This Nairobi life

cooling on pesa point
Several banks recently signed on to be a part of the Pesa Point ATM network, and now they are passing on the charges to the customer after a brief free trial period. If I use a pesa point ATM it will cost me 30 shillings per transaction, which negates the attractiveness of the flat fee banking concept which I signed on for. Henceforth, I will only use pesa point ATM’s for emergency withdrawals.

development freeze
The Nairobi City Council has suspended proposals for property conversions/development activities (e.g. to apartments & offices) in Kilimani, Kileleshwa, Thompson, Lavington, Riverside and Westlands for a period of six months while it carries out a review of the development policies which have transformed (and some say destroyed) these Neighbourhoods.

no escape
Plans for a Christmas holiday at the Coast may be put on hold because all major hotels have been fully booked, leaving no space for domestic tourists.

no water
The city could face a serious water shortage after talks stalled between a water company and its workers.

but there are opportunities:

job
In the position of the finance officer at the national anti corruption campaign steering committee of the ministry of justice and constitutional affairs. Applicants must have b.com degree, CPA (K), 5 years experience, and good knowledge of government of Kenya and development partners’ finance and accounting systems. Apply to the director, P. O. Box 72546-00200, Nairobi by December 16.

Consulting
Opportunities at the Tourism Trust Fund (link fixed) in the fields of business planning, marketing planning, legal, environmental impact, quantity surveying, project monitoring & evaluation, architectural services, civil & structural engineering, landscape design & architecture, financial planning and conservation. Contracts are for one year with the possibility of renewal and application dossiers can be obtained by emailing info@ttkenya.org with "panel dossier - standard" in the subject line, with your name and address in the message only. Closing date for applications is December 14.

Still Barclays Country

Barclays remains as Kenya’s leading bank by a large margin, with only one month left in the year. The industry remains largely profitable, with only two banks likely to make losses - Bank of Africa (9m) and Oriental (4m) so far. Figures are in million of shillings and are as at the quarter ended September 2005.

total assets
Barclays 106,667 (i.e. 107 billion shillings)
Standard Chartered 71,077
Kenya Commercial 70,913
Cooperative 49,434
National Bank of Kenya 35,942
Citibank Kenya 31,751
Commercial Bank of Africa 29,201
NIC 19,952
CFC 18,617
Investment & Mortgages 17,413

customer deposits
Barclays 84,006
Standard Chartered 58,444
Kenya Commercial 57,619
Cooperative 40,941
National Bank of Kenyan 28,168
Commercial Bank of Africa 25,631
Citibank Kenya 23,576
NIC 16,339
CFC 14,591
Investment & Mortgages 14,307

net loans to customers
Barclays 63,847
Kenya Commercial 32,701
Cooperative 30,028
Standard Chartered 29,859
National Bank of Kenya 23,507
NIC 13,484
CFC 11,755
Commercial Bank of Africa 11,141
Citibank Kenya 10,888
Investment & Mortgages 10,462

profit before tax
Barclays 3,375 (3.375 billion shillings)
Standard Chartered 2,595
Kenya Commercial 1,225
Citibank Kenya 908
National Bank of Kenya 629
Cooperative 607
Commercial Bank of Africa 603
Equity 352
Investment & Mortgages 349
NIC 305

Return on Assets
Dubai 4.76%
Development Bank of Kenya 4.38%
Standard Chartered 3.65%
Equity 3.52%
Barclays 3.16%
Charterhouse 3.10%
Citibank Kenya 2.86%
Credit 2.55%
Transnational 2.53%
Equatorial 2.46%

Return on Equity
Commercial Bank of Africa 31.26%
Barclays 30.80%
Standard Chartered 30.79%
National Bank of Kenya 25.98%
Equity 25.09%
Habib AG 22.55%
Imperial 20.08%
Baroda 19.40%
Citibank Kenya 19.04%
Investment & Mortgages 19.01%

Raking in those charges
(While foreign banks are frequently criticized for exploiting Kenyans through high bank charges, it is local banks who are more dependent on such income - since foreign banks have bigger loan books and thus higher interest income).

Percentage of income from fees, commission and other sources:
Oriental (formerly Delphis) 85.26%
Consolidated 52.98%
Equity 52.16%
Kenya Commercial 49.51%
Cooperative 46.39%
Citibank Kenya 46.28%
Commercial Bank of Africa 46.00%
EABS 45.92%
Barclays 40.90%
Standard Chartered 39.73%

Easy Money
Ratio of bank investment in safe government securities versus riskier loans to customers.

Habib AG 253.58%
Bank of India 185.54%
Baroda 137.16%
Development Bank of Kenya 128.29%
Standard Chartered 80.14%
Citibank Kenya 72.44%
Commercial Bank of Africa 57.91%
ABC 57.25%
Fina 55.88%
Kenya Commercial 46.19%

Where the money is
Cash rich banks.

Citibank Kenya 8,867 (8.867 billion shillings)
Commercial Bank of Africa 6,742
Kenya Commercial 3,702
Imperial 2,148
Cooperative 2,114
Equity 2,056
Barclays 1,897
Diamond Trust 1,699
NIC 1,632
Housing Finance 1,531

Total Non Performing Assets
National Bank of Kenya 17,100
Kenya Commercial 12,641
Barclays 11,627
Cooperative 9,217
Housing Finance 3,388
Standard Chartered 1,672
Commercial Bank of Africa 1,192
EABS 1,142
Oriental (formerly Delphis) 1,004
Consolidated 742

Insider Loans
National Bank of Kenya 16,734
Kenya Commercial 3,340
Barclays 2,942
Commercial Bank of Africa 1,262
Cooperative 1,225
Standard Chartered 866
NIC 534
CFC 461
Transnational 451
Diamond Trust 296

Over/under value?
Standard Chartered and Kenya Commercial Bank, banks 2 and 3, are almost identical in most major categories (assets, deposits, loans, and income) while varying in profit before tax (SC 2.6b to KCB’s 1.2b) and insider loans & non performing (which are historical problems of KCB). Yet KCB's share price has risen steadily to 104 this year while Standard Chartered has hovered at 130 – 140 during the same period.

Supporting women entrepreneurs

A joint report by the International Labour Organization and the African Development Bank titled Support for Growth-oriented Women Entrepreneurs in Kenya was released today.

46% of SME’s in Kenya are owned by women who face numerous constraints in establishing and running their business. The goal of the program is to transform women enterprises from being informal and micro-sized, located on inappropriate premises, operating in feminized sectors & and locally restricted markets, and which are under-capitalized, making minimal use of technology – all of which limit their potential for growth. This will be done through tailored financial and other solutions.

In terms of banking and finance, women enterprises are restricted to group savings and micro finance (which yield slow growth). Despite women having high demand for loans and credit, and even though they tend to be better savers and have better loan repayment rates than men, women entrepreneurs are unable to access commercial bank loans. The reasons for this include;
- main problem facing women in Kenya is lack of collateral for borrowing (often is in husband’ name)
- Banks lack confidence in projects owned by women
- Men have bigger ideas and borrow bigger, while women are risk averse and take smaller loans, which are more costly for banks to administer
- Women lack the ability to approach financial intuitions (e.g. management skill, and in some cases education, technical skills or business records that banks require)

Among the recommendations of the report:
- In a pilot program to be implemented in Kenya, the ADB will guarantee up to 50%, loans advanced to women entrepreneurs by a small group of local banks
- Efforts will be made to link micro- finance loan clients to business development services
- A financial guide for women entrepreneurs will be published
- A women’s bank may be established in Kenya to be chaired by the First lady.

PDF’s of the report can be obtained from either the ADB or ILO sites.

Career guide

Un-scientific career pointer list for this era

Some hot careers (5+)
- Human resource/performance management consultant
- tax adviser/lawyer
- land developer
- teacher
- sales

some cold careers (4-)
- wheeler dealers /brief case contractor
- NGO official
- real estate agent
- political party official

Help improve the business climate

You (the public) are invited to comment/recommend which of the 1,300+ licences required of businesses in Kenya should be deleted or simplified. E-mail your views to licenses@tradeandindustry.go.ke by December 2 and a complete list of licenses can be accessed on page 5 of this link.

PDF Roll

Start a Bank in Kenya
The Central Bank of Kenya has published an updated list of new prudential guidelines that cover the licensing of banks and which ensure that depositors funds are safeguarded.

Future banking trends
According to IBM, key trends that will drive global banking in the future will include;
- Customers taking control
- Specialized niche competitors
- A new workforce
- Regulated transparency
- Sharply focused technology

High flyer
Here’s a summary of a 2004 report which ranked Kenya Airways as the 7th most profitable airline in the world. An extensive report on KQ’s recent performance appeared (amid the referendum dust) in the Nation on Tuesday.

Cashing Out
Top shareholder are cashing in their gains at the Nairobi Stock Exchange including one Kapchorua's top 3 - selling 480,000 shares at 170 shillings (81.6m) and one of Barclays top 10 shareholders - selling 600,000 at 265 shillings (159m).

New court
In an update to the residents lawsuit against the Nairobi City Council, a valuation court has now been set up to hear objections in about 8,500 cases raised by tax payers to the new rates. It was quietly gazetted by the Minister for Local Government in September, comprises 10 members (10 members - 3 lawyers, 4 valuers, 3 professionals) and will begin sitting from December 6th at City Hall, Nairobi.

jobs

country manager at Africa Now (enterprising solutions) based in Kisumu. Apply by December 2 at info@africanow.org and check for further details at their site.

paralegals – 13 positions at the Legal Resources Foundation Trust (LRF), to work at prisons in Nairobi, Thika, Kitale, Nakuru, Kisumu and Meru for 6 months beginning in January ‘06. Applicants should have certificate in paralegal/human rights training from a reputable institution, diploma in community development or social work and at least one year’s experience in community or social work, among others. Apply to info@lrfkenya.org by November 25.

A to Z Referendum

a
apathy Voter turnout was less than half of what was expected in most areas. Fatigue over the whole matter coupled with the cost of traveling hundreds of kilometers to vote, in an insignificant election, only a month before the expensive Christmas holidays, transport fare hikes, meant that if you couldn’t vote where you lived, you didn’t travel. Presidential elections are usually held in December, during the school holidays and just after christmas.

b
boredom Cooped in the house for four straight days and TV was non-stop referendum news. See movies

c
clowns too many to mention but the roll includes; (i) the government spokesman who despite having nothing to say, couldn’t resist the opportunity provided by having the election media centre in his office building (KICC) (ii) at least two MP’s who showed up without ID or voter’s cards but demanded to vote.

d
duty Kenyans from all walks of life turned out to perform their civic duty. Turnout was low, but the result showed a true picture of the Kenyan electorate see gullible

e
emergency plans certain donor bodies (e.g. OXFAM) advised staff to avoid Kenya and even set up emergency chains of command and communication just in case things when wrong. Some international banks moved operations staff into hotels in downtown Nairobi so they could be near their office even if there was chaos around town. DT Dobie withdrew all Mercedes cars from their showroom window.

f
Fox News Kenya Royal Media’s Citizen has replaced the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) as the pro-establishment media house of choice. They had round the clock coverage of the election coupled with patriotic songs (both on radio and TV) while their Leader, was the only newspaper to endorse an election position (For a strong Yes!, and even published their opinion poll predicting a slim Yes victory.

The songs played on Citizen are hypnotic and catchy choir melodies, with children singing the choruses, with phrases such as;

kenya kenya kenya
nchi yetu
yenye mafanikio
tupendane, tusaidiane
kenya kenya kenya
Nchi yetu
ukabila tuondoe
tushirikiane sote pamoja

g
gullible Voters in Central and Nyanza who repeatedly produced +97% votes favoring their leaders, and not on the merits of the draft itself.

h
hongera means praise in Kiswahili to all the citizens, and police of Kenya. (i) Citizens for voting peacefully and for putting up with voting hitches and delays. (ii) The Kenya Police force for maintaining peaceful elections around the country, and also for enabling the peaceful staging of two simultaneous political rallies, just hundreds of metres apart in Nairobi on Saturday.

i
incidences catchy word repeatedly used by endless radio hosts when they probably mean to use the words ‘incidents.'

k
Kenyan I now feel like one after voting for the first time ever (shareholder AGM’s don’t count). It’s a shame that I could not vote before when I was abroad

l
line: In Kenya, you should never ever join a line, unless you know where it is going to end. I have learnt this the hard way - at some banking halls, and offices e.g. of KPLC and Kenya Revenue Authority. On voting day I stood in the first short line I found at the polling station for 30 minutes only to later realize that voters had been assigned to different lines (leading to different voting rooms) based on their names.

m
media the media gave some good coverage. However two incidents troubled me (i) the election was peaceful in most part so the country, yet near the end of the long day, one TV station devoted over 15 minutes to some stone throwing at one Nairobi location. The media should not glorify sporadic acts which are likely to incite similar incidents. - it’s the reason sports broadcasts don’t show streakers or fans who run onto the pitch (ii) just because the government spokesman is in front of a microphone is no reason to let him talk non-stop – cut him off and do you own (more reliable) reporting. Blooper of the day yesterday was a morning radio host who at 7:30am asked an on-site reporter if there were any preliminary results!

movies
Watched very good 'Hotel Rwanda' and 'Crash.' Also watched Spanglish and some other forgettable DVD’s.

n
nite a late entry: as in the Carnivore, who threw a bash called the referendum 'soul' night. I Didn't attend.

o
over as in we hope it’s all over, and can we move on to the economy, service delivery, infrastructure and growth

p
Patriotism see Fox News Kenya

q
queues see lines

r
Resign Like FEMA officials after hurricane Katrina, some people dropped the ball on voting day - and while its not a Kenyan thing to resign, some non- politicians need to resign including; (i) the attorney general and his team for the incoherent draft they produced (ii) all civil servants (identified by KNHRC) who openly defied the code of conduct for public officers and campaigned using their offices (iii) the entire constitution of Kenya review commission (CKRC) – for wasting millions in the name of non-existent civic education, and because their 15 billion shilling gravy train must come to an end after 8 years.

The electoral commission of Kenya gets a pass because overall the election was well carried out but they could have extended both the registration period for voters and hours for voting beyond 5 p.m.

s
smart most voters are smart enough to bring reading materials knowing they many line up for hours, but some (old KC’s) even brought folding stools with them.

t
trash over the last three years we have followed the debate on the draft, sometimes buying two or three newspapers a day just to keep up. Now old newspapers are garbage, which I’m told I can sell for only 20 shillings a kilo. I may have about 15 kilos to clear.

u
uncertainty three types I felt (i) would I be able to vote with a passport? (ii) Should we line up according to names indicated at polling station? (iii) Was my name really on the voter’s roll as it was my first ever vote?

v
violence see media

w
who’s who included in the voters at polling both around the country were all manner of leaders from the president, MP's business leaders etc. At my polling station we had Joe Wanjui, Titus Mbathi, Bob Kioko, among others. Still, it’s not a place to network or you may get (violently) thrown out for trying to influence other voters.

x
a simple mark to check one of two boxes on ballot cards. Yet there were so many spoilt ballots because many (literate) villagers did not understand how to vote. See resign

y
yellow church leaders and (most) civil society organizations for failing to take a stand on a very complex document. It was too complicated for me and for many rural people who voted, and yet these ‘experts’ just folded their arms and let the dice roll.

z
zero internet access for most of the weekend. One disadvantage of a mobile phone, and not having a landline, is a dependence on having to use cyber cafés for internet usage – and most of these were closed for several days.

Friday job watch

Celtel
strategic planning manager ref FIN-CFO-01/05. Applicants must have masters degree, finance or CPA (k) qualification and 2 years strategic management experience at a substantive company
internal audit manager ref GM-CEO—01/05. Qualifications are masters degree in finance, 2 years internal in audit or 5 year relevant external audit experience
Apply to the human resource director at hr@ke.celtel.com by November 25.

Toyota Kenya
marketing manager. Applicant to have a business or marketing degree, and CIM certification would be an advantage. Also must have good knowledge of marketing and key trade factors governing the auto industry in the region.
Apply to the training & development manager by 26 November

Ernst & Young (technology & security risk solutions division)
business analyst - entry level requirements are computer science degree and professional qualifications such as CISA, CISSP, MCSE, CCN, or ODBA.
senior business analysts computer science degree and professional qualification like CISA, CISSP, MCSE, CCN, or ODBA. An accounting qualification such as ACCA or CPA (K) will be an advantage. Also a post graduate business or IT degree, and 3 years audit or IT experience.
Both require excellent team work & communication skills as well as a willingness to travel outside Kenya (yeah! Check their site at www.ey.com/kenya for application forms.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers
business analyst
administration assistant
Apply at ess.ke@ke.pwc.com by November 30.

IPS
chief accountant
Must have business degree, CPA or ACCA and 5 years experience in similar position
Apply to hr@ipskenya.com by November 30.

Moi Teaching & Referral Hospital Eldoret
chief internal auditor ref MTRH/6/11/2005
assistant deputy director, administration & finance ref MTRH/3/11/2005
Check at www.mtrh.org for details and apply by December 16.

World Vision Kenya
finance & administration director
procurement manager
Apply to recruit_kenya@wvi.org by December 2

Credit Reference Bureau Africa
group human resource & administration manager. applicants must have 5 years experience in a senior HR position
Apply to hra@crbafrica.com by December 5.

East African Breweries
business risk consultant applicant must have 4 years internal/external audit experience, be a qualified accountant CPA or ACCA, CISA and preferably an MBA
Apply to the head of human resources, EABL P. O. Box 30161-00100 by December 3.

Sarova Hotels
management trainee program
Apply to hr@sarova.co.ke by 30 November.

(NSSF) No Social Security Fund

At a forum to discuss the proposed controversial conversion of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) from a National Provident Fund Scheme to a Social Insurance Pension Scheme, actuarian Sandeep Raichura dropped some hard facts about the current state of the fund right now. E.g. (i) if you start working today at age 25 & join the NSSF scheme, and work for 30 years, you will receive a 200,000 shilling lump sum when you retire at age 55 – which is less than the average annual salary of Kenyans of 260,000 shillings per year. (This assumes you only make the statutory 400 shilling per month contribution, which the NSSF will invest and earn a reasonable 10% p.a)

While the NSSF has a history of poor governance and dubious investments the social challenges that the NSSF faces are a greater risk to retiree’s e.g. (i) contributions are too low: at independence it was 40 shillings per month, now it is 200 shillings (ii) members are too few: NSSF has about 800,000 members, yet there are 2 million Kenyans in formal employment and over 5 million in informal employment who are not members (iii) there are 1 million Kenyans over 65, and another million approaching 60 years.

Telkom now an ISP

Jambo Telkom, a subsidiary of Telkom has started offering internet connections as an internet service provider (ISP) and competing against other ISP’s like wananchi and Africa online.

Simple: All you need is a Telkom telephone line and a computer with a modem installed. Dial 9444 with your modem then enter the username jambo and password jambo and your are connected directly to the internet (at 56kps max). Charges are the normal local call rates.

Jambo was originally licensced in 2002 and at the time regulators assured other ISP's that Jambo would not be subsidized by Telkom to drive them out of business.

Read about the long tortured history of ISP's in Kenya here (DOC file).

KQ fleet expands

Boeing and Kenya Airways today announced planned additions to the airline's fleet with an order for its fourth 777-200ER and an option for a fifth, as well as plans to lease its sixth 767-300ER in 2006. The 777 ordered is scheduled for delivery in 2007.

(Hat tip: http://www.africanflyer.com/) and here's the Boeing press release.

CDF Tales & ATM wars

CDF tales
In bar talk over the weekend, I had a chat a disillusioned member of one constituency development fund (CDF) committee who lamented the woes of his mis-managed committee. He’s a reluctant member who wants to make a positive difference, but it costs 5,000 shillings for him to travel to his rural area for a committee meeting where he will receive a 1,000 shilling sitting allowance. The MP (& CDF Chairman) has said not to worry, because there’s enough ‘float’ in the process to make it worth his time.

Certain MP’s have hailed CDF as the greatest act parliament has ever passed. The 2003 Act seeks to proportionally channel government funds (2.5% of annual government revenue) to each constituency, by-passing the central government (president and ministerial budget allocations) and financing rural projects directly. MP’s are now demigods who in addition to CDF funds,also control AIDS funds, bursary kitty, and roads kitty and have also been awarded more funds to set up rural offices.

There are two problems I see with CDF (i) The composition of the afore-mentioned CDF committee which can have 12 to 15 members comprising (elected MP, two councillors, one district officer, two reps of religious organization, two men, two women, one youth rep, one nominee from active NGO) (ii) CDF projects are to be audited and reported upon by the over-worked office of the Controller and Auditor-General.

I’d like to see audits of CDF done by private sector accountants and auditors who are much more qualified and who efficiently audit thousands of small companies even at constituency level around the country each year. Same with wealth declarations - it is better to have existing, certified accountants scrutinise the wealth returns of public officers instead of creating a whole new commission (Ethics & Integrity). The private sector would do a much better job.

At the CDF web site launch, the CDF management committee asked Transparency International not to secretly audit CDF projects without involving MP’s and at the same time indicated that they would work with the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission to combat corruption and misappropriation of CDF funds.

Certain MP’s have performed excellent development jobs with CDF funds including Peter Kenneth (NARC - Gatanga) and Billow Kerrow (KANU - Mandera Central). But not the MP who was the subject of our conversation and who may easily siphon over 100 million shillings from his constituents by the end of his term (he doesn’t expect to stand for re-election).

IT snafu? The Controversial MP profiles are back online at the Parliamentary site.

ATM wars
Pesa Point has signed up three banks so far; Diamond Trust, Fina and NIC (Move) and now has a total of 47 live ATM’s with a goal to set up 120 by year end. They compete directly Kenswitch, but are both still dwarfed by Co-op, KCB, Stanchart, and Barclays ATM networks.
- Equity Bank announced that they will launch 10 ATM’s on Kimathi Street (in front of Nation Centre) this month.
- The number of ATM’s is getting comical, and they are taking up much needed space in some shopping areas. So the new Nakumatt Junction has set up an ATM area with three different ATM machines side by side (Stanchart, NIC and KCB)
- Pesa Point stand-alone ATM’s look like old style telephone booths but inside resemble potty toilets, with their plastic casing and bright colours.
- KCB has waived joining fees for its credit cards till the end of the year.

Web briefs

- Award wining Qatar Airways begins flight to Nairobi today.

- Vodacom (SA) could soon be bidding to buy out Vodafone’s (its parent company’s) 40% share of Safaricom Kenya,

- Is Kenya bartering wildlife to Thailand in order to win a seat on the UN Security Council?

- The Economist ranked Kenya Airways ranked as one of three viable African airlines alongside Ethiopian airlines and South African (?) airways. Also while African airlines are fighting each other they are likely to be sidelined by foreign mega-airliners.

- The Japanese are buying & selling stocks in record numbers using their mobile phones.

Opportunity Friday

rights issue
CFC has announced the calendar for their rights issue through which the Bank hopes to raise 744 million shillings by issuing 12 million new shares at 62 shillings (a discount of about 16% on the current market price). Each shareholder (of record on November 2) has the right to 1 new share for 12 currently held. Significant dates are;
- 16 November rights start trading
- 30 Nov last day of trading
- 9 December last payment date
- 16 Dec Results announced and register updated
- 21 Dec 21 new shares start trading

who wants to be a millionaire?
Mobile operator Safaricom has launched a new contest that will reward 1 lucky subscriber with one million shillingseach week day over the next month. You qualify for the daily draw each time you top up a phone account by one hundred shillings. I’m down 1 today, 29 to go.

Bank consultancy
A Risk management consultancy opportunity has been advertised by PTA Bank, and the deadline is November 30.

hotel for sale
The National Social Security Fund is selling a 114 bed hotel formerly known as Polana in downtown (not beach) Mombasa. Submit proposalsto the managing trustee by December 7. More information can be obtained from info@nssfkenya.co.ke

transportation
For transportation of emergency relief commodities to various districts for a period of one year. Apply to the special programmes ministry in the office of the president by December 13.

jobs

Kenya Commercial Bank
- Database developer
- Hardware systems specialist
- Enterprise solutions specialist
Apply by November 25th to the divisional director, human resources, 48400-00100 Nairobi

Savings & Loan Kenya - a subsidiary of KCB
- manager sales (ESD/SL/05)
- manager marketing (ESD/MK/05)
- corporate credit analyst (ESD/CCA/05)
- advance manager (ESD/AM/05)
Apply by November 25th via KPMG’s executive selection division at esd@kpmg.co.ke .

East African Development Bank
- corporate finance specialist
- internal auditor
Apply by 25 November to the country manager EABB, 47685 Nairobi

UNDP Kenya
Poverty & Environment Advisor. Check www.ke.undp.org for details and apply by November 13.

Commonwealth Secretariat
GIDD (Government & institutional development division) advisors for East & West Africa. Check www.thecommonwealth.org for details and deadline is 9 December.

Deloitte & Touché
- Audit seniors. Apply by 30 November at admin@deloitte.co.ke

Tetra Pak
- financial analyst. Apply by November 22 to the human resource manager, 78340-00507 Nairobi.

Sports
Champions Unite: To create a champions league and super bowl powerhouse. (British soccer team Liverpool FC said it has held discussions with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft amid speculation that the U.S. tycoon could be poised to buy a stake in the club.)

Declare Your Wealth

It’s that time of the year when a good number of workers, civil servants, government officials, soldiers, university & co-operative officials, among others, have to declare their income, assets & liabilities - or wealth for the year (November to November) by December 31. Major financial transactions over the past year are reduced to fit a four page form:

- (page one) name, occupation, marital status, physical address
- (page two) list all spouses and children under the age of 18
- page three) list all income (salary, income from rent, investments, kiosk, matatu etc.) and assets (home, car, kiosk, shares, TV.)
- (page 4 ) list all liabilities and other useful information, and have a witness sign the declaration.

At the end of it all, your life should resemble a proper balance sheet. E.g. if you declare rental income, you should also declare ownership of the house you’re renting. If all one has is salary, the form can be filled in minutes.

The noble exercise stems from the Public Officers Ethics Act 2003, which was passed to call weed out corruption in the civil service by having officers declare their how their wealth the public officers ethics act and suspicious declarations could lead to investigation for corruption.

Teething Problems
We got a talk form our company secretary who explained that implementation of the wealth declaration has been poor because:
- The exercise is enforced by the current public service commission (PSC) which remains toothless.
- All the PSC can do is collect completed forms and store them - they have no computers, staff, or capacity to analyse the returns
- Information can’t be shared with spouses or the Kenya Revenue Authority or spouses who feel that someone is hiding assets or suspected of criminal behaviour
- Returns are kept for 30 years, but none of the records are computerised, only stored in some huge warehouse. Plus everyone individual must file a separate return i.e. married couples must each file their own at work, while attaching a copy of their spouses return.
- Returns of senior officials are sealed and can’t be opened e.g. a minister could have submitted a blank return and no one will ever know or check.
- PSC collects all returns strictly E.g. if an office has 200 employees, 200 returns must be received by year end.
- Or Else: the penalty for not complying with this pointless exercise can be brutal – PSC will immediately notify an employer, that their employee has not filed, and ask that you be struck off the payroll until you comply (which takes a minimum of 3 months to rectify). Otherwise the maximum penalty can be a million shillings or a year in jail, or both.
- Even if you’re abroad e.g. working at the Embassy in Russia, you must file a return. Yet PSC will not put the forms online and insists that returns must be on their original forms, not photocopies.

Solutions
- A new Ethics and Integrity Commission is contained in proposed new constitution (section 99) which will ensure & investigate compliance with the Act and also make public assets & liabilities of public officials.
- Failing that, an amendment to the act will be tabled when parliament returns that will make the returns public information as well as other improvements.

Biz news

Merger
It’s not AOL and Yahoo, but the merger of two internet service providers, Wananchi online and ISP Kenya, is big news today. According to Balancing Act Africa, Africa Online, ISPKenya, Wananchi, NairobiNet, Swift Global and Kenya Web account for about 60% of the Kenyan market.

E-Government
An e-Government consulting opportunity for companies to submit proposals on setting up a metro optical fibre network consisting of local area networks (LAN’s) at all ministry headquarters and a wide area network (WAN) to interconnect the LAN’s to enable cross-ministry communications and future e-government applications. Apply for proposal information (fee is 5,000 shillings) at info@kenya.go.ke and final submissions should be made to Head of Public Service by December 7.

Thai Expo
There’s a Thailand expo at Village market this week. No animals are involved.

Anniversary
Today marked the 1st anniversary of CDS - the central depository system of holding & trading of shares on the Nairobi Stock Exchange electronically, signalling the end of the era of paper share certificates in Kenya.

Godfather

Out of the box thinking
First Africa Capital is a different sort of investment bank. I find their alternative financing proposals refreshing because Kenya is a country littered with down and out organizations in need of capital - and while other investment Banks mainly chase after blue chip companies and projects, First Africa pursues innovative ways to enable struggling companies secure valuable resources and opportunities. Some of their recent, but unsuccessful, client venture include, Telkom Kenya’s bid to buy more safaricom shares from Vodaphone, Equity Building Society’s (now Bank) offer to revive (collapsed) Daima Bank, start up financing for Econet Wireless Kenya - and now parastatal National Oil Corporation's bid for the assets of BP Kenya.

Job opportunities

National Aids Control Council
- Economist (financing strategy)
- Monitoring & evaluation control specialist
- database administrator
Apply to the Director, NACC by November 25.

Community Officer at Kituo Cha Sheria, a leading Human Rights and Legal Aid NGO. Applicants should have bachelor's degree in Social Sciences, 1 year experience in community organisation & development and excellent counselling paralegal & computer skills. Apply to the executive director by November 15

Simbanet a leading IT company is seeking
- head of customer support; applicants must have A+, N+ or CCNA, MCSR and 2 years ISP experience
- support engineer for VSAT: must have recognised IT diploma or degree, and be CCNA/CCNP certified with good knowledge of IP addressing, routing, DNS web servers and with 2 to 3 years working at an ISP
- junior accountant: part qualified CPA or ACCA, with 2 to 3 years experience and be not older than 27.
Apply to jobs@simbanet.co.ke by November 21.

Trust Fund Manager at the national Environmental Management Authority (NEMA)
Job entails administering a trust fund, create an award scheme, network and write proposals for fund raising and sustaining donor relationships. Applicants must have a communications degree (marketing specialization) and some NGO experience. Apply to the Director General NEMA P. O. Box 68839-00200 Nairobi by November 25.

Senior Policy Analysts at the Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA). Applicants must have PhD in economics and 5 years policy research and analysis experience. Apply to Hilda@kippra.or.ke by November 24.

Country Manager at IAT, an ACT learning organization. Applicants must be aged 30 – 40 with MBA or CPA II, with at least 8 years experience (of which 5 were as a manager and 2 managing a profit center). Apply to the Human Resource Director at opportunities@iat.co.ke by November 18. (Include a max 300 word essay explaining how you will contribute to the position)

research, monitoring & evaluation officer at the coastal rural support program of the Aga Khan Foundation. Applicants should have an advanced social sciences or development degree, with some NGO and strategic planning experience. Apply to crsp-k@africaonline.co.ke by November 25.

internal auditor (hr/aud/01/05) at Del Monte Kenya. Applicants should have a commerce or business degree, be fully qualified accountants under age 40, be familiar with the Sarbanes Oxley act and agricultural organization and have 5 years audit experience. Apply to nanasi@delmonte.co.ke by November 16.

finance & administration manager at the intermediate technology development group (ITDG) applicants must have a business degree, be fully qualified accountants be familiar with contract accounting and NGO work and also have 5 years experience, 3 at managerial level. Apply to recruitment@itdg.or.ke by November 23.

policy manager at ActionAid International Kenya. Applicants should have masters in social sciences, with at least 5 years experience in development work, policy research and advocacy, understanding of public policies and laws, networking, lobbying & communications skills and be willing to travel outside Kenya. Apply by November 21 to hr@actionaid.org

Other opportunities

Cable distribution
Cablevision is seeking distributors of their digital cable TV with 80 channels. Contact Sachin Shaha at sachin@cablevision.co.ke

Survey for Citizen Report Card in Kenya: WSP-AF has embarked on an 18-month Consumer Voice project in selected cities in Africa with the objective of creating larger scale and more direct links with consumers, deepening consumers’ understanding of water sector reform and water and sanitation issues, and strengthening informed consumer voice in water supply and sanitation service reform and management. The vehicle WSP-AF proposes to use is the Citizen Report Card. The Citizen Report Card (CRC) is a simple but powerful tool to provide public agencies with systematic feedback from users by collecting citizen feedback on the quality and adequacy of public services from actual users. CRC’s s will be implemented in three cities in Kenya: Mombasa, Kisumu and Nairobi and an experienced and professional survey firm will be contracted to undertake the data collection that forms the basis for the Report Card. Expressions of Interest (EOI), in electronic format, are invited from suitable firms with the following characteristics; Experience with sample surveys of this magnitude in Kenya, Kenya-based staff, a track record of rigorous quality control and excellent reporting. The deadline for submission of the EOI is November 16 at 16 00 hrs.

non-runners in the news
Nationals of other countries were granted exemptions, but Kenyans still require transit visas to pass through South Africa.

Some ex-Maseno Boys accomplish themselves at college basketball in the USA

anyang nyongo week: The minister, quite rightly, pointed out that it is difficult for SME’s to borrow money from banks at affordable rates and conducive terms. But he also poured cold water only the recently concluded privatization of Kenya Railways.

Godfather
Finally, Nation’s NTV is showing The Godfather Trilogy on Monday nights after 9:30 and has now run two weeks of the series. The trilogy rearranges the three films into a proper chronological sequence (De Niro - Brando – Pacino) and also has extra scenes that were never shown in the theatrical versions (and which I have never seen). But it’s frustrating whoever edits the series at NTV has been cutting off scenes inappropriately to insert commercial and promos for other Nation shows.

a good day in New York, not Nairobi

Paul Tergat of Kenya breaks the tape just ahead of South Africa's Hendrick Ramaala, winning the closest ever New York City Marathon

But Kenyan sports stars don’t get respect in Kenya, when pitted against English Soccer. The live showing of the New York marathon unfortunately coincided with the broadcast of two English premiership games. At a local Nairobi bar, we were able to watch the finish of the women’s marathon, which coincided with half time of the Manchester United/Chelsea game, but the bar TV went back to the second half of the soccer match, meaning we were not able to watch the thrilling conclusion of the men’s marathon.

Christmas Holiday
I visited the tourism expo at sarit center to find a Christmas holiday package at the coast, and I also learnt that:
- all most Mombasa hotels are fully booked for the Christmas – New Year week.
- High season begins just after December 20, and hotel charges will be about double what they usually are, until April 2006.
- Packages are still available up till mid December such as:
(i) Indian Ocean Beach Club: 2 nights at half board, including return flight (Kenya Airways: Nairobi – Mombasa – Nairobi) for Kshs. 16,680 per person ($230) valid up to December 20
(ii) Turtle Bay beach Club: weekend package i.e. 2/12 – 4/12 or 9/12 - 11/12 including return flight (Nairobi – Malindi – Nairobi on Air Kenya) for Kshs. 18,550 ($255)

Other accommodation offers which impressed me were from Club Le Soleil and Kenya Bay Beach Hotel. I gave emphasis was to air packages because the road to Mombasa (I’m told) continues to be a motoring nightmare (and national shame) – someone told me he recently drove from Nairobi to Mombasa in a reasonable 7 hours (but that the final 50 km stretch from Mariakani to Mombasa took up two hours because the road was so bad).

Anyway, I don’t feel like driving, and I am comfortable getting around Mombasa by matatu, so my focus was on air travel to the Coast, not by car.

more debit cards
Another bank that has added debit cards is National Bank of Kenya (NBK) which launched a visa-electron branded card at the end of October. This was a week before KCB and Southern Credit launched theirs.

Land - uncertain returns:
Land owners such as the National Social Security Fund continue to have problems disposing of prime parcels of land partly due to the uncertainty over land titles, a government notice to recall undeveloped land, and the huge cost of developing commercial land within the city e.g. to put up a modern building in the city with excellent parking, amenities and security would cost over 1 billion shillings today.

Since February when the NSSF first tried to sell several prime undeveloped plots they have only sold a few including 50 acres near Karen and 2.5 acres in Upper Hill, while the rest were re-advertised last week.

hotel wars
There was a mishap with a Kenya Airways international flight over the weekend, and the plane returned to Nairobi for a check. Once again, the airline checked passengers ginto the new Panari hotel, near the airport, and not at the traditional airline hotels in downtown Nairobi.

block shares
After CDC (UK) sold off 5% of the Housing Finance, another investor (likely to be NSSF) has put up 2.75 million shares of KPLC – aiming to raise over 430 million shillings frm teh Nairobi Stock Exchange.

Holiday Weekend

The Getaway 2005 tourism expo kicked off at the Sarit Center today. It seems a bit subdued compared to years past but perhaps that was because today was opening day. Usually I’d go on Sunday but since Friday was a holiday (Idd-Ul-Fitr), I went to see if I could pull of a Monbasa holiday in December as I must see the ocean soon.

Card mania
Just days apart, two banks have launched new debit and credit cards. KCB and Southern Credit both realize that Kenyans are wary of credit card debt, hence the move to roll out debit cards. E.g. All the KCB brochures have the phrase “use cards in the secure knowledge that you cannot run into debt because your card is prepaid”. The debit cards are visa branded, and you don’t have to have an account with either of the banks to obtain pre-paid cards.

Sports
Will attempt a bit of golf for the first time in many months, but otherwise will mostly relax and watch….

Saturday 05 November
2:45 AM Cricket: Australia vs. West Indies 1st Test Day 3, SS2
3:15 PM FA Premiership:: Aston Villa vs. Liverpool, SS3
6:00 PM Arsenal/Sunderland SS3 & Blackburn/Charlton SS6 & Newcastle/Birmingham SS7
6:45 PM Rugby : Wales vs. NZ SS1
8:00 PM Premiership:: Portsmouth vs. Wigan Athletic SS3
10:30 PM Rugby : Argentina vs. SA SS1 & France vs. Australia SS2
11:45 PM La Liga:: Villarreal vs. Valencia SS3

Sunday 06 November
02:45 AM Cricket : Australia vs. West Indies 1st Test Day 4 SS2
11:45 AM Cricket : India vs. Sri Lanka 5th ODI SS6
6:00 PM Road Running New York Marathon SS1
4:30 PM FA Premiership:: Everton vs. Boro SS3
7:00 PM FA Premiership:: Man Utd vs. Chelsea, SS3
8:30 PM US PGA: the Tour Championship Day 4 SS1
10:45 PM La Liga: Getafe vs. Barcelona SS3

Lazy tender job blog day

what about them?





It is was hypocritical of the US and Britain to call for the resignation of Kenyan Minister Chris Murungaru, while retaining their own scandal ridden leaders like Dick Cheney and David Blunkett



give them a chance
James Shikwati argues that indigenous Maasai should manage Amboseli Park which is their own land and resources - not outsiders.

running in America
Paul Tergat will tackle the New York marathon for the first time on Sunday.

remember Econet?
Econet who seem to spend more time in court than on telecommunications will list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in May 2006, in a bid to raise $500 million.

we want oil
Kenya continues her search for oil and doesn’t care who finds it.

Tenders

free trade at Mombasa
The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) has invited firms to set up a free trade zone at the Mombasa port via a 33 year build-operate-transfer (BOT) concession. Interested bidders should submit a business plan for the project via December 21 to kpamd@kpa.co.ke after obtaining detailed tender documents form KPA.

airport expansion
The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport modernisation and upgradation project has invited firms to construct a passenger apron at terminal 4, taxiways, car parks and associated facilities. Documents should be submitted to the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) by November 10.

Separately, in Parliament a Minister said that the Government plans to build a second runway at the airport after recents incidents should how necessary this move was.

airport repair
The KAA has also invited a tender for emergency rehabilitation work at Moi international airport (Mombasa) involving reconstruction of 175 metres of pavement and installation of drainage & electrical systems (including flood lights). Tenders to be submitted to KAA by 1st December.

bank software
Consolidated Bank invited bids for the supply, installation and commissioning of a credit risk and debt management system (closing November 22)

Elsewhere K-Rep Bank, a micro finance institution just installed a similar solution - Temenos T 24 at a cost of 102 million shillings.

Jobs

The Communicatins Commission of Kenya is hiring:
- Manager procurement
- Manager new technologies
- Assistant director standards & type approval
- Assistant director compliance & consumer affairs
- Statistics officer
- Economic analysis officer
- Economist/ communications services
- Legal officer
- Radio engineers (5)

Telkom Kenya is hiring:
- Manager call centre
- Distribution manager
- Head of customer service
- Regional sales manager

a remittance company
IRNet Coop Kenya (ICK), a company setting up remittance services with international partner is hiring:
- General Manager; Must have MBA, and IT exp would be a plus and 3 to 5 years management experience in banking, finance, telecom or retail industry.
- Operations manager; must have 3 to 5 years of administrative/accounting experience in banking finance, telecom or related field.
For both: Applicants must be aged between 28 – 35, and have business degrees in finance, accounts or engineering and experience with integrated accounts software as well as good analysis skills and knowledge of local market. Apply to IRNet Coop Kenya box 73236-00200 by 7 November.

Morning drive

Up-coming housing developments

South C: 440 4 bedroom houses will be constructed in South C, near the Carnivore Restaurant.

Mlolongo: 632 maisonettes will be constructed at mlolongo which is south of Jomo Kenyatta airport, but is technically in Mavoko county, Athi River.

My morning drive from home to the office can vary from about 5 minutes to 45 depending on how soon I hit the road. The cut-off time to enable a quick trip used to be about 7:15 a.m., but because of the rapid expansion of apartments and increase in both vehicle & passenger traffic over the last two years in the area, it has moved up to about 7:00 a.m.

It may be cheaper in rent terms for me to move to a place like South C or even Mlolongo, but I find them to be too far from the city and I hate sitting in traffic and get easily frustrated sitting in a hot car that’s not moving. Also it’s a nice green neighbourhood that’s relatively safe and so close to town that I can walk sometimes.

While traffic police marshals sometime help speed up the flow of traffic, but I find that the biggest cause of traffic jams is school transportation. When schools close in mid-November, traffic jams will essentially disappear and commuting will be a more relaxed affair.



For now it’s much more convenient to take a matatu and let someone else do the driving & fighting traffic while I sit back and read a novel or newspaper during the twenty minute journey.

uchumi turnaround
I can’t wait for Uchumi’s turnaround to take effect and for teh company to renew links with key suppliers. It's a bit frustrating shopping at their stores because they lack some essential brand names or items e.g. they sell shoe polish, but no brushes. They will sell shoe polish, but have no shoe brushes and staff will say, "we haven’t restocked.”

Realigning Portfolios
Meanwhile the East African reports that four major Uchumi investors - ICEA, Heritage AII, Old Mutual and Co-op Trust - did not buy any Uchumi shares in the recent rights issue. They are setting aside funds for the Kengen IPO set for February 2006.

Elsewhere, the National Social Security Fund has sold shares in order to "give character to their portfolio."

CBK Warning
Once again Kenyans are being warned about companies masquerading as banks or lenders. This time its the Central Bank of Kenya stating that using the words “finance” or “bank” or derivative such as “micro-finance” in company's name is restricted to organizations it regulates and warns any other company to cease using such names or taking deposits from the public by January 31, 2006.

EABS Bank
EABS Bank Limited is officially bank effective October 31, following the approval of the acquisition of all assets, liabilities, agreements, and accounts of East African Building Society by the former Akiba Bank (now renamed EABS Bank)

New investment adviser
Franklin management consultants [e mail: franklin@wananchi.com] have been licensed by the CMA as an investment adviser and will specialise in investment products and policies for individuals trusts foundations and other businesses. They join othe investment advisers including Veritas, B.A. Cititrust, Covenant International, Dry Associates Limited, Jani, Loita and Zimele.

Blind vices
I enjoy reading about blind items at E! so here's a local version:
- Which former minister and current NO campaigner just made 130 million shillings from selling 130 acres of land to a church for the construction of a religious school?
- Which current minister is surprisingly silent on the referendum issue owing to gentle pressure being applied by the government, who are not paying him rent on police houses he owns?
- Which well proclaimed “saved” and religious leader drops the act once in home town and parties up a storm?
- Other "Kenyans" behaving badly