I mentioned once why can't we think the same ,if this industry gets established in kenya people will have jobs , govt will collect more PAYE,crime will drop .why can't we think the same?wasn't there a time Alfred Mutua wanted to give land for free to manufacturing companies at machakos?what happened? Did it take off?



My simple math head is asking me, why did Dangote go to tanzania, skip kenya and then went to ethiopia? ??? Why? I thought kenya is a magnate for foreign investors? ?

Most likely driven away by our "RENT SEEKING" political class. Someone must have told him to part with 5% of his local shareholding to have the licence expedited. He being who is is, he must have given them the middle finger and told them to F***-off.

I hear there is an investor who has been denied a sugar factory licence coz he has refused to part with Sh 200M

Investors in Ethiopia are happy that the government is taking the initiative and delivering on promises. They are flocking in, and the many hotel brands that have mushroomed all over Addis Ababa are not disappointed.

During the reception at the Radisson Blue, I meet a group of European investors and this is what they told me. Initially, their desire was to set up in Kenya and grow their business to other parts of Africa.

They travelled to Nairobi. Through a local contact, they tried to set up an appointment with the Minister but after several days in Nairobi, the appointment never materialised.

They went back to Europe, saying they would try to get a firm appointment before coming back to Kenya. Eventually, the appointment was set up and they travelled to Kenya.

On reaching the Ministry, they were told that the Minister would not be in. He had abruptly travelled, without sending an apology to his guests.

A Director at the Ministry met with them and since he could not commit in anything, they achieved nothing.

But they had one last hope. That evening, they were to meet with a county Governor for dinner. The Governor showed up late with his wife, giving excuses that they had had a long drive and the traffic was unbearable.

As they talked, the county Governor’s wife interrupted to tell the investors that she was setting up a children’s home and she would need Sh10 million donation to set off the project.

By this time they had made up their mind that Kenya was not going to be the place to invest. They politely paid for the dinner and left without mentioning the reason why they wanted to talk to the Governor.

To their surprise, the Governor did not ask what the purpose of their meeting was. With their Kenyan link, they decided to give Ethiopia a try.

One phone call and an Ethiopian official on a Tuesday morning secured an appointment the next day, Wednesday. They travelled to Ethiopia and were met at the Airport.

To their amazement, they were driven to the prestigious Sheraton Hotel by a retinue of vehicles led by a police car with a siren. In the evening, the Foreign Ministry had arranged a dinner with two other Ministers.

During the dinner, they were asked what kind of investment they were interested in. After explaining what they wanted, they were told that the following morning they would meet with the Governor of Oromia.

After breakfast on Thursday, they were driven to Oromia. The Governor was waiting for them. They were promptly shown three sites where they could put up the investment.

By 1pm, they had signed up a memorandum of understanding. Slightly more than three months later, they are through with the initial infrastructure on the ground.

With this speed of action, it does not surprise me why the Ethiopians are re-writing the story of economic transformation.