Once something becomes a Fixed Cost in your household -- housing, car, kids' activities -- it is nearly impossible to cut back on
This is why I'm so relaxed about buying a random dinner but very careful about adding new Fixed Costs, which must earn their way into our spending
I studied architectural design in Cameroon and every architect they taught me was European. Every movement, every theory, every name on the required reading list. The Great Mosque of Djenné, the Moorish arch, Great Zimbabwe never appeared on any syllabus.
Now I am studying management and every economist is Western. George Ayittey, a Ghanaian who built an entire economic framework for African development, has never appeared in a single lecture. Dambisa Moyo, a Zambian economist who argued that Western aid is destroying African economies, same.
Two disciplines. Not one African name in the required reading.
This is not only an architecture problem. It is medicine, law, economics, history. Every field is taught through a foreign lens and when a student tries to think beyond it they are disciplined for it.
We are not behind because we lack knowledge. We are behind because we were taught that ours does not count.
Woria wanaleta pesa ya county wanainvest pale Eastleigh.Then ukienda uko kununua from them they want cash which helps them evade tax. At the end of the year they want equal share of revenue and on top wapewe equalization fund.Literally we are funding the North out of our own pockets.But nobody is ready for this conversation
Sections of Uhuru Park will be hived off to "expand Uhuru Highway".
Parts of Karura Forest will be hived off "to plant tree seedlings and build rangers' accommodation units".
Parts of Nairobi National Park will be hived off "to construct parking yards for the new Bomas International Convention Centre".
Sections of Ngong Forest are being cut down for "the construction of the Ngong-Riruta rail line and an international resort and casino".
Practically every green and gazetted area within the Nairobi Metropolitan area is being targeted.
And this is place where scrutiny is highest.
Can you imagine what is happening in gazetted areas in the Rift Valley.
When pastoralists are in power, every green space is either pasture for "wega ngombe wagule yiote" or merely something to degazette, cut down and build some ugly concrete structure.
Scarcity mentality at birth.
Wamunyoro should take a break and go on a long holiday in Burundi to clear his head. And he shouldn't listen to the lawyers. They'll milk his coffers dry. Another day to remind Jim Njue & his fellow choir members that number 8 is actually a 0 wearing a belt. The delulu narrative of “Gachagua Must be on the ballot” should be avoided like a plague. Scientific method can now be peacefully applied to select a joint candidate for the united opposition.
Do not despise the mama mboga, boda rider or fundi. They understand pricing, inventory, trust and repeat customers better than many boardrooms. Africa's MBA is often taught at the roadside.
When I built my skincare company in Senegal, the hardest part wasn't making a great product. My team is incredible, and they proved that from day one.
The hardest part was navigating a system designed to squeeze money out of you at every turn. Permits, inspections, fees, delays, and then more fees on top of the fees.
THAT is what keeps Africa poor, not a lack of talent or ambition.