Accidents, Weddings, Banks & Jobs

Accident
Went for fish lunch yesterday and got to see some free street entertainment in the process. I was crossing the road at the Treasury, when a motorcade pulled up to the intersection. It was the vice president and his crew and I paused to admire the cars and especially the Range Rover he was riding in (similar to the one that Minister Ndwiga caught flak for using)



The Escort Mercedes cars lit up their sirens and some of the bodyguards, who were chewing on toothpicks (after lunch), now put their hands out of the open windows to stop traffic as the cars entered the main road.

Suddenly there was a screech of brakes as a speeding Toyota driver jammed on his brakes but unfortunately went on to swipe into the front of one of the Mercedes cars. The VP's range rover and other cars then sped off leaving the merc crew to deal with the errant driver.

They jumped out and surrounded the car, looking agitated with radios and mrundu’s sticking out of their jackets. The Toyota driver also got out in shock at the incident. As usual in Nairobi, a curious crowd of onlookers soon formed. Damage was slight - a few scrapes at the front of each car, but then what happens when you have an accident with an uninsured GK car?

I was too hungry to watch any more of this drama and so went on to lunch. When I passed back 30 minutes later, the cars had driven a few yards to police headquarters, the crowd was still there, and the drivers were explaining to traffic police officers who have now arrived, just what had happened. A typical Nairobi day, hope it ended well for all.....

Wedding
I got called by long-missing cousin to stand in as witness to his wedding at Sheria house. My main worry was what happened to his previous ‘wife’ he used to have years ago. He assured me that they had never been married, no church or traditional ceremony. I was relieved that there were no past wives and I would not be falsely swearing when I witnessed his 'first' wedding.

It was a simple no hassle five minute ceremony that cost 1,700 shillings including the license. And it made me question all the Saturday wedding functions I have attended that cost half a million shillings and involved white flowers, clothes from Turkey, borrowed ranges rovers (see above), three hour church services and all-day functions that unite the couple for the rest of their lives or until their tolerance for each other ends.....

Banks
Co-operative Bank (No. 4) continued its fast growth and turnaround as it doubled pre-tax profits from 354m to 706 million shillings. Deposits grew by 8b to 43 billion, while loans went up by 2b to 29b and the Bank increased its investment in government securities by 5b to 8.2 billion shillings during the year.

Bank of Africa (No. 20) The former Credit Agricole Indosuez increased customer deposits by 1b to 4.1 billion and doubled its cash placements from 517m to 1,015m shillings.

ABC Bank (No.24) Increased loans by 600m to 2.6 billion and deposits by 800m to 4.2b while commission income remained flat.

Banker-a-courting Several bankers are not having a great week including Central Bank governor Andrew Mullei who was charged by the anti-corruption court and former KCB manager Elijah Bii who was unable to bail himself out of Goldenberg-related charges. Of all the recent prominent people charged with corruption, he is one of the few who has not secured himself financially and has spent the last few years dodging auctioneers.

Opportunities

Jobs

Bidco
- area sales in charge
- territory sales supervisors
- apply to careers1@bidco-oil.com by April 5

Kenya Airways
- Information systems auditor
- Head of medical & occupation health
- Technical instructors (avionics and airframe & power plant)
Apply to group human resource director, P O Box 19002 Nairobi by April 3

Kenya Commercial Bank
- national retail manager
- head of business banking
- head of customer service
Apply through Hawkins associates or hawkins.associates@khigroup.com by April 3.

Standard group
- head of HR services
- head of ICT services
Apply to the CEO at pa-gceo@eastandard.net by April 3.

World Bank
The WB is seeking consultants to conduct an evaluation study on Water, Sanitation, Hygiene, and Communities in Kenya. The services include the collection of four rounds of detailed household survey data at 1500 homes in Western Kenya, the collection and microbiological analysis of water and fingerprint samples collected in homes and at drinking water sources. The closing date for submitting expressions of interest is March 27. 

Education Opportunities

St. Andrews Turi
various teaching jobs are available at the famous boarding school.

Scholarships
University of Nairobi is awarding PHD scholarships in economics. Apply by April 30 to economics@uonbi.ac.ke

Help a school
As part of their 60th anniversary celebrations the Davis & Shirtliff company will donate water equipment to needy primary schools. Apply to marketing@dayliff.com by March 31.