Issue 9 February - May 2002by Paul Runge - enquiries to Traders

“We’ve had no help from the World Bank for over ten years and still the people aren’t rioting”.
The setting is the poolside bar area at the Nairobi Holiday Inn. My companion at the table is a jovial, rotund Kenyan businessman. “Sure we need foreign funds but Nairobi is full of expats, diplomats and others that keep things going here irrespective of the local economy”. He snorts in disgust and adds, “And believe me; the local economy is indeed pretty low right now”.

Although Nairobi has one of the most pleasant and mildest climates I have come across in Africa, it has been a long and busy day and I can’t wait to get rid of my jacket and tie. However, my Kenyan friend is not budging—he remains (in true British colonial tradition) in his thick, dark, pin-striped suit, sipping hot tea and mopping the perspiration beads from his forehead and temples. He points to the front page of the Daily Nation in front of him and laughs. The headline reads: “Icy farewell for UK envoy”.

“Hell, we’ve just said good riddance to the British High Commissioner!” “President Moi complained yesterday that Britain had neglected Kenya to the point that there was nothing positive to talk about in their joint relations. He expressed his anger to outgoing High Commissioner Sir Jeffrey James at what he termed the ‘deterioration of British–Kenya diplomatic relations in the last 10 years’—and he accused Britain of failing to offer support when it was needed. ‘Britain should have known Kenya more than any other country’”.

The next day is even more hectic.The first meeting for my South African client and I is breakfast with an agent for a SA–based company selling sophisticated medical equipment. “You’ll be surprised. We have some good private hospitals here that can afford to buy your fancy stuff from the south. Problem is you South Africans don’t reply to our messages. You’ve got all this technology but you don’t know how to market it”.

Then through thick, slow traffic up through the woods to the quieter suburbs of Nairobi Hill. There we spend the morning looking at three modern apartment blocks that are under construction. Our chaperone explains, “There’s a huge market for accommodation in this city. Because land is so limited, we have to build upwards anyway”. I note that the luxurious nature of the apartments. “We sell to the middle class as well as the upper crust of locals and expats. Its amazing how people manage to find money for the things they really want”.
On the way down to the city, we see a signpost: KIGABARE RIVER GREEN BELT. STOP TAKING PUBLIC LAND. We ask the driver what it is all about and he reacts with much anger and energetic gesticulation. “There is a lady who is fighting the Government over our natural forest that they want to give to the big politicians so they can build on it and make lots of money. She’s tough. She won’t shut up—I heard she was on South African television”.

The traffic has gotten far worse since the days of my first visits to Nairobi in the early nineties. We go through a large traffic circle bordered by blocks of seemingly empty flats. “Those were built by a government company that went bust. I don’t know why but they’ve been empty since the 1980’s. And yet we need places to stay so badly!”

We stop for evening drinks at the Lord Delamere Terrace at the old Norfolk Hotel—dark wood and a slightly damp smell. In an effort to enhance the colonial “White Mischief” feel about the place, I order an expensive gin and tonic. My client is a brandy-and-coke man and won’t be swayed. There are three shiny four-wheel drive vehicles waiting at the entrance below us and strutting in-between them is an old white, blue-haired lady snapping out shrill commands to a group of clearly bewildered and equally old American and European tourists. “Come on now, hurry, we don’t want to get Naivasha too late”. There are smartly dressed drivers helping them into the vehicles. Our waiter confides, “We don’t get so many tourists any more. Nairobi has so many good but empty hotels. There is so much competition. You visitors can get such good rates”.

A young Moslem businessman picks us up and takes us for an alcohol-free dinner in the open car park of a shopping centre. As we sit down, we are engulfed by swarms of young boys pushing various menus from the surrounding food establishments under our noses. Nearly all the cuisine on offer is of Indian and eastern origin. “The Indian business community is strong in Kenya. We are good survivors”.

He transports us back to our hotel by way of a short cut using an unlit road. “Crime has got bad here. The longer way is safer but I don’t like to stay on the road more than absolutely necessary. Sometimes I feel more scared of our own police than the bandits”.

Back in my room, I switch to a local channel. President Moi is standing on a podium awarding degrees to a mass of students. One young man is interviewed: “I enjoyed the ceremony very much but I don’t have high hopes of getting a job”.

The next morning we are given a lift to the airport by a South African businessman who has been living in Nairobi for about six months. “I must admit I enjoy Kenya. The game parks and Mombasa are great although the roads aren’t all that good. Nairobi is a centre for the East African region and even if its not going well in Kenya, we can partly cover Uganda and Tanzania from here”.

As in the case of our arrival, our departure occurs without any problems. No visas are required for South Africans on less than 30-day stays, no long queues and questions but plenty to buy at duty-free—including fancy packets of Kenyan coffee and tea.

As we take off on the South African Airways flight, I recall the observation made by our friend who gave us the lift to the airport. “It hasn’t rained properly yet this season. Look for the cattle that the Masai bring to graze near the runways”.
I cannot see any cattle below but am sure that they must be there. “Enough problems- Kenya doesn’t need a drought right now”.

Author's Contact Details
Author: Paul Runge - enquiries to Traders
Tel: +27 11 465 8871
Fax: +27 11 705 2431
Email: editorial@tradersafrica.com