Case for a new, lethal, airbrorne Virus

A government of 1 president, 1 vice president, 1 prime minister, 2 deputies, 40 ministers, 40+ assistant ministers, all their wives and kids, fleet of land yachts, policemen, body guards, security dogs, and a few hookers thrown in for good measure == 30 million dollars annually.

Instead, the same money could be given to a pharmaceutical company to develop a new strain of virus, something air-borne and virulent -  a manic cross between H5N1 and Ug99. This special strain of virus, incorporating the miracles of modern technology, and the search capabilities of google will be designed to infect everybody meeting the following criteria:

people inside shiny cars weighing over 2 tonnes; people owning yellow suits; lovers of currency-note portraits; users of fairness cream; singers of “Jambo Bwana” etc.

The virus will invade the subjects, and in a few hours, turn them into free-range chickens for general human consumption. Thus solving the twin problems of stupidity and world hunger, forever.

Note: I have a yellow suit, and a 2 tonne car – which means I would yield 2 chickens. Corresponding math required for president, prime minister, first lady, george bush etc.

Whats the offence ?

Some prostitutes from across East Africa were prevented from attending a workshop in Uganda.

What is more interesting in the above post is the apparent disconnect between the poster and commentators.

The intention of the poster was to highlight the criminalization of prostitution. A crime usually needs a victim, in the above example the only apparent “victim” appears to be a minister who took offense. (Apparently, a way of life is such a fragile thing that it needs protection under law)

The comments on the other hand, turn this issue into something else:

Maybe what the government needs to do is to find ways and means for women to support themselves so that they dont have to be prostitutes.

That when the women have really already found a way to support themselves. How about just legalizing prostitution ?

Between Christmas and the New Year

I have been trying to find an answer to this uncomplicated question:

Is there any other nation in the World that choses to hold elections between Christmas and the New Year ?

Think of this:

• Would Israel ever have elections during Passover ?
• Would America ever have elections during Christmas ?
• Would Malaysia or Pakistan or Iran ever hold an election over Ramadan ?
• Would India ever hold elections during Deewali ?
• Would <insert country of choice> ever hold elections during <insert country’s major festival> ?

There must be some outré reason as to why countries do not hold elections during the convenience of such holidays ?

Seeking Employment

In the course of the week the organization (“NGO”) I work for (I do not wish to name it, for clear reasons of anonymity) has received 3 applications of employment from Kenyan Civil Servants. Maybe it is a sign of individuals abandoning ship? Unfortunately the NGO hasn’t had a good experience with Civil Servants in general.

There was one, a middle-aged gentleman with impeccable credentials who we imported over from Europe last year, but we had to send him away after it was revealed that he had demanded certain personal favors bordering on the sanitary from one of the  attractive secretarial staff (one would have thought the vast selection of paid ladies would suffice ?).

Then there is an unspoken rule in many NGOs like mine – Never employ a Kenyan civil servant. Working for the government appears to add a cocktail of credentials involving corruption, incompetence and nepotism to one’s resumé.

Decentralization – CDF

This is a highly centralized country. Disbursal of funds has traditionally been under the iron-fist of one despotic president or the other.

So the CDF – constituency development fund was one such resource sharing mechanism to encourage decentralization. The state disbursed funds directly to the constituencies via the member of parliament. To prevent misuse of the fund, constituency level committees were set up as part of the oversight mechanisms. The member of parliament still had a final say on how the funds could be spent.

But now, the State has thrown in a little invisible spanner in this scheme of local empowerment. It is mandatory now for the DC – District Commissioner to approve any spending at the constituency committee level. And who is the DC ? The DC is an agent of Centralized state, appointed by the powers directly under the president.

Now if the DC is effectively the president of local CDF disbursal committees, it means the agent of the Centre can chose to overrule the elected Member of Parliament on how to best spend these funds.

Does this look like “decentralization” ?

The Kenyan media is uniformly pathetic. There is reportage, navel gazing and little in terms of analysis. There have been reports about CDF in the news – not one has touched upon what the changes really mean.