Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta was at the White House earlier this month for a three day (August 4th, 5th and 6th) US-Africa Summit.
Uhuru Kenyatta and Barack Obama have many things common such as, though not limited to, the following:
Both were born in Kenya. Barack in the Kenya Protectorate and Uhuru in the Kenya Colony.
Both were born in the year 1961. Barack was born in August and Uhuru in October.
Both studied political science at universities in the United States in the early 1980s. Barack graduated from Columbia University with a political science major in 1983. Uhuru graduated from Amherst College in 1985.
Both were born to well known prominent and distinguished fathers. Barack Obama senior and Jomo Kenyatta. As readers may know, Jomo Kenyatta was Kenya’s first post-colonial President (1964–1978).
It has been reported, earlier this month at the US-Africa Summit, that Barack told Uhuru that he would visit Kenya before his term ends in 2017:
“Yes, President Obama had a conversation with our President and he spoke of how keen he was to visit Kenya before his term ends in 2017. No date was fixed, but, certainly, both governments have begun planning for the visit, and, sure, it will be announced at the appropriate time,” said State House and Government spokesman Manoah Esipisu.
Michael Greenwald of the US Embassy in Nairobi did not confirm, or deny, Obama’s proposed visit to Kenya:
“At the Summit there were various conversations among leaders, and President Obama took advantage of the opportunity to talk with a few leaders with whom he needed to discuss issues or pressing concerns. The White House sets and announces President Obama’s schedule,” said Greenwald.
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Post US-Africa Summit Analysis: Kenya Won The Beauty Pageant
AFK Insider
Frank Mutulu
8/19/2014
Excerpt:
Nigeria, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Rwanda are some of the countries seen as investment meccas at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, but at a post-summit breakfast meeting in Nairobi, businessmen and government officials said Kenya won the beauty pageant.
“By the end of the summit everyone was talking about Kenya,” said Chris Kirubi, a local business tycoon with interests in finance, manufacturing, real estate and media.
Kenyan government officials said that U.S. companies are eager to enter the Kenyan market due to the country’s strategic location as the hub of East Africa but also to take advantage of industries such energy.
Geothermal energy was of particular interest to investors at the summit. The Kenyan government claims it has the potential to produce 5,000 megawatts. The country currently produces 236.5 megawatts of geothermal energy, barely 5 percent of its potential.
Talks between U.S. and Kenyan officials and business owners are still ongoing which makes it difficult to say just how much of the $17 billion in investment promised by U.S. President Barack Obama will go to East Africa’s largest economy.
Local businessmen say that they expect that more companies will come to Kenya, not only because government officials made a fantastic sales pitch at the summit, but on the conviction that the country’s fundamentals are solid.
Nicholas Sowden, a U.S. entrepreneur who runs a chain of health clinics in Kenya, said that the over-subscription of Kenya’s debut sovereign bond is an endorsement that Kenya has long-term prospects.
It will, however, be a herculean task for the government to untangle the red tape and address the runaway insecurity that has brought vital industries such as tourism to a comatose state, Sowden said.
“If President (Uhuru) Kenyatta and his team can help smooth over fears on insecurity, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the announcement of several new investments in Kenyan infrastructure,” Sowden told AFKInsider. “Additionally, they may make some progress on issues like direct flights between Nairobi and the U.S., reducing tariffs on imports from Kenya to the U.S. and the joint military efforts in Somalia.”
This year, Stone Cold, a U.S.-based ice cream chain, entered the Kenyan market and is scheduled to open its first store in Nairobi in September.
Other businessmen at the post-summit meeting said that as larger companies enter the market, the benefits will eventually trickle down to local small and medium-sized enterprises.
Chevron Corp., Citigroup, Ford Motor Co., Lockheed Martin Corp, Marriott International and Morgan Stanley are some of the large companies that went to the U.S.-Africa Summit in search for lucrative deals.
Ndambuki Kasanga operates Sears, a chain of pharmacies in Kenya.
“As a development partner the U.S. offers a vast market for Kenyan goods, and with its capital-rich economy, a cheap source of money to loan to businesses here,” Kasanga said. “This I expect will trickle down into the lower segments of business.”
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View the complete article at:
http://afkinsider.com/68830/post-summit-analysis-kenya-lips-investors/
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