Alphonce SHIUNDU

One of Kenya’s foremost public intellectuals, Dr David Ndii had a very interesting interview with KTN News’ Sophia Wanuna. I enjoyed it! Immensely. In it, he had surprises and thought-provoking views, about the country’s politics and policies. Let me put some of the quotes to whet your appetite to view the whole interview . Yes, if you like cats, there are two beautiful cats playing in the background. You’d love those. One surprise: Anne Waiguru, the former devolution secretary and now Kirinyaga Governor was Ndii’s “research assistant: when they produced a report on harambees for Transparency International in 2001. Githongo was TI’s boss. “Anne Waiguru was my research assistant at the time,” he told Sophia. I looked it up. Let me leave this excerpt here: About Mutahi Ngunyi, well, well, well…. “I don’t think people like Mutahi Ngunyi are intellectually qualified to label me. “Most of the things I say and do are written. I have been part of the political oppo...

Wow! That’s all I can say. So, in summary, Mwende Gatabaki, is an accomplished IT professional . She had a great job in Tunisia. She worked at the Africa Development Bank. One day in 2014, her boss at the AfDB walked in and told her that President Uhuru Kenyatta wanted her to return to Kenya and do some work on digital transformation. “I actually have a letter with my name on it signed by the President” she says. She left a great job. To come back build her country. The President explained, he wanted her to create a ‘single source of truth’. She requested him to table the issue at Cabinet for ‘buy in’. The idea was to have an identity infrastructure. Think of it this way, she says, when you are born and they process your birth certificate, by the time you get to 18, the government should call you and tell you, ‘come for your ID’, so you show up, surrender your biometrics, and the ID is processed. What she had in mind, was an integrated solution to show data about ...

From the vantage Press Gallery, the on-goings during the reading of the first Budget under the new Constitution was a spectacle that will be forever etched in the history books of the country. And it's not because it was Sh1.2 trillion worth of projections. It's the 'colour'. Looking down at the MPs, it was evident that most of them were in the House to see how Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta will handle the reading of the annual financial statement –the Budget Speech. They were not there to listen attentively to what the minister would say, because, in any case, the committees of the House will have the final say on the national budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal year. Though House Speaker Kenneth Marende had promised a ministerial statement, he too, had to strike a balance between what the Constitution says and what the Standing Orders stipulate with regard to the presentation of the financial statement. In the end, Mr Kenyatta had his chance to read the budget in the...