Dispatch from Mombasa

  “If this was a hospital, would you bring your mother to be treated here?” a strategic turnaround manager started off the meeting by asking one of the staff members. The turnaround manager had been called to establish what ailed an on the surface otherwise successful organization which was profusely bleeding in the inside due to poor management communication practices.   The girl who was asked to respond flatly said “No.” She would not dare nor even dream of bringing her mother to the hospital. On the face of it, this seemed just like any other small talk to break the ice and get employees talking. But at the heart of the conversation lay a serious strategic communication issue that should have had management thinking about how it was handling communication and its general impact on the employees. You see, many of us go to the hospital when we are unwell or want to be checked up for emerging health issues.   We believe that the solution to our health problems l...

A number of African heads of state and governments among them Kenya’s President Uhuru will be attending the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties famously referred to as COP-26 which begins on Monday 1st -12th November 2021 in Glasgow Scotland.   The conference brings parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change which was adopted by 196 Parties at COP-21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015. The overall goal of the agreement was to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.  To achieve this long-term temperature goal, countries aimed to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate neutral world by mid-century. The Paris Agreement is a landmark in the multilateral climate change process because of the overreaching effects that climate change has caused rise in temper...

#Reflections  Eliud Kipchoge’s Olympic marathon win had me reflecting about the race of life. First things first. A marathon is not a sprint. Equally the race of life is not a sprint, it is an accumulation of days and years with failures, flows, experiences and successes achieved. A marathon requires adequate preparation, but above all a winning state of mind that keeps saying I can do it. Like Kipchoge, the determination of a winner is written on his face, he has no time for distraction and even if the next athlete were to stumble, the race would not stop. Equally, the race of life for the individual should not be distracted by the numerous challenges. The race of life like that of Kipchoge has many competitors who come in different shapes, sizes, colours and ethnicities. There are external "Ethiopian" competitors who more than everything wants to take the race away from you. There are "Kenyan" family competitors who are also determined to finish the race in c...

Optiven Go Green Awards is calling on all people taking care of he environment to join the newly launched nominations that will be conducted online on www.gogreen.com. Nominations which are expected to take a time of 60 days will cut across 6 essential Sustainable Development Goals (SGD's) which will encompass Farmers, engineers, green building architects, policy markets, Government, City planners, Entrepreneurs, Students amongst others.  George Wachiuri CEO, Optiven George Wachiuri, the chair and Trustee for Optiven Foundation say that as Optiven they have been championing for climate action for a long time they now want to encourage all people across Africa to join hands in helping achieve the SDG's on Clean Water and Sanitation; Affordable and Clean Energy; Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Climate Action, Life Below Water, Life on Land, amongst others.  According to Mr Wachiuri the foundation is targeting 2 to 10 million people ...

(DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, June 16th, 2021)   Canon Central and North Africa (CCNA) is inviting film and photography communities across Africa to connect and collaborate. They are excited to announce the first three: SYNC School in Cairo, Egypt; Peexoo, a Nigerian photography hub, and the Photographers’ Association of Kenya (PAK). More are welcome as the global imaging leaders would like to develop creative collaborations in every country in the region. Canon has been a long-standing supporter of film and photography education groups. These relationships can now go deeper by sharing Canon expertise, knowledge and technology, with regular masterclasses, training opportunities, photo booths and competitions. Amine Djouahra, Sales and Marketing Director for Canon   Central & North Africa Canon is committed to build closer ties with its customers and the collaborations are a way to inspire and enrich the next generation of image-makers. “Our mission is to empowe...

Fostering inclusivity through the media 25th November 2020 President Kenyatta shakes hands with ODM leader Raila Odinga in March 2018  Source: Standard Media The Building Bridges Initiative referendum signature collection that was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his handshake brother former Prime Minister Raila Odinga Wednesday seeks to entrench the doctrine of inclusivity as key to addressing Kenya’s perennial election related problems. The BBI taskforce among others identified the challenge of inclusivity as a major challenge facing the country leading to incessant wrangles every election cycle. Despite the existence of constitutional interventions such as devolution, constitutional commissions such as the National Gender and Equality Commission, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission among others, the challenge of attaining desirable levels of inclusivity still abounds. From the outset, the principle of inclusivity is as diverse as the ridges that it s...

When the government announced that Patient Zero and Patient One in the Kenyan Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic had recovered, a section of Kenyans took to the social media to discredit the reports. Some insisted that the recovered duo had been coached to lie to Kenyans based on what they claimed were glaring inconsistencies in how they got sick, treated and recovered. What later followed was trolling of the patients in total disregard to their mental wellbeing. The apparent lack of trust in government communication at a time when the country is handling the covid-19 pandemic adds to the number of battlefronts that the government has to fight in order to beat the pandemic whose number of patients is increasing exponentially. The government has to on one hand handle a health crisis while on the other is a trust crisis. The Cabinet Secretary for Health Mutahi Kagwe has been praised as just the right man to handle the crisis. He is authoritative, has communicative presence and does not...

A drug addict injects himself with drugs Source: www.kenyancollective.com Recently, the coast of Kenya and particularly Mombasa witnessed heightened activity on what police claimedwas a major crackdown on drug traffickers. The crackdown ended up in total embarrassment as police did not make any major arrest and even those they arrested were released by the courts for the lack of evidence. At one time, the Mombasa County Police Commander Johnstone Ipara was seen briefing the media bragging how they had seized three thousand shillings in coins from one of the suspect's houses as if there is any law that prohibits anyone from holding coins. This must have been the most kneejerk reaction to combating drugs that I have ever come across and from the outset it was doomed to fail. Let me state why. I have lived in the coast of Kenya for the last two decades and I can attest that since getting here, there is nothing that grips the people of Pwani than talk about drugs popularly r...

Music fans in Eldoret went berserk when a Tanzanian artist failed to show up for a much routes musical concert. Harmonize is the artist behind the local radio anthem Kwangwaru. Disappointed fans started throwing litter the moment they realised Harmonize was no show. Reports indicate that the artist who was in Eldoret may have failed to perform over disagreements on pay. Hawa mapromoter watatuonyesha maneno.. See what the fans did. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10217582251217905&id=1526613181

Farmers drying maize in Eldoret Town Credit: www.businessdailyafrica.com By Judy Matu The revelation by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri that 60% of maize with a value of over Kshs 9 Billion which was imported last year is unfit for human consumption is both confusing and shocking. That the CS told the Parliamentary Select Committee on Agriculture that the country ordered for only six million bags yet maize cartels imported ten million bags in total contravention of the government's gazette notice is maddening. The revelation brings to the fore issues of national agricultural policy and how efforts of corrupt individuals in government undermine President Uhuru Kenyatta's food security agenda. The food security agenda is one of the four key pillars of Government's development agenda, the others being food security, affordable housing, manufacturing, and affordable healthcare for all. It is unacceptable that the Government is staring at such waste...

Gov. Joho and Kingi in a past press conference Last week two out of the six governors of the coast region declared that they would set in motion processes for the secession of the coast region. Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho popularly known among his supporters as “ Sultan ” and Kilifi Governor Amasson Kingi declared that they wanted the region to secede based on the fact that the area “has been marginalized by successive governments and the only way to get out of the marginalization was to determine own destiny.” Secession talks are not a new thing at the coast of Kenya. In 2008, a separatist organization called the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) pushed for the secession of the coast region citing an agreement between the Kenyan government and the Sultan of Zanzibar for the administration of the region for a period of 50 years. According to a Reuters(2012) report, the MRC claimed that they had “ … documents of a 1963 accord signed by then Kenyan Prime Minister and late...

Safari ya Bamba ni machero (The journey to Bamba is tomorrow) is an old Giriama childhood song that is sang by children when they gather in the evening as they wait for their mothers to cook. Though innocently sang, it’s a song that tells you that if you want to travel to Bamba, you must be adequately prepared both psychologically and physically because going there is not a journey for the faint. It requires both stamina and determination.    As a young reporter working in the District Information Office Mariakani  in the late 90s, the assignment I dreaded most was to be sent for coverage in Bamba, some thirty kilometers north of Mariakani in Kilifi County. Going to Bamba meant that you would have to leave early and come back late. You would swallow all the dust on the road and brace yourself for the scorching sun and thirst. There was no assurance that you would come back the same day and if you would it would not be later than midnight. It would be worse if ...

Deputy president William Ruto raided CORD co-principal vote turf and made fleeting donations that might make the principal curse in envy. The DP toured Akamba handicraft in changamwe, Kalonzo Musyoka's vote basket  where he assured the crafter's of government's support in improving their business. The crafter's had petitioned the government over tax returns, land rates, construction of a show room and sheds and salary arrears to employees. The DP said he had requested the taxman to recompute the tax arrears for the artisans. "However, we have paid the Kshs 300,000 land rates. I also pledge Kshs 5 million for salary arrears and today I present to you Kshs 2 million," he said amidst claps of joy. He observed that the NYS will he involved in the rehabilitation of the area at a cost of Kshs 10 million. "The NYS will in the next two weeks bring their architect to work with management on the designs. We will also fence the premises," he said. The mo...

Source: World Vision Zambia Many years ago when I used to work as a Government reporter, we used to accompany the long serving Cabinet Minister Katana Ngala and MP for Ganze for relief distribution efforts in the Constituency of the then Kilifi District. Hon. Katana was not particularly known to keep time. He was the kind of a guy who would slot a meeting for 2.00.p.m. but would not appear until the sun was setting in the west. What particularly touched were the very many helpless women and children who would wait for eons on end for the hallowed Minister. They would have to brave sweltering heat and dust as they waited for “ Mubomu ” (The Leader). Many women with strapped little frail children in their backs hid under scanty brush and would only come to life when the perennially late Minister would put two two-kilogram “ Gorogoros ” of maize into their baskets. It used to be heart wrenching moment witnessing frail old women and sometimes men open their bags expectantly for ...

"….. 90% of any decision is emotional. The rational part of us supplies the reasons  for supporting our predilections." - Justice William O. Douglas, Supreme Court Judge USA), * As the dust settles in the just concluded American elections, questions are likely to arise on what went wrong in Secretary Hilary Clinton’s campaign camp. Many people were of the opinion that Hilary Clinton was likely to win. Their observation was backed by opinion polls that gave her a between 4-8% lead over President-Elect Donald J. Trump. Secretary Clinton had a good message going. She spoke policy and the continuation of President Barrack Obama’s legacy which had seen the American economy register significant growth compared to when President George Bush left White House in 2008. What concerns me is the role played by strategic communication advisers for Donald J. Trump that left the Clinton camp stun and with egg on the face. Their role provides crucial lessons to any practising or a...