Skip to main content

On the Joke that is Pan Paper revival!


Yesterday leaders from Bungoma County were excited at very good news; the news that pan paper will be revived. Hold your horses ladies and gentlemen, before you slit throats of cockerels in celebration, consider this:-

1. Not all statehouse promises are worthy being excited about. All delegations to statehouse come out with a bag of promises aimed to hoodwink people that their trip was worthy it. But in reality, the number of statehouse promises fulfilled is normally few

2. Thinking of reviving Pan Paper is not only pedestrian it is actually nonsensical. We do not have competitive capacity to produce paper that we can sell locally considering world prices for the same

3. Pan Paper as an area of focus is lack of foresight on the part of the leaders. A good industry is one that has enough economic linkages such that it stimulates the local economy in more than one way. Apart from employment, how else does pan paper stimulate growth of the local economy?

4. Talking of employment, are there any indications in terms of actual employment opportunities to be created? How many will be employed and after how long? Would another industry have created more and better employment opportunities

5. The statehouse delegation should have been strategic in their demands. For instance, a demand to build a state of the art milk processing plant that serves the entire of Western Kenya plus attendant infrastructure for milk production at household level would have had a more exciting ripple effect

6. A good industry is one that uses local raw materials, creates employment but also becomes a source of raw materials that locals can use for further innovative and entrepreneurial activities. Clearly, there are not trees in BC for the paper factory. very limited jobs can be created by the firm and very little of the factory's products and by-products have proved useful to the local enterprises

7. For each industry there are externalities i.e. the unintended effects on the local community. Pan Paper factory was an environmental hazard; I am not sure its economic benefits to the locals are more than its environmental degrading capacity

8. By selling the factory to Raiply, who gains and who looses. Is community or public land involved? Who will own the land after the sale? To whom does the sale money or value go? What ownership matrix is on the cards?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear African Sun

Dear African sun Dear godly son of the unseen Dear holy daughter of heavens Dear grand father of life and seas Hear me oh ancient warmth Hear me divine providence sheath Listen sustainer of all growth Understand me kiss of strength Where are you my love? How my body misses the caress of your rays How are you godly slave? How your distance slays our senses Come back African sun Draw close sweet friend, don't be gloomy I implore you African warmth, without pun Smile again and put the cold to shame
Post a Comment
Read more

10 REASONS WHY UHURU KENYATTA MAYBE A ONE TERM PRESIDENT

1.       In 2017 Uhuru will be carrying the burden of incumbency and all unfulfilled dreams will be credited to him by Kenyans 2.       If he succeeds to halt The Hague cases or gets them differed, the ICC issue will be a major campaign platform in 2017. However, unlike in 2013 when it worked to his advantage, Kenyans know that ICC trials are no longer a personal matter. Actually, the president is using the country as hostage against ICC onslaught 3.       There is a high possibility of Ruto beginning to feel jitters about his position in Jubilee and the likelihood of being a credible presidential candidate one day. The more time goes by, the more Ruto’s supporters will want more; some excitement, some surprise 4.       There is a likelihood of Uhuru manages to frustrate his case while that of Ruto drags on. The case of Walter Barasa being used by the Deputy President o...
6 comments
Read more

Correcting Mutahi Ngunyi's Self Serving Tyranny of Numbers

I used to love reading Mutahi Ngunyi’s column, as a social science student, because of his skewed and hypothetical way of looking at reality. I always found his line of reasoning fascinating and attractive but always problematic and leaving a lot to be desired. Now I know why his writings used to make sense while at the same time seeming biased. Mutahi Ngunyi thrives not because he is the best at political analysis but because he is the best at stoking political controversy. In my own thinking, Mutahi Ngunyi has mastered the art of exaggerating the truth and using witty stories to spark controversy and attract attention. Recently he was at it again, acting brilliant with the aim of diabolically hyping ethnic calculations and machinations on the 2013 election considerations. Before we are accused of attacking Mutahi Ngunyi’s person without merit, let us consider his postulations. Mutahi Ngunyi argues that the 2013 elections are a foregone conclusion; Uhuru is the president wait...
3 comments
Read more