De La Rue
Thomas De La Rue, who print the currency for Kenya and many other countries have launched a PR. campaign at a time when their contract to print Kenya’s currency is up for review. De La Rue point out that they have invested in a 3 billion shilling factory in Nairobi where they print many world currencies, employ 300 trained Kenyans and contribute 600 million shillings annually to the Kenyan economy.
De La Rue have printed Kenya’s currency since independence, but have faced stiff competition from new companies and politicians, including one arm of Anglo-Leasing.
Italians at the Coast
Italian Residents of Malindi and Coast Province have also launched a PR campaign to refute allegations that they engage in drug trafficking and prostitution activities. They point out that they are responsible for 85% of the tourism business in Malindi, and are behind numerous community & charitable activities. Also that, out of the 1,000 Italians on the island, only 5 have been investigated for criminal activities over the last 27 years
Boycott Delamere
There’s a chain mail going round urging Kenyans to boycott Delamere products following the controversial dismissal of murder charges against Delamere’s grandson who had shot and killed a Wildlife ranger.
Mo Money
Foreign Affairs Minister, Chirau Ali Mwakwere wants the High Court to increase the 3 million shillings awarded to him following a successful defamation suit against Royal Media Services.
@ Bankelele,
I like your blog, you have curved out a nice niche for yourself in the Kenyan blogoshpere.
I think i read in one of your blogs that you came back to Kenya after studying in the US. I came across this long comment on the issue from a Kenyan website. Any views on the issue?
(Sorry for the length)
Joined: Nov 2004
Gender: Male
Posts: 241
Location: San Diego, California
Coming to Nairobi~ An X-US Kenyan Tells all
« Thread Started on May 17, 2005, 10:22am »
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A friend of Kirk, got this email from a good friend of hers that moved home last year and I thought it was refreshing to hear the brutal truth about moving home Here I am sharing this with you. If you know anyone thinking of moving home, please send this to them as it might help them make an informed decision.
NB. THIS IS THE OPINION OF A KENYAN WHO LIVED IN USA. HIS OPINION AND ATTITUDE HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE POSTER WHATSOEVER.
….here we go…..Sorry, its voluminous
Plan on relocating back? Know someone who is planning or thinking on relocating, or maybe just curious about this place? Let me give you first hand info on the doze here- as it is. Job hunting in Nairobi, What can I say? There is sooo much I can say about this place, but will try and keep short and direct. I have been job hunting for about 10 months now. Nothing good has come my way. Very few bad offers but I would be selling myself cheap. And we all know climbing from that can take like forever. When applying to another company, t hey want to know your
previous job description and pay, right? And since there is really no salary structure here, they can offer you just a bit more than you were earning- “take it or leave it.” But the no salary structure can work to your advantage; if you are close with the M.D and performing well, you can negotiate for better pay and bonus. People act like they are out to help you, but really- after several phone calls, and someone asks you to drop off your resume “I will see what I can do” and reaching them again after that is a hustle- basically it was just to
get you off their case. Then the endless chasers begin. Nothing gets done and you get tired of chasing the person. The employed guys here say that it takes a lot of people about a year or so to get going, but d**n.
Yes, there are a few who get their break. There are some companies that will actually look at your qualifications, but the competition is so high h and an
MBA is a must. There are too many people around with first degrees competing for the same positions. By the way, an MBA along with some work experience
can make a difference of anywhere around 60-80K per month on your salary. With an undergrad degree and avg of 6 years work experience (which
summarizes my resume with Marketing experience) you can get a salary of anywhere around 80K. Add about 70K if you have an MBA. Guys here used to say
I can get that 80K jobo quite quick (before I relocated). I got here, and now stories have changed; that it takes awhile to get a job. Their words “It might be frustrating, hang in there but when they start coming, you will have options.” yah right. For guys interviewing for jobs, there are two main obstacles you will probably come across. 98% of the interviews are carried out by males.
· You might meet up with an older guy, of say 55 years plus. These are the guys who are the DEC decisio makers, and started from scratch with the company. They have probably worked for 15 yrs to be where they are. Then there is this guy about 33 yrs old, who wants to jump into a senior position. You might have to answer him, but whatever the case, it’s too d**n
close. It’s as though they think you too should struggle like they have. I once had a senior person tell me “in this company, everyone has a degree even the secretaries have degrees. I don’t want you to come here from the U.S with your degree and think you are the only one with one.”
· The Second obstacle is you might meet a guy who is 35yrs old or so. Now these guys, for some reason, don’t feel anything for guys who have studies or worked in stato, especially if they never left the country themselves. Basically, they are hating on guys from stato. It’s as though stato guys will try and take their girls away from them, so he will keep you down where he can. They see people here on vacation and how they operate at the hang. For some of these guys here, dealing with stato guys on vacation
is a mess but temporary. Once they leave, things are back to normal. But now here are some here to stay and need their help. Maybe the two above scenarios might have some sympathy for guys from Brito
since the structure is a lot like it is here. And we all know how stato is blown up on this side of the world. People here feel more threatened by stato guys than Brito guys.
For chicks, there experience will be different.
· Starting with their mums first- you know how protective mothers are over their daughters. No matter how little you go out, it’s still too much. And they always have something to say about your liberal dressing.
Don’t forget that the community here dictates how a chick should dress, act or talk. · When job hunting for chicks (98% of them carried out by a male), I
have heard of many chicks been offered anything else except for the job. Especially for the new chicks who have just relocated back here since they are new faces, and of course from stato. The guy wants you to call him up personally on his cell phone (not work) to schedule another meeting (not interview). Could be a cup of coffee, or sometimes the guy just comes straight out “Are you free on Wed evening?”
Coming here on vacation and relocating back are totally two different things- don’t get them twisted. When on vacation, there are plenty of people around from wherever and in December, almost everyone here is on vacation from work. There is a good plot almost on a daily basis and its all fun. When you are out there (like I was), you think you are missing on so much
(like I thought), you think this is the place to be- well, not really. Off season (as I call it) when all guys have gone back- this place is dry dry dry. Guys spend too much t time in bars and pubs. They can do this all afternoon to night time every weekend. It’s the same people in the bar, same places on given nights. The meets at the bar or pubs happen cause everyone is one the same schedule. As far as trying to do something out of the ordinary, like an out of town plan, it’s always compared to “do you know how many beers those are?” These are basically just drinking buddies. People you are always arrange to meet at the bar with, but that’s all about it. You don’t stop to think about it until you need a favor or help and realize you can’t turn to any of them for assistance. Some of you might ask, the bar, beer, what’s the problem? Well, guys here can really kamata that doze; they are on a different level. I know guys who have relocated and also guys who have been here who are bored with that doze. Guys here on vacation do try keeping up, but try that through out the year- but who knows it might work for you.
Did I mention the roads suck, the system sucks, dusty like crazy, insecurity, and everything so so slow. It can take over a month easy to get an I.D or drivers’ license unless you are connected (of which you still need
some chai) or remove kitu kidogo (of which you still need a hook up to remove the kitu kidogo to the right person) to make it happen. Otherwise your kitu kidogo to a person who does not know you could easily disappear as the person takes you round in circles. Back in the day we were not too bothered cause our parents did most of this nonsense for us. It takes coming
from stato to really realize that this is really a Third World Country. Besides, I had no place to compare it with except for the movies we rented or should I say the movies we borrowed from Video City. Before I left Kenya, I used to be against that label “Third World” sana. “It’s one world; we are all in the same planet just that we are n ot as developed in the East. How are they going to label us Third World?” was my argument. Well, it’s all so clear now. They say “Nairobi- city under the sun” well they left out “Nairobi- the dark city”
Of course your folks and friends will tell you anything to get you back home and will deal with the issues when you are here. I for one would be telling you guys “this place is great. You can do this or that, it’s home no
restrictions to what you can do” just so that there are more of us back this sides. As far as your folks see it, you will have a roof over your head and you will be with family, how bad can it get? No bills, groceries or rent to
worry about when you are looking for a job. Living with the folks is not funny at all, especially after years of Independence. They are too much in your business and they want to know all your movements. For the chicks,
moving out of home will be after a real struggle with the folks. It’s as though they want you to move when you get married and not any earlier. They don’t see why you need to be on your own, almost like asking “what is it
that you want to do in your house?” They seem to forget that you have lived on your own in stato for the longest and you were doing your own thing or maybe cause it was out of their control.
Should you attempt coming back? If you have a job offer, very well connected (no assumptions that you are) OR you have a full proof plan on whatever game
plan you are coming to do, then by all means give it a try. If none of this apply to you, sorry to say but put Kenya on pause until further notice. Social life is all at the bar, if you are down with that- then it should be
okay. This place works very well for the guys who are earning some good cash. Worst mistake to make is to relocate cause a friend did it and they are doing ok. You have no idea what the guy went through h, or what connections he had. Guys here want to look like they achieved the doze on their own, so they are not going to say anything. Look into your own scenario and take it
from there. Would I do anything different? Let me put it this way, had I known it would be like this, I would not have been in a hurry to come back. But there was no way of knowing cause many guys here who have relocated don’t want to say as it is. As a matter of fact, they are happy when they hear more guys are coming back, so why say anything? And yes, I would consider going back to do the stato thing.
Unlike the people who relocated before me, I am letting you guys out there know what this place is like based on my personal experience and first hand info. No matter how bad things may seem on your end- the grass is not always greener on the other side.
Any questions???
Disclaimer-I am letting you know as I feel about This s place right now. My thoughts could change next week when I get a good job and say this is the place to be, but facts are facts. There is a lot you have to put up with.
P.S- Don’t forward this message- copy and paste it on a new email page.
« Last Edit:May 17, 2005, 10:40am by kirkydumf » Logged
maybe I can respond more later. Yes it’s true that life can be very difficult after a return from America if one does not have a job.
I advise anyone considering a return to secure some guarantee of employement e.g. at the Safaricom, they are specifially recruiting graduates from overseas.
Are you a Kenyan student studying Engineering, Telecommunications and Information Technology abroad? Click on the link below to send us your CV and Contact details”.
kenyansabroad@safaricom.co.ke
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Just because Italians have not been arrested does not mean that they do not take part in illegal activities, that was a weak excuse.
As for the ex-relocatee; when was he last in kenya? I have been out of Kenya for 3 years and I know how it goes there. If I was to go back I would not be shocked at all at how things work. In fact I would work on having investments that support me and be employed secondly. Kenya is hard for those who have been there for eons and those who have just relocated so we are under no illusions, what illusions was that person under?
I don’t know much about the Italian situation at the Coast, but the fact that only 5 Italians have been arrested doesn’t tell us much. Depends on how “criminal activities” is defined. As we’ve seen in the Delamere case, one can get away with murder and other crimes if one is rich, white, connected or all of the above.
The guy giving sharing his relocating experience has a lot of courage to tell it like it is. It’s easy to idealize home and few people will tell you the hard truth. I’m curious what happened next.