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THE COUNTY OF SHAME: VIHIGA COUNTY (Part two)

Vihiga County is probably home to the laziest and empty headed individuals who have lost sense of vision and foresight. It houses petty hecklers and rampant gossipers who spend better days gossiping and talking and not doing anything constructive. The county houses perfectionist by lip-service and professionals by that hearty rebuke and counter remark. In short, Vihiga is home to the contractors of castles in the air. Out of the 180,112 pupils who join primary school, only 36, 413 get to high school. That’s only 20% of the total primary enrolment! Finally, 12.7% get to finish their secondary education. That is totally incredulous! It shows a total ramshackle in the literary world, it clearly inundates a society that has totally forgotten all about the fundamentals of education and above all does not appreciate the education system at all! A county that has more teachers than any other specialist espouses a county that drinks water and serves wine. What is the essence of produci

GIVE a KENYAN THE REASON TO REGISTER AS A VOTER

The common Mwanainchi has a mountain of questions to ask about the ongoing voter registration exercise. He/She wonders why in the first place he should register. One Kenyan lamented that He has so many voters cards under his name and yet, he is being called for fresh registration. Does the govt have so much money to plunge into voter registration yet we have so many of us languishing in abject poverty? He posed. I looked at him sadly because I understood. His tattered clothes spoke thousands of tears in famine. We had fresh registration exercise a year ago, for the referendum. our voters cards are still fresh and not tattered, what is there new that we need to get? another asked. I do not usually have answers to such questions myself. AS I call upon Kenyans to register, I seek answers to the above questions. Seriously speaking, the apathy shown towards the current voter registration comes from the growing knowledge on democracy  and its oppression in kenya. It is the understanding

THE COUNTY OF SHAME: VIHIGA COUNTY (Part one)

Vihiga County borders Kakamega County to the north, Nandi County to the East, Kisumu County to the south and Siaya County to the west. The county boasts of having a population of approximately 554,622 people on an area of 530.9km 2. The percentage population is 47% males and 53% females which contribute to 1.44% of national population. The annual population growth rate of the county stands at 5.3%. The population density is 1,045 people per km 2 . The proposed county capital will be Mbale.        The county lies in the rain rich region of western Kenya with an average annual rainfall of   between 1,800mm-2000mm. and an average temperature of 24 0 C making it a fertile ground for cash crops such as tea and coffee. Coffee died and was buried in the early 1990s leaving tea; a predominant cash crop. The county could also do well in the plantation of maize, beans and vegetables among others. She has a tea processing factory at Mudete along Chavakali-Kapsabet road. Talking of Chavaka

VIHIGA COUNTY- THE ECONOMY, IN FOCUS: MUDETE TEA FACTORY, A WATER DOWN OR ???

         Mudete Tea Factory is located in Vihiga county of Western Kenya. The factory Is to serve the Tea rich Western Kenya especially Vihiga county which receives an annual rainfall of about 1500mm to 2000mm. The factory established in the mid 1990s has seen a fair share of progress but has remained a dimunitive figure in the progress of the county. One could argue that maybe it is due to the fact that the tea farmers within the region are much less reluctant in upping their game to produce higher and quality tea for the factory. The factory which is supposed to run on a 24hour basis goes on occasions where it runs out of tea to process!Clearly someone is sleeping on the job. the wellbieng of this factory fundamentally lies in two people; the farmer and the farmer.therefore this factory can only be a success story if the farmer realised how much he can reap from the factory. But one problem comes into mind when you talk about the farmer not delivering: the issue of remuneration.  

CREATIVES AND CULTURE

     The 30th September was not only a day when counterfeits were to fall but also a day where, creatives met at The Godown Art Center to discuss on the issue of What Next?? as pertains the Kenyan culture and their creativity vs ICT. The panel inundated energy with the likes of; Prof. Suki Kaloo, Kenya Polytechnic and school of Creativity in Kenya, Julius Nyerere Odero, The Karen Art Vllage; David Mureithi, Creative entrepreneur; Alex Gakuru, Creative Commons and Dr. Mshai Mwangola, Kenya Cultural Centre. The event was hosted by Mumbi.     In terms of policy the panelists agreed that the country was better of, what is needed is the recognition that culture is important by people in position  influencing policies, cultural workers  being  able to influence the people, creating and environment for growth and understanding that culture is dynamic and an identity.     On the the issue of culture and ICT, there was Kind of disconnect between the creatives, like Techies and other creative

BREAKING NEWS!!! A STUDENT GOES ON HUNGER STRIKE OVER TEACHERS' STRIKE

     A student has decided to go on hunger strike to protest the delayed calling of the strike by the Government. A form four student said that he will not eat or drink until the government does something. The strike by the teachers which now enters its third week has seen many students going back home after what has seem like a war of words between the teachers' body and the government. The teachers of Kenyan schools and universities went on strike after the government failed to work on what it promised.      "If a student can decide to go on hunger strike on such issue, it shows how serious the matter is," said  one education officer who did not want his name to appear here. "This government has shown to all how reckless and inconsiderate it is. If they are committed to improving the lives of people they ought to work with expediency in resolving this stalemate. We can not just talk of increasing the NHIF contribution whilst our education system falls apart, educ

AN OPEN LETTER TO MONSIEUR HENRI MICHEL

Salut monsieur, comment ca va?            I am glad that you accepted to work with us. The position you have taken is really a big shoe for your small legs but I hope you prove me wrong. You see, Harambee Stars is a local name, which was coined from another jargon which if you want to understand it, we will need a lengthy chat over a cup of coffee. But that would be useless since coffee is gold in this country.               There are a couple of things I want to bring into your attention monsieur. Sil vous plait, promise me that you will be vigilant with the team. Promise me that you have a rigid contract that enables you to build the team for at least one year before you can go about spilling promises. If not, then have a ticket at the ready.               The first thing I want you to know is, you know you are dealing with the status quo. I am glad that you don’t speak their language and they do not really understand yours. The house you are dealing with monsieur is very ri

The Dead Man's Wish

Luckily, the dead have no voice. They have no Legs to walk and hands to hold the cane. If Martin Shikuku was to wake up yesterday, the Taita crisis would be a storm in a tea cup. The old man's bones stirred in horror as his wishes were torn in pieces, ignored and viewed as the voiceless reason. But how then do you expect a man who lived on politics to die and no voice of political spikes is thrown. Martin Could be a terrible dreamer. It is time we throw our old age beliefs and patronage to some reason. The organisers of the burial showed total disregard to the old man by not obeying his last wishes. I watched in horror as politics inundated the late Kenyan second liberation hero's final farewell. Voices of yesterday's heinous crime not only showed disrespect but also oozed their power to the powerless. I know we let Martin die in loneliness, I share the belief of many that he was a true fighter. I concur that he has left a legacy that can be compared to none. I would

AFTER TUITION WHAT NEXT? (Part 3)

Do we have enough space for children to play? Are we ready to let the children play? Can we sit down and enjoy the extra co-curricular activities of our kids? On Sunday, I was travelling to Nairobi. Just at Nyayo stadium, there was this huge traffic jam, which of course is a nightmare to parents on such a day when they are taking their kids on a stroll. This jam has of course created employment to a number of hawkers who brandish their wares on motorists. From peanuts to car spare parts and of course the very noble kids wares. So this couple is held by jam, and a hawker brandishes just the right product! A ball, we have peculiar behaviour though, the balls we buy are never for the foot or leg, but for water polo, anyway, the child demands to own one and the mother buys. Now the child has a football eer water polo ball, don’t ask me its name, all I know is the ball is meant to be kicked, the Kenya way. I remember when we were young; we kicked even the basketball, volleyball and the

AFTER TUITION WHAT NEXT? (Part two)

You know i would have much to say... First we need to define, redefine failure. The kid Kevin has already failed in being a citizen of the home (boring), to make it short, he should find it in himself to put some mmph in the home or read his books, at home. When i walk the streets @ 6 AM or @ 6:30 PM and see the kids on average walk home with no sense of urgency, with no sense of purpose as it were, i see failures. We are failing our children. Let the children play. We should be afraid when our children are not behaving like children That is the real fear  BY Bob Agevi Mulusa Via Facebook. “If you train a lion to sit and the lion sits perfectly, we never say the lion is well educated, we say the lion is well trained” (Ranchoddas Shamaldas Chanchad, a character in the Indian movie 3 Idiots) In the past year, and this year, we have heard a series of teenage suicides. The suicides were such that they raised concern on everybody. Just the other day, primary school pupils were

AFTER TUITION WHAT NEXT? (Part one)

                 I am deeply concerned with the ban on holiday tuition. Holiday tuition as it has been known was introduced when there was need to raise education standards in the country. The extra tuition was in a way, extra classes where, in a country where the number of teachers is extremely low, students who had no teachers for the better part of the term got a chance to get some work done. The evolution has been so drastic that it became a punishment to weak student. In a country that everyone is trying to succeed, the tuition now became a trend to give an extra mileage to students.                   The ban comes as a shocker to Kenyans who had more than embraced it as a way of life. I have to confess that some students even find it awkward to stay at home. An eleven year old, standard six pupil confessed to me that, she does not really enjoy playing. She was quick to add that she is no longer a kid to play games like kati. This shows just how deep the education inebriatio