Gambling with the country’s future

Grambling with the country’s future
There's something about gambling that makes everyone feel a little like the uber suave Makmende.

They make gambling seem glamorous. One would have thought a new constitution opened the doors to a new Kenya; a country where the rule of law supersedes greedy and self-centered agendas. The Post election saga, IDP’s, Ministerial scandals, back stabbing coalition, bloated government, increasing deficit, upcoming elections, high unemployment, and slow pace of decision making are just an introduction that are affecting our nation.

It is disturbing to see the country's leaders playing roulette with the country's economic, peace and social wellbeing through self-centered rhetoric, increased spending and neglect of the legislative and executive roles.

It is even more disturbing when the country’s leaders undermine the organizations that keep the wheels of a nation turning. Allowing politics to halt economic development is the same as advocating stagnation of the nation.

Fiscal planning seems to be a vocabulary to the people who Kenyans have appointed to manage the nation. 2011-12 budget is about to be proposed and I can guarantee you there will be increased spending in the wrong places, increased borrowing and no clear strategy on how to reduce the deficit. There are tons of programs that are not necessary which will be funded; many important programs that will go without funding and most importantly, there is absolutely no oversight to ensure that funds are spent in the proper manner.

Travelling Cheap

The one thing that hinders many people from travelling to foreign countries is accommodation and at least one individual that can welcome them, give them travel tips, show them around etc.
Well thats what one website does, and does it brilliantly!!
"CouchSurfing is a worldwide network for making connections between travelers and the local communities they visit."
There are individuals from every country in the world, ready and willing to host you for a day to a week.
Many of these individuals are not only willing to give you a couch to crash in, they are also willing to show you around their city.
I can think of many time when I could have used such services; I surely know where to look next time.
Check out the website:
http://www.couchsurfing.org

So next time you wanna venture out, venture with confidence!!
You can also join the organization and become a host.

Cellphone tower in your hand

I usually do not blog about technology but reading about Alcatel-Lucent's latest gadget made me want to share it.

It called LightRadio.
Its a cube that can fit in your hand however its strength is phenomenon!
This little cube serves the same purpose as those huge eye sores called cell phone towers.
Voice & data usage is expected to increase all over the world. The cost of improving communication infrastructure is high and prohibitive.
With this gadget, voice & data can be improved tremendously without the high cost of cumbersome infrastructure.

The cube is so smart that it can "be pointed in one direction as people are coming to work in the morning and another direction as they're leaving work at the end of the day."
It is also compatible with 2G, 3G and 4G.
It is 30% more efficient than the current cell towers.
It does not consume diesel or consist alot of metal that might be vandalized.
Its small enough to be attached to a lamp post, bus station, building etc without anyone knowing its there.

This is a great solution for communication companies everywhere (big cities such as NY as well as Moyale).
Amazing that all the celltower components can be compressed to fit into a cube.
Yah for technology!

For more on this story visit: http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/21/technology/light_radio/index.htm

Financial Literacy not Financial Access

I sent this article to the standard and since they didnt print it, I thought I might just as well post it here.
Its in reference to remarks made by Mr Uhuru Kenyatta during the launch of a steering committee on establishing Nairobi International Financial Centre (NIFC) in Nairobi on Tuesday.

Financial Literacy not Financial Access
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Uhuru Kenyatta singling out increased access to financial services and competitive interest rates as key to enhancing the country's economic competitiveness should be challenged. While diversity and increased access to financial services is welcome, I propose that financial literacy will play a greater role towards enhancing the country’s economic competitiveness.

The assumption that increased access to financial services as opposed to information about them is key to enhancing the country's economic competitiveness.must be challenged. Information and the availability of information about financial services (variety of product, features, accessibility, eligibility, benefits, risks etc) will enhance Kenya’s economic competitiveness even more. Financial services are widely available in and out of Kenya, accessibility is limited by people’s knowhow not by the lack of financial services. Empowering Kenyans to make enlightened financial decisions and then seek out financial services that cater to their financial goals. What’s the use of hundreds or thousands of financial services if the target market is not financially literate?

Financial literacy will reduce the potential calamities such as loan defaults, foreclosures, bankruptcy, and living beyond one’s means. Such calamities would end up slowing the growth of financial services.

A study carried out by Microfinance Opportunities shows that “Low financial literacy in the developed world puts people at a disadvantage in making decisions about savings, retirement, debt management and investments, and consumers who are financially literate are more likely to behave in financially responsible ways.” The same case applies in Kenya; we have Banks, Stockbrokers, Investment Banks, Saccos, Insurance, Pension Managers, Saccos, Microfinance etc. These financial service providers are accessible to majority of Kenyans, yet only a small percentage uses them. The bottleneck is not in accessibility; it is in the lack of financial literacy.

Kenyans are generally enthusiastic about investments; this is evidenced by the influx to invest in stocks, bond, real estate and on the negative side – pyramid schemes. The enthusiasm is not complemented with knowledge. That makes many Kenyans vulnerable to fraud, and unexpected losses.

Mr. Uhuru should advocate from financial literacy. He is in a position to initiate a financial literacy program with the support of Treasury, Central Bank, RBA, CMA, KBA and IRA.

As for the suggestion that financial services access is the solution to enhancing economic competitiveness, I have a simple question: would you rather have a financially literate country with the same financial services or financially illiterate country with plenty of financial services?