The Standard: RSS Feeds - Columnists http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/ RSS Feeds for The Standard - Online Edition en-us http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/ PHP/5.2.12 National cancer of corruption and virus of ethnicity have spread everywhere http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000005505&cid=489& Basic Education Minister Sam Ongeri has recently taken time off his woes with Prime Minister Raila Odinga and sundry politicos who claim to be fighting, to release KCSE examination results for last year, and to wonder what ails my good old high school. Like those of us who were privileged to learn in Cardinal Otunga High School Mosocho in its glorious years, Prof Ongeri has been wondering how the mighty could descend so low. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:32:55 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1268415175 Let us use quality of students and school resources to evaluate KCSE performance http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000005500&cid=490& That 163,286 (49 per cent) of all candidates who sat the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination last year scored a grade of D plus or below is regrettable. We seem to be paying for the noble goal of expanding secondary school access through day secondary schools and later tuition free secondary education. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:26:52 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1268414812 Lip service wont deliver equal opportunities http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000005513&cid=491& To celebrate the International Women’s day on Monday, I joined students of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa for an award ceremony for creative essays on gender-based violence. The ensuing debate ranged from the need to include men as key actors in prevention as well as the need for male and female role models who can lead by example by ensuring respect and partnership between the genders. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:49:39 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1268419779 As we cheer some of the top schools, we must not forget their dirty tricks http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000005506&cid=485& The dust is gradually settling following celebrations over students and schools that performed well in last year’s KCSE examination. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:33:25 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1268415205 War on graft is now a beauty contest http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000005416&cid=483& We Africans say you do not test how deep the waters are with both feet. In the past, the corrupt were more cautious and would not engage lawyers and open up escrow accounts for the loot to be kept until sharing day. Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:57:27 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1268326647 This snow white business is essentially dark as a tomb http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000005415&cid=477& From the picture he looks diminutive. Of course, looks can be deceiving. But if Maina Chege lacks the height, he is more than generously compensated in eloquence. Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:55:01 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1268326501 Our newfound democracy has improved accountability but slowed reforms http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000005313&cid=490& Last Sunday, we marked the second anniversary of the signing of the National Accord. There are questions on whether or not the Accord has lived up to expectations. All of us will agree the Accord restored peace after two months of violent ethnic hatred. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:34:13 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1268224453 Our newfound democracy has improved accountability but slowed reforms http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000005338&cid=490& Last Sunday, we marked the second anniversary of the signing of the National Accord. There are questions on whether or not the Accord has lived up to expectations. All of us will agree the Accord restored peace after two months of violent ethnic hatred. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:47:54 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1268246874 Never dig-in in grave matters http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000005336&cid=510& What a shame, they even plunder in the name of the dead. The rapacious appetite for proceeds of corruption spares nothing. No public account is sacred. Every public procurement is deal time if individuals and their co-conspirators can pocket millions of shillings for personal use. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:46:28 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1268246788 Church has sinned on law review http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000005262&cid=587& Were the beef about the inclusion of Kadhi’s courts or when life really begins in the Proposed Constitution purely ideological, I would not dare wade into the storm that the Church has kicked up. Unfortunately, the debate, especially by my Christian brothers, has taken the low road that could, if not checked, end up creating more problems than we are trying to solve. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:45:38 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1268160338 Education system: Let’s leave no one behind if we want progress http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000005138&cid=497& Every year, the release of the KCPE and KCSE results captures national psyche, momentarily shifting our attention from the hassles of ordinary life. Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:23:46 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1268069026 The war against smoking is myopic http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000005108&cid=501& Strolling along a Nairobi street last week, we suddenly saw a group of three men accost and then arrest another and start pushing him towards the Holy Family Basilica. Thinking the three men were muggers, we moved closer. Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:46:07 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1267994767 Despite bumpy terrain in its infancy, the TJRC should not be jettisoned http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000004983&cid=603& I have just finished reading Njenga Karume’s autobiography Beyond Expectations: From Charcoal to Gold. The book has left me convinced the full story of this country is barely told. Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:04:02 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1267895042 Great paradox that paints a portrait of soul at war with itself http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000004894&cid=489& All great nations in world history have expressed their collective soul in their art. They have usually done this in some distinctive and defining form of art that has set them apart from other nations. Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:16:53 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1267805813 Big Man Syndrome is curse of Africa’s leadership and makes rulers infallible http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000004895&cid=485& Two events in two nations unfolded recently to prove that although we live in one world, we are worlds apart, depending on the side of the planet we were born. Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:17:19 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1267805839 Got a bone to pick with Ocampo? Just swallow! http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000004805&cid=477& There is a comic feel to the stunned silence that has greeted Luis Moreno Ocampo’s announcement that the International Criminal Court has 20 names of men and women they want to pursue. Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:01:36 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1267722096 Nothing has been learnt after chaos http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000004678&cid=587& As I raced towards Nakuru, I kept wondering how bad things could get. Taking advantage of a lull during the post-election violence that rocked the country two years ago, I decided to take a trip home. I was last there a few days before the election and I planned to be home for the New Year. That never happened because the country erupted in violence after the contested elections. Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:58:17 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1267556297 Will Uganda and Tanzania’s rebounding economies soon overtake Kenya’s? http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000004554&cid=497& In the last 10 years, economic growth in Kenya has averaged 3.8 per cent, Tanzania 6.1 per cent, Uganda 7.2 percent, Rwanda 7.5 per cent and Burundi 2 .5 per cent. The correspondent Gross Domestic Products (GDPs) in billions of dollars were as follows in 2008; Kenya 62.4, Tanzania 55, Uganda 41, Rwanda 9.9 and Burundi 3.2, according to data from the World Bank. Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:36:11 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1267461371 Is the Grand Coalition Government’s reform scorecard and outlook on course? http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000004591&cid=503& Yes, amidst the eccentricity and disenchantment within the Grand Coalition Government — two years since its formation in circumstances of national crisis after the botched 2007 presidential elections — its reform programme appears to be on course. Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:10:27 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1267470627 JM’s true epitaph remains unwritten http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000004474&cid=501& "JM in Zambia." That was the headline we woke up to in the country’s leading newspaper of that time. To the innocent reader, it sounded quite credible, as JM was a close friend of Mr Vernon Mwaanga, then the Zambian Foreign minister. Sun, 28 Feb 2010 16:35:12 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1267374912