Dear Travel enthusiast,

Greetings from Mystical Africa Travel Club.

We have now entered the second half of the year characterized by National and Christmas holidays,
and it doesn’t hurt to start planning early for a stress-free out-of-Nairobi vacation. If you are planning to vacation over the long October 10th and October 20th holidays,
our travel club offers a range of options including camping with all your workmates,favorite friends and relatives at the Maasai Mara ,Samburu or the Amboseli.

We have tailor made a friend’s excursion safari that will provide you,all your friends,all your work mates and all your relatives a fun filled Kenyatta Day
Holiday weekend.This is a 3day/2night camping safari at the Maasai Mara filled with lots of entertainment,game drives and fun filled socializing activities
through the day and running deep into the night.

Attached is a detailed itinerary for these 3 days/2night safari.

PS:We will be more than glad to provide additions should you request for a more tailor made safari that will best suit you and your friends. 

 

 

For any clarifications,confirmations and/or enquiries,kindly drop us an email at info@mysticalafrica.com

or call us on:
020-23 23 760-1
0722-257 035
0721-276 644

You can also check out our videos of the Maasai Mara by login into:
www.youtube.com/mysticalafrica

Don’t stay in town on the Kenyatta Day weekend,it is expensive!
It is more affordable,more fun and stress free at the Maasai Mara.

Yours Truly,Mystical Africa Travel Club

 

 

P.O Box 53039 00200
Nairobi Kenya
Tel: 020-2323760-1
Email: info@mysticalafrica.com
Web: www.mysticalafrica.com

 

 

3 DAYS/2 NIGHTS FRIEND’S EXCURSION IN THE MAASAI MARA

 

The Maasai Mara dubbed ‘the last wilderness on earth’ is Kenya’s finest wildlife reserve and home to the great migration. With its exceptional population of game that include the ”Big Five”, the largest concentration of big cats, amphibians, reptiles and over 400 bird species, the Mara offers a little bit of everything.

 

Nothing beats a fun filled wild adventure with all your friends in the Maasai Mara.

 

Trip begins and ends in Nairobi.

 

Date: 18^th – 20^th October 2008

Cost: 8,500 kshs. per person

Group Size: Minimum 20 persons for overland truck travel

 

                     

Detailed Itinerary

 

Day 1: Nairobi – Maasai Mara

 

Depart Nairobi at 8.00 a.m and drive via the scenic Great Rift Valley, arriving at the Maasai Mara in time for lunch. Lunch is served followed by a late afternoon game drive. Enjoy searching for the big five present in the park.  Return to the campsite for dinner. Evening bonfire with group orientation, and simple but fun ice breaker activities to get the group into a team spirit.
Overnight at campsite. (L, D)

 

 

Day 2: Maasai Mara

 

 

Take an early morning game drive (this is the best time for game viewing). Return to the campsite for breakfast. After breakfast take a visit to an authentic Maasai Village - a great way to learn about the Maasai way of living, beliefs and cultures. Return to the campsite for lunch followed by an afternoon of friendship building and socializing activities. In the evening take another game drive then back to the campsite for a fun filled bush dinner. (Winners of the friendship building and socializing activities are awarded during the bush dinner).

Overnight at campsite. (B, L, D)

 

Day 3: Maasai Mara - Nairobi

 

Early morning game drives followed by breakfast at the camp then depart for Nairobi. If time permits game drive en route. Arrive in Nairobi approximately 1600 hrs (B)

 

 

Price Includes:

Transport in overland trucks

Tented Accommodation

Meals as detailed in the itinerary

Park Entrance Fees
Camping Fees

Services of an English speaking guide/driver

 

 

Price Excludes:

Beverages/Drinks

Items of Personal Nature

 

What to Carry:

Sleeping bag/blankets/bed sheets (all other camping equipment is provided)

T shirts, shorts or a light skirt
Jeans or safari trousers for evenings and cooler days
A warm jacket and sweater or fleece are recommended for early morning and evening game drives

Flash lights and torches.

Toiletries (towel, soap, tissue paper etc)

Drinking Water
Comfortable walking shoes
Money for personal spending or tipping

Digital Camera with lots of memory

Fun filled spirit, and willingness to participate

 

 

NB: The rate provided is for a minimum of 20 persons and is dependent on time of booking.

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Published by African Press International - API

Obama and Kenya’s Raila Odinga

Here’s another skeleton from Obama’s closet: Raila Odinga. Obama’s father was a member of the same Kenyan tribe (the Luo) as Odinga. Odinga is a socialist supporter of the Islamist opposition in Kenya and is behind much of the social unrest in that country.

Obama has visited Kenya during his time as a US Senator to support and campaign for Odinga.

Take the eight minutes to watch this video which lays out the history, and do some googling on Obama and Odinga.

Now I’ll be expecting the usual barrage of hate from the Left who simply don’t want the truth to be known about their candidate, but that’s ok, I’m used to it. Messengers are accustomed to being shot at.

Edit: here is some more background: Senator Barack Obama in Kenya > Obama and Odinga: The True Story

__________________Net
“And yes. I’m right. ALL the f***ing time, douche. Tough pill, huh.”
-Flylooper

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API/Source.sportbike

E-Dress Online Fashion2008 Hot Sale Brand Dress All $39.99 Free Shipment

This email was sent from a seller using Andale’s Auction Management Services. Andale respects your privacy and we require our sellers to respect your privacy as well. Please let us know if you don’t want to receive future promotional emails by visiting our Buyer Email Preferences page using the link below:
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Published by African Press International - api

Gambia: Sugar-daddies - short term benefits, long term problems

Talking to members of the press who covered the meeting Yasin, who is expected to attend the Rio Congress, said, “We have to come together. This is really affecting us young children. Sugar-daddies give short term benefits but long-term problems. We can make a difference – the future lies in our hands.”

She also opined that children should not be seen as victims of sexual exploitation, but rather the front-line fighters against it.

Save the Children’s West Africa adviser told reporters it is children who are best placed to help address the situation. “They are the primary actors in this because they know the situation best. Abuse is something which is hidden, but kids can share this information by talking to each other – together they can help find the solutions.”

Up to 22 children from 15 African countries joined human rights groups, child specialists and non-profit organizations including Plan International, ECPAT, Save the Children Sweden and UNICEF to debate how children can take on a bigger role in the fight against exploitation.
                                  
“Children need a voice in society”, 14-year-old Tenicia from South Africa said. “Adults tend to forget about children. Most children don’t know about the dangers of sexual exploitation. They don’t know their rights”.

Although accurate statistics are hard to come by, child rights advocates at the conference agreed sexual exploitation of children is on the rise.

Save the Children’s Mooh says the global economic slump is partly to blame. “The food price crisis and the difficult economic conditions we’re going through can mean that parents are more likely to turn a blind eye to these activities. Children have more and more economic responsibility within the family – and this puts pressure on them.”

In Kenya, 80 percent of surveyed child sex-workers said a family member or friend introduced them to sex work according to the International Labor Organization.  Young people discussed different forms of exploitation, from sex tourism and sexual violence at school, to forced and early marriages, and sexual violence during and after conflicts.

One suggestion children put forward is to tap into youth-friendly communication tools. Mamadou, 16, from Senegal said “When a child has gone through this exploitation it can be too difficult for them to talk to their family about it – or even to a helpline. So, texting a help service could be a better way of making children talk.”

But opening a dialogue is just part of the equation. “When a child is the victim of sexual exploitation by a tourist, he must first get medical help”, says 17-year-old Chamir from Togo, “but the hospital should give that information to the Ministry of Health and also to the Ministry of Tourism that controls the hotels. It’s important that the different departments communicate with each other.”

UNICEF West Africa adviser Joaquim Theis says the heart of any strategy for change should involve children. “The vast majority of children don’t have a choice in life. They aren’t given information; they are not involved in decisions made about them. We need to move beyond these very limited forms of children’s participation and move towards a freedom of expression, of information and decision making – their basic civil rights.”
 
The summit will be co-organized by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and NGO End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT).

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API/Source.The Gambia Journal (Gambia) - October 6, 2008.

Kenya: Traders in humans risk life behind bars

The Cabinet is expected to study the draft bill before handing it to Parliament this month, according to its authors.

The proposed law does not only target traffickers. Those who abet the crime, including owners or representatives of hotels, bars, villas and brothels that use or employ trafficked people, are considered culprits. They also face lengthy jail terms or life imprisonment, in addition to losing property acquired from the trade.

“We are preparing the Cabinet memo,” said Mr Gilbert Onyango, the chairman of the legal sub-committee that has been drafting the Trafficking in Persons Bill. He is the programme officer in charge of policy and legislative advocacy at the Child Rights Advisory Documentation and Legal Centre (Cradle). “We hope to have a draft bill by the time the House resumes in October.”

This is a reworked version after the AG rejected the draft two years ago. The AG had identified flaws that needed fixing, including a conflict with existing laws. For instance, while the Children’s Act defines a child as a “person” below the age of 18 years, the anti-trafficking draft bill looked at a child as “human being”.

According to Alice Maranga, the Fida awareness programme official, who was part of the technical committee that drafted the bill, human trafficking is the third largest earner of illegal money, after narcotics and arms.

“Penalties should be stiff,” she said.

The draft proposes establishment of the Inter-Agency Board Against Trafficking in Persons charged with overseeing the implementation of programmes and policies against the crime, measures to protect the confidentiality of victims, extradition of suspects, restitution for victims and immunity to victims.

It defines a trafficker and those trafficked. Those trafficked are considered victims and therefore protected by the law.

“At the moment, the Kenyan law deals with victims as if they were criminals,” said Odhiambo, a programme officer at Cradle.

The bill provides for extradition of suspected traffickers or smugglers.

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API/Source.The Nation (Kenya), by Ken Opala - October 6, 2008.

South Africa: Welcomes ANC defectors

Holomisa said yesterday it is the “business of the new leadership [of the breakaway party] to go to the market and market themselves”. “The UDM is part of that market,” he told The Times last night from George after a ceremony at which new UDM members were welcomed.

His remarks come amid persistent reports that disgruntled members of the ruling party are planning to establish a new political formation. Yesterday, Jacob Zuma and other ANC party leaders reportedly met in an attempt to figure out how to deal with the faction of leaders, unhappy with the treatment of former president Thabo Mbeki, likely to lead a breakaway.

The new party — rumoured to be called the ANC Democratic Front, ANC Plus, National African Congress or the Real ANC — will, it is believed, be registered with the Independent Electoral Commission in time to contest next year’s elections.

Holomisa said the country will benefit from a coalition of opposition parties, echoing a call last week from Patricia de Lille’s Independent Democrats in Western Cape.

“The benefit of the new party will not be for the UDM but for the country. If they succeed in reducing the ANC’s two-thirds majority in parliament, it will be good for democracy.”

He said a coalition government would augur well for putting a stop to “non-accountability and poor service delivery”.

“If the opposition do well in the elections, they, with the formation of the [breakaway] party, are able to answer those calls that service delivery needs to be improved and that the people need a government that accounts to them,” said Holomisa.

He urged leaders of the ANC to accept that their party had finally split.

The Sunday Times yesterday revealed that the decision to formally announce the establishment of a new political party was taken at a secret meeting held in Johannesburg on Friday.

“The ANC leadership needs to swallow its pride and accept that the hour has arrived,” Holomisa said. “The ANC of yesteryear, the much-vaunted ‘broad church’, is now split in two.”

Holomisa said it might be wise, after next year’s general election, for all parties and South Africans interested in changing the political landscape to meet “and begin the discussion of how we can compete as an alternative government in the 2014 elections”.

“In the meantime there would be no harm for us to talk after the election about forming coalition governments wherever our combined support outstrips the ANC,” he said.

South Africa did not deserve to be a one-party state or to be governed by “ANC puppets controlled by communists who don’t have the guts to participate in elections”.

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API/Source.The Times (South Africa) - October 6, 2008.

South Africa: Confusion about ANC splinter party (editorial)

President Kgalema Motlanthe and ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe say they don’t believe there will be a breakaway party. But reading the letter authored on behalf of the ANC national executive committee by Jeff Radebe, it looked almost as if the NEC was trying to force the creation of a breakaway party. Radebe, who was mandated by the NEC to reply to the letter of protest penned by former defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota, seemed to be making a strong effort to drive Lekota and his “cronies” out of the ANC.

Whether that means a new party is indeed about to be launched is as yet unclear, despite reports indicating the launch is imminent. Nor is it clear what a new, Mbeki-ite party might hope to achieve, or how it would distinguish itself, in ideology or policy terms, from the ANC. Those who support the idea might hope to ensure that the ANC does not succeed in gaining a two-thirds majority in next year’s election. And that might be no bad thing for SA, opening space for a far more contested and democratic political landscape than we have had until now. But building support for a new party would be tough — probably especially so given that the new party’s leaders are the people who failed precisely in the run-up to Polokwane to build enough support in the ANC’s branches and structures to ensure an Mbeki victory.

This may be exactly what Radebe and others in the “new”, Zuma-led ANC who are trying to force a breakaway are banking on. Attempts from within the ANC to form new splinter parties have failed in the past. No doubt it’s hoped that the lesson would be learned if a new party won humiliatingly little support at the polls, scaring off anyone else with thoughts of trying a breakaway in future.

If that is the strategy, it is a risky one. It is at least possible that a new party would garner far more support than expected, and would do more electoral damage. It is possible, too — as opposition parties no doubt hope — that it could form new alliances that could shake up SA’s political landscape.

That, too, would be no bad thing. And even though the goings-on in the ruling party may be causing some uncertainty, even a mild sense of crisis, the prospect of a new party is not something to be feared. If nothing else, what we’re witnessing is the end of the ANC as a monolithic party overseen by authoritarian leaders.

Far from the control from the top to which we had become accustomed in the heyday of the Mbeki era, there now seems to be very little thought control at all. No longer do disputes and disaffection fester; no longer are they simply muttered about in the ANC’s structures; now they are right out there on the front page.

These are not, for the most part, disputes about policy, and in that sense they are not particularly productive. The increasingly vicious tone of some of it must make many loyal ANC members uncomfortable, but they are, in an important sense, about what kind of party the ANC wants to be, and how it will treat divisions within.

Whether or not a new party emerges, the ANC leadership must still deal with the fact that up to 40% of members are not Zuma supporters and feel alienated, and that includes many with experience in government. The tone of the comments by Motlanthe, Mantashe and Zuma suggests they do understand (even if others on the NEC do not) that to keep their party strong they will have to find a way to ensure those people feel welcome within the party. That’s why the way they handle the current disputes is important.

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API/Source.Business Day (South Africa) - October 6, 2008.

Africa at large: China could usher in a new era of banking (opinion)

Western finance is bound to change dramatically in the next few years. With depleted balance sheets and heightened credit adversity, the void will probably be filled by new players, notably from China and Japan. This could have important implications for Africa, where the resource boom could lead to attractive opportunities for Chinese banks.

While China has already bought into a number of international financial institutions (including Barclays, Morgan Stanley, JC Flowers), Japanese banks moved quickly to take advantage of the carnage on Wall Street to beef up their presence in investment banking. Mitsubishi UFJ has agreed to take a 10%-20% stake in Morgan Stanley, and Nomura says it will buy the Asia Pacific operations of Lehman Brothers for $225m. And with cash not a problem and subprime exposure a relatively alien concept, Asian banks are poised to expand their global presence further.

For China, expansion into the developed world is fraught with political danger, especially in the US, where suspicion of foreign (and particularly Chinese) investment in big US corporations runs deep. So the alternative is to follow patterns of trade, and this points in one direction: emerging markets, particularly Africa.

The case for China’s rapid expansion of trade relations with Africa ($72bn at the end of last year) is premised on the need for resources security to ensure continued rapid economic growth. Hence, its biggest trading partners are commodity rich countries of Africa: Sudan, Angola, Nigeria and SA. The format of getting to the commodities has been innovative, but based mostly on the Chinese extracting resources alone or forming joint ventures with governments, such as the Chambishi copper mine in Zambia, or taking stakes in existing projects, such as a 45% stake in an offshore Nigerian oil field by China National Offshore Oil Corporation.

Deals financed in Africa have been mostly through the China Exim Bank in trade finance and project finance. While details of the financing terms are not readily available, it appears from a World Bank study that a great many, if not most, were priced on favourable terms for the recipient countries, and function essentially as an extension of Chinese aid.

The China Development Bank assumes an even more important role, in concert with the China Exim Bank, through investment in the $5bn China-Africa Development Fund. It will be used mainly to support African countries’ agricultural, manufacturing and energy sectors, and the development of Chinese enterprises in Africa.

But the banking market in Africa remains underdeveloped, and poses challenges for institutions hoping to land increasing market share. Banks will need to develop payment and processing systems to handle international transfers and data-capturing and management information systems to process such data. Crucially, operational and credit risk systems will need to be enhanced. One of the main aims of the Chinese government in opening the banking system to foreign investment has been to gain the necessary expertise to become highly competitive.

But in local markets, and especially emerging markets, local banks may well have an advantage in market information given superior access to corporations, superior relationships and a better understanding of local market conditions. This implies that a foreign bank with little experience in entering foreign markets will need to take a cautious approach. It is likely to start with a fundamental understanding of the key players in the local market, and to approach such institutions with an understanding to co-operate, start joint ventures and eventually to make equity investments. This has been the approach of foreign banks in entering the Chinese banking market.

* Riaan Meyer is a London-based financial analyst and a research associate for the China in Africa Project at the South African Institute of International Affairs.

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API/Source.Business Day (South Africa), by Riaan Meyer - October 6, 2008.