GENEROUS, YES, BUT AT WAHT PRICE.

Ask any drinker and he’ll admit it yes, once in a while, we all feel like buying everybody arround a drink, more so if it’s during the month –end and one has been foolish enough to pass through the grocery with the whole pay in the pocket. Its during this part of the month that even the born –economists like wa Muyanza can be seen pouring rounds in a manner suggesting they too are earners of real salaries, while the fact is, they’re mere wage earniergs.

Nothing wrong playing big and generous, once in a while a least for it comes with dividends. For instance, it makes you feel you’re also a man of significanse, Yeah, it feels good to buy, since you’re never quite happy with your self during all those accasions you’re forced to dash to the toilet even when your bladder is not full, when ever it’s time for sometime at the table to pour a round.

When you pour a round like other real men, you suddenly become a most intelligent person at your table. Tablemates who’ve been turning to each other to start a topic of their own whenever you lifted your mouth to say something, now become very attentive to whatever crap you utter.If you come up with some joke everybody roars into laughter, even before you’ve delivered the punch line-tha’ts the power of a major round you feel so good now that you’ve to marshal a lot of effort to stop youself from throwing yet another round at your table of six, the sting, err, sorry ---------- the frugal kande eater that you are!

Pouring beers to all and sundry whenever you can is also some sort of an insurance plan. How? Well, it so happens you’re the type who is only guaranteed of something akin-to real cash just 12 times a year (yeah, there are only twelve month –ends,sadly).
Now, on these rare days that you’ve the money, you consider it wise to invest’ in fellows who, hope –fully ill in future feel indebted and buy you one or two whenever they bump into you at the pub as you take leave after one miserable bottle.

Well, to be fair to yourself, you at times give away a drink for the sake of giving.
For instance, you’ve a soft spot for men and women of the performing arts-you hesr they are called celebs –and these are the fellows you willingly give a drink without the prayer or expectation that they’ll one day reciprocate. In any case, you don’t believe in miracles.
Well, it could be you’ve a guilty subconsious, since like over ninety percent of other Wabongo, you enjoy the works of artistes mostly for free and, once in a while, for a pittance.
It’s for this love for artistes that, when this other musician “friend of yours, comes to your table to say hi, you tell him to have a drink on you.

“I appreciate thank you so much you’re my number one friend and fan in Bongo, wallah! He says, Your music is great man!you tell him. Well it’s true the band he works for plays good music, mostly copyright stuff from the days of Salim Abdallah and Fundi Konde and you love it.
Thanks, papa” he says as he vanishes into his corner of the grocery” A few minutes later, jane (the barmaid) walks up to you and says: Mzee there’s that musician at the corner who says you have given himan offer, is it okay?Sure it’s okay”you say. Later on after you’ve taken three small Serengetis you tell yourself it’s time to leave for tomorrow is a working day. Besides, it’s going to 10pm and you need to get to the Lulu out-let before they close. So when Jane comes up ans asks if she should add you something you answer to the negative.

I’am about to leave now, let me have my bill, please” you say.After fine minutes or so, Jane hands you the bill. It must be a mistake, you tell youself, for the total reads sh. 12,500/=
Yeah! Something is certainly wrong, because your three Serengeti would have amounted to Sh. 4500. Add that to your “Idol’s beer (you know him as a Safari Lager man) and the billl should have come to around Shs5,800!
Hey, jane,”you bark, This can’t be my bill!”It’s you bill sir, she says Surely all these drinks? Your rant.Yes ------- you see you friend is accompained by two ladies, so besides his small Konyagi and club soda, the ladies took a Heineken each –that’s adds to Sh8,000, sir.

Om my! You tell yourself as you produce Sh25,000 and blutry: Okay take that fifteen thou and bring me my change quickly’ You are angry because you don’t know what the Luku girls is going to hink of you when a wholw mzee like you, given her sh2000 note and say “Give me Luku for Sh.1,500! Yoy’re asking, why not the whole sh2000 reader? Well, the answer is you’ll need the sh500 change for your fare to the office tomorrow.

NICE LITTLE PLACE WHOSE MANAGER CAN DO BETTER

Phones and cameras have lately become part of our lives but sometimes they leave us wailing like on this occasion at the Mansoon Restaurant in Zanzibar, A part from being a spendid location and a view to die for, this little restaurant located near the Forodhani, with all there is to offer, needs to curb thieving and tutor its uncaring managers make the place unfriendly, While on my recent tour of Zanzibar a friend led us to Forodhani to cool down. The restaurant looked like a rice spot to both relax and quech my thirst as I regained my strenght.

The customer service as wanting. My friend lost a camera, and on inquiring the did not even bother to listen to our complaint. This really irked me. Instead, she threatened to throw us out.
It was like a magic show where the camera disappeared and we kpt hoping it would show up but that was not to be. However with all our disappointments, we chose to sample their cocktails to help us think straight as we waited for some miracle to happen. The cocktails were actually nice and we almost forgot about the camera.

If you are crazy for cocktails as I am and end up in this restaurant some day,please watch your valuables, Athough I can assure you that the cocktails won’t disappoint you but on this occasion, I was a dissatified customer as I left the hotel.

DOMESTIC TOURISM STILL A DISTANT FANTASY

A lot of noise has been made about local touism with exoerts preaching to wananchi the value of such tours to ecomomy, Some people blame this on our culture, but others put it plainly, we don’t have the money “ we also don’t have a tradinitonal of sightseeing take my money and go all the way to a national park to see animals or some old buildings? No way why shouldn’t start building a house or even marry another wife? A friend of mine said, when he heard that I was going to Zanzibar to visit the stone Town and Beit el-Ajaib “the hosue of won-ders”.

He even tried to borrow some each from me because according to him only the loaded can afford to tour and that was why he thinks I had started behaving like mzungu, I wasn’t all surprised by his silly attitude for a true Mbongo taking a vacation means either visiting your ancestal village or your wife’s relatives.

But I was helbent onbeing a tourist in Bongo. Why should for eigners be the only to enjoy the beauty of this country. So I set off to Zanzibar, and for the first time, I must confess, the beauty was breath taking to say the least, Iam not going to tell about all those wonderful historical places on the spice Island because this would kill your endeavour to follow my path however, what I will not forget are the con men I met at the port my way back. Coming from the interior, I had never travelled with so many wazungus around me like this . I left by the first boat at 7am

As the ferrry sped off to the spice Island I soon learnt there was a kiosk at the back of the boat. How much is a soda” I asked the guy behind the counter. I was stunned to hear the price. I looked and it wans’t the right place to start complaining. The Asians and wazungus around were buying as if it cost peanuts. I went back to my seat feeling even more hungry than before.I think I mst have dozen off because the next thing I heard was the guy next to me saying “ we are almost docking. When I looked through the window, at a distance I could se the buildings with antique designs overlooking the harbour.

The moment I stepped of the boat I noticed the diffrence; the two sides of Bongo were not the same. I was shosked to see the old chai maharage buses were still in operation here.
These small cargo carries have been converted into passenger cabins. The driver entertains two people in the front cabin with the rest of the passengers and the conductor crammed into the back In zanzibar, I noticed that not only eating places were few but also the prices of food were exorbitant.

As a local tourist, I thought this wans’t fair I mean a bottle of soda as sh,1,000! I eventually got a place to break that fast at some astronomical prices. Then I found my way to the House of Wonderrs. The moment og glee was when I sat on Sultan Barghash’s throne next to his portrait for a moment I left like an emperor.

Surveying the traditional Swahili marine vessel, the Mtepe; I was saddened. The Mtepe was made of unique technology. Not a single iron nail was used. Where did we lose our grip on technology that even children’s toys have to be imported?

It was a pity that I had no guide to tell me all those fairy tales about those clean narrow lanes, However, my hunger led me to a place called CCM. What a sur-prised me was to find myself in a place similar to the pubs I had left in Dar, After a good meal I jumped into cab to the port. The timetable showed it was 10 minutes before the ferry left. Iwas desperate to get a ticket in time and that is when a bunch of ticket hawker surrounded me.

“the tickets are finished but we have some if at all you need to leave now” I asked for the price, but the black market price was almost double what I paid in the morning I decided to stubbornily to go to the offices. Guess what the windows of the places were still wide open with hardly any passenger what a narrow escape!

THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC ISSUE IN TANZANIA

The meaning of the Concept
The Socio-economic issues are those aspects which influence social and economic development of the given society. The key social and ecomonic problems in Tanzania for instance include the population ground, crime poor helaht services, migration, uneven rural and urban development and corruption. Currently the rate of socio-economic issues is taking is speed due to the development is science and technology.

It is a challenge toa country like Tanzania and other developing countries in the world to take up action so as to overcome such threatening phenomenon. Tanzania for instance has established certain organs so as to fight some the socio-economic issues. One of there institutions is PCB (Prevention Corruption Bureau) which deals with people who try to use public things for their own benefits. The following are the main socio-economic issues which prevail in Tanzania.

UNEMPLOYMENT
Before knowing the meaning of unemployment, it is better to know first the meaning of employment. Employment is the situation where by the able bodied people get job opportunities. Employment can be official employment or self employment in different activities. One can employed in activities such as in agriculture, mining and trade so as to his/her basic needs.

From this concept, one can trace unemployment as the situation where by the able bodied and mentally fit people in a community lack job opportunities to do in order to run their daily life. The rate unemployment in Tanzania is observed by looking the number of people who are able bodied and mentally fit lacked job opportunities. When rate of unemployment is high, it indicates that there are few chances people to be employed or there is a tendency of people to select jobs example in Tanzania most of youth prefer color job, and to work urban located jobs in towns and cities that in rural areas. This has cause number of people to lack job opportunities, and hence uncemployed

Causes of Unemployment in Tanzania

Rapid penetration of modern technology in both public and private sectors. The uses of machines like computers have replaced manual work in different public and private sectors. Works which could be done using hands are done by machines. This decreases the even in European countries such as in England. Manual works were done by machines instead of using hands. Currently, Tanzania is being affected by imported technology such as machines and computers. These have replaced manual works hence low demand of workers.

Overpopulation is the situation where by the number of people in a given area excees the resources available. It is another reason for unemployment. In most countries employment opportunities are not increasing at the rate of increase of labour supply. For example high population causes the shortage of natural resources such as land where people can employ themselves various activities like the agricultural activities. Also overpopulation causes shortage of official employment opportunities which int turn causes people to remain unemployed.

Privatization of public sector and enterprises is another reason for the rate of unemployment is developing countries like Tanzania. Privatization means the process of putting public sector or enterprises into the hands of private individuals. In many countries privatization is done for the aim of transferring technology to their countries. Privatization involves people within the countries and from abroad. Privatization has brought both positive and negative impacts in the society.

One of the advantages is the importation of new technology which has reduced the load to the government.all in all privatization has been a major problem in terms of employment. Those who are given a sector to run employ labour force from their countries and reduce the numbers of workers depending on their needs. This has been a problem in Tanzania whereby most people loose their jobs. For instance when TANESCO was privatized most Tanzania workers lost their jobs and positions.

Overemphasizes on the laterally sector training for white collar jobs white collar jobs can be stated as the official works. Tanzania education is mostly designed for preparing youth for white collar jobs. It does not prepare them for being employed themselves in different activities such as agriculture and fishing. This kind of training; directs its effort on preparing people who could perform official works for the government as being teacher clerk a doctor or a manager of a certain company.

To overcome this problem, the government should intergreate education with work in order to make people know that manual works as are to be performed by the people who are educated. Different projects such as cultivation animal keeping fishing, and bee-keeping should encouraged.this will expose a learner in a real situation and remove ideas of depending on official works, Keynesian theory of income and employment tries to highlight the unemployment can occur due to the lack of effective demand. If effective demand is less than production of goods and services, then it will fall and results into unemployment.

Capital is another aspects that results into unemployment in a countrylike Tanzania. Capital can be referred to as wealth which is used produce more wealth or starting a business. Capital one be categorized into financial capital, human capital social capital and fixed capital which my include materials used for production such as house machines and goods used in production. All in all Tanzania is faced with scarcity of capital. This situation has coused Tanzania not to establish more factories and other investment in order to accommodate people in terms of employment.

Some of people have no education and qualifications to be employed in different sectors especially whose which need high knowledge and skills for example teaching, engimeering, and being a doctor need some special skills to perform effectively, Health is the complete physical, mental and social well being. There are several health problems which can cause a person not to be employed in a ceratin sector. For example the state of being affected by HIV/AIDS can cause a person to be rejected to be given a job opportunity, ceipples and other disable people my loose some certain jobs bacause of nature of their physical fitness. For instance it may become impossible employ a blid person or a cripple to supervise the heavy engineer orks like the construction of bridges and building tall houses.

MULTIPARTISIM SYSTEAM.

It is the situation where by a country has more than one political party. In Tanzania multipartism was introduced in 1992 as the process of bring true democracy in the state. Multiparty system has been regarded as the aspect of democracy because of the following reasons.

(i) It involves many people from the grassroots on decision making. Also there is a freedom of exercising power in politivs such as joining political which is seemed to have good policies to person censuses.

(ii) It increases government accountability to the people. This is because if the government in power abuses its responsibilities it can be critized by opposition parties and on next election can be dropped down. Fearing this situation, people in the government have to be accountable so that on text session they can remain as a ruling government.
(iii) It encourages the maintenaces of human rights such as freedom of speech press, association and movements. It discourages any kind of dictatorship.


Parliamentary System
It iis the situation where by there is no strict separation of power, instead there is the great interrelationship among organs of the government. The legislature is the source of authority to the executive. The executive is answerable to the legislature for support ot its policies. This can be notified in Tanzania parliamentary session where by the ministers of different ministries become responsible in answering the questions and clarifying ideas from the members of parliaments.

In case of dissatifaction, the legislature can remove the excutive from power by casting the vote of no confidence. The parliamentary system of democracy must operate under multipatism hence to make the government in power to be accountable.

Free and Fair Election
Free and fair election as the two terms can be stated in different manners depending on the views of candidates and voters. Candidates have their own principles of evaluating wheter the election is free and fair or not. Even voters have their own guidelines of assessing free and fairness of election. Every one will have different principles of evaluating wheter the election was free and fair

All in all free and fair election can be stated as the situation of where by choosing of leaders is done democtratically. Through free and fair election people go to the polling station to choose the leaders they want. These include the president the member of parliaments (MPs) councilors and others in a democratic state.

Free fair election must be:

(i) Competitive for holding different political position such as presidential position

(ii) Periodic for a political leader’s authorities. For example in Tanzania a president stays in power for duration of five years. After a session of five years, a general election is held again

The meaning of the concept

The two words science and technology are much used in he world in part, there is popularity of the two words even in day to day, may person do prefer to say that, “ we are in the world of science and technology” saying is absolutely true. But the truth should reeached by knowledge or undertanding the meaning of the two concepts, it much obvious true that many people do use these words without known its meaning.

Pratically science and technology consist of the deliberate process using different tools and machines like train. Airplane jets, ships, and marine are the good examples of science and technology.

By definition the word science can simply be defined as system coordinate and organized body of knowledge derived from perceived as the process that involving the extract of knowledge and about something through experiment and testing of the facts in area, like laboratory.

Through the process of testing and esperimentation one can theories and laws that govern materials discovered. For example, sir Network tested and made experimentation on the gravitational force formulated the idea that always bodies are falling down; there must reason behind. He deliberately underwent experiment and he discover that the Earth has forces, which attract every body to the center, that’s every thing tends to fall fown. Such experimentation, testing observation are known as scientific methods of inquiry.

By definition scientific mehtods refer to the procedure by scientists follow when attempting to learn about the world and when to discover something. Normally scientific methods include problem solving techniques such as identification on the problem, collection of or facts, formulating the hypothesis, analyzing of the facts and drawing conclusion. Some of such scientific methods and experiments suggested to be conducted in special places such as laboratories and areas.

By difinition the word technology refers to the use of scientific findigs or knowledge to make things. It is the application of the body of knowledge which is generated from the understanding of science. In technology a person uses the scientific knowledge and skills to generate things.

For example one can use difference principles, knowledge and skills that are scientific on making devices and tools like radio, television, vehicles, computer and many othe things. With knowledge or skills one discovery of x-rays had made man to develop technology of x-ray tube which is very useful in treating cancer.

Alternative defition of Technology can be stated as the branch of knowledge dealing with scientific and industrial methods and their practical use of industry and machine the facilitate work. Shortly; technology is the machinery or methods based on science.

Generally, science and Technology collectively can be defined as the discovery of scientific knowledge and their application on the process of boosting material and making other new in order to support the life of human being. Science is the software and technology is the hardware, and therefore science and technology are two inseparable words.

THE MEANING OF THE CONCEPT OF DEMOCRATIC PROCESS

Many people in the qorld have been seeking freedom of perfom different things are economic, plotical or social. These things has been found individually or in group. Freedom and liberty have been found from the family level up to the country and world wide. There different organizations which have been formulated to defend promote freedom of people fr example UNO,and AMNEST.

The concept of democracy will be more understood to people if traces the orign of democracy will be more understood to people grasp well the meaning and other concepts related to democracy.

The origin of democracy
Democracy come from the Ancient. Greece where by people exercise power directly to the government. They were making cecision opinion while fully participating in the government. The word democracy therefore originates from two Greek words which are “Demos” “Kratos” Demos” means people, and “Kratos” means power.

Democracy therefore can be defined as the power of the people the hands of people.logigically it is not a compelte meaning because can formulate several answers. However other scholars have attempted define the word democracy as follwos: Abraham Lincon define democracy as the government of the people, for the people and by people. Form this definition we can extract three concepts as follows:

“of the people” means that the people are sovereign and that government derives all its powers and authority from the hards of people those who are chosen by the people to be representatives in government have given power by being elected.

For the people” means that the government is there to serve interest of the people. From this concept, we see the government providing all social economic, political and cultural services. Government has improved transport networks, health centers such hospitals and educational services by adopting different policies such secondary education Program SEDP and Primary Education Program PEDP

“By the people”means the system of the government, leadership and supreme power belong to the people. It is the system of governance where by people form nucles base all decisions and power.

From these concepts we can say that in a democratic state people give their consent to the representatives to rule on behalf of them. Ti means that people choose their representatives who can from the government and rule one behalf of them. i.e indirect democracy.

Aspects of Democracy
The National Constitution
A constitution is the set of rules and principles that govern the country it is a direction through which country has to be direct. It is the mother of laws. It means that all rules and principles formulated to nay institution or organization and any place where people live are derived from the constitution. Also the constitution can be regarded as the basic law of the country. A good constirution must spell the following:

i. Tile, functions, power of head of the state, the composition of the legislature and how the members are chosen.
ii. The composition and duties of th legislature
iii. The composition and the function of the judiciary for example, the connstitution of Tanzania shows that the judiciary has the high court, special courts, residential magistrate courts, district courts, primary courts and tribunals
iv. The rights and duties of the citizen. In the constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania human rights are also observed.

GREED IS THE MOTHER OF ALL EVILS.

The world is full of greedy people and as we are told the capitalist system is actually greed driven, with guys who go by pretty names such as investors, CESs and entrepreneurs sitting at the helm. In their new jargon of profit maximization, these guys keep investing ways of how to milk you.

When you read what I call the capitalist manifesto, the wealth of nations by Adam smith you will know what I mean. Actually I read somewhere recently that the system is in crisis. The world is facing a recession it has never seen before. Why because some guys got too greedy and gobbled up even the capital itself! So down came tumbling the capitalist giants of ages, Enron, the Lehman brothers, united airlines the list goes on.

Strange as it maybe, no one wants to be called greedy; if you don’t believe me just try telling your boss he or she is being greedy and ought to be thinking of others. Just be very polite and try this line “mheshimiwa bwana mkubwa boss don’t you think the company is being a bit greedy that most of the profits are not used to increase salaries? The most probable outcome is that you will be fired immediately.

I am telling you from my own experience. I tried to suggest such a thing to my boss and the next due to incompetence! See what I mean? Greedy people strongly discourage greed. If your boss sees it in you, I am sorry that will definitely mark the end the road. Well I am tired of sitting and watching, I am already doing something about it. You must have heard of Bernard Madoff that American who was jailed recently in the USA for swindling billions of dollars form innocent investors. The exciting part of his story is that those billions he stole are yet to be recovered.
My wild guess is that the money might be holed up somewhere in Bongo. Yes, Bongo. Where else in the world would you think that money would be. This place is immune to financial scandals. The EPAs, Richmonds, Merentas are not implicating enough to land anyone in jail. So if the FBI is willing to give out a cut I would be very willing to help them locate the cash. Just a hint, I know where o look bwana, the elections are just around the corner and Bongo politicians will be splashing out cash like leaves. Of course, this is a well kept secret so don’t waste your time tying to convince me to tell you. To make sure nobody comes after me after the FBI are gone, I have written a letter to the newly appointed attorney General Bwana Warema. Here is an excerpt.

Dear Mr. AG, I hope that you are not sick. You know hat I mean swine flu is spreading around like a plague, or maybe it is a plague who knows?. You must have fumigated that office before you started your term. Well, I don’t have first hand evidence whether you did it or not. Its no secret the last boss wasn’t very comfortable init. Thank you for warning people who like branding other wicked names such as ‘Fisadi’ without having any proof. I am about to work with the FBI to help locate the Madoff billions in Bongo. I believe I will be successful and therefore I will instantly become a Bongo shillings trillionair.

Mr. AG as you know, Bongo paparazzi will immediately christen me a Fisadi the moment they find out my new status. I totally agree when you say they should be using their pens to inform the public and not condemning people. my idea, brother Obama should lease the Guantanamo bay to us instead of shutting it down. This would make a wonderful home for these noisy fellows who are currently polluting our media with this ‘Fisadi’ witch hunt. I tell you this way we shall all be safe from the pressure Mr. Mwanyika had to endure for the last couple of years.

PRESCHOOL THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES.

It’s till debatable whether any of it is necessary. But apparently Pre School is becoming more popular that ever. In most countries, it used to be a luxury only rich families could afford. However it’s become a common necessity. And all over the world debate on whether or not it’s necessary to send one’s child to nursery school before kindergarten still rages. Yet though still inconclusive, educationists and child psychologists seem to have at least agreed on the advantages disadvantages of preschool.

Advantages
Educational psychologists say preschoolers tend to be more prepared emotionally for kindergarten than children who learn from home. They are backed by primary school teachers who contend that in first grade a child who went through preschool tends to perform better than one who didn’t. This is because preschooler grow accustomed to a certain level of the formal education system. It is also said that preschool gives children learning opportunities and facilities they rarely get at home. For instance in an average family it is rare to find children around the age of five taught music arts crafts dramatic play storytelling or a second language at home.

More so, children in preschool have the opportunity to socialize with other kids their age, an appealing advantage for parents who used a nanny or relative care when their children were younger. And for parents who work a nursery school is a reliable and safer shelter where their kids can spend the day learning and growing. The preschool environment gives parents the peace of mind while at work. For a stay at home mother, preschool gives her time to perform other key parental duties like taking care of younger children. In addition, some child development experts contend that pre school helps to gradually wean children away.

Disadvantages
However, they also argue that most early childhood programmes do not give kids the one on one attention that some may require to thrive, as they are designed to meet the need of children as a group and not as individuals. And there are health concerns as well: sometimes children in preschools play with and sit next to their sick age-mates, which exposes them to illnesses. This has led to the conclusion that young preschoolers tend to become ill more often than kids who stay at home or are cared for by friend and relatives. Besides, after spending anywhere from six to eight hours each day in preschool, children get tired when they get home. They only enough time to eat dinner, take a bath, and go to bed.

This causes patents to miss out on spending large amounts of quality time with their children .and the cost of a quality preschool programme for children can put a hole in parents bank accounts which is why some opt to leave their jobs to stay at home with their children. Nevertheless, whole the advantages and disadvantages of early childhood programmes are clear, it’s ultimately up to the patents to decide whether or not to send their children to preschool.

CORRUPTION IS THE ONLY WAY TO WIN ELECTIONS.

The party was holding preliminaries for the local government elections that will be here soon. Don’t ask me which party because there is only one in Bongo. I knew that one I manage to secure my candidature; automatically I would be the next mwenyekiti. The more I thought of it the more I got excited. I was soon dreaming of all the allowances during my tenure. Then the ‘poshos’ for the Mwenyekiti baraza. Just imagine the fines for wife beating, overflowing pit latrines, wandering domestic, and wandering domestic animals. I could see myself leaving poverty just weeks after the elections. Besides, I believe I have that patriotic character to serve Bongo and its people

But first I must get elected as the party candidate. To begin with I sought my beloved wife a.k.a mama watoto’s opinion. “I say mama nani; how do you find the idea of me becoming the next mheshimiwa of this area. I mean the old mwenyekiti should retire now, he has been there for as long as I can remember”
Mama Watoto stopped her knitting suddenly as I she had seen a ghost. She gave me a long stare, and then she asked mockingly, “una hela wewe? What has money got to do with this? I shot back of course of all the people she knew my resources were very limited. If I was to be elected as the next chairperson that would be my first legally recognized job since the disintegration the old East Africa community in 1977. You need money to convince people to vote for you,” my wife told me. “But that is corruption! People should vote on merit, au sio?” “It’s not corruption, it is trade. You give them kitu kidogo, they give you their votes. Nothing is free in Bongo.

At the kijiwe the chaps told me the same thing, money pesa ….. As I delved more into the issue. I discovered the days of ujamaa leaders who had only brains without money were over I mean those who were mwalimu’s blue eyed boy’s. However, even with ills associated with it I had to take this opportunity because I was increasingly becoming desperate and out of the million jobs JK promised this one offered the best remuneration of all. To raise the funds I was compelled to pawn the only sofa set we had to get the campaign rolling. A neighbour of mine volunteered to be my manager in my Endeavour to become the next chairperson
“Unlike the past elections for post, this time it promises to pay back handsomely; inalipa. Can you imagine that the wenyeviti will even have a six-figure salary?” my neighbour emphasized. Our campaign first hit a snag when ‘most of the would be voters never had party membership cards or because of carelessness they had lost them. This meant that if I wanted their vote I would have to by them new ones. Others just confessed that they weren’t interested in party politics but if I would find them membership cards, they would gladly vote for me as a friend; mwenzetu. I was shocked to discover that new cards were not only a winning weapon but also a lucrative trade around the party election seasons.

The district party secretary made it very clear that it was his time to harvest. The greet cards had become a very scarce commodity. Whoever wished to have them must help him with the ‘fare’ to the headquarters to get them. I paid the loot for the fare to the HQ but the delays dragged on for weeks. I later on discovered that the secretary had his own candidates in mind. We wouldn’t get enough cards to win. We cracked our heads and came up with a novel trick or printing our own cards and sharing the spoils with the party mwenyekiti, who would stamp and sign them for a fee each and magically they would become genuine

The trick worked superbly. I gave a card to any mwananchi who dared smile at me. On Election Day, I was buoyant that victory would be mine. The election process went on so smoothly. I wouldn’t wait to get the results. The election supervisor took his position at the prodium. I was surprised to hear my name being read first.” Usually winners aren’t the first to be mentioned,” I thought. May be this is a new arrangement. “He got one vote”

WOMEN STILL SIDELINE IN ECONOMIC DECISION.

GENDER equality contributes to economic growth, but economic growth does not always contribute to fender equality, says the United Nations World Survey on the Role of Women in Development launched Tuesday, a message well timed in the context of the current financial crisis. Women’s participation in the economic sector has been proven to underpin Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) such as poverty reduction child health and education. Still, “The lack of women’s access to financial resources, as well as their under presentation in institutions such as banks and ministries of finance, is striking, “says James Heintz, associate director of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Built upon recent statistics and academic research, the World Survey, published every five years by the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, focuses this year on “women’s control over economic resources and access to financial resources, including microfinance”. Data from 7- countries shows that women hold only 27 percent of positions classified as having “status, influence, power and decision-making authority” with regional variation of 31 percent in Latin America, and nine percent in the Middle East.

In the European Union, women ministries of the 27 member states were far more likely to hold portfolios relating to social affairs such as youth, health and education (26.7 percent), rather than the economy (17.7 percent). The marginalization of women from influential posts is hardly limited to developing regions. Almost held of the large companies in countries covered by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have no women on their boards, while only 23 percent have more than one woman.

While programmes of microfinance were well intended and relatively successful in the poorest countries, especially in Latin America and Asia, microfinance “has failed to meet the needs of women entrepreneurs in business growth and expansions”, the survey concluded. “The evaluation tells us that is simply not enough to give small amounts of money to women, and expect them to become equal players,” says Naila Kabber, lead author of the survey and a professorial fellow at the Institute of Development Studies in the United Kingdom.

“We need to open up access to the broader financial sector, and we need to put far more emphasis on financial services apart from credit, such as insurances, savings, assets and remittance transfers,” she added. Kebber explained that for microfinance to work properly, it needs to be embedded in a package of services that address the existing constrains faced by many women, such as child care support.


Another problem is the copy- the past mechanism that has been too often applied to microfinance, Kabber admitted. “What worked in a poor Asian country, may not work in West Africa. Where there is a long tradition of female entrepreneurship,” she noted. Control over economic resources also includes access to full to full employment and decent work, as “labour factor or production at the disposal of poor people around the world and the primary means through which they earn a living”, says the survey. Overall, women show increased levels of employment, but this increase has been mainly in the informal sector, which is generally insecure, poorly paid, and not covered by labour registration or social protection.

In the formal sector women’s wages have been reported to be 16.5 percent less than men’s. Kabeer asked for more research on the nature of constraints that keep women in inferior positions in the labour market, and therefore captive to sometimes unreliable husbands or discriminatory laws. Of particular concern is the unequal sharing of unpaid work between women and men, in both Northern and Southern countries, a situation that has not significantly improved and continues to constrain women’s employment choices and opportunities.

“The issue of unpaid responsibilities of women is one of the things that has really struck me, since even the wealthiest countries with a lot of gender- sensitive policies put in place, still seem to struggle with it,” Kabeer said. Besides labour, lack of access to land and property, another areas of gender inequality touched upon in the survey, is still considerable due to discriminatory inheritance practices and gender-biased land reform. In many African countries, for example, the wife loses her house and land when her husband dies.

The survey recommends that policy makers rethink their economic growth strategies and pay attention to women’s economic empowerment, especially in the current recession. Heintz underlined that although many of the macro-economic aspects of the current crisis do not appear to be gender-specific, the report does document ways in which macroeconomic changes have gender-specific impacts, and need a gender-specific. Most importantly, he said gender equality in finance and business must be viewed as not only a women’s rights issue, but an economic imperative.