AUGUST 18 PREVIEW

PAPER REVIEW

Kibaki’s little publicity stunt at the Mara takes in a lot of coverage this morning over at www.nationmedia.com and www.eastandard.net.

From a purely operational perspective; -- it’s a well done piece of work. Very slick work; -- worthy of a serious PR agency…complete with a 7-figure pay-check at the end of the day. Its implications, along with a few other factors is another issue altogether. You need to have a look at the headline story over at www.nationmedia.com [http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/457606/-/tjp8kr/-/index.html] and this link [http://aggregationke.blogspot.com/2008/08/information-new-opiate-of-masses.html] for a primer on what’s coming in Biz Lite.

Right; -- aside from checking out the headline at www.nationmedia.com, I would also recommend that you read the article on energy issues as well, especially this bit on how Kenya runs on a shoe-string when it comes to energy reserves.

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/457550/-/tjp7wk/-/index.html
www.eastandard.net has its front page saturated with coverage of the President’s visit to the Mara.

Not exactly important stuff; -- until the tourism dollars do a tag team combo with either agriculture or remittances and beat the dollar-shilling rate back in the shilling’s favor.

Showmanship’s all well and good; -- just as long as there’s something solid at the end.
It’s a bit like Jose Mourinho’s approach to being Chelsea’s manager.

Be arrogant. Taking charge of a has-been always helps in this regards since expectations are generally low, and they can be blown out of the water with ease.

Cause some chaos. A few dramatic antics on the sidelines is always useful. Like telling off a referee in a live camera interview for example.

Make a few foes [Sir Alex Ferguson anyone]; -- but by God, deliver the silverware over at Stamford bridge!!!

Which, unfortunately for Manchester United fans [that includes you too Maina]; -- he did do.
See; -- the two can exist; -- Kenyan politicians are yet to master that art however.

www.bdafrica.com on the other hand has a lot of stuff you want to get your hands dirty in.
That includes the regulator’s view on Kenya’s current power supply situation; -- which I plainly disagree with. You cannot rationally call a country that’s ‘just’ meeting its power needs okay; -- it’s like saying it’s okay to operate with no savings.

Sure its fine; -- until the crap hits the fan; -- then you’re really in funk.

Don’t take my word for it though; -- read it here; --

http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9418&Itemid=5810

Care to invest in real estate?

You’ll need to look at a character called a speculator; -- and their effect on the market here; -- http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9417&Itemid=5810

The Business Life section has something on the work-life balance; -- aimed especially at women. I recommend this. Strongly.

http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9400&Itemid=5843

Kenya Re’s working with a nasty brand reputation. When an insurer tells you he’s only giving them premiums because the law says he has to…that’s as big a warning sign on confidence as putting up a huge neon “SHOOT ME!!” sign on your chest.

Under Eunice Mbogo though, things are slowly coming round though. Profits have been growing and the firm’s been pulling out of low-return asset classes and piling into those with higher risk-return profiles with some aplomb. Investment income was up 91% at half year.

If its sorted out the confidence issues is another issue altogether though.

But; -- confidence aside, it is looking at spinning off into other new business areas aside from just growing via breaking into new geographical markets. One of the product markets Eunice Mbogo and her team is looking at is Agriculture Re-insurance.

Say for example, you’re a wheat farmer and based on past yields, you know you can make say, 1.2 million this year from your yields. Then assume that the weather decides to really PMS…and your yields are cut down to say 600 k. The insurance company steps in and compensates you for the shortfall.

That’s one concept of how this works; -- albeit a simplistic one. More details on that foray from Kenya Re can be found here.

http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9410&Itemid=5812

BIZ LITE

Let’s delve into some philosophy for this morning shall we?

Relax, it’s nothing difficult or mind-bending like Plato’s The Republic. Lovely tome that; -- if you can get around the ancient English diction.

Ahem, moving along swiftly then; -- I’m willing to bet that 90% of the people reading this have never heard of a certain South African called Jonathan Rubald Ruel.

I’m also willing to lay money on the notion that if I add Tolkien to the end of that statement; -- the recognition rate will rise by tiny fraction; -- say 10 percentage points.

So it’s more or less safe; -- from the above theory --; to assume [with sound reasons, since Kenya’s hardly a reading nation…as much as it is a drinking nation]; -- that if I use an example of how to use information to ones advantage from the fore-mentioned author of the Lord of the Rings; -- I’d have to toss in a few footnotes.

The publicity stunts from politicians, who provide the bulk of news in this our country; -- very well managed stunts I may add --; are now starting to pile up.

President Kibaki in the Maasai Mara with the family’s a great publicity stunt. Frankly; -- it’s a major turn in public engagement for the man.

The animals should benefit from the added publicity in the long run, since some of us will be thinking of taking our other halves [or weekend clandes for that matter, Kenyan being what it is] out for a little holiday...and we build the industry along the way.

The politicians benefit; -- Kibaki looks like he’s actually working.

Najib Balala conveniently provided a reminder of what Nyayo-era sycophancy was really like with that “Tourist number one’ statement in reference to the Head of State.

That’s one foot-in-mouth faux pas which his handlers need to tell him to avoid.

And at the end of the day; -- well, Kenya looks like a democracy that’s had a bad cold [which cost us something in the region of 1 000 lives and a couple hundred billion shillings], but we’re now getting round to actually working, you know, we’re recovering!!

Oh; -- plus for media hacks like my competitors over at KTN and the Standard; -- you get a scoop, lots of face time to build brands and do things that you can list on your CV with pride. They worked for it though; -- don’t ever discount that --; so they duly deserve the accolades that come with it.

You see, the major irony here is that at the end of the day; -- we’re being bombarded with information from every angle…and how many of us actually are sitting down and taking that information apart, asking what the agenda behind all that data is?

Don’t refer to the media in this argument…it’s about you…not professionals like me.

There’s one rather left-of-field argument about adversity in philosophical arguments; -- the Church needs the devil to have something to do.

Adversity; -- so the argument goes --; is the most, brutal, Darwinian school humanity has. Put people in a pinch and you’d be amazed how fast they learn.

In World War 2 for example; -- computers were used to determine how to lob artillery rounds so that the Brits could hammer as many Germans as they could in the most efficient way possible.

Today; -- I’ve got more processing power in my little monster of a computer at home; -- and I’m using it to play the devil’s advocate on my news sources and professionals like myself.

Information’s something you use to shape opinions and ideas in your favor. You have to feed it in with a plan; -- not just the entire shebang at one go.

Case in point; -- many people would recognize the name Tolkien, and immediately identify it with the Lord of the Rings. But if I identify him with his full set of names, sans his surname…your line of thought is derailed.

That’s feeding in the picture I want you to see; -- the PM and the President in a set of sharply co-ordinated announcements about what needs to be done at the port as a case in point.

But 7 days on; -- what’s really changed at the port? Is cargo moving any faster? Hell, we don’t even have an MD yet!!!

Here’s another case in point; -- leaks; -- supposed or actually orchestrated [look at how ZANU-PF and MDC are using this for leverage in their power-sharing talks], are a significant source for data as far as politics is concerned.

Aside from what politicians would say each time a microphone would pop up in front of them; -- we now have a 3rd dimension to the manner in which data is delivered to the public; -- publicity.

Simple, orchestrated publicity; -- which dovetails neatly into the ultra-aggressive, fiercely competitive world that’s news media.

What all this adds up to is a situation in which the public is being bombarded with data; -- but its only being done from one perspective; -- that of the politician from whence this data comes. More often than not; -- there’s very little digging behind the scenes. Partly to blame are what another profesional in this business calls "Facebook journalists."

The media will mediate, or relay if you prefer, this data to you….but that’s pretty much it.

Professionals in this business are fierce competitors; -- I’ll be the first to admit that I will gladly hand over a story to a fellow professional after I’ve broken it to you…in which case, the battle honors go to me and my team…the ‘fellow professional’ is just getting the left-over bits.

So; -- much as we’re bound by certain rules and moral codes which empower us to snoop around on your behalf, sometimes placing our lives on the line, it’s also my job to tell you that you need to consume the data I give you with moderation, and in this case; -- a lot of thought.

It’s a bit like Mercedes selling you that million-dollar Mercedes-McLaren SLR [with a very bland rear end, but one sexy-sounding engine], and then having its salesman tell you, “By the way, please note, if you have no experience driving at speeds in excess of 200 kmh, you may die in this moving sculpture of carbon fiber and leather so fine it must be a sin to have.”

So read everything political with a pinch of salt, an open mind, and the attitude of the devil's advocate .

Go beyond the glossy headlines and check if there’s a tangible result in your wallet.

Politics is a thankless, high-stakes job with a lot of demands [most of them pointless], in which you end up with a lousy reputation in 99% of the time.

So go on; -- play the devil’s advocate.

Trust me…it’s a lot of fun poking holes into what’s supposedly the truth…and its worth every second.