Human Trafficking in South Eastern Europe here
CORRUPTION AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING: THE NIGERIAN CASE here
Global crime clan here
A great deal here
Heroin opiate here
Modern emancipation here
Botnet here
Exodus Cry here
Act to prevent trafficking here
Ask.com here
Bing Here
Home about growth magazine here
Enotes here
Famous people here
Spiritus temporis here
Southern Africa Anti trafficking trust here
Human trafficking blog here
Children manual on HT here
GAATW Commentary on KARDS Research here
KARDS Quoted here
Police arrests a Tanzanian Human Trafficker in UK here
Media and Human trafficking: UN.GIFT here
Forced labour facts and figures, ILO, the cost of coercion regional perspective Africa here
Fact sheet on Labour exploitation by World Vision 2009: Here
Human trafficking the Facts. UN.GIFT Global Initiative to fight human trafficking. Find it here
IOM (2008), In Pursuit of the Southern Dream: Victims of Necessity” Nairobi. Also found online here
ANNPCAN (2007). First international Conference in Africa on Child Sexual Abuse: Enhancing knowledge through research, practices to protect children against sexual abuse. Nairobi, Kenya. Also found online here
ANNPCAN (2007), Preconference for children on sexual abuse. Nairobi, Kenya. Also found online here
Combating Human Trafficking; Broadening the perspective; Report delivered at Stop child trafficking centre. Helinki, Finland 1-3 June 2003 by Gloria Moreno and Fontes Chammartin. Also found online here
COTU (2007). The degradation of work, trafficking in persons from a labor perspective: The Kenyan Experience. Solidarity Center Also found online here
ECPAT (2007). Global Monitoring report on the status of action against sexual exploitation of children in Kenya. Bangkok, Thailand.
ECPAT (2007). Status of Action against Commercial Exploitation of Children in Uganda. Bangkok, Thailand. Also found online here
Elaine Pearson (2000). Human Rights and Trafficking in Persons: A Handbook. Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women, Bangkok. Also found online here
Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women (2006), Human Rights and Trafficking in Persons: A handbook. Bankok, Thailand. Also found online here
GTZ (2004), Study on Trafficking in Women in East Africa. Also found online here
International Organization for Migration-IOM (2005). Data and research on human trafficking: A global survey. Also found online here
IOM (2008): Human Trafficking in East Africa: Research Assessment and Baseline Information in Tanzania, Kenya and Burundi. Nairobi. Also found online here
Koinonia Community (2007): The inventory and activities for street children in Nairobi. Nairobi, Koinonia Community also found online here
Koinonia Community (2007), Boy Child Sexual Abuse. Nairobi, Koinonia Community.
Kenya Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (2007), The degradation of work, trafficking from a labor perspective; The Kenya Experience. Nairobi. Also found online here
The Cradle The children's foundation (2006). Grand iIlussions, shattered dreams: report on the status of human trafficking in Kenya. Also found online here
Tranh Dam Truong (2006). Poverty gender and human trafficking in Sub Saharan Africa: Rethinking best practices in migration practices. UNESCO, Hague also found online here
Tranh Dam Truong and Maria Belen Angeles (2005). Searching for best practices to counter human trafficking in Africa: A focus on women and children. UNESCO, Hague. Also found online here
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2006). Toolkit to combat trafficking in persons. Also found online here
Sunday, March 29, 2009
A Directory of Interventions Assisting Human Trafficked Victims and Survivors in Kenya and Tanzania
A new detailed directory (view this directory here) of interventions and actors assisting victims and survivors of human trafficking in Kenya and Tanzania is now out. The effort to develop a comprehensive list of organizations that are of service to the trafficked people in Kenya and Tanzania has benefited from similar works or other efforts such as:
* Childlife Trust (1997), Database of Homes, Schools and Programmes that Work with Children in Need, Nairobi
* IOM (June 2008 Working Document), Assistance for trafficked persons in Kenya; Directory of identified services. IOM Kenya Chapter.
* IOM (August 2008), Referral System for Adults and children victims of trafficking. IOM Tanzania Chapter.
* Kenya Alliance for Advancement of Children and SNV – Street Children Programme (2001), Directory of Agencies Working with Street Children in Kenya, Nairobi. KAACR and SNV – Street Children Programme.
* Koinonia Community (August 2006): Projects and Activities for street children in Nairobi. Directory. Koinonia Kenya.
* C-TIP (October 2008): Counter trafficking in persons project stakeholders meeting. Royal Court Hotel, Mombasa.
The directory is divided into two parts; part one deals with interventions in Kenya while part two deals with Interventions in Tanzania. Each part is divided into five chapters as follow:
Special services institutions is a broader category taking care of actors doing an array of specialized activities such as: offering formal education, rescue operations, rehabilitating children prostitutes, assisting pregnant women and young mothers, exposing bogus employment agents, tracing services, investigation services, targeted legal assistance, psychological counseling, information provision, documentation and research, health services, assisting prisoners and ex-prisoners, HIV/AIDS intervention, drugs rehabilitation, international repatriation, youth services, provision of toll free telephone hotlines such as Childline and Mewa in Kenya, special internet facilities such as IOM (www.uwe-sauti-yao.org) and referral services.
It is our hope that this directory will assist much in the efforts to understand the different constellations and arrays of services available for the victims and survivors of human trafficking in Kenya and Tanzania and provide an opportunity for actors to communicate and interact with each other. Efforts to improve this directory are on going and always continuous. Hence, for any suggestions, opinions, corrections, criticisms and/or additions, you are all warmly welcome to get in touch with us.
The directory was developed by Koinonia Advisory Research and Development Service
* Childlife Trust (1997), Database of Homes, Schools and Programmes that Work with Children in Need, Nairobi
* IOM (June 2008 Working Document), Assistance for trafficked persons in Kenya; Directory of identified services. IOM Kenya Chapter.
* IOM (August 2008), Referral System for Adults and children victims of trafficking. IOM Tanzania Chapter.
* Kenya Alliance for Advancement of Children and SNV – Street Children Programme (2001), Directory of Agencies Working with Street Children in Kenya, Nairobi. KAACR and SNV – Street Children Programme.
* Koinonia Community (August 2006): Projects and Activities for street children in Nairobi. Directory. Koinonia Kenya.
* C-TIP (October 2008): Counter trafficking in persons project stakeholders meeting. Royal Court Hotel, Mombasa.
The directory is divided into two parts; part one deals with interventions in Kenya while part two deals with Interventions in Tanzania. Each part is divided into five chapters as follow:
- Governmental institutions at national and regional levels
- Faith based institutions at national and regional levels
- Trade Unions
- Networks,
- Advocacy, capacity building and economic empowerment institutions
- Rehabilitation and other special services institutions
Special services institutions is a broader category taking care of actors doing an array of specialized activities such as: offering formal education, rescue operations, rehabilitating children prostitutes, assisting pregnant women and young mothers, exposing bogus employment agents, tracing services, investigation services, targeted legal assistance, psychological counseling, information provision, documentation and research, health services, assisting prisoners and ex-prisoners, HIV/AIDS intervention, drugs rehabilitation, international repatriation, youth services, provision of toll free telephone hotlines such as Childline and Mewa in Kenya, special internet facilities such as IOM (www.uwe-sauti-yao.org) and referral services.
It is our hope that this directory will assist much in the efforts to understand the different constellations and arrays of services available for the victims and survivors of human trafficking in Kenya and Tanzania and provide an opportunity for actors to communicate and interact with each other. Efforts to improve this directory are on going and always continuous. Hence, for any suggestions, opinions, corrections, criticisms and/or additions, you are all warmly welcome to get in touch with us.
The directory was developed by Koinonia Advisory Research and Development Service
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
A new study on human trafficking in East Africa
Title: Human Trafficking of women and children for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation in East Africa: Case study of Tanzania and Kenyan Actors.
Funding Institution: CMC, the Netherlands
Lead Researcher: Richard Ochanda
Research Institution: Koinonia Advisory Research and Development Service- KARDS
Date: Research on progress
The study on human trafficking of women and children for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation in Kenya and Tanzania was commissioned by CMC, a mission support organization from the Netherlands. Koinonia Advisory Research and Development Service (KARDS) conducted this study. The objectives of the study were to:
In conducting this study we utilized both desk review and field work. During the desk review we reviewed media reports on human trafficking for the last seven years mainly from Kenya and Tanzania. A few media reports from other countries such as Uganda and Malawi relevant to our study were also studied. We benefited much from literature on human trafficking and migration studies especially covering Sub Saharan Africa and more so East Africa. There are a some important country studies on the Kenyan situation. We did not find country studies on the Tanzanian situation on human trafficking apart from the ones on the US government trafficking site. In the field the researchers divided themselves into three teams the first covering Nairobi, the second covering Malindi and Mombasa and the third covering Dares Salaam and Zanzibar. Our field work was mainly geared towards understanding the DNA make up of organizations working to combat human trafficking of women and children for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation. We mainly used the snowballing study design where we were directed to the actors by either NGOs most popular in this field, faith based organizations or the governmental authorities. We also managed to meet a few survivors of human trafficking who were treated with ethical concerns in accordance to IOM 2008 report on East Africa. The results of our fieldwork form the bulk of our chapter on institutional landscape.
We experienced a few limitations in the field. In Tanzania most humanitarian organizations had difficulty sharing their experiences. We hope as more studies are carried out in this field in Tanzania, organizations will feel much more freer to share their experiences with one another. In this case we recommend that network formations be supported, this will help organizations to interact and share more closely. Due to the time and financial constraints we could not conduct very comprehensive organizational studies. On the other hand our statistics on survivors and beneficiaries in the two countries could not be relied for purposes of reporting because we felt that they entangled untrafficked clients being assisted by the actors. However despite these statistical anomalies we were still able to derive our inferences.
We found that organizations working against human trafficking of women and children in Kenya and Tanzania are likely to be involved with children, gender and/or HIV/AIDS issues. Other involved actors are likely to be working for youth empowerment, promotion of human rights, poverty eradication and rehabilitation of drug addicts. Organizations work to address a particular aspect of the complex chain of human trafficking chain in the light of prevention, rehabilitation and social support, legal and judicial support, reintegration of survivors and lobby and advocacy. Resources to assist the survivors of human trafficking are mainly mobilized from international organizations, local contributions within the organizations, from religious institutions, governments amongst other sources. Four important needs were identified by the actors which are financial support, capacity building, government support and a conducive legal environment. Most organizations assisting survivors of human trafficking are in the receiving areas. We made an assumption that there is a possibility that there are very few or no interventions at all in the source areas.
An important contribution of this study especially within the East African context is: first, the clear DNA generic make up of the actors against human trafficking of children and women in Tanzania and Kenya. Second, we found that our East African culture has elements that encourage human trafficking calling interventions on behavioral and/or cultural change. Third, a comprehensive directory of actors showing areas of operations for each actor in Kenya and Tanzania has been developed to accompany this study. It is our hope that this will make it much easy for actors to communicate with one another and share knowledge hence promoting new inventions and effectiveness in assisting the survivors and victims of human trafficking. Fourth, major actors have been identified in the two countries including those involved in research and documentation; this will certainly be a great help for those seeking information in this area such as new actors, the governments, funding institutions and the research community.
To view the KARDS website (Click Here)
Those interested in getting information about this study are kindly requested to get in touch.
Funding Institution: CMC, the Netherlands
Lead Researcher: Richard Ochanda
Research Institution: Koinonia Advisory Research and Development Service- KARDS
Date: Research on progress
The study on human trafficking of women and children for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation in Kenya and Tanzania was commissioned by CMC, a mission support organization from the Netherlands. Koinonia Advisory Research and Development Service (KARDS) conducted this study. The objectives of the study were to:
- Make an inventory of the faith based networks, NGOs and other civil associations that are active in providing assistance to trafficked women and children who have been victims and/or survivors of commercial sexual exploitation
- Find out the needs of these organizations in terms of financial assistance and capacity building
- Assist actors share experiences, skills and information with each other in order to promote general collaboration and networking
- Stimulate creativity amongst the present actors and generate interest amongst other non involved actors
In conducting this study we utilized both desk review and field work. During the desk review we reviewed media reports on human trafficking for the last seven years mainly from Kenya and Tanzania. A few media reports from other countries such as Uganda and Malawi relevant to our study were also studied. We benefited much from literature on human trafficking and migration studies especially covering Sub Saharan Africa and more so East Africa. There are a some important country studies on the Kenyan situation. We did not find country studies on the Tanzanian situation on human trafficking apart from the ones on the US government trafficking site. In the field the researchers divided themselves into three teams the first covering Nairobi, the second covering Malindi and Mombasa and the third covering Dares Salaam and Zanzibar. Our field work was mainly geared towards understanding the DNA make up of organizations working to combat human trafficking of women and children for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation. We mainly used the snowballing study design where we were directed to the actors by either NGOs most popular in this field, faith based organizations or the governmental authorities. We also managed to meet a few survivors of human trafficking who were treated with ethical concerns in accordance to IOM 2008 report on East Africa. The results of our fieldwork form the bulk of our chapter on institutional landscape.
We experienced a few limitations in the field. In Tanzania most humanitarian organizations had difficulty sharing their experiences. We hope as more studies are carried out in this field in Tanzania, organizations will feel much more freer to share their experiences with one another. In this case we recommend that network formations be supported, this will help organizations to interact and share more closely. Due to the time and financial constraints we could not conduct very comprehensive organizational studies. On the other hand our statistics on survivors and beneficiaries in the two countries could not be relied for purposes of reporting because we felt that they entangled untrafficked clients being assisted by the actors. However despite these statistical anomalies we were still able to derive our inferences.
We found that organizations working against human trafficking of women and children in Kenya and Tanzania are likely to be involved with children, gender and/or HIV/AIDS issues. Other involved actors are likely to be working for youth empowerment, promotion of human rights, poverty eradication and rehabilitation of drug addicts. Organizations work to address a particular aspect of the complex chain of human trafficking chain in the light of prevention, rehabilitation and social support, legal and judicial support, reintegration of survivors and lobby and advocacy. Resources to assist the survivors of human trafficking are mainly mobilized from international organizations, local contributions within the organizations, from religious institutions, governments amongst other sources. Four important needs were identified by the actors which are financial support, capacity building, government support and a conducive legal environment. Most organizations assisting survivors of human trafficking are in the receiving areas. We made an assumption that there is a possibility that there are very few or no interventions at all in the source areas.
An important contribution of this study especially within the East African context is: first, the clear DNA generic make up of the actors against human trafficking of children and women in Tanzania and Kenya. Second, we found that our East African culture has elements that encourage human trafficking calling interventions on behavioral and/or cultural change. Third, a comprehensive directory of actors showing areas of operations for each actor in Kenya and Tanzania has been developed to accompany this study. It is our hope that this will make it much easy for actors to communicate with one another and share knowledge hence promoting new inventions and effectiveness in assisting the survivors and victims of human trafficking. Fourth, major actors have been identified in the two countries including those involved in research and documentation; this will certainly be a great help for those seeking information in this area such as new actors, the governments, funding institutions and the research community.
To view the KARDS website (Click Here)
Those interested in getting information about this study are kindly requested to get in touch.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Working for Change
Abraham Hicks: Law of attraction
When working for change one important thing is to begin by putting away your "no's". When you see something that seems an outright injustice, do not concentrate on it instead ask for something different. When you stop opposing what you ask for comes. But when what you are asking for is for others to do something different then you will witness their unwillingness to do it hence holding yourself apart from the change that your life has asked for. So the most important change happens very slowly when the resistant ones croak and the non resistant ones abhore. We therefore have to be free from the bondage of the discomfort, which is a struggle for us because we cant get other people to understand us.
Everything is alright. It is alright for you to see an injustice and it is alright to desire it to be different, see it different and live it as if its different, but every time you look back and see that they havent come along, you defy your own dream and that is what is hurting you. In other words you have a magnificent vision as a result of what you have lived. In fact you were born to live that contrast, ti give birth to that dream and that is why it is so important to you. So you burst the dream while a larger part of you is already living it. Every time you look back at what you do not like you defy your own dreams and tear yourself apart and blame others. Hence live your dream and be your dream and stop looking for evidence that does not support it. Every time you focus on what counters your dream you split yourself from your vibrational escrow.
I therefore imagine the following to be an ideal speech of a change maker:
I do not know about you but I believe I was born this way. I know and I feel it with every fibre of my being that I came in not just this way but also intending to be this way. I hit the ground running and here I am. And then I lived in this world that has so many wonderful things about it. And I began to see among the wonderful things, things that were not so wonderful, and those things pained me because I want a wonderful world and not just for myself but also for others. Somehow I have never been able to separate myself from others. I care about life, I care about well being, I care about upliftment. I want people to be joyful, I also want to be joyful too.
So in the living of life I gave birth. I could feel it happen to all kinds of new ideas. I have a dream about the way life can be upon this planet. I see a time where people live among one another in a variety of personalities, in a variety of genders, financial and sexual and all kinds of orientations. I see a world of such diversity that provides us strength and basis for mighty expenditure. I see a world where in our differences we find strengths. I see a world when we come together in our differences not agreeing with one another but understanding that our differences provide us the basis from which we all create and that in this creation there is enough for all of us.
I understand that this is a world of unlimitedness. I no longer believe in shortage. I no longer see limitation and lack. I now understand that people do not have to think what I think in order for me to think it or be it. I now understand that I am unlimited and that all along that this dream that I have dreamt has been dreamt by others and has been lived by many. I am now confirming my claim that I intend to live my dream. I am free to be as I am, to be me. I am free to be as I be. I no longer harbour thoughts that give me the resonance of that and I am no longer going to ask the impossible of the world to come into allignment with what I want because I do not want the world allignment. I want diversity. Diversity is the basis of that which we are becoming. I need and want only allignment between me and my dreams.
When working for change one important thing is to begin by putting away your "no's". When you see something that seems an outright injustice, do not concentrate on it instead ask for something different. When you stop opposing what you ask for comes. But when what you are asking for is for others to do something different then you will witness their unwillingness to do it hence holding yourself apart from the change that your life has asked for. So the most important change happens very slowly when the resistant ones croak and the non resistant ones abhore. We therefore have to be free from the bondage of the discomfort, which is a struggle for us because we cant get other people to understand us.
Everything is alright. It is alright for you to see an injustice and it is alright to desire it to be different, see it different and live it as if its different, but every time you look back and see that they havent come along, you defy your own dream and that is what is hurting you. In other words you have a magnificent vision as a result of what you have lived. In fact you were born to live that contrast, ti give birth to that dream and that is why it is so important to you. So you burst the dream while a larger part of you is already living it. Every time you look back at what you do not like you defy your own dreams and tear yourself apart and blame others. Hence live your dream and be your dream and stop looking for evidence that does not support it. Every time you focus on what counters your dream you split yourself from your vibrational escrow.
I therefore imagine the following to be an ideal speech of a change maker:
I do not know about you but I believe I was born this way. I know and I feel it with every fibre of my being that I came in not just this way but also intending to be this way. I hit the ground running and here I am. And then I lived in this world that has so many wonderful things about it. And I began to see among the wonderful things, things that were not so wonderful, and those things pained me because I want a wonderful world and not just for myself but also for others. Somehow I have never been able to separate myself from others. I care about life, I care about well being, I care about upliftment. I want people to be joyful, I also want to be joyful too.
So in the living of life I gave birth. I could feel it happen to all kinds of new ideas. I have a dream about the way life can be upon this planet. I see a time where people live among one another in a variety of personalities, in a variety of genders, financial and sexual and all kinds of orientations. I see a world of such diversity that provides us strength and basis for mighty expenditure. I see a world where in our differences we find strengths. I see a world when we come together in our differences not agreeing with one another but understanding that our differences provide us the basis from which we all create and that in this creation there is enough for all of us.
I understand that this is a world of unlimitedness. I no longer believe in shortage. I no longer see limitation and lack. I now understand that people do not have to think what I think in order for me to think it or be it. I now understand that I am unlimited and that all along that this dream that I have dreamt has been dreamt by others and has been lived by many. I am now confirming my claim that I intend to live my dream. I am free to be as I am, to be me. I am free to be as I be. I no longer harbour thoughts that give me the resonance of that and I am no longer going to ask the impossible of the world to come into allignment with what I want because I do not want the world allignment. I want diversity. Diversity is the basis of that which we are becoming. I need and want only allignment between me and my dreams.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
How Safe is the Stock market in Kenya
Is there hope for shoked investors?
Nation Newspapers
By JOSEPH BONYO Posted Wednesday, February 18 2009 at 17:16
The safety of retail investors’ stocks in the equity market has once again come into sharp focus as Kenya comes to terms with a report revealing fraud involving brokers and investment firms.
Many people have been left wondering how safe their stocks are if those charged with safeguarding them can collude to rip off investors. The report is yet to be made public by the authorities concerned.
“It is startling and looks very bad if what we have read in the media is true. It begs the question of how safe our investments are. I may not have been at Nyaga, but who knows maybe my brokerage company is next,” observes Mr Eustace Ochieng, a retail investor.
The shocking contents of the forensic audit report on the fallen Nyaga Stockbrokers must have pierced through the hearts of many a retail investor.
Even more worrying is that the plight of investors has not been addressed as the effects of the revelation continue to sink in. Recently, Treasury developed cold feet after placing an alert to the effect that it would react to the report.
The NSE through chairman James Wangunyu has dismissed the findings while the Capital Markets Authority is yet to provide a substantive way forward.
The report seen by Money goes at length to describe how Nyaga Stockbrokers used its connections both at the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (CDSC) and the Nairobi Stock Exchange to fleece investors.
It further sets out a series of laxities on the part of the capital markets regulator to act even when clear evidence had been brought against the broker.
Against all the orders, these are the institutions charged with safeguarding retailers’ investments. Therefore one wonders who to turn when these same institutions fail to perform their functions. According to the report, Nyaga using flaws within the laws failed to submit true records of its accounts to the CMA.
It is through this, that the forensic audit reveals, the massive rip-off of investor’s funds occurred. “The biggest differences are in bank accounts balance and in the clients accounts balances with the Broker Know client accounts showing a Sh1.3 billion net liability to clients and showing Sh1 billion in the accounts,” says the report.
It adds; “the management accounts submitted to Capital Markets Authority show a net receivable of Sh55 million and only Sh6 million in the bank accounts.”
Cuts across ranks
Stated in the report as a coalition to defraud the public the scheme, the report says, cuts across from junior officers who received bribes to facilitate forgery and senior managers who failed to use their position to stop the sheer theft.
The Nairobi Stock Exchange is also put on the spot for being ‘over protective of the managers at Nyaga. In addition to the evidence of false financial reporting, the audit carried out by Pricewaterhouse Coopers also spells out a carefully orchestrated scheme on individual clients accounts.
“This happened in a number of different ways depending on the suspect’s objective at the time,” it says. Among the tricks used by the brokerage house to defraud clients included uploading of the prices from the trade files to reflect profit. This happened in instances when client’s shares were sold without their authorisation and repurchased usually at a loss.
“Similarly, if during the period after the clients shares had been sold without authorisation any dividend was paid or payable, then an entry would be passed crediting the client with the dividends that they would otherwise have received had their shares been sold,” explains the audit.
When Money carried the story of investors with Nyaga almost one year ago, they told of their frustrations at the hands of the broker. Some of them displayed cheques that they had been issued with but bounced clearly indicating that the firm was in the red. Money caught up with them when they were lodging claims to statutory managers put in place by the CMA and NSE.
“I travelled all the way from Kisii hoping to be attended to and hopefully receive my refunds from Nyaga, however this seems not to be the case as they are only receiving claims,” complained one Miss Alice Ratemo.
Displaying a cheque allegedly issued by the stockbroker, she said all the other cheques amounting to Sh242,000 had bounced. The firm’s banker, Stanbic bank (currently CfC Stanbic) had indicated that the accounts had insufficient funds.
Investors were also to contend with paying fees charged on bouncing cheques that they were receiving. For bounced cheques presented, a fee ranging from Sh1,500 to Sh2,000 is charged by commercial banks.
“Already, I have been fined Sh6,000 for the four cheques I have received from the broker. I’m reliably informed that two more are at the bank awaiting my collection since their (Nyaga) account has no money,” said an investor who preferred we only use Karanja as his name.
Some of the cheques that were also allegedly sent to the investors were not signed hence could not be cashed. That the investors may go home with far less than what they originally put in may soon become a reality. This was first exemplified when NSE offered the stockbroker Sh100 million rescue package to “support investors who had bought shares through the firm.”
Shared cash
But according to the report, the money was allegedly shared between two investment banks. However, the two have denied the claim saying that the broker equally owed them. This begs the question as to whether they were also investors who had bought shares through the firm.
Although Mr Wangunyu, the NSE chairman has dismissed the contents of the report terming them naïve, what baffles most investors are his claims on the liability. He has been quoted in the press saying the liability is estimated at Sh300 million.
However, by the time the statutory managers were closing doors for investors to lodge claims, the liability stood at Sh800 million. That the company may find it hard to get back to business and possibly refund investors is not far from reality.
The report notes that the firm is highly insolvent and would require about Sh1.2 billion to come afloat. This compared to the Sh1.3 billion investors will be requiring from it still clouds the hopes of refunds.
But as if the Nyaga debacle is not enough, investors are still waiting for another report on Discount Securities Limited. The report already presented to the CMA by consulting firm KPMG is expected to reveal more on the firms activity said to be bordering on fraud.
Already, the NSE is on a south end drive, characterised by low investor participation. Although the trend is being linked to the global economic crisis, the contents of the report are bound to further kill investor appetite for the bourse.
jbonyo@nation.co.ke
http://www.nation.co.ke/magazines/money/-/435440/531958/-/item/1/-/14l4dbi/-/index.html
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
New Population Estimates for Kibera at 200,000 to 250,000
Study by Stephano Morras PhD
Title Mapping the unmapped
Department of Sociology and Social Research
Universita Degli Studi di Milano - Bicocca, Milano. Italy.
Download the study here
A new study conducted by a group of Italian Specialists led by Stephano Morras estimates the population of Kibera to be between 200,000 to 250,000. They do this by first calculating the estimates for Kianda Village which they find to be 15,219. They then extrapolate the results from Kianda’s population to arrive at the following conclusion:
Final note: Looking upon the data reported above and considering the type, dimension and distribution of the buildings observed in Kianda is typically the same in the whole of Kibera, it is possible to make a guess about the numerical dimension of its population. Considering that the area of Kibera is set between 2.3 to 2.5 square km, the total population living in the slum can be most likely estimated between 200,000 to 250,000.
I have re-looked at the abstract of this study and I am not convinced (I have not seen the full text though). I think that its problem lies with the methodology (It points to ethnographic methods), data analysis and ultimately the inferences. Goldthorpe J. H's book (2006, 2nd ed) entitled on sociology, numbers and the integration of research and theory speaks much about social research and its inferential problems owing to its qualitative nature and use of inferential logic. These researchers will have considerable difficulties to defend their results. The inference is certainly problematic. The researchers note about the informality of Kibera and the fact that its estimates are not official. The Kenya bureau of statistics in their Kenya Integrated Household Budget Surveys (KIHBS) and countless other studies show that the average household number in Kenya is 6 which is placed at 3.5 in Kianda by the Morras study. I am tempted to conclude that this study's inferences are flawed.
My opinion is that this study might suffer from; one a problem of data integrity and secondly non transparent inferential rules and hence not well defensible and third a non probabilistic sample (a probabilistic sample should be open, transparent and well codified). The abstract makes an indication of the use of Mills' classical methods of logic or Bullien's Algebraic inferential method or alternatively the use of truth tables to arrive at the inferences. The weaknesses of these methods is that they cannot deal with the issues of endogeneity, have no allowable degree of error, their inferences, their explanatory and predictive power are not robust to minor adjustments in variables.
The above problems are always experienced by case studies, ethnographic studies, qualitative or grounded studies. This study is an example of a "Grounded study." The study grounds itself in Kianda and using for example Mills' logic infers that Kibera's reality is grounded in the reality of Kianda. Ethnographic studies can only used to make inferences about the subject of study or its specific mechanisms (within effects) but have considerable difficulties to make general inferences. The problem of endogeneity would generate a pseudo solution or misleading solutions and conclusions. Cases where ethnographic methods would have fitted well would be in rare and transient phenomenons such as the post electoral violence, the financial bubbles, revolutions etc. By explaining the characteristics of the phenomenon, ethnographic and case studies help people to develop a better intuition about a particular phenomenon.
Other issues to look at in this research include the sampling issues (probabilistic or judgmental) , response rates, bias in selection and response and non response bias, interaction effects, the testable hypotheses and the scope of the study. The great problem from the inference above is what has been referred by Goldthorpe above as a homogeneity assumption i.e. grounding the inferences from the findings of the case study, which is a big problem.
I would be interested if Stephano would reply to my criticism. Maybe they will help me to undo the "population myth" belief that I have lived with for a long time. Secondly I agree with him on the fact that a million people is far too much but disagree on the 250,000 people.
Title Mapping the unmapped
Department of Sociology and Social Research
Universita Degli Studi di Milano - Bicocca, Milano. Italy.
Download the study here
A new study conducted by a group of Italian Specialists led by Stephano Morras estimates the population of Kibera to be between 200,000 to 250,000. They do this by first calculating the estimates for Kianda Village which they find to be 15,219. They then extrapolate the results from Kianda’s population to arrive at the following conclusion:
Final note: Looking upon the data reported above and considering the type, dimension and distribution of the buildings observed in Kianda is typically the same in the whole of Kibera, it is possible to make a guess about the numerical dimension of its population. Considering that the area of Kibera is set between 2.3 to 2.5 square km, the total population living in the slum can be most likely estimated between 200,000 to 250,000.
I have re-looked at the abstract of this study and I am not convinced (I have not seen the full text though). I think that its problem lies with the methodology (It points to ethnographic methods), data analysis and ultimately the inferences. Goldthorpe J. H's book (2006, 2nd ed) entitled on sociology, numbers and the integration of research and theory speaks much about social research and its inferential problems owing to its qualitative nature and use of inferential logic. These researchers will have considerable difficulties to defend their results. The inference is certainly problematic. The researchers note about the informality of Kibera and the fact that its estimates are not official. The Kenya bureau of statistics in their Kenya Integrated Household Budget Surveys (KIHBS) and countless other studies show that the average household number in Kenya is 6 which is placed at 3.5 in Kianda by the Morras study. I am tempted to conclude that this study's inferences are flawed.
My opinion is that this study might suffer from; one a problem of data integrity and secondly non transparent inferential rules and hence not well defensible and third a non probabilistic sample (a probabilistic sample should be open, transparent and well codified). The abstract makes an indication of the use of Mills' classical methods of logic or Bullien's Algebraic inferential method or alternatively the use of truth tables to arrive at the inferences. The weaknesses of these methods is that they cannot deal with the issues of endogeneity, have no allowable degree of error, their inferences, their explanatory and predictive power are not robust to minor adjustments in variables.
The above problems are always experienced by case studies, ethnographic studies, qualitative or grounded studies. This study is an example of a "Grounded study." The study grounds itself in Kianda and using for example Mills' logic infers that Kibera's reality is grounded in the reality of Kianda. Ethnographic studies can only used to make inferences about the subject of study or its specific mechanisms (within effects) but have considerable difficulties to make general inferences. The problem of endogeneity would generate a pseudo solution or misleading solutions and conclusions. Cases where ethnographic methods would have fitted well would be in rare and transient phenomenons such as the post electoral violence, the financial bubbles, revolutions etc. By explaining the characteristics of the phenomenon, ethnographic and case studies help people to develop a better intuition about a particular phenomenon.
Other issues to look at in this research include the sampling issues (probabilistic or judgmental) , response rates, bias in selection and response and non response bias, interaction effects, the testable hypotheses and the scope of the study. The great problem from the inference above is what has been referred by Goldthorpe above as a homogeneity assumption i.e. grounding the inferences from the findings of the case study, which is a big problem.
I would be interested if Stephano would reply to my criticism. Maybe they will help me to undo the "population myth" belief that I have lived with for a long time. Secondly I agree with him on the fact that a million people is far too much but disagree on the 250,000 people.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Professor Kolodko’s “World on the Move”
Professor Grzegorz W. Kolodko
World on the Move
Year of Publication (forthcoming)
Publisher: Columbia University Publishers
“World on the move” has been referred to as an interdisciplinary tour de force because of its ability to transcend the confines of a single discipline and paradigm while addressing global economic development. Professor Gregorz Kolodko is able to maintain this unique approach towards world economic development as a result of his wide travels around the globe even to the most remotest corners of the universe. Apart from being a top world economist consulted by the World Bank and several international institutions, a leading scholar and a writer in economic development (visit www.kolodko.net) He also was the assistant Premier of Poland and its Finance minister and helped propel Poland to the European Union besides managing the difficult transition process from communism to a market economy.
This book "world on the move" begins by exploring the economic history of the world from before the 18th century to present extrapolating it to the future. China’s position before, during and after 18th century and its present position are studied. The giant leap backwards or the long slumber of China followed by a great and fast acceleration in a period of 30 years is expounded well. Are we now waiting for China to become the next economic super power? What does an economically strong China mean to the world?
The treatment of globalization is quite interesting. What comes out clear is that the world is getting more and more integrated and America’s planetary leadership is becoming a thing of the past. Accordingly the world without a global leader does not appear so appealing. The author writes The position of the USA in the 21st century can be compared to that of 17th century Spain, then the world super power..... We managed without Spain in this role, because England emerged as the global leader. The role of the Dollar is also explored. Accordingly, American leadership has left the world with no planetary institutional order and in a considerable state of chaos. In addressing the interdependence of the global system it gives account of how the ripple effects are experienced in a remote part of the world as a result of an event in another part of the world.
World on the move gives interesting insights into the future. Accordingly the first world will be an aging world. While populations will reduce in other parts of the planet, populations will also increase in other areas of the world. There will be attitude change on many issues such as the environment and there will be much closser gobal interractions. Air transportation will be faster "flight times from Moscow to San Franciso will be an hour and a half!" Robotics technology will be better "... there will be electronic sniffer dogs that can sniff better," communication will be effortless "there will be no need to write text messages or emails; just speak your thoughts to deliver them to your addressee" and bio matrix controls will be in use at borders of entry instead of passport controls "the touch of a finger or the gaze of your eye into the electronic device that watches us everywhere will be sufficient."
The book however ends with a caution that while others will have better lives others will plunge into poverty. It just makes me wonder whether the parts that will be plunging in poverty will be in Africa. Professor Kolodko has been a critique of the population trends in Africa. But maybe the book will answer my curiosity. I wonder too whether it provides insights on how the countries on the periphery may bring themselves to catch up with the countries on the core. But his comment in my in this blog on Africa's develoment debate answer this very well and I quote Yet while we are still far, far away from Afrique Paradis (see “World on the Mover”, or “Wędrujący świat”, Polish edition, p. 44), we are much closer to find an answer how African countries can be put on the path of fast growth and sustainable development. For this to happen the best way is to relay on coincidence theory of development and new pragmatism (ibidem, pp. 315-332). Kolodko (2004) is very persimistic on issues of catching up and advises that the catching up process should be discussed amongst near equals. Kolodko in Globalisation and catching up in emerging markets recognizes efforts by those willing to work hard giving Poland as an example. Countries that will go far are those that are willing to fight and overlook the global stumbling blocks such as what he referrers to as shock without therapy that the transition economies experienced when they had to change to market economies.
Certainly, I await for the book after passing through some of the content which were quite insightful. This a certainly a very rich book.
Visit www.kolodko.net for more information
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