Finance Permanent Secretary Joseph Kinyua admitted that he was embarrassed that he, and his fellow permanent secretaries at other ministries, have been forced to buy luxury cars and 4WD’s at the behest of their Ministers, at a time when the government is preaching about cost-cutting. I recommend that PS Kinyua, and other Kenyans, look at India to see what car their Prime Minister and government top brass use – and we’ll realise how much money we waste.

According to the Standard today (Jan 26) the US is exerting pressure on Kenya Airways to break its link to KLM before it begins service to the US (Atlanta). This is bad news since Kenya Airways fortunes have greatly increased since its partnership on the European route via KLM – its revenue have gone up from 10 billion in 1997 to 20 billion in 2004. Even if it is true, I don’t see any US airline flying to Nairobi until the route is proven to be super-profitable (and most US carriers are struggling or bankrupt)

The good, the bad and the ugly (this week)

Bad (Kenyans):  I am distressed about CPT (Coloured people time or African time-keeping). This has to stop, and it is not something we can blame on politicians. We are all guilty of it – seminars, weddings, office meetings, dinner dates, Sudan peace agreements, funerals – all typically start and end late because someone did not keep time. It’s a frustrating and expensive habit in that it costs people valuable time as they wait for latecomers.

This week the good and ugly of Kenya come from our institutions of higher learning

The Good:  First the (very) good where, over the weekend, students from Kenyatta University participated in a clean up at Pumwani (maternity) Hospital in Nairobi. This is one of the few time in recent years when public university students have demonstrated good civic/public service duty. The students cleaned the grounds, collected trash, washed utensils, the kitchen, and other buildings and even cooked and served meals to the patients. Unbelievable but true. Bravo

The Ugly: The (very) ugly was that fighting broke out between Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC) male students and Kenya Polytechnic (Poly) male students on Tuesday that had to be broken up by riot police. Why are students, who normally express solidarity, fighting their comrades? Female students! It seems that Poly male students are angry that the KIMC male students have denied them a chance to socialize with their female KIMC colleagues, while the male KIMC students say the Poly males are harassing their KIMC females.