WASHING HANDS TO FIGHT CORONA VIRUS AS THE FIRST LINE DEFENSE MAKES US AND THIS PART OF THE CONTINENT PRIMITIVE AND BACKWARD

My Brother Mark Ekitela who is currently in China when he heard about the confirmed cases of Corona Virus in Kenya called me to inquire of how the situation is here at home. I sought also to find out how the situation is in the country that the Virus originated from. My friend! how the Chinese Government is tackling the Corona Virus compared to what we are doing in this part of the world is a joke. 

In China the level of technological advancement has made it easy for them to tackle the spread of the Corona Virus, unlike our call to wash Hands, Sanitizer or the Government imposed night curfew, China is using Data and daily surveillance to track down its citizens. 

In China every street has surveillance Cameras, at least in every street there is a face scanner, the scanner will scan faces and send it to the Government database, each and every individual is accounted for, the exact position they are in and who they interact with. 

Chinese people and those in China support the government's efforts in fighting the pandemic, every individual has a role to play, they are cooperating by giving information to the Government, by taking their temperatures daily and sending them to the government, they are able to prepare for and notify Government agencies to respond rapidly to any case of the virus. 

Moreover, Social media like Facebook, Twitter are restricted with massive use of Wechat Messager as the preferred messaging app., WeChat that is integrated to their shopping Card and can be monitored by the government, such that what you buy or who you chat with is known to the Government. This makes it easy that when you contract the virus the Government will easily trace the people you came into contact with, texting them to self-quarantine. 

On data management, I tend to think the Government of Kenya should have leveraged on social media or at least borrow from what digital money lenders. You see when you install an app say for example Tala the app will request permission to access your Contacts, your messages and your location your camera, etc. If you grant access Tala will be able to read your text messages, monitor your movements, use your camera at will. 

My suggestion on the Data management is the government should develop an app and make it mandatory for everyone, have it installed in all smartphones, use the same technology as Digital Moneylenders to monitor people during this time of Corona Virus. This will at least help track the people who may have come into contact with the confirmed cases. 

To me Washing hands and putting up a washing point in every door makes us look naive. It is like we are washing hands because the Virus flies from Wuhan and targets our palms as their landing spot. We appear like people who have no clue how the Virus is controlled such that we are all worried to get out there and expose our fingers to the flying virus. 

What we need now is a strategy to first of all trace the people who came into contact with the confirmed cases, get hold of them and put them isolation. Put down a tracking infrastructure by leveraging on the existing technologies but most importantly put up a '' firewall'' that will protect us from further exposure. My firewall, in this case, is a proper screening of people arriving from abroad, more information to the people and call for  cooperation by all citizens. 

CHRISTMAS EXCITEMENT IS AT ALL TIME ZERO

For those who grew up in the village there was this euphoria that came with Christmas celebrations, where I come from we had our way of celebrating it. First of all Christmas was not Christmas if there is no nguo ya christmass na viatu.And chapatti and mandazi and to sum it up our grass thatched houses were painted with all manner of decorations, this was done with precisions making our houses look like a tin of branded Kimbo.

Around Christmas time then we had a lot to do as kids, although we were not privileged to access the merry go rounds or get to Children’s park, we had our own ways of having fun. In Kessup for example where I grew up, on Christmas eve children thronged the Kessup River bridge, you could witness a mass procession of children donned in new Nguo za ChrIsie. This obviously was not for the privileged only, I guess every parent would save for this day since almost every child had a new shoe or wore new cloths on the Christmas eve.

We observed this like our tradition, every year there was different level of excitement, as we grew old the younger ones would take up from us. It is until recently that I have noted that there is a lot that has changed, while kids then had fun in the river or playing in the fields, our mothers and sisters were busy making chapattis , wali and stew ya nyama . We could visit friends, visit the sick and offer the little that we had.

Today that excitement is no longer there, Christmas gifts are no longer there, Christmas messages are no longer circulated as we used to do. What really happened? Ni economy ngumu or Christmas celebrations lost meaning.

POLITICS OF POVERTY, PRODUCTS BOYCOTT AND THE FAT LIE THAT COMPANIES WILL COLLAPSE

Who else is seeing the ridicule in the Brookside, Kimbo Ilara products Boycott?

OK, I don't know if it is my reasoning that is misleading me or I just don't get it. Mmmh OK let me put it the way I see it- the NASA mass products boycott is ludicrous, absurd for lack of a better word and this is why. 

To me the majority of people boycotting the products are consumers, most of them are at the end of the distribution chain and therefore by boycotting a product they chose to either starve or identify other inferior substitutes. The question here is, who loses?The manufacturer, the Distributor or the consumer? 

A politician when reached for a comment on how people will cop after closing their businesses which are related to the products they are boycotting said that when resisting there is no luxury.

I don't want to get into the luxury part because whatever luxury one gets from buying Kimbo ya Shilingi Kumi compared to the kind of life politicians live is just preposterous. 

Back to my main point, Consumers vs Manufacturers and why the one community boycott won't lead to a collapse of companies. Maybe I'm wrong but to my understanding, Bidco  refineries do Kenya as the market for their products, kuna Bidco Uganda, Bidco Tanzania and for one to imagine that Bidco will collapse just because Consumers have decided not to use their products is laughable. 

To me, a more serious threat to the existence of the company is when those supplying raw materials to them decides to pull-out. For example, Muhoroni Sugar Company will collapse if  Cane farmers decide not to take their Cane to the factory. 

To me the decision to boycott products just because the Companies producing the products or offering services are is linked to Jubilee Government is the worst decision ever, it is not only ridiculous but also ironical.The worst of all this is the dishonest by people who have been entrusted with leadership. 

Because honestly If John took a loan and opened a business say he MPESA or Mike is the main distributor for Molo Milk isn't the boycott meant to make John and Mike poor people?

What will happen to the people Mike and John Employed? 

It is not Jubilee you are punishing, it, not Safaricom you are teaching a lesson. It is Poverty you are advancing to your people.

#Resist Poverty

WHY I SUPPORTED ANNE WAIGURU

Waiguru is gone and that is a fact, now most of you wondered why I would support her yet there where issues touching on her integrity.

Let me make it clear that there are things  I chose to consider than the problems affecting her.I chose to leave integrity issues to EACC and strongly gave my support for the impact she made to this country.

I am one of those people who witnessed the revolution her docket.I have to admit that she is a performer one this country will never have.Just like the Late Hon Michuki we will live to remember her not for the challenges  in her ministry but for the contributions she made.

Ok my main reason of writing this is to make it known that I stood with Waiguru for what she stood for and what she was ready to die for.Madam was determined to achieve her objectives no matter what.She strategized well and eventually her hard work paid off.

Her zeal to transform the youths of this country is what made the difference,may be you are not privy to her record in public service.Have a look at what she did  in her tenure in public service and you will see why I wished she had more control of her ministry.

HER ACHIEVEMENTS

1.Huduma Centre

2. Uwezo Funds

3. 30% Agpo revolution

4. Gender equity champion

5. IFMIS

6.PEV IDPs resettlement,Forest evictee and recently Turkana conflict IDPs

7. Operationalized all Devolution instruments and institutions.

8. Rebranded NYS and started a major revolution across constituencies

a) Tripled admissions to NYS .. as a result 21,870 youths trained by May 2015

B) 82,636 youths engaged countrywide earning Shs. 471 a day
Each woman feeding meals on cohorts 50 Bob per meal
Skilled workers like plumbers,Mason,Electricians earning 1,000 Bob per day
Each plant operator 2,000 Bob a day

C) 7,705 service men/women trained out of which 3,152 discharged into job market

D) 82,636 community youths given social transformation training

E) 672m saved by new NYS inspired Saccos

9. Her planning docket through KNBS helped rebase Kenyan economy to a middle income economy

10. Helped allocate Shs.1b to Kenyan innovators whose direct benefit mechanism was being worked on by the time she left

11.Enterprise Financing - 11,802 youth beneficiaries of Uwezo fund, Youth fund loan recovery of 64.21% up from 25%

I wish the next CS will continue this great work.I only hope the Youth Empowerment program that is now on hold will be continued because that is where most defended her.

WIFE GRABBING

I have heard of men who are ruthless when it comes to land grabbing but the wife grabbing thing is new to me. Read about the Uganda Ministry official who was arranged in Court for wife grabbing.

Via Uganda New Vision Tabloid. www.newvision.co.ug/news/663738-ministry-official-sued-over-grabbing-wife.html

CUT OFF THE HATE MONGERS FROM THE SOCIETY

"And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant"

When someone's posts this on social media and that person has had an history of insulting people using the word "foreskin" I tend to think that there is no doubt he had the previous intentions.

If he will be found guilty this time again I would recommend that he gets a lengthy jail term ,if not be deported to a Medieval land somewhere in outer space ,I think he belongs there.

Moses Kuria is disgrace to the civilized generation.

TEACHER'S STRIKE CALLED OFF,BUT HOW?

The calling off of the Countrywide teachers strike that had paralyzed learning for about two weeks was this time round done in a very different way.

 Usually the Government and the trade unions go into negotiations which ultimately may lead to an agreement to call off the strike.

Today thought saw a different twist in the manner in which the strike was called off.Unlike the usual handshakes between the parties involved in the conciliation process, this time round the industrial court exercised it's jurisdiction of ordering for specific performance.

In this case,the Judge of industrial Court ordered the Trade Unions to call off the strike and subsequently file the dispute matters before it.
This is because the trade dispute between the teachers Union and the Government was not able to be resolved after conciliation.