How rich is Raila, the ODM-Kenya Presidential aspirant

The sudden ostentatious display of wealth by Raila Odinga has left many baffled. Unbeknown to the public, Raila is a fabulously wealthy man with a personal fortune estimated to be in excess of Kshs. 4 billion. Read how the man who wants to be Kenya’s next president acquired his wealth which includes investments in the lucrative petroleum industry and in manufacturing.

How Raila acquired his billions

Raila Odinga’s big break came in 2001 soon after he led his party, NDP, into a merger with Kanu, the then ruling party. As Energy Minister in Moi’s government he was introduced to the family of Sheikh Abdukeder AlBakari, one of the richest families in Saudi Arabia with interests in petroleum drilling, petroleum exploration and export in the Middle East, Asia, USA and Africa.

Through the Saudi contacts, Raila was initiated into the lucrative world of oil business and soon enough he had joined the league of gig independent oil importers via his firm Pan African Petroleum Limited.

Industry sources say that one of the things that helped Raila make a quick buck in the oil business was a concessionary petroleum deal he struck with the Al Bakri Group where he was not only incorporated as a silent partner in the local arm of Al Bakri International but was also supplied with petroleum products from Saudi Arabia at subsidized prices which his firm would sell in the market at normal prices. That way, Raila was able to deftly beat the competition in oil business by occasional price undercutting.

While still Energy Minister, Raila re-established and nurtured his links with the Libyan government of Colonel Muammar Gadaffi where again he not only did good business in oil importation but also got substantial material support during the 2002 general elections.

Besides supporting Raila’s political causes, the Libyans also played a key role in stabilizing Raila in the oil business in a couple of ways. Industry sources say that between 2001 and 2002 when Raila served as Energy Minister, he received at least three consignments of petroleum products at very low prices which were later sold locally at market prices.

The overall turnover from the three Libyan consignments is reliably said to have been in the region of over half a billion shillings, a tidy sum of money in any language, enough to ensure that one crosses the Rubicon once and for all.

Raila’s enviable international links

Reliable sources say that Libyans bankrolled the Narc campaign with some US$ 3 million (about Kshs 210 million), thanks to Raila’s good contacts in the oil-rich land of Gadaffi. There is no doubt that if Raila becomes the ODM presidential candidate he can count on massive financial support from the Libyans once more.

Besides Libya, Raila enjoys good links with the South African government of Thabo Mbeki while in Nigeria he is known to have strong links with Olosegun Obasanjo, who was a close friend of Raila’s late father Jaramogi.

That Libyans, South Africans and Nigerians had enough confidence in Raila to channel campaign funds through him although he himself was not a presidential in 2002 is an indication of how highly regarded he is in some international circles.

Evidently, he could certainly count on even more enthusiastic support from his international contacts should he become the ODM presidential candidate.

For Raila, the linkage between politics and business went much deeper than petroleum business. It is significant that the Odinga family business, Spectre International Ltd, acquired the then state-owned Kisumu Molasses Plant soon after Raila started politically cooperating with Moi.

Raila has consistently argued that the acquisition of the molasses plant was a pure business deal which had nothing to do with politics, but his critics point out at the coincidence between the time his family acquired the parastatal and Raila’s shift of political alliance. It is highly unlikely “indeed one may even say impossible-that the Moi government would have sanctioned the Kisumu Molasses Plant deal at the time if Raila had not become an ally of Moi’s.

Former commissioner of Lands Sammy Mwaita offered to sell the 240 acres on which the Kisumu Molasses Plant is built to Spectre International on January 11, 2001 at a price of Kshs 3.6 million at a time when Odinga started working closely with Moi. By June of the same year, Raila was appointed to the cabinet and made Energy Minister.

Significantly, Spectre International had applied for the same land in a letter of February 18, 1999 but the request had been rejected by the government at the time.

Titles were prepared in favour of Spectre International on February 3, 2002 for a 99-year lease backdated to September 1, 2001 and the Odinga family was ready to laugh all the way to the bank.

When the Odinga family started the process that led to the acquisition of the Kisumu Molasses Plant in 2001, Raila had already established good business contacts in South Africa. Energem Resources Incorporated, an international firm quoted at the Toronto Stock Exchange, had been looking for an investment opportunity in Kenya for a long time and the Kisumu Molasses Plant appeared just right.

Soon after taking over the plant from the government, Raila struck a lucrative deal with Energem whereby the Canadian firm bought 55 per cent of the Kisumu Molasses plant. Sources say that the Odinga family was paid over US$ 5 million (about Kshs 420 million) to relinquish the control of the molasses plant. The Odinga family had paid only Kshs 3.6 million for the property.

The Canadians also ploughed in millions of dollars to rehabilitate the plant and it is today one of the largest manufacturing concerns in the country employing hundreds of people and producing at least 60,000 litres of industrial ethanol for local consumption and export.

Ethanol from the Kisumu Molasses Plant is used as a fuel additive in east and Central Africa. Among other products coming out of the plant include yeast, carbon dioxide alcohol and related industrial products.

A valuation of the plant carried out three three years ago placed the Kisumu Molasses Plant at US$100 million (Kshs 7 billion). With the Odinga family owning 40 percent of the plant, putting the family’s stake in the plant in the region of Kshs 7.8 billion. The remaining five per cent shares in the plant are owned by a development trust on behalf of the local community.

Besides Kenya where Energem is in partnership with Raila in the Kisumu molasses plant business, now renamed Kisumu ethanol Plant, other African countries where Energem’s presence is significant include Sierra Leone, Sao Tome, Congo Brazaville, Angola. Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Chad and Central Africa republic.

Raila’s wealth at a glance

Company/Property/Estimated Worth

• Spectre International Limited (the holding company for Kisumu Ethanol Plant)
  Kshs 7 billion of which Odinga family owns 40 per cent whose value is approximately Kshs 2.8 billion
• East African Spectre (the gas cylinder manufacturing plant founded by Raila’s late father)
  Kshs 500 million
• Raila’s family home in Karen Nairobi
  Kshs 50 million
• Runda House
  Kshs 15 million
• Pan African Petroleum Company (the firm through which the Odinga family imports and distributes petroleum products)
  Has had a turnover in excess of Kshs 500 million.

Check:  http://www.mashada.com/forums/politics/39406-how-wealthy-raila.html

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Posted to API by Karuga wa Njuguna – London

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Published by African Press International – API.

The Hummer situation

News shot | Play

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The Hummer seems to hold a certain degree of fascination for those to whom it is a novel phenomenon.

But to those who claim to know better, the inventor of authentic Hummers is a Kenyan supposedly from the lakeside region When Stanley Livondo landed in Kisumu in a hummer without its inventor, it was dismissed as phoney.

Well the Hummer and the return of Kiraitu politics is our focus on News shot.

Posted to APN by Karuga wa Njuguna

Published by African Press in Norway, apn

Liberia: Strike paralyzed operations in the world’s largest rubber plantation

Monrovia (Liberia) A strike action by workers of the world’s largest rubber plantation, the American-owned Firestone company in Liberia, Wednesday paralyzed operations at the outfit for the second day running, APA has learnt.

The strike action which started Tuesday has brought operations at the latex processing plant, engineering division and other sectors of the rubber plantation to a complete standstill, according to the workers’ spokeman Ramsey Barku.

The management and workers of the plantation are locked in crisis over who should head the workers’ union, with the management preferring the old union leaders over the interim leadership constituted by the ministry of labour.

The Firestone Plantation Company, established in 1926 by the Firestone Company with headquarter in Harbel (about 80 kilometres from the capital, Monrovia), is one of the leading employer in Liberia with thousands of workers spread over thousands of hectares.

Published by Korir, African Press in Norway, apn, africanpress@chello.no, tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 63002525 source.apa

Norway: Money hungry pushy prostitutes cause limitations on their own trade

Prostitutes have become more brazen than ever in Norway’s capital, with many aggressively peddling their wares on Oslo’s main streets and around key tourist attractions. Politicians are quarreling over whether to finally make the trade illegal.

One prostitute was noisily trying to sell her services inside this store on Karl Johans Gate, just behind the Norwegian Parliament Building. PHOTO: MORTEN ANDERSEN Many of the prostitutes on Oslo’s streets are from overseas, and they’re also active in the area just behind the historic Akershus Fortress. PHOTO: Bjørke Magnus Knutsen Tor Sannerud of the Oslo visitors’ bureau is among those calling for a crackdown on street prostitution in Oslo. PHOTO: TOM A KOLSTAD

Prostitution currently remains legal in Norway, but sellers of sexual services traditionally have stuck to specific areas of downtown and let customers approach them.

A recent influx of prostitutes from eastern Europe, Nigeria and South America has changed all that, and now prostitutes are openly going after potential customers, most notably on Karl Johans Gate, Oslo’s main boulevard through the heart of town.

Aftenposten.no reported on Tuesday that some also have been aggressively selling their services inside local stores, including the 7-Eleven convenience store on Karl Johans Gate at the square called Egertorget.

Officials at 7-Eleven pressed charges, and one prostitute was recently convicted of disturbing the peace after she allegedly yelled at the store’s lone employee and made threats after being told to leave.

Visitors to Oslo have also been complaining about the aggressive prostitution on downtown streets, and the head of the city’s visitors’ bureau is among those calling for a crackdown.

Both the Socialist Left and Center parties, which make up part of Norway’s center-left government coalition, now want such solicitation to be illegal. Polticians from their dominant government partner, the Labour Party, are expected to debate the issue at their annual convention later this week.

Politicians disagree over whether the solicitation or the purchase of sexual services should be made illegal. One proposal calls for making the purchase of sexual services a criminal offense. That would hit the person buying a prostitute’s services, not the prostitute.

Oslo’s city council, meanwhile, has approved a measure prohibiting “aggressive prostitution” (pĂĄgĂĄende prostitusjon). Store owners and irritated targets of the prostitutes expect the measure to be enforced.

By Nina Berglund

Lifted and published by African Press in Norway, apn,

source.aftenpostenEng

Norway: The limiting of sex sale in the country initiated

It will probably still be legal to sell sexual services in Norway, but soon illegal to buy them. The country’s powerful Labour Party agreed over the weekend to limit a sex trade that’s recently turned aggressive, especially in the capital.

Street prostitutes in Oslo don’t welcome a looming ban on the purchase of sexual services. PHOTO: ARASH A. NEJAD

Labour, revitalized and once again Norway’s largest political party, listened to calls for a crackdown on street prostitution. A majority of its delegates agreed to ban the purchase of sexual services at the party’s annual meeting, assuring majority support for expected legislation aimed mostly at getting pushy prostitutes off the street.

Debate was heated, though, with some Labour politicians (including Justice Minister Knut Storberget) arguing that a ban on buying sex won’t solve the problem. Some also argued that a ban could make life even more difficult for prostitutes, although the majority believed a ban can hinder human trafficking.

One female prostitute from Eastern Europe who’s lately been working on Oslo’s streets called the proposed ban “crazy” as long as selling sex remains legal. She said, though, that she’d probably “go home,” which seems to be exactly what the poiticians and Norwegian prostitutes want.

An influx of foreign prostitutes has literally taken market share from Norwegian prostitutes, and the foreigners are known for being more aggressive. They’ve also expanded the trade from traditional areas of town (most recently, the streets behind the Akershus Fortress called Kvadraturen) to such main streets as Karl Johans Gate, and that’s raised the ire of locals and tourists alike.

It remains unclear whether prostitutes’ customers face fines or jail terms if caught buying sexual services. Storberget promised to draft a proposed law “as quickly as possible” and police will get more resources to enforce it.

By Nina Berglund

Lifted and published by African Press in Norway, apn,

source.aftenpostenENG

Denmark hit by airline strike

 A strike by SAS Denmark cabin crew at Copenhagen’s Kastrup International Airport has caused chaos for the airline’s passengers. The strike, which began on Tuesday, left travelers stranded and 400 were forced to sleep overnight at Kastrup after SAS was unable to book hotel accommodation.

SAS was forced to cancel 113 flights on Tuesday and so far 101 flights have been canceled for Wednesday morning.

The strike marks a protest for a lack of a local agreement with airline SAS. The company said that strike violated existing agreements.

A meeting was scheduled for Wednesday morning to determine whether the strike would continue.

“Those on strike are steeling themselves not to go to work until a deal is agreed,” said Verner Lundtoft, head of the cabin crew’s union CAU.

The strike affects traffic between Copenhagen and Norway and over 20 flights to Norwegian cities were canceled on Tuesday.

“Only some round trip flights to Copenhagen are hit by the strike. Some flights have already taken off from Bergen, Stavanger, Kristiansand and Oslo to Copenhagen,” said SAS Braathens information adviser Knut Morten Johansen. SAS Braathens flights inside Norway are not affected.

But cancellations from Norway to Copenhagen are being reported.

“One flight went out today (from Bergen) and one yesterday evening. So far we have been told that all flights for the rest of the day have been canceled. We have six departures every day and five are cancelled. I hope that they will resume in the course of the day, but we just have to wait and see what happens,” airport chief Dag Jarle Aksnes at Bergen Flesland told Forbruker.no.

SAS Denmark reported that all flights until 2 p.m. Wednesday to Kastrup were canceled. Passengers were urged to contact their airports to learn the latest developments.

By Simmi Kaur and Jonathan Tisdall

Lifted and Published by African Press in Norway, apn

source.aftenposten.ntb

Norway: Condoleeza Rice to NATO meeting in Oslo

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hopes to persuade both Russia and NATO allies that a European missile shield is a good idea.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will attend the Oslo NATO meeting. PHOTO: SAUL LOEB – AFP

Rice arrives in Oslo on Thursday to take part in the NATO foreign ministers meeting. These are held twice a year, one formal meeting in the NATO headquarters in Brussels and another ‘informal’ hosted by an alliance member nation.

Informal does not mean that real business will not be discussed. Oslo will stage meetings between NATO and Russia, as well as NATO and Ukraine, and the situation in Afghanistan and the future of Kosovo are on the agenda.

The Oslo meeting is also set to cover the controversial US plan to deploy a missile shield with the help of Eastern European partners Poland and the Czech Republic.

The USA has tried to thaw Russian skepticism with an invitation to share information about the system, but achieved no change in reaction.

“It is too early. The Russians need more time to examine the American offer,” A NATO diplomat told Reuters. A breakthrough on the Russian front over the missile shield is not expected at the Oslo meeting.

Norway is also highly skeptical of the plans and Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre is expected to express this at the Oslo NATO meeting.

Norway believes that the threat situation used to argue for the missile shield has changed, since the danger posed by North Korea and Libya has diminished.

German political leaders are growing more positive in regard to the missile shield plans, but there is far from united agreement about the idea of American missiles on European soil.

By Kurt Haugli and Jonathan Tisdall

Lifted and published by African Press in Norway, apn,

source.AftenpostenENG/NTB/Reuters

Norway: Norwegian women blamed for rape increase in the country

Every other Norwegian man believes that flirtatious women have themselves to blame if they are raped.

Nearly half of men surveyed felt that open flirtation was an invitation to sexual assault. PHOTO: JOHNNY SYVERSEN

The shock results appear in a report compiled by Amnesty in cooperation with Reform – resource center for men.

One in five men surveyed said that a woman known to have several partners is fully or partly responsible if sexually assaulted, and 28 percent believed that a woman who dresses sexily is wholly or partly responsible for a sexual assault.

“I think the results of this study are frightening. I am the father of a teenage girl. It is disturbing to see that Norwegian men believe she is responsible if she should be assaulted after flirting with a man,” John Peder Egenæs, secretary general of Amnesty International Norway told newspaper VG.

Fully 48 percent of those surveyed believe that women are fully or partly responsible for a sexual assault if they openly flirt before the attack.

“It is unacceptable to blame women who have been exposed to sexual assault and violence. This confirms that female-hostile attitudes are alive and well,” said victim’s legal counsel Trine Rjukan.

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said he was disappointed over Norwegian men’s attitude towards women and found the study’s results frightening.

“I had hoped and believed that we had come further than that in terms of men’s view of violence against women,” Stoltenberg said.

Lifted by Korir and published by African Press in Norway, apn,

source: AftenpostenENG.ntb