STORIES FROM MY HEART

I just read this article from a man a highly respect and who's opinion and take on African matters is thought provoking. Mr. Fengler is the World Bank's Lead Economist for Kenya. His take is that the famine in Kenya is man made, and requires a man made soluiton. His arguments are rich, do drop by his blog

An online discussion with business journalists on twitter this morning regarding the IMF’s role in the Kenyan economy resulted into a heated discourse with the Star’s James Mbugua saying “Why is the IMF more concerned with Inflation than growth? They’ve messed us up”. He went on to say “Everything that Central bank has been doing has IMF written all over it.” For those not in Kenya- the shilling has weakened to a 17 year low against the almighty dollar- due to a combined number of reasons, mostly blamed on erratic international crude prices and a strengthening dollar, and the issue of speculation has not also be ruled out. Now a weak shilling has a ripple effect- there are those that benefit, especially exporters, in our case, horticulture, coffee and the tourism industry, fall under the winners. But the losers are more. Being an oil import dependent economy- the price per liter of fuel has been on the increase in recent months. This has had a domino effect on manufacturers who re...

The first time President mwai Kibaki talked about the free fall of the shilling was at the opening bell of the NSE when Brish American commenced trading on the NSE about two weeks ago. The IPo was undersubscribed, and one reason for that, stock-brokers say is a shilling that won't hold stready as well as Inflation which has robbed Kenyans of disposable income, and the stock exchange is the last of their priorities. The president talked about a dollar demand that was insatiable, and called on the IMF to quicken the process of the Extended credit facility that Kenya had signed up for earlier this year. let me break that down: The Extended Credit Facility (ECF) is an IMF facility which provides financial assistance to low income countries with protraced balance of payments. This means that the import- export balance is off tangent, and it usually results in a weak local currency among other economic challenges. So when Kibaki asked for the a hastening of the ECF, he was basica...

The slow down in the US and Europe may be responsible for a slower economic growth for Sub- saharan Africa. Some African countries are already reeling from the effects of these, that are visible through weaker currencies and reduced investor participation. In 2008, as the economic crisis sunk several economies, Kenya was one of the economies that remained resilient, hinging its survival on thin intergration levels with the developed world. But that was then, the second phase of may not leave Africa unscathed. the IMF has cut down its growth projection of Africa to 5.2% from 5.5% projected in April. so what are the implications of this? With its track record and strong critics about the IMF's role in Africa's development,Some may dismiss this - but unfortunately investors and the world's super powers who dictate the global economy listen to these financial institutions. If the growth rate is cut, investors read this as a signal to reduced returns. It is true, ...

WASHINGTON DC, 20TH SEPTEMBER Unemployment and how to counter a problem that's been described as an economic time bomb is a key area of discussion at the IMF and World Bank Spring meetings in Washinton DC. Let me put this into perspective first. We've seen Obama's recent shaky moments as he battles with empowering Americans after an economic crisis that stripped the worlds number one state to its bare minimum. And now US unemployment figures remains at about 9%. That is a crisis. In Kenya, that figure (unemployment) is at 36%. Inflation is at 16.67%, and today, the shilling is at an 17 year low of 96 shillings to the greenback. That is a proper definition of the word disaster. But we walk and talk as if its business as usual as politics and blinders (in the name of price controls and price caps) balm mass appeal. We need to wake up to the realities of what this means for our economy. Where are all the jobs? what is really happening? Reduced capital flows . T...

I'm at the IMF annual meetings in Washington DC, where the Global economy -where world economic outlook, poverty eradication and economic development are among the key issues on the agenda. I was here last spring and I wish someone shared this with me before I came here in April. So, here's IMF for dummies ( 1st Edition) The IMF, also known as the “Fund,” was conceived at a United Nations conference convened in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States, in July 1944. The 44 governments represented at that conference sought to build a framework for economic cooperation that would avoid a repetition of the vicious circle of competitive devaluations that had contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s. Original aims: Article I of the Articles of Agreement sets out the IMF’s main goals: ■promoting international monetary cooperation; ■facilitating the expansion and balanced growth of international trade; ■promoting exchange stability; ■assisting in the estab...

WASHINGTON DC , 18th September 2011 The IMF annual meetings kick off this week. It's bound to be an exciting time to see how the IMF is responding to global matters, but most importantly for me, how the IMF is responding to the cyclical challenges of poverty, unemployment, rising commodity prices and a weakening currency for many Africans states. In Kenya, there are different schools of thought regarding the IMF's precense and actions in the country. On one side we have the sceptics: After Kenya’s ‘Golden years’ that’s the first ten years after Kenya’s independence, when the growth was impressive, education enrollement doubled, came the 'lost decade' then a number of Kenyans developed hardlines over what they refer to as the worst social experiments. This happened when the IMF and the world bank proposed the structural Adjustment programmes (SAP'S), which gave priority TO spending areas that critics say locked out key social developement sectors such as ...

Dear Reddy, When I got home for lunch today, I found this postcard in my bedroom- addressed to me, your employer. Plain, white and black, but it was really good to hear from you. Especially in the form of a post card! The last time I received a postcard was from Norway,no, he traveled to Paris and sent me another one from there. Beautiful cards that spoke volumes of the cities he who shall remain nameless traveled to. Postcards always get me nostlagic, but guess what, many times, Postcards usually carry good news- and when you're arrived, for some reason, I wasn't sure it was going to be good news. There's been no good news from you in such a long time- so the excitement and show off session that usually follows the receipt of a regular postcard (usually complete with a stamp from a foreign country) was really not there. But Reddy, that's not why I'm writing to you. Despite the fact that you told me you'd be busy on some power lines that affect me sup...

Why do you work? Whenever I ask myself that question; I find myself skirting around. First, I work because I am expected to have a job. I am expected to have a job so that I become independent, have an income and provide a comfortable life first for my daughter, myself and my family. Several times, it’s a struggle. We work to pay the bills, and that becomes what life is all about. But is life really all about this? Every once in a while, those that can afford go on holiday either in the country or abroad travel, that’s when they take their time to enjoy the hard earned money. But many times, event those that can afford it are too deeply engrossed in trying to make more money that they never really enjoy it. So what is life really about? This weekend I traveled with a group of friends who believe that life is what happens when self actualization happens. That happens when you stop living only to pay the bills, and begin to live to enjoy even the little money that you can ...

voice of the wind It isn't as if the wind cannot speak Sometimes in a whisper Barely grazing the bouganvelia purple on the porch sometimes in a breeze Still the creepers on the front door of our holiday cottage sway to its voice Creepers still can speak, but only to the foliage underneath And this evening, while I sit by the poolside In this warm African sunset The wind howls As the sea comes back home stories, trapped in the crushing waves Swish, swash, on the wearing down corals beneath our love nest white sand on this watamu shores The soft leaves of the bottle brush graze the back of my neck caressing my barely there tan The birds, they chirp the evening away they too, have stories to tell Memories, some sweet, some hot & raunchy, some...they will never tell And most, I will never know.... my heart longs to hear the tales of the wind from far away lands of the sea, swishing, swaying going and coming back home of the creepers on the front door...