I spent part of Sunday watching the half-marathon runners pass through the neighbourhood. Like last year, I stood among motorists who felt that they had been inconvenienced by the marathon and who had tried to drive somewhere – church, shopping, office – on Sunday morning only to find the roads closed by the Police. Many of them turned round and went back home, while others switched off and got out of their cards to watch, and alternately scowled, complained that runners were walking not running (this was at about the 15 km mark of the 21km route), looked at their watches, bought & read newspapers, argued with the Police crew at the corner, or complained that they would boycott Standard Chartered Bank, who sponsored the event.

The fact that notices were placed by Standard Chartered, Police, and other companies like Kenya Airways (advising passengers to check in early) meant that not as many people were disrupted by the events, as was the case last year. I stood there and clapped for everyone who passed, then only clapped for those who ran (not walked by) as a a mixture of people old, young, in & out of shape, a team from Korea, of various professions (I saw a banker, lawyer and restaurant owner I knew), some with inappropriate shoes like sandals, or tracksuits (in case it rained like last year – which it didn’t) them . Didn’t rain like last year, but the runners were a smaller field, with lots of tourists it seemed.

new contract
On the company’s fifth anniversary, Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph had his contract extended for another (and final) two-year contract by the firm.

IPO delay?
The Institute of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK) has asked that the asset valuations of the Kenya Railways and Kengen be re-done since they were previously carried out by companies who were not registered valuers. ISK also asked the Capital Markets Authority to delay the Kengen IPO until this is done.

Equipment contracts
– Kenya Data Networks has signed a contract with Siemens to supply fibre optic equipment for KDN’s 1140 km long network.
– Celtel is expected to sign a $53m (4 billion) shilling network upgrade contract with Ericsson.

America Calling

MBA to Kenya: Wharton, the University of Pennsylvania business school, will hold a Nairobi reception on its MBA programs on November 2, at the Grand Regency Hotel from 7:00 – 9:00 pm. Register here.

DV 2007: The 2007 United States diversity visa (DV) lottery registration began on October 5th. Persons seeking to enter the lottery program must register online through the designated website by December 4, 2005. Kenyans are still eligible.

More Debates: Medeva TV will resume, Agenda Kenya, their popular debate show, with debates shown on KBC on each of the last four days leading up to the November 21 referendum. If you’d like to be part of the audience in the show, call 557569/70/71 or visit their offices at The GoDown for details.

Also, Strathmore University will hold another debate on the Constitution this coming Saturday.

More Standard Jobs: The Standard is looking to hire business executives for both its print and electronic departments. The job entails sourcing clients, making presentations, meeting targets, and coming up with strategies that will ensure good customer care. Applicants should have business degrees, be less than 30 years old, and have 1- 3 years sales experience. They should apply by October 25th to the Human Resource Manager at P. O. Box 30080 Nairobi (perhaps e-mail would be faster).