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George M. Mucee

In last many months of last year and the better part of this year so far, all media in Kenya has been awash with screaming headlines about corruption. Right from the National Youth service saga, Eurobond money, police vetting and the now trending Supreme Court judge. In fact, there was one that almost got missed: that Kenya has for the record time remained in the list of one of the most corrupt countries in the world at position 139 out of 168 countries featured in the Transparency International (TI) report 2015.
I have always wondered, if indeed as a country, we are as corrupt as always spoken about and always prayed it is not true. However, all fundamentals show that indeed we are corrupt…in fact very corrupt! The TI report is indeed damning not only for Kenya but many others. According to this report…Sixty-eight per cent of countries worldwide have a serious corruption problem. Half of the G20 are among them. Not one single country, anywhere in the world, is corruption-free… the report further says that poor countries like Kenya and a couple others lose USD 1 Trillion every year to corruption!
The allegations of corruption and bribery against the Supreme Court judge, the Hon. Justice Tonui, now being labeled the supreme corruption by some sections of the press, is mind boggling. I must say from the onset that this is a matter under investigation and we are yet to ascertain the truth about this entire saga. The figures being mentioned, 2 Million USD or about Kshs. 200 Million makes one shake his head in disbelief. Arguing from a hypothetical position…if indeed such money was given to the judge by the said governor then this defies logic and basic tenets of sound financial management. A governor in Kenya earns between 1 Million to 2 million at most (in fact it is much less). It would therefore not make any sense that one can invest Kshs. 200 Million to earn at most Kshs. 120! That in business is a total loss….well, you may say it is not about the money but then you will have to tell me it is about what?
In fact my argument is this is about money and more money….corruption as its core. The truth is, most of those in authority, especially those in county governorship, are on a looting spree. If one can pay a bribe of such magnitude, then is obvious that they will make much more thorough their ‘investment’. We have seen characters that were nondescripts before being elected into offices now living like real new rich…of course all this is abetted, encouraged and even celebrated by the citizens who are actually the victims. As long as the thief shares some crumbs with them…then that is ‘our man….our thief indeed’
I can’t fathom how such state of affairs continues unabated. In this country, citizens suffering from cancer are dying slowly, surely and painfully because the radiology machines at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) are either too few, broken down or non-existent. People are on the waiting for almost 0ne year to get chemotherapy! Surely that is hell on earth….and that is while the elite take pricey nyama choma in high end places and washing it away with the most expensive wine and champagne! This cannot be normal…something is terribly amiss because we all seem to have accepted the system and just trying to find a place to fit to have our bite at the cherry if we are lucky.
I think the day we get angry enough about this corruption is the day we will liberate ourselves. 2015 may have signaled something to that end is what the chair of Transparency international, Jose Ugaz said is true…. “The 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index clearly shows that corruption remains a blight around the world. But 2015 was also a year when people again took to the streets to protest corruption. People across the globe sent a strong signal to those in power: it is time to tackle grand corruption”

I Have received several complains about people’s application showing expired after they have completed the process and even paid. I Have spoken to the folks at Visa Section, Immigration Headquarters and they have confirmed it’s a TECHNICAL HITCH. If you face that problem please call the number on the website and ask for the visa section and you provide your reference number upon which they will reverse the application to either in progress or approved or rejected as the case may be.

All the best guys and sorry for the problem.

George

We have been treated to series of scandals upon scandals on corruption.  It really shocks me that this is happening. I was drafting my thoughts on the state of affairs but came accross a nicely done article on the same by Senior Counsel Ahmednassir Abdullahi which I am happy to share below. I agree almost 90% with his thoughts if not more.

Please check the article from the link below:

http://mobile.nation.co.ke/blogs/Why-efforts-to-clean-up-the-Judiciary-are-always-going-to-fail/-/1949942/3059794/-/format/xhtml/-/13i1v37z/-/index.html

Enjoy

I have been privileged to address a few forums on mobility into Africa well attended by Human Resource professionals and global mobility support teams. The question of how easy or difficult it is to deploy resources into Africa has always featured and I must say there is no instant coffee answer to that. In my most recent such forum in Edinburg Scotland in November last year, I learnt a lot from my colleagues overseeing South and West Africa Immigration practices.
Although there are a lot of similarities across Africa on how immigration is practiced, there are a few distinct areas worth mentioning. If for instance you are looking at deploying a resource in Africa quickly and you have a choice of say Kenya and Nigeria or Ghana then from what I learnt in that conference, Kenya would be the country to consider because you can easily get a short-term work authorization for up to six months as you decide on what to do next…. Should you decide to settle such expat in Kenya long term, you can also change his status to long term while still in country. This is not the status in either Ghana or Nigeria. If on the other hand, you are looking for certainty in terms of acquiring the immigration status for such a resource, then Ghana and Nigeria are the places to consider because in both countries, there is certainty on timelines once you apply. The Kenyan system, although the service charter for Kenya Immigration sets such timelines, in practice there is no certainty partly due to factors beyond the department of Immigration.
On the issue of the percentage of the number of expatriates a company can hire, again there is a difference in how Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria would do it. The Kenya Immigration laws and policies do not set a quota system for any industry. The Kenyanization policy only says that it is the position of the Kenyan government that the economy should be run by locals and that every application for a work permit must be justified on individual case. This is both good and bad. Good in the sense that as long as you can justify with requisite documentations then you will get a work permit for your expatriates. It is bad in the sense that even in cases where it is very obvious that an expatriate is required, you still have to justify. On the other hand both Nigeria and Ghana have quotas for some sectors of the economy especially Oil and Gas. This is also good and bad. Good to the extent that once you have your quota allocated then it is almost certain that you will get the desired work permits within your quota. Conversely, should you need more expats than your quota, you will have to hold your horses until such a time that you have to renegotiate your quota and convince the authorities on the same.
There are many such areas where immigration practice in East Africa differs with Immigration practice in West Africa but on the overall there are a lot of commonalities in both cases. For instance same-sex partners are not recognized as so in either jurisdiction. Gay couples whether in Kenya, Nigeria or Ghana cannot apply for say dependent pass. So if you are deploying expats, you may want to look into that. One last thing I also learnt is that it is not clear how to treat polygamous deploying into these jurisdictions. As you would know, most African cultures and Islam as a religion allows for polygamous marriage…Immigration laws though do not seem to anticipate that a polygamous man being deployed as an expatriate may travel with his three or four wives! I have asked my folks at Kenya Immigration what would happen if such a man applies for dependent passes for his three wives! They all looked at me with amazement and obviously with no clear position in law…this is similar to Nigeria and Ghana and many other jurisdictions as well….anyway, now you have some basic insights into some differences and similarities in Immigration practice in West and East Africa. Watch out for more soon….bye

The election of President John Magufuli into office in Tanzania has really caused a lot of excitement in the region. His no nonsense approach to issues of governance and service delivery to the public has endeared him to the masses not only in Tanzania but also in other countries in the region… I suspect the hash tag ‘what would Magufuli do’ was actually coined in Kenya! His style of leadership is still causing ripples across the world with many articles and opinions in diverse media coming up all over…some in praise and others castigating him.

Whereas I know almost every sector of the Tanzanian public service is keen to keep up with the speed, in this article I wish to address myself to what the ongoing Immigration crack down means to corporates doing business in Tanzania. It is important from the onset to separate facts from fiction. Tanzania is not expelling foreigners, the Immigration authorities are enforcing the law by apprehending those in the country unlawfully. It is common practice world over for Immigration authorities to ensure that non citizens residing in their countries do so within the law. Unfortunately, the issue of illegal immigration is as old as the world and can not just be wished away. That said, let us then ask ourselves what does this mean to companies operating in Tanzania? Well my simple answer is that it will not be business as usual. It will be tougher to deploy foreign workers into Tanzania because as we speak the issuance of short term work authorization commonly referred to as Conducting a Temporary Assignment’(CTA)’ has been stopped. This is not because the president just ordered but because that is the Law! So all the president has ordered is the strict enforcement of the law.

In every global conference I have attended and made presentation on the practice of Immigration in Africa and Kenya in particular, I have been asked the question about the mixed signals immigration authorities send when it comes to enforcement and my answer has always been that if you want to be always right and sure that the status you have is the correct one, always stick to the law as written even though as practiced may be slightly different. on the Tanzanian CTA issue, I have consulted a friend of Mine, Davis Nyaga, who is both a qualified lawyer and experienced Immigration professional and he tells me that the Tanzania Immigration Law does not actually provide for a CTA!

All foreign workers are required to apply for work applicable residence permits in Tanzania to be able to work.

If this is the case then, it will now follow that the speed of deploying expatriates to Tanzania will be affected. Businesses will have to rethink their mobility plans and strategize on how to go about this in addition to hiring more locals who are qualified to do such jobs. This coming at the beginning of he year will cause a lot of headache to multinationals with operations in Tanzania but laws are laws. I believe with proper guidance from professional Immigration service providers with understanding of Tanzania Immigration practice, such companies will eventually make some headways…..what would Magufuli do….. Well, I am not sure!

As the year 2016 makes its baby steps, my mind has been wandering and wondering a lot about a few fundamental issues in life. Many a times when I read various articles or pieces of writings, be they news items or just individual opinions on blogs, I am left wondering which way is the best way living in this world? As a Christian, I must admit that the one book in the Bible that I never tire of reading and rereading is Ecclesiastes. Those of you that have read this book in the Bible will most likely agree that it is thought a provoking piece that is very philosophical….at times it even makes me doubt the meaning of Christianity….makes me want to resign to destiny but again therein lies the very reason I still believe.
I know different scholars, philosophers, theologians, lawyers….well and all of us anyway, have defined life-based on various bases…religion, ethics, morality, law, culture…and so forth. This year, as early as it is, I am trying to engage my mind on understanding life. A lot of the time, we see life from our own lenses and stand points. Within Christianity itself, there are major differences…even more of sibling rivalry if you like. Followers of certain denominations or churches feel more ‘saved’ and heavenly that others! In fact crusaders and preachers are more focused on getting more followers from other churches rather than from the streets or ‘sinful’ places….like brothels, strip clubs or those places ‘za ajabu’ ( ratchety places). On a wider scale, some religions feel more heaven-bound than the others…some races superior than others just as some tribes feel more forward-looking than others. I remember growing in a situation where among the Ameru community some sub-tribes were looked down by others….unfortunately or fortunately as it turned out for me, I happen to come from the sub tribe considered the least among the Ameru sub tribes…never mind or feel pity on me because this never put me down at any given time. I never found the need to change my tongue as many of my tribes men did while in the company of our colleagues from the ‘superior’ sub tribes. I always stuck with my funny dialect as it sounded….wasn’t easy though!
Sorry I digress from my main topic… about issues of morality, ethics, religion, law…etc. The thing is in my close to 40 years on this earth, I have met people who are very religious yet very corrupt, arrogant and as bad as bad can be. Still on this earth I have met folks who don’t believe in a God or god but the nicest fellows ever. Well, it is also true that I have met very many religious and decent people who take their religious orientation seriously… I have also met many folks who don’t believe in any religious and sure enough as evil and terrible people to be around as hell.
This has led me to some basic conclusion: good or bad people cut across all religions, ethical bases as well as races, class, tribes….or any manner of dichotomy you can imagine of… well this year, whatever your creed, religion, race, gender… I believe you can purpose to do good….just being a little more mindful of the next person and with that, the world will be a better place for all of us. I really don’t care what you believe in but if that which you believe in makes trouble for another person, then it cannot be a good thing you are doing. I want to use the Mandera incidence where some Muslims stood against evil to protect innocent non-Muslims ( I don’t know whether everybody who was not Muslim was a Christian in that bus) from being massacred in cold blood by the al-shabaab attackers. I can bet at that time whether one was a pastor or even the pope, the main thing was survival and lifesaving….which was achieved. Whether the Muslims were following their religious tenets or morality the bottom line is that they did a good thing and made the world better.
As a country, Kenya, if we took a moment to reflect on the impact of our actions to the rest of the society, then we can have fewer incidences of corruption cases, theft of public resources among other evils bedeviling our society. I am imaging in that Mandera bus there must be one person who raised the first voice to say that everybody in the bus was a Muslim then others followed….in our own small ways we can surely change the world and turn the tide.
Happy New Year 2016 and may you choose to do good this year.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 16,000 times in 2015. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 6 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.