Raila leads rush for Southern Sudan oilby John Njiraini
The political and economic configuration of the East Africa region is set for a critical economic transformation as countries engage in an unprecedented oil race — even as Kenya declares it is ‘smelling’ oil. Prime minister Raila Odinga, who is currently in China on official duties, has successfully brokered a deal that would see oil from Southern Sudan exported through Kenya after refinement at the port of exit. The deal and the recent discovery of oil in Uganda puts Kenya at a strategic position to claim a slice of the billions of dollars from oil revenue to transform her struggling economy ......... www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=1144026647&cid=4&
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Post by phil on Oct 20, 2009 0:29:16 GMT 3
Nereah,
the potential for this country is humongous. if only we could get our domestic and international politics right!
Barring a successful assassination, I have a sneaky feeling we will soon get it right.
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Post by phil on Oct 21, 2009 13:39:04 GMT 3
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Post by nereah on Oct 23, 2009 18:08:18 GMT 3
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Post by nereah on Oct 23, 2009 18:09:49 GMT 3
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Post by job on Oct 23, 2009 20:33:44 GMT 3
He needed to, as a matter of urgency. The Daily Nation is engaged in seriously biased reporting, sometimes bordering on inciting ethnic rifts.
By the way, Grapevine has it that two of H.H. Aga Khan's corporate employees in the Daily Nation, are actually on the list of 15 warned by Americans, as standing in the path of reforms in Kenya.....one CEO Linus Gitahi, and his immediate predecessor and now Board Advisor Wilfred Kiboro.
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Post by nereah on Jan 21, 2010 14:56:29 GMT 3
kwani whats wrong with the pm's media team? it is strenuous catching up with agwambo's trip to indonesia. i wonder why the coverage is poor.could it be that the local media is giving it a black out? this is strange.
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Post by politicalmaniac on Jan 21, 2010 22:05:30 GMT 3
By the way, Grapevine has it that two of H.H. Aga Khan's corporate employees in the Daily Nation, are actually on the list of 15 warned by Americans, as standing in the path of reforms in Kenya.....one CEO Linus Gitahi, and his immediate predecessor and now Board Advisor Wilfred Kiboro. Mafians from Central province... jeez am I surprised? hell yea!!
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Post by nereah on Feb 15, 2010 15:03:03 GMT 3
jukwaa, its been months since we raised our ire on the new pm's website and even made suggestions (see link below). jukwaa.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=3536&page=1whats annoying is that no one seems to give a hoot. the website is tedious to navigate,poorly administered and in my view a disservice to this important office. pm has made some very important foreign trips like the davos economic summit which are poorly treated by his publicists and communication managers. even local engagements--- forget about odm politics; i am talking about official functions---you will be lucky if you obtain satisfactory update. remember those murmurs of discontent by the usual suspects about agwambo's foreign trips and especially the delegation size and the benefit to kenya? recall that frustration of agwambo about local media's emphasis on sleaze and at the expense of the good news he brought home from an official foreign trip? his media handler/s never bothered to highlight what the personality driven kenyan media was diverting kenyan attention from.may be i am wrong. the irony is that pmps do syndicate news and photo/video to local and international media but hardly consider streaming/posting them on the website. now that agwambo is facing east again, can we count on his media handlers for update and detailed coverage. they have no excuse whatsoever.
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Post by nereah on Feb 16, 2010 16:41:36 GMT 3
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Post by nereah on Feb 16, 2010 16:48:09 GMT 3
the japanese have lined up some mouth watering economic engagements for the pm delegation.i can tell from the capital fm news update that they are of enormous potential for kenya. imagine toyota or panasonic setting up a regional manufacturing plant in kenya?
i am still curious to know why the government of kenya and pm's office in particular does not encourage or travel with kenyan businessmen and women in such critical missions.
there are wealthy kenyan business people who through such groupings as chamber of commerce and industry or private sector alliance would sponsor their trip to strike clean business deals on the sidelines of the bi-lateral engagements.
opm and treasury would also have sponsored representatives of business entrepreneurs(medium and micro) from each province to such trips and facilitate meeting between kenyan business people from tourism,auto,information technology etc and their japanese counterparts.
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Post by nereah on Feb 22, 2010 16:55:14 GMT 3
"He( read raila) said that as opposed to the past where Kenya criss-crossed the world “to beg” for financial aid, his tour of Japan and Thailand was significant in the sense that it was based on seeking for investments. “We went to seek trade and investment opportunities as opposed to the old habit of begging for Aid. " -source newstime acfricathe London based africa news breaking centre makes my day by the comprehensive coverage which nairobi media buried.this is not just statecracft but shrewd diplomacy and a big gain for kenya.a lesson to the ministry of finance and foreign affairs.well done agwambohere is the link www.newstimeafrica.com/archives/10959
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Post by phil on Mar 3, 2010 15:05:04 GMT 3
Toyota to establish regional HQs in KenyaWritten By:PMPS , Posted: Tue, Mar 02, 2010 The Toyota Group has launched a formal process of expanding its operations and establishing a regional headquarters in Nairobi following a request by Prime Minister Raila Odinga two weeks ago...... more
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Post by nereah on Mar 3, 2010 17:00:32 GMT 3
Toyota to establish regional HQs in KenyaWritten By:PMPS , Posted: Tue, Mar 02, 2010 The Toyota Group has launched a formal process of expanding its operations and establishing a regional headquarters in Nairobi following a request by Prime Minister Raila Odinga two weeks ago...... more phil. this is good. i will be taking this up in my roundtable for discussion. my initial take is that kisumu or kakamega would be ideal for the toyoda(mmm... toyota) hdqs.reason: nairobi is already bubbling at the brim and western kenya's proximity to great lakes makes it an ideal location. and whats more,kisumu's airport is being upgraded to international standard for direct flights and ...isn't kisumu the headquarters of the East Africa Community?
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Post by Dumekenya on Mar 3, 2010 17:35:33 GMT 3
This is what we want in Kenya,we need a leader who is a manufucturer not an importer, We need industries set up in Kenya so we can acquire the jobs and the skills too. But look at what Kibaki and the co. have been doing just allowing Kenya to be a dumping zone. Instead we should be telling the interested investers to come and put up their factories here in our land it would beneficial to both of us unlike when we just depend on importing the finished goods and services. Raila is a man to watch in this country and we need to give him a chance so we can compare the different leadership style. Why lie PM is the best for this country
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Post by nereah on Nov 14, 2010 14:58:45 GMT 3
PM in New Delhi for economic forumto monitor kenyan participation at the forum,click link below. www.livestream.com/worldeconomicforumi have a quarrel about this trip and i will share it here kesho. let me head to the stadi.
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Post by njamba on Nov 14, 2010 15:23:26 GMT 3
I wonder why Pakistan does not get the level of respect india gets in term of trade partners Pakistan is the biggest Trade partner more than India and china. without pakistan market kenyan tea farmers will still be living in mud huts, without Pakistan cement exports to kenya real estate boom will not be what it is, without pakistan fertilizers Mahindi ingekuwa ile ya zamani.
what do these talks Shops achieve anyway? I would rather Raila spend his time looking for FDI elsewhere than in these feel good summits
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Post by nereah on Nov 17, 2010 13:48:11 GMT 3
njamba, you are raising some important questions that would be subject of my musings later. as of now, i have a quarrel or two about this trip,specifically its value addition for kenya. my problem especially with the all pervading kenyan media is that they have this hit-and-run tendency where they whimsically dictate to the public the news menue. i remember kenya's prime minister, the right honourable raila amollo odinga,egh,mp,was in south africa two years ago for this event where he led a high powered delegation. i recall this like yesterday because of how the pm and his team put a good fight and successfully won kenya's bid to host the world economic forum.then what happened next? everything went quiet and the next we heard was that next door tanzania was hosting the event?someone still owes us explanation. as kenya was losing out on this and the attendant benefits, global rating was out showing our competitiveness in world business was on the downhill.i was embarrassed to watch kenya, the supposed east africa's largest economy,losing it big to kagame's rwanda in the global competitive index where kenya was ranked 106 while rwanda was at 80. terry anne chebet my favourite business tv journalist, terry anne chebet(currently with citizen tv) informs me in her blog www.grainsofmasala.blogspot.com/ about kenya's preparation to the wef and i share her misgivings. and just to digress, i have just read the latest release by the world bank aptly titled africa's future and the world bank's role in it which i consider as an essential guide to nairobi and us. back to the trip, i get nugget of news www.businessweek.com/news/2010-11-16/kenya-in-talks-with-reliance-tatas-for-investments.html and www.centreforaviation.com/news/share-market/2010/11/17/kenya-airways-to-double-its-services-to-india-air-mauritius-shares-down--06/page1when the pmps and dr alfred mutua's office can do much better.see this sify.com/news/manmohan-singh-meets-kenyan-pm-raila-odinga-news-national-klqrugiijeg.html for instance where we are informed by a foreign news outlet that mr odinga is on a four-day visit to India, to discuss investment and economic cooperation with top political and business leaders.like other trips by president kibaki and pm raila,there are no conscious and publicised effort for international business matchmaking(my word) as we see with americans,chinese and european delegations. why is this so? we saw when british prime minister, david cameron,visited china the other day,he was with a plane load of representatives of british business community as was mrs hilary clinton when she came visiting nairobi. i have argued fervently here before that kenyan business community can finance their trips,all they want and need is to be on the shadows of state delegations so as to strike useful business deals by the sidelines of such foreign trip as this one. i would have expected that the admirable indian tycoon pictured below with a luhya name should for instance be meeting with prospecting kenyan trade delegation under the shadows of government. mukesh ambani i am saying that pm handlers and the government in particular, ought to know better and ensure that this kind of taxpayers funded trips are taken maximum advantage of and that they be subjected to not only constructive scrutiny but also review to avoid (a) embarrassment as indicated above and (b) to give the struggling kenyan economy(e.g the diminished foreign reserves) the leg up and guarantee the competitiveness. my thoughts.
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Post by phil on Jul 17, 2012 11:13:03 GMT 3
The PM Raila Odinga is currently leading a Kenyan delegation on an official visit to China.. Here is his itinerary..
Prime Minister’s official visit to China Nairobi, July 16, 2012 PMPS
Prime Minister Raila Odinga left the country this evening for a week long official visit to China to attend the 5th. Ministerial conference of the forum for China Africa Cooperation and sign a number of agreements with Chinese leadership.
Mr. Odinga is scheduled to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao on Wednesday morning before.
Speaking before leaving the country, Mr Odinga said that although his mission is to attract more investments into the country, he would also discuss arrangements that he feels have not worked well for Kenya in the area of trade with China.
“We import a lot of manufactured equipment like tractors, ploughs and harvesters. I feel that we should by now be having a tractor manufacturing plant here in Kenya. There is no reason why we should be importing tractors from China year in year out. These are some of the things we want to engage the Chinese on,” the PM said. “We should have a fertilizer manufacturing plant here instead of importing the product from China which causes delays and poor harvests,” he added.
Prior to the meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister Odinga will hold separate meetings with the CEO of StarTimes group/Pan-Africa Network group, President of the China Communications Construction Company and the President of Sino Hydro Corporation.
In the afternoon, Mr. Odinga will attend the 4th China-Africa Entrepreneurs Conference and later pay a courtesy call on President of Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema before meeting with Vice President of China Petroleum pipeline Bureau.
On Thursday July 19th. The PM will attend the opening ceremony of the 5th. Ministerial conference of the Forum for China Africa Co-operation and later meet separately with the Vice President of the Peoples’ Republic of China Xi Jinping and President of China Academy of Space Technology before attending a banquet hosted for African leaders by President Hu Jiantao.
On Friday July 20th. Mr. Odinga will depart Beijing for Shanghai where he will meet with the Municipality’s Governor, Mayor and Party officials.
The Premier will thereafter meet with ZPMC Group with other consortium members on the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor Project (LAPSSET). Later in the evening Mr. Odinga will tour Huawei R&D centre and Shanghai Yangshan Port.
On Saturday July 21st, he will depart Shanghai for Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. Where he will meet the governor and sign a memorandum of understanding between the Government of Kenya and China Jiangxi Corporation for international Economic and Technical Co-operation.
The MOU is for the development of solar/diesel Power plant in Kenya and for a concessional loan for the construction of Mbita-Sindo-Magunga-Karungu-Masara road and Sindo-Nyandiwa-Sori road.
Mr. Odinga will also sign an another MOU between the Government of Kenya and Zhongmei engineering group for a concessional loan for the construction of Narok-Masai Mara (C12) to connect with Narok-mau Narok (C57) road.
He will later meet with the CEO of China Jiangxi Corporation for international Economic and Technical Co-operation and the CEO of Zhongmei engineering Group Ltd.
On Sunday July 22nd, the Premier will depart Shanghai for Guangzhou where he will hold press briefing on Monday 23rd. before departing for home.
The plane carrying the Prime Minister and his entourage is expected at the Jomo Kenyatta International airport on Tuesday July 24th. at 7.05 p.m.
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Post by phil on Jul 17, 2012 17:50:01 GMT 3
PM RAILA Odinga and Mama Aida pose for a photograph with Ambassador and Mrs. Julius Ole Sunkuli at Kenya's Embassy in Beijing, China Tuesday 17 July
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