It is nearly eight years since the Internet was first introduced in Kenya. Though the technology is changing the way consumers and businesses communicate, the number of dial-up subscribers is yet to hit 50,000. So if the technology is that revolutionary, what has prevented the Internet from getting a mass market acceptance?

Kenyan president Emilio Mwai Kibaki, who was elected in December 2002, has instructed his lawyers to file contempt-of-court charges against two private dailies. The charges stem from stories that appeared in the March 31 editions of the independent East African Standard and the Kenya Times about a court case filed against President Kibaki by the local gas station chain Nyota Services Ltd. The company's owner alleges that Kibaki and other senior members of the ruling National Rainbow Coalition bought gas for their cars on credit and now owe the company a total of 10 million Kenyan shillings.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers' (Knut) will launch a financial scheme to help members access drugs for HIV/AIDS. The scheme is part of Knut's efforts to fight the huge impact of the disease on its members, secretary-general Francis Ng'ang'a announced.

If we are all starting to feel impatient about the war in Iraq after two weeks, then try to imagine how the 83,000 refugees at the Kakuma camp in north-west Kenya are feeling. Driven from Sudan, Somalia and half-a-dozen other countries by war and famine, some have been waiting for more than 10 years in this arid, remote region. The refugees at Kakuma depend on the UN High Commission for Refugees for housing, sanitation and schooling, and on the World Food Program for food. But the cash-strapped UNHCR is struggling to provide a basic level of services in the camp and the WFP is so short of food that it has cut the daily ration to 75 per cent of the minimum calorie requirement.

Experience in other Third World nations shows that upon the election of a new administration, an 18 to 24-month "window of opportunity" opens up during which time public support and confidence about the future facilitates the implementation of a range of anti-corruption measures, said John Githongo, Kenya's Permanent Secretary for Governance and Ethics in the Office of the President, during a keynote address to the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya last month.

The Independent Medico Legal Unit is a non-profit organisation. Its focus is the promotion and protection of human rights by providing medical and legal assistance to victims of survivors of torture. The IMLU is currently seeking qualified candidates for the above positions. More details can be obtained at the website or by writing to: The Managing Trustee, IMLU, P.O Box 1271-0606, Nairobi, Kenya.

Does agriculture have a role to play in economic growth and poverty reduction? This paper considers the role of agriculture in Kenya. A brief discussion of the role of agriculture in economic growth and poverty reduction is provided and the performance of Kenya's agricultural sector is discussed, focusing on both the policy and structural constraints that have impacted on agricultural performance. The author concludes that the agricultural sector has not received the attention and recognition it deserves in relation to the importance of its role in economic growth and poverty reduction.

It is mid-morning, and terrified Ernest is charging as fast as he can toward Lake Nakuru in the heart of Kenya's scenic Rift Valley, sending a flock of pink flamingos squawking into flight. The 3-year-old white rhino is the target of wildlife authorities trying to capture him and take him to another game park hundreds of miles away. They are keen to revive the number of rhinos which were nearly wiped out in a poaching attack years ago.

MPs have voted themselves 735.9m shillings (9.2m dollars) to buy sparkling new cars. Handsome car grants of 3.3m shillings (about 43,000 dollars) each - enough for top-of-the-range vehicles with all extras fitted - were recommended in the Cockar Report on MPs' pay and perks.

The mining of the world's largest titanium fields on the east African coast of Kenya appears to have hit another snag after the country's new government announced that it is planning to conduct a public forum to discuss whether Tiomin Resources Inc., a Canadian mining firm, should be licensed to start mining the mineral in Kenya.

Deputy Director-General for Programs, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Director of Corporate Services

The mission of The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), based in Nairobi, Kenya, is to conduct innovative research and development on agroforestry, strengthen the capacity of our partners, enhance worldwide recognition of the human and environmental benefits of agroforestry, and provide scientific leadership in the field of integrated natural resource management. We are one of sixteen food and environmental research organisations in the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), whose goals are to help achieve food security, poverty reduction, and a sustainable environment. Our regional programmes are active in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, with staff based in 17 countries. The annual budget is approximately $24 million.

"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." This is the new slogan which the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) government has adopted in order to popularise its ambitious free primary education programme (FPE) policy. The free and compulsory primary education for Kenyan children, which was one of the key pre-election promises which brought NARC to power in December 2002, has proved not only to be expensive, but also difficult to implement.

The Kenyan government has devoted the largest share of its budget to expanding education since independence. So are the large amounts of resources invested in education by government and parents justified by the returns yielded to the individual and society? The authors claim that studies to date have so far been inconclusive.

Peninah Wanjira finished among the top five students in her secondary school. She wanted to be an engineer, but her headmaster prevented her from specialising in science. Too difficult, he told her. Boys whom she consistently outperformed took her place. “I will never forgive him. He killed my dream,” Wanjira, a sociology graduate currently working as a clerk in Nairobi, says bitterly. “Look at what I do: signing and stapling forms all day.” Fortunately, Kiriri Women’s University of Science and Technology (KWUST), which opened in September 2002, is challenging generations of gender stereotyping and an entrenched culture that favours males at all levels of education.

“People crowd even closer to animals as a magnificent park turns 50,” said photographer Virginal Morell, about the Nairobi National Park while visiting Kenya on assignment in 1996. Today, the park appears even more crowded as the growth in human population surrounding the park’s southern frontier increases.

RATN is in the process of becoming an independent entity, and has constituted a Board of Directors and General Council to govern its future activities. The next step is to transfer the day-to-day operational management from the founding universities to an Executive Director who will be directly accountable to the Board of Directors. This will be an internationally-hired position, requiring an individual who combines a broad knowledge of current HIV/AIDS issues with demonstrated experience and skill in project management and administration, fund-raising, organisational development and strategic planning.

Improved management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can reduce the rate of new HIV cases by up to 40 per cent. AMREF (African Medical and Research Foundation) provided training in STI treatment for the six hundred licensed private providers (doctors, nurses and clinical officers) in Nyanza province in western Kenya. But what happens when people use untrained providers or self-medicate?

A new monitoring facility adds Kenya to a worldwide network to detect ozone depletion and monitor the levels of ozone-damaging pollutants. The high-tech monitoring station was inaugurated last week at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, and is the first of its kind in tropical and sub-tropical Africa.

The government has been forced to temporarily withdraw a crucial anti-corruption bill as a backbench rebellion which started on Wednesday continued. The government, which has a huge majority, is finding it difficult to do business in parliament because instability within the coalition is finding expression on the floor of the House.

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Albert Kenyani
Multinational Fund For Development Aid, Nairobi, Kenya