The elections are a few weeks away and assets are disposed of and savings converted into consumer spending and other election-related services. People are being warned to be careful with their SUV’s (lest they are stolen to be used in rural campaigns and dumped)
There are 210 constituencies in the country and one estimate of the cost of running a viable campaign is set at about 10 million shillings ($150,000) - and this can be as high as 100 million shillings (where titans are battling it out to enter Parliament)
Scenes from the Nairobi show
Also known as the Nairobi international trade fair (which ended on Sunday October 7)
- Traffic to the showground was so bad along Ngong road, that it was better and faster to detour along Kibera. I asked one very tired policeman about this and he replied that the heavy traffic was not related to the trade fair – just that vehicles never cease coming no matter how long directs the traffic (too many cars)
- Visiting an impressive stand, I’m reminded that long before Vice President Moody Awori spruced up the Prisons Department, it was highly regarded for the good quality furniture that they i.e. prisoners used to (and still) produce and which the department would sell to the public
- A yellow Humvee is a big draw for all the school kids even though they are not allowed near it
- I was able to get my social security statement from the NSSF stand, but my stockbroker could not give me a statement! (They were not online). The NSSF also gave a friendly reminder to patrons to top up their contributions otherwise they would receive very little when they retired
- Ice cream vendors almost every 10 yards. And the way it was hot, they were all doing roaring business
- JKUAT (University) enterprises produce a variety of juices, jams, soaps and lotions.
- A drunk high school student being hauled out of the show grounds by his colleagues. I later passed them outside the showground and noticed they have wisely removed their school uniforms – otherwise they could have bundled into a police wagon to be paraded on the evening news.
