Nyerere Died with Tz's Dream. Why China is Winning In Africa. Building Bridges Team has No Mandate.

Horrific image of MV Nyerere after it capsized

MV Nyerere sinks

It appears like the vision of a great Tanganyika died with Mwalimu Nyerere.

It was heart breaking to watch the scene of the ferry accident on Lake Victoria

recently. I sincerely couldn’t differentiate fishermen from government rescue personnel.

Everything appeared so messed up. No strategy. No formula. Just carelessness.

The number of passengers  on board the ferry is not well known.

This is squarely the duty of government to ensure safety procedures

and other regulations are kept. Ho will Magufuli’s administration ever 

account for this accident? It is important to follow up on the arrested

 ferry officials to ensure that they are not victimized. 

What was the state of the ferry for instance?

Does the government have a water travel 

disaster response plan?

FLOTUS in a shithole continent

It is near accurate to say that Donald Trump just like his fellow Republican Bush Junior,

he started off his term by a “look down” on Africa. That was his policy direction even during

campaign period. By Trump sending Melania to Africa, this may be a way of swallowing

his words in a manner so clever as not to cause any constipation on his part.

It is important to note that both Kenya and Egypt have been top US allies in this region.

In the last decade we have also seen Ghana collaborate so closely with The US.

While in her trip, Melania has interacted with vulnerable groups of people that receive aid

from the US. From Malawi to Kenya, the FLOTUS  was seen smiling with young children.

This is a very subtle message from Washington. It will remain interesting to see how

the game ends if there is an end to look forward to at all. 

Be on the lookout for more surprises as Africa continues to look as the battle ground of the 

big economies. From Africa’s perspective, China is winning already. Its economic model is

based on such things as low cost of production (majorly labour) just as is the case of many

African economies. Besides, Africa has tried the West already and now the whole continent 

appears willing to try a different partner. China has been readily forthcoming. 

A key observation is that China has been dealing with  Africa as if it were a single country.

 They see it as a single economy. You will see this story clearly if you follow their footprint

 from Angola to Addis Ababa.

China’s confidence remains evident in the manner in which they countered Trump’s

 trade barriers in a tit for tat manner. As historians say – kingdoms rise, kingdoms fall.

 It is very easy to see which is on the rise. Good for them. They will milk all the leverage

 they have, now and in the future. But most sadly, poor economies around the world will 

suffer as US and China continue to feud.

 

Melania Trump feeding an elephant in Kenya

Referendum horn in a Kenya

Kenya’s constitution is 8 years old now.

This duration is adequate to tell the berries and fruits apart.

But this does not necessarily mean that we have to amend the constitution.

Going by the struggles of the country right now, it is in bad taste to embark on

a referendum drive of any sort. There is a way in which anything electoral heats

 up the entire country. It doesn't have to be that way, however this remains a reality.

Electioneering injures economy and makes the ordinary people suffer for no cause

at all. Kenya last year had two bad presidential elections which almost sent

the country to the devil. Amending the constitution will definitely lead to push

and shove thereby splitting the country politically.

This does not mean that the constitution cannot be amended.

There needs to be a real reason for any change to be necessary.

It really cannot escape the ordinary eye to see that electoral reforms

 have not received any mention in the last six months. This is the real danger.

 In my view, overhauling the electoral body should take first priority because

the opaqueness in conducting elections has led to bloodshed in the past.

Currently there are two initiatives toward a referendum.

Punguza mizigo - This is being spearheaded by Third Way Alliance,   

led by Dr. Ekuru Aukot. It is a very people centered initiative.

It mainly targets making parliament cheaper to run besides raising

the stature of the senate specifically. However, I don’t agree with 

the proposal to introduce a one seven year term for president.

Raila Odinga is leading a political side with intent of changing the structure

of governance from presidential to parliamentary. This is supposedly to cure the

problems that Kenya is facing currently. This kind of thinking is bereft of any benefit

from recent history of the country.

Building the bridges initiative is the main avenue of this pursuit.

I find this so absurd. This team of people was formed jointly by President Uhuru Kenyatta

and Raila Odinga to unite the country after last year’s elections. It was a product of the handshake.

Very few people in Kenya know the contents of the handshake. But that is not an issue at all.

What I find laughable is the notion that such a team can recommend amendments to the supreme

 law. What a pity! Building the bridges initiative has no mandate whatsoever to collect 

anybody’s views, let alone recommend anything.