Monthly Archives: October 2007

America Calling

Wharton MBA: The University of Pennsylvania business school will have a reception in Nairobi on October 16. RSVP Here. Another event was held in 2005.

Green Card rush: The 2009 DV Program – US Diversity Visa Lottery is on again, with applications accepted from October 3 to December 2, 2007

other opportunities
from the daily papers this week

DCDM: accounting & audit seniors, audit managers, fund administrators. Apply to admin@dcdnkenya.com by 22/10

Project accountant at EADB. D/L is by 19/10

Jetlink aviation: marketing executives (travel) customer care agent, reservations officer. Apply to hr@jetlink.co.ke by 23/10

Kenya airways: Project coordinator (civil engineer) D/ L 18/10

KCB: branch manager, business banking managers, business banking officers. Apply to recruitment@kcb.co.ke by 23/10

Kenya safari lodges: Sales executives for Nairobi and Mombasa. Apply through cv@kenya-safaris.co.ke by 19/10

Mabati Rolling Mills: accounts executive, treasury executive, forex executive, costing & MIS executive, accounts assistants. Apply to hr@mabati.com by 25/10

Graduate clerks at NIC Bank.

Safaricom: Head of customer management

World Bank team assistants (3). D/L is 19/10

Reprieve for small banks

Opposition MP’s in Parliament yesterday appeared to shoot down a proposal by the Government requiring commercial banks to have a minimum share capital of 1 billion shillings ($14m) by 2010 – up from the current minimum of 250 million shillings.

This has been seen as likely to cause several smaller banks to merge or be absorbed into larger entities. So for at least, another year, the barriers to entry to the banking sector remain low.

Rant: Change the Channel

Next Friday, we are having a talk on AIDS – again! This may be the third this year, as there’s one every quarter. That’s because the company has committed (and arranged) for employees to receive these talks and the Ministry of Health can afford to send people out to give such talks. Or there’s a there’s a huge donor funding for HIV programs that the government has ample capacity to spend

I am not diminishing the impact, significance, or message about HIV but what about malaria? I’m sure it causes more deaths than HIV. It’s not just expectant or new mother who need lessons in malaria. What about cancer – ok its breast cancer awareness month? Cholesterol, high blood pressure & hypertension, pneumonia, and other diseases that also wipe out thousands of young people? Cirrhosis and the dangers of drunk driving! Any why it always about VCT’s not full medical checks – for cancer, high blood pressure etc? The kind of stuff people use Capital FM and other radio stations to promote new hospitals & equipment.

This rant should be directed at the personnel manager, but he’ll only come up with programs that fund themselves so we’ll continue to hear about HIV since that is FREE and funded.

I’d like to have more workplace talks that address overall health problems, beyond HIV, or assuming we are all healthy how about some internal uplifment though a fulfilling enlightening talk on money? – advice on investments, real estate, small business, opportunities, and entrepreneurship.

Isn’t there government funding or a donor package for that? Or is that left to AID workers in rural areas only?

Diamond Trust rights issue

1 ½ years ago, Diamond Trust Bank raised 735 million from shareholders, and now they are back this time targeting another 1.6 billion shillings ($24 million). NIC bank also has a rights issue on-going while that of Housing Finance has stalled temporarily.

The rapid growth of assets, loans and deposits has created a gap in capital that banks will need to fill up to maintain capital adequacy and Basel II requirements. Other banks likely to require to raise capital could include Kenya Commercial (after a previous right issue 2004), Cooperative, National Bank of Kenya, Commercial Bank of Africa, Standard Chartered, Stanbic, Investment & Mortgages, Barclays, Equity, and even the new CFC/Stanbic Bank.

Election year inflation

The elections are a few weeks away and assets are disposed of and savings converted into consumer spending and other election-related services. People are being warned to be careful with their SUV’s (lest they are stolen to be used in rural campaigns and dumped)

There are 210 constituencies in the country and one estimate of the cost of running a viable campaign is set at about 10 million shillings ($150,000) – and this can be as high as 100 million shillings (where titans are battling it out to enter Parliament)

Scenes from the Nairobi show
Also known as the Nairobi international trade fair (which ended on Sunday October 7)
– Traffic to the showground was so bad along Ngong road, that it was better and faster to detour along Kibera. I asked one very tired policeman about this and he replied that the heavy traffic was not related to the trade fair – just that vehicles never cease coming no matter how long directs the traffic (too many cars)
– Visiting an impressive stand, I’m reminded that long before Vice President Moody Awori spruced up the Prisons Department, it was highly regarded for the good quality furniture that they i.e. prisoners used to (and still) produce and which the department would sell to the public
– A yellow Humvee is a big draw for all the school kids even though they are not allowed near it
– I was able to get my social security statement from the NSSF stand, but my stockbroker could not give me a statement! (They were not online). The NSSF also gave a friendly reminder to patrons to top up their contributions otherwise they would receive very little when they retired
– Ice cream vendors almost every 10 yards. And the way it was hot, they were all doing roaring business
– JKUAT (University) enterprises produce a variety of juices, jams, soaps and lotions.
– A drunk high school student being hauled out of the show grounds by his colleagues. I later passed them outside the showground and noticed they have wisely removed their school uniforms – otherwise they could have bundled into a police wagon to be paraded on the evening news.