1851: Léon Foucault uses a pendulum to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth. It is the first direct visual evidence not based on watching the stars circle in the sky.
Jean Bernard Léon Foucault was born in 1819. His mother wanted him to become a doctor, but he dropped out of medical school when [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Nairobi’
Jan. 7, 1851: Foucault Gets the Swing of Things
January 7th, 2011 |
No Comments
Too green to fail
July 7th, 2010 |
No Comments
When it comes to protected areas, less really can mean more
Thomas Brooks, a biologist with NatureServe, a conservation group based in Arlington, Virginia, has long been fighting to preserve biodiversity in the Philippines. Quite often it can feel like a lost cause. Conservation efforts in the country have struggled against ever greater deforestation and decades of environmental neglect. You might think that, when Mr Brooks heard that the Philippine government is considering opening some of its protected areas to mining, it would have been the last straw. Instead, it was an occasion for hope.
According to Theresa Mundita Lim, Director of the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources, who made the announcement at a meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nairobi, the move on mining is part of a larger strategy to improve how much biodiversity the government protects. By cutting spending on areas that are lower-priority and instead putting the money where it will be more effective in protecting nature, she hopes to get more impact out of the limited conservation funds available. …
The Red Cross movement: How much evil can you not see?
December 10th, 2009 |
No Comments
Impartiality is still the best policy, a giant humanitarian network says
AS EVERY student of warfare knows, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is staunchly, and at times controversially, neutral. Its work as a guardian of the laws governing conflict has obliged it to deal with all manner of bad people, including the Nazis.
Less well known, probably, is the neutral tradition of the other wing of the Red Cross movement, which is much larger: the network of humanitarian volunteers in 186 countries which offers medical aid and practical help to victims of disaster, both natural and man-made. But the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), whose leaders met in Nairobi last month, is adamant that impartiality has served it well, and worked to the advantage of the people it succours. …
World’s fastest man adopts world fastest feline
November 3rd, 2009 |
No Comments
The world’s fastest man has adopted the animal kingdom’s fastest sprinter, as Usain Bolt welcomed a new baby cheetah named “Lightning Bolt” into his life.
The Jamaican sprinter’s sponsorship of the three-month-old male cheetah is part of an effort to boost Kenyan conservation efforts of its famous wildlife, whose survival is threatened by trophy hunting, [...]
Oct. 15, 1956: Fortran Forever Changes Computing’s Fortunes
October 15th, 2009 |
No Comments
1956: Fortran, the first modern computer language, is shared with the coding community for the first time. Three years in the making, it would be refined in work that continues to this day.
While this ground-breaking “high level” language has been long eclipsed, it defined an approach to programming that still informs the art of computer [...]
Passport row Canadian back home
August 16th, 2009 |
No Comments
By Lee Carter
BBC News, Toronto
A Canadian woman, stranded in Kenya for three months because officials said she did not resemble her passport photo, has arrived home in Toronto.
Suaad Mohamud was prevented in May from returning from a two-week holiday.
Canadian consular officials accused her of being an imposter, voided her passport and asked Kenyan officials to prosecute her.
The results of a DNA test finally proved her identity, clearing the way for her return to Canada.
Family members and a throng of reporters were waiting for Suaad Hagi Mohamud as she arrived back in Canada.
The lawyer for the the 31-year-old Somalian-born Canadian woman said that she intended to sue the governments of Canada and Kenya for their alleged roles in her detention.
Ms Mohamud’s ordeal began in May when she tried to leave Kenya after visiting her mother there.
Kenyan officials said that her face did not match her passport photo.
Canadian consular staff in Nairobi maintained that she was not who she claimed to be, even when Ms Mohamud handed over several other forms of identification.
It was not until a DNA test confirmed her identity on Monday that Canadian officials prepared emergency travel documents so that she could return to Toronto.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has promised a review of the case.
But opposition politicians and other critics say Suaad Mohamad’s case raises serious questions about the willingness of Canadian officials to protect their citizens who get into difficulties abroad.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
School pupil, 90, dies in Kenya
August 14th, 2009 |
No Comments
Kenya’s oldest pupil, Kimani Nganga Maruge, has died in Nairobi aged 90.
The great-grandfather held the Guinness World Record for being the oldest person to start primary school, at the age of 84.
His house in the Rift Valley was burnt down in post-election violence last year and he was later moved from a camp to an old people’s home in the capital.
Despite the disruption, Mr Maruge kept hard at his studies and had two years left to finish his primary education.
Mr Maruge, a veteran of the Mau Mau independence movement, never had the opportunity to go to school when he was younger.
The father-of-five said he wanted to learn how to read the Bible for himself and he was also suspicious that he might not have been getting his full pension so he was also keen to study maths.
In 2004 he enrolled at Kapkenduywa primary school, in Eldoret, a year after the Kenyan government introduced free primary schooling.
With one of the best attendance records he was made a prefect in the school.
Two of his 30 grandchildren, who had been at the same school, said he had eventually wanted to complete a veterinary diploma.
‘Courageous’
Mumbi Kamuri, head of Cheshire Homes in Kenya where Mr Maruge spent the last year of his life, told the BBC he was dedicated to his studies right to the end.
Even after he was diagnosed with cancer in February he asked for teachers to teach him at home, she said.
"He was a very courageous man," she said.
"Even if you don’t see it through to the end, you will still have achieved something."
In 2005, he travelled to the United States where he called on world leaders attending a summit to make education for the poor a priority.
The BBC’s Will Ross in Nairobi says he will be remembered by many people as an inspirational figure who brought new meaning to the phrase, "it’s never too late".
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Mob kills UK gems expert in Kenya
August 13th, 2009 |
No Comments
A leading Scottish gemstone expert has been killed in Kenya by a gang armed with clubs, spears, bows and arrows.
Campbell Bridges, 71, was attacked by 20 men in the grounds of his 600-acre property near the southern town of Voi.
He fought off the mob with his son Bruce and four Kenyan staff but died of his injuries on arrival at hospital.
Police are investigating the attack which is reportedly connected to a three-year dispute over access and control of Mr Bridges’ gemstone mines.
Internationally renowned
He was driving his pick-up truck in the grounds of his home within a national park when he was ambushed by about 20 men brandishing crude home-made weapons, police said.
Witnesses said his injuries were caused by stab wounds from a knife. No-one else was injured in the attack on Tuesday.
Mr Bridges’ body has since been flown to the capital Nairobi, police said.
A UK Foreign Office spokesman said: "We can confirm the death of Campbell Bridges on 11 August following injuries sustained in an attack near Voi in Kenya.
"British consular officials are liaising with the local authorities who have confirmed that an investigation is under way."
The internationally-renowned gemmologist has lived in the African country most of his life, and is credited with discovering the green Tsavorite gem, a rare stone unique to the region.
He also worked as a special consultant to the New York jewellers, Tiffany and Company.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Mobile cash
August 12th, 2009 |
No Comments
By Louise Greenwood
BBC Africa Business Report
Millions of Africans are using mobile phones to pay bills, move cash and buy basic everyday items. So why has a form of banking that has proved a dead duck in the West been such a hit across the continent
It has been estimated that there are a billion people around the world who lack a bank account but own a mobile.
Africa has the fastest-growing mobile phone market in the world and most of the operators are local firms.
In countries like South Africa, for example, mobile phones outnumber fixed lines by eight to one.
In Kenya there were just 15,000 handsets in use a decade ago. Now that number tops 15 million.
Setting up a bank account on your phone is straightforward. All you do is register with an approved agent, provide your phone, along with an ID card, and then deposit some cash onto your account.
You can use it to pay for everything from beer to cattle – one Masai farmer told the BBC that when he sells cows in Nairobi, he puts the money on his phone to ensure that robbers can’t get his cash.
A Kenyan woman said she uses the technology to transfer money from her phone to that of her parents while a Nairobi businessman told us it was handy for settling customer accounts.
Large volumes, small transactions
In Tanzania just 5% of the population have bank accounts. In Ethiopia there is one bank for every 100,000 people.
Even Africans with bank accounts often face high charges for moving their cash around. It is this gap in the market that mobile phone banking is targeting.
While the amounts of cash being transferred are often tiny, the sheer volume of business compensates for that, as Pauline Vaughan, head of Kenya’s biggest mobile phone banking service M-Pesa, explains.
"We have over seven million customers who have registered for M-Pesa…. Our average transaction is actually less than $40 [£24] – this is the kind of customer we are addressing," she says.
"But in total we are moving in excess of $8.5m per day."
‘Cherry-picking’
However, the mobile phone revolution continues to leave large parts of the continent behind.
While countries like Kenya, South Africa and much of North Africa are approaching 100% mobile penetration, in Burundi, the Central African Republic, Eritrea, and Rwanda it is less than 30%.
Low incomes, illiteracy and large signal black spots are all obstacles to the sale and use of mobile phones. Taxes, which can be as high as 30% in countries like Tanzania and Uganda, are also a disincentive.
Telecoms experts say that many African markets remain too risky for mobile phone companies, which have targeted more stable and wealthy countries first.
"What we have seen is cherry-picking in markets like South Africa and much of Francophone North Africa," says Nigel Hawkins, an independent industry analyst.
"There are concerns [in other countries] about the cost of building infrastructure; there are worries about the non-payment of debt and unstable governments."
Expansion
Mobile phone banking is, however, attracting charitable backing. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation plans to put $12.5m into a programme to extend services to the poor.
But those companies with a firm foothold in their home markets are increasingly looking to expand.
With the market in Kenya largely sewn up, M-Pesa is now eyeing neighbouring Tanzania and even Afghanistan.
France’s MTN recently announced plans for a fully-fledged bank account on mobile phones, with an optional credit card.
The service will be extended to the 20 countries where MTN operates, including Uganda, Nigeria, Cameroon and Ivory Coast, which combined have over 90 million mobile phone users.
Africa Business Report, BBC World News – Saturday, 22 August 0130 GMT and 2230 GMT; Sunday, 23 August, 1330 GMT and 2030 GMT.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Mandela meeting inspires Clinton
August 7th, 2009 |
No Comments
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said she felt inspired by her meeting with former South African President Nelson Mandela.
The meeting at his home in Johannesburg came on the second leg of her tour of Africa.
Mrs Clinton hailed Mr Mandela for the personal discipline he showed when he fought South Africa’s apartheid system.
She was shown handwritten copies of Mr Mandela’s letters from his time as a political prisoner.
Mrs Clinton was also shown his membership card of the Methodist Church, a denomination to which she also belongs.
Referring to these documents, she said: "It of course inspires in me an even greater admiration for his public work but an even greater affection for the man.
"The discipline that he brought to a life filled with so many great achievements, not only for him personally but for South Africa and the world."
Relations between the US and South Africa were warm during the 1990s under President Mandela and Mrs Clinton’s husband Bill Clinton, the then US president, says the BBC’s Jonah Fisher in Johannesburg.
A commission was established to prioritise areas of cooperation, but when Mr Clinton left the White House this was quietly forgotten, our correspondent says.
South African officials hope that the visit by Mrs Clinton will signal a new period of cooperation to support the already strong business links between the two countries, he adds.
‘Working together’
Earlier, Mrs Clinton met South African International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and said the US and South Africa were "working together" to bring about reform in Zimbabwe.
CLINTON’S AFRICAN TOUR- Kenya
- South Africa
- Nigeria
- Angola
- Liberia
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Cape Verde
"We’re working together to realise the vision of a free, democratic and prosperous Zimbabwe," Mrs Clinton said in a joint news conference with Ms Nkoana-Mashabane.
"We’re going to be closely consulting as to how best to deal with what is a very difficult situation for South Africa and for the United States, but mostly for the people of Zimbabwe."
In the coming days, Mrs Clinton will meet South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma, when she is likely again to address the situation in Zimbabwe, as well as discussing business and health.
Zimbabwe’s economy has improved in recent months but the US is concerned that many of the political and social reforms promised by President Robert Mugabe following the power-sharing agreement with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai have not yet been implemented.
In their meeting on Saturday, Mrs Clinton is expected to ask Mr Zuma to use his influence to combat what she has called the "negative effects" of Mr Mugabe’s presidency.
Earlier, Ms Nkoana-Mashabane said she believed the Obama administration would work alongside the African Union in helping to bring peace to parts of Africa.
"We see this administration and the government of the USA as a strategic partner on the political front, as we work with them to look at the mechanisms to resolve areas of conflict working together with the African Union," she said.
Mrs Clinton is also due to meet Deputy-President Kgalema Motlanthe.
She will also attend a conference with Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi before attending National Women’s Day events in the capital, Pretoria.
African potential
Mrs Clinton began her seven-nation African tour in Kenya on Wednesday, where she held talks in Nairobi with Kenya’s president and prime minister.
Addressing African leaders at an economic summit, Mrs Clinton said the continent had "enormous potential for progress".
But she stressed that harnessing that potential would require democracy and good governance.
Before Mrs Clinton arrived in Kenya, the US embassy in Nairobi had issued a statement scolding Kenya for its decision not to set up a local court to seek justice for the victims of the deadly clashes which followed the 2007 election.
On Thursday, Mrs Clinton met the Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in the Kenyan capital.
She offered to increase US support for his unity government and to "take action" against neighbouring Eritrea if it did not stop supporting militants in Somalia.
Eritrea denies supporting Somalia’s al-Shabab militants, who are trying to overthrow Somalia’s government.
The Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu told the BBC Mrs Clinton’s comments were "very disappointing" and that the White House had "failed to learn mistakes of the previous US administration".
Mrs Clinton’s 11-day trip will take her to Angola on Sunday before she heads to Nigeria, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cape Verde.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Clinton tour reaches South Africa
August 7th, 2009 |
No Comments
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in South Africa on the second leg of her 11-day tour of the continent.
Mrs Clinton will hold meetings with her South African counterpart and with former President Nelson Mandela on the first of three days in the country.
Talks will focus on business and on HIV/Aids, which affects nearly 6 million South Africans.
In the coming days she will meet President Jacob Zuma, for talks likely to include the situation in Zimbabwe.
Correspondents say Mrs Clinton will ask Mr Zuma to use his influence to combat what she has called "negative effects of the continuing presidency of President [Robert] Mugabe" in Zimbabwe.
Relations between the US and South Africa were warm during the 1990s under Presidents Mandela and Bill Clinton, says the BBC’s Jonah Fisher in Johannesburg.
A commission was established to prioritise areas of co-operation but when Mr Clinton left the White House this was quietly forgotten.
South African officials hope that the visit by Mrs Clinton, the former US president’s wife, will signal a new period of cooperation, says our correspondent.
On Friday morning, Mrs Clinton is holding talks with South African Foreign Minister Nkoana-Mashabane and Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.
Later, she will meet Mr Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, and attend a conference with Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi before travelling to the South African capital Pretoria for National Women’s Day events.
African potential
Mrs Clinton began her seven-nation African tour in Kenya on Wednesday where she held talks in Nairobi with Kenya’s president and prime minister.
CLINTON’S AFRICAN TOUR- Kenya
- South Africa
- Nigeria
- Angola
- Liberia
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Cape Verde
Addressing African leaders at an economic summit, Mrs Clinton said the continent had "enormous potential for progress".
But she stressed that harnessing that potential would require democracy and good governance.
Before Mrs Clinton arrived in Kenya, the US embassy in Nairobi had issued a statement scolding Kenya for its decision not to set up a local court to seek justice for the victims of the deadly clashes which followed the 2007 election.
On Thursday, Mrs Clinton met the Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in the Kenyan capital.
She offered to increase US support for his unity government and to "take action" against neighbouring Eritrea if it does not stop supporting militants in Somalia.
Eritrea denies supporting Somalia’s al-Shabab militants, who are trying to overthrow Somalia’s government.
During her 11-day trip Mrs Clinton will also visited South Africa, Nigeria, Angola, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cape Verde.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Hillary Clinton arrives in Africa
August 4th, 2009 |
No Comments
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on her way Kenya, to begin an 11-day tour of the African continent.
Her trip will include South Africa, Nigeria, Liberia and Angola and she will meet Somali leaders in Kenya.
The visit, her longest overseas journey in her post to date, is part of an attempt by the US to show that Africa remains a key foreign policy priority.
Development issues – including food security, health and gender concerns – are expected to be high on the agenda.
Mrs Clinton’s trip comes less than a month after US President Barack Obama travelled to Ghana.
Somali hopes
Ahead of her arrival on Tuesday, the US embassy in Nairobi issued a statement scolding Kenya for its decision not to set up a local court to seek justice for the victims of the country’s post-election violence.
AFRICAN TOUR- Kenya
- South Africa
- Nigeria
- Angola
- Liberia
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Somalia
At least 1,300 people died during clashes following the disputed December 2007 poll.
Meanwhile Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed said the meeting with Mrs Clinton in Kenya would be "a golden chance for the Somali people and government".
"It signals how the American government, the Obama administration and the international community are willing to support Somalia this time," he said, referring to earlier failed peacekeeping missions to the country.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Hard road
August 1st, 2009 |
No Comments
By Brian Hungwe
Harare
Human smugglers are running a complex multi-million dollar network, fleecing distressed Somalis seeking a way out of their war-torn country and desperate Ethiopians caught up in vicious cycles of hunger, floods and political repression.
Thousands of people leave their countries every year, trekking thousands of miles through eight countries from the Horn of Africa, via East Africa down to South Africa.
Bribes oil their journeys across the region by air, overland and sea.
And immigration and police are complicit. The state of the airports and the corruption that goes on there mirrors the body politic of the countries involved. And this has security implications for the countries involved.
"The next five to 10 years, Somalia will have nobody there"
Ismail, Somali truck driver in Malawi
In a recent report on smuggling in the region, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) noted that "guardians of national border integrity… are deeply compromised, creating a threat to national security".
It says their complicity is keeping the smuggling business afloat and that they "should be considered part of the illegal and abusive enterprise" where "cupidity appears to be the foremost and only visible motivation".
Huge sums
IOM’s Tal Raviv, based in Nairobi, acknowledges that the smuggling ring is "sophisticated."
"Tens of thousands of people are able to move from Somalia and Ethiopia, all the way down to South Africa, and they arrive successfully," she said.
"All the borders are porous, it’s just that," points out Mokotedi Mpshe, who heads South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority.
Mr Mpshe knows the extent to which corruption has permeated his society.
"Some government officials can let you down. We may try to fight human trafficking, but at the same time there may be elements amongst ourselves that are working against us," he said.
Cash-strapped governments can’t match the huge sums smugglers pay immigration and police officers to ease the path of illegal immigrants en route to South Africa.
Expanding business
I found that immigrants pay smugglers on average $1,500 – $2,000 before the journey begins.
The IOM also estimates the smuggling business generates annual revenue of about $40m. Along the way the immigrants lose much more to robberies.
And rape and other abuse is common.
Over the years, the flow of Somalis has been growing, and thus, according to the IOM, "providing smugglers an expanding and lucrative business opportunity".
"The next five to 10 years, Somalia will have nobody there," said Ismail, a Somali truck driver living in Malawi.
"There is no peace which is coming, there is nobody who is fighting for Somalia."
Lions and snakes
Salma left Somalia with her son Nasir, 3, six years ago, when she was 23. She left her mother and brother behind, and has no clue where they are.
"Sometimes [smugglers] ask the women to sleep with them. You sleep with them, otherwise they leave you behind"
Salma, Somali migrant
From her flat in Cape Town, South Africa, she says that everyone in Somalia is trying to flee the fighting there.
She says she walked on foot for 24 days during the journey.
In Kenya, Salma met Amina, a smuggler linked into a network that carried her across several countries.
Nairobi’s Eastleigh district is, according to IOM, the smuggling hub of the region.
It is a little Mogadishu in the heart of Nairobi, whose life runs 24 hours, hosting a close-knit Somali community that keeps itself to itself.
Money transfers are done with ease, and anything goes. Vehicles with tinted windows are a common sight, and haulage trucks move goods in and out every hour.
It is here that Salma gave $1,000 to the smuggler, Amina, who accompanied her and a small party of migrants on the first half of their journey.
Police bribed
In Tanzania, six members of the party were arrested.
Salma says the smuggler bribed the police to secure their freedom.
She says they had similar experiences in Zambia and Zimbabwe.
"[Smuggler] paid some money and we came out."
Six years later, Salma’s journey is still vivid for her, as she recounts how she was terrified of lions and snakes as she trudged through the bush.
"Sometimes [smugglers], they ask the women to sleep with them," Salma remembers.
"You sleep with them, otherwise they leave you behind… they do that."
The IOM’s Tal Raviv confirmed that almost all smuggled women get raped, and her organisation has also received reports of the same thing happening to men.
Salma’s journey was even tougher than usual because she was travelling with a child, so the smugglers told her they could not give her accommodation.
"I was struggling too much," she remembers.
Nasir, now nine, vividly recalls sleeping in the forest, his mother walking long distances, and sometimes going for days without food.
"I never ever, I don’t want to do again that journey."
To listen to Brian Hungwe’s full investigation, tune in to African Perspectiveon the BBC World Service.The program is first broadcast on Saturday 1 August at 1106 GMT. It will be available online from 2106 GMT, for one week.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Todd Moss: What can Africa Hope for During Clinton Visit?
July 31st, 2009 |
No Comments
Clinton, in choosing the largest economies and the continent’s most influential capitals, is likely to highlight more traditional US economic and security interests than Obama did on his Ghana trip.
Dutch held ‘heading for Somalia’
July 30th, 2009 |
No Comments
Four Dutch nationals have been arrested in Kenya on suspicion of aiding insurgents in Somalia.
The four 21-year-olds, three born in Morocco, the other in Somalia, were stopped by Kenyan police as they were heading for the border.
The local police were not satisfied with their claims to be tourists.
There have been a series of recent reports that young men from the US, Europe and South Asia have joined the Somali insurgents in a "holy war".
Lamu District Commissioner Stephen Ikua told the BBC the four had travelled by boat from Lamu island before hiring a tractor.
He said it was possible they were headed to Somalia to assist one of the insurgent groups there and they would be interrogated in Nairobi.
The Kenyan authorities say they have arrested and deported several other young men from Tanzania and the United States in the same area for the same reason.
BBC East Africa correspondent Will Ross says in recent months eyewitnesses in Somalia have reported seeing foreigners amongst the insurgent fighters known as al-Shabab.
Al-Shabab wants to overthrow the UN-backed transitional government in Somalia and put in place strict Islamic law.
The hardline Islamists control much of southern Somalia.
Foreigners have headed to Somalia to take part in what they consider a holy war or jihad.
The authorities in Minnesota in the United States are investigating claims that several young men were lured to Somalia to fight.
Since early May, the fighting between the insurgents and the forces loyal to Somalia’s government has displaced nearly 250,000 people.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Kenya to build £533m windfarm
July 27th, 2009 |
No Comments
With surging demand for power and blackouts common across the continent, Africa is looking to solar, wind and geothermal technologies to meet its energy needs
One of the hottest places in the world is set to become the site of Africa’s most ambitious venture in the battle against global warming.
Some 365 giant wind turbines are to be installed in desert around Lake Turkana in northern Kenya – used as a backdrop for the film The Constant Gardener – creating the biggest windfarm on the continent. When complete in 2012, the £533m project will have a capacity of 300MW, a quarter of Kenya’s current installed power and one of the highest proportions of wind energy to be fed in a national grid anywhere in the world.
Until now, only north African countries such as Morocco and Egypt have harnessed wind power for commercial purposes on any real scale on the continent. But projects are now beginning to bloom south of the Sahara as governments realise that harnessing the vast wind potential can efficiently meet a surging demand for electricity and ending blackouts.
Already Ethiopia has commissioned a £190m, 120MW farm in Tigray region, representing 15% of the current electricity capacity, and intends to build several more. Tanzania has announced plans to generate at least 100MW of power from two projects in the central Singida region, more than 10% of the country’s current supply. In March, South Africa, whose heavy reliance on coal makes its electricity the second most greenhouse-gas intensive in the world, became the first African country to announce a feed-in tariff for wind power, whereby customers generating electricity receive a cash payment for selling that power to the grid.
Kenya is trying to lead the way. Besides the Turkana project, which is being backed by the African Development Bank, private investors have proposed establishing a second windfarm near Naivasha, the well-known tourist town. And in the Ngong hills near Nairobi, the Maasai herders and elite long-distance athletes used to braving the frigid winds along the escarpment already have towering company: six 50m turbines from the Danish company Vestas that were erected last month and will add 5.1MW to the national grid from August. Another dozen turbines will be added at the site in the next few years.
Christopher Maende, an engineer from the state power company KenGen, which is running the Ngong farm and testing 14 other wind sites across the country, said local residents and herders were initially worried that noise from the turbines would scare the animals.
“Now they are coming to admire the beauty of these machines,” he said.
Kenya’s electricity is already very green by global standards. Nearly three-quarters of KenGen’s installed capacity comes from hydropower, and a further 11% from geothermal plants, which tap into the hot rocks a mile beneath the Rift Valley to release steam to power turbines.
Currently fewer than one-in-five Kenyans has access to electricity but demand is rising quickly, particularly in rural areas and from businesses. At the same time, increasingly erratic rainfall patterns and the destruction of key water catchment areas have affected hydroelectricity output. Low water levels caused the country’s largest hydropower dam to be shut down last month.
As a short-term measure KenGen is relying on imported fossil fuels, such as coal and diesel. But within five years the government wants to drastically reduce the reliance on hydro by adding 500MW of geothermal power and 800MW of wind energy to the grid.
Not only are they far greener options than coal or diesel, but the country’s favourable geology and meteorology make them cheaper alternatives over time. The possibility of selling carbon credits to companies in the industrialised world is an added financial advantage.
“Kenya’s natural fuel should come from the wind, hot underground rock and the sun, whose potential has barely even been considered,” said Nick Nuttall, spokesman for the United Nations Environment Programme. “After the initial capital costs this energy is free.”
The Dutch consortium behind the Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) project has leased 66,000 hectares of land on the eastern edge of the world’s largest permanent desert lake. The volcanic soil is scoured by hot winds that blow consistently year round through the channel between the Kenyan and Ethiopian highlands.
According to LTWP, which has an agreement to sell its electricity to the Kenya Power & Lighting Company, the average wind speed is 11metres per second, akin to “proven reserves” in the oil sector, said Carlo Van Wageningen, chairman of the company.
“We believe that this site is one of the best in the world for wind,” he said. If the project succeeds, the company estimates that there is the potential for the farm to generate a further 2,700MW of power, some of which could be exported.
First, however, there are huge logistical obstacles to overcome. The remote site of Loiyangalani is nearly 300 miles north of Nairobi. Transporting the turbines will require several thousand truck journeys, as well as the improvement of bridges and roads along the way. Security is also an issue as the region is known bandit country, and many locals are armed with AK-47 assault rifles.
LTWP also has to construct a 266-mile transmission line and several substations to connect the windfarm to the national grid. It has promised to provide electricity to the closest local towns, currently powered by generators.
The greening of Africa
At the end of 2008, Africa’s installed wind power capacity was only 593MW. But that is set to change fast. Egypt has declared plans to have 7,200MW of wind electricity by 2020, meeting 12% of the country’s energy needs. Morocco has a 15% target over the same period. South Africa and Kenya have not announced such long-term goals, but with power shortages and wind potential of up to 60,000MW and 30,000MW respectively, local projects are expected to boom. With the carbon credit market proving strong incentives for investment other types of renewable energy are also set to take off. Kenya is planning to quickly expanding its geothermal capacity, and neighbouring Rift Valley countries up to Djibouti are examining their own potential. As technology improves and costs fall, solar will also enter the mix. Germany has already publicised plans to develop a €400bn solar park in the Sahara.
“Ultimately for Africa solar is the answer, although [costs mean] we may still be decades away,” said Herman Oelsner, president of the African Wind Energy Association.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
East Africa gets high-speed web
July 23rd, 2009 |
No Comments
The first undersea cable to bring high-speed internet access to East Africa is going live.
The fibre-optic cable, operated by African-owned firm Seacom, will connect South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Mozambique to Europe and Asia.
The firm says the cable will help to boost the prospects of the region’s industry and commerce.
The cable – which is 17,000km long – took two years to lay and cost more than $650m.
Seacom said in a statement the launch of the cable marked the "dawn of a new era for communications" between Africa and the rest of the world.
The services are being unveiled in ceremonies in the Kenyan port of Mombasa and the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam.
School benefits
The cable was due to be launched in June but was delayed by pirate activity off the coast of Somalia.
The BBC’s Will Ross in Nairobi says the internet revolution trumpeted by Seacom largely depends how well the service is rolled out across the region.
To the disappointment of many consumers, our correspondent says some ISPs (internet service providers) are not planning to lower the cost of the internet, but instead will offer increased bandwidth.
But businesses, which have been paying around $3,000 a month for 1MB through a satellite link, will now pay considerably less – about $600 a month.
The Kenyan government has been laying a network of cables to all of the country’s major towns and says the fibre-optic links will also enable schools nationwide to link into high quality educational resources.
But our correspondent says it is not clear whether the internet revolution will reach the villages, many of which still struggle to access reliable electricity.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Broadband ahoy
July 23rd, 2009 |
No Comments
The first of three undersea cables bringing high-speed internet to eastern Africa goes live on Thursday. The BBC’s Anne Waithera, in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, finds a nation impatient to join the broadband revolution.
In a busy cyber cafe in Nairobi dozens of people, mostly young, are hunched over computers surfing the net.
I try to strike up a conversation with one of them but he will not even look my way. Without looking up from the monitor he signals with his hand that I should wait until he is done.
"You’ll see a lot of YouTube and Facebook stuff now made for Africa by Africans"
Idd Salim
Symbiotic Media Consortium
This is perfectly understandable. It costs slightly less than $1 to surf for about an hour in a cyber-cafe in Nairobi and internet connection speeds are very slow.
But he is ready to talk after he pays his bill.
"It’s not good. It’s hanging and keeps wasting time and frustrating me," he says.
Another frustrated user complains: "I’ve spent more than 15 minutes instead of 10."
But things are about to change for these internet users.
The Seacom undersea fibre-optic cable goes live on Thursday, promising changes that will be felt right across eastern and southern Africa.
See map of Africa’s new fibre-optic cablesThe switch will take place simultaneously in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Maputo in Mozambique and Mtunzini in South Africa.
The switchover from relying mainly on satellites to the submarine cable is expected to massively increase connection speeds.
One of the biggest setbacks of satellite connections is that a change in weather almost always leads to unstable connectivity.
It is hoped that cyber-cafe owners will transfer the benefits to their customers, as they will be making a huge savings on international links.
"When the fibre-optic cable goes live this means the speeds will be fantastic, we’ll have a higher turnover of clients and that translates to increased income," says Fred, a cyber-cafe manager.
These benefits will also be felt by millions of phone users, who will enjoy cheaper international connections and quicker voice transfers.
"The fibre-optic connection enables faster voice transfer unlike satellite, which has an average response time of 650 milliseconds, thus introducing some delays in our voice communication," says Mahmoud Noor, Seacom’s cable-station manager in Mombasa.
Mr Noor says the new service will reduce this to an average of 90 milliseconds for calls between Europe and eastern Africa, and an even faster response of less than six milliseconds between Dar es Salaam and Mombasa.
Potential squandered
In Kenya, various sectors of the economy are expecting a major boost following the launch of the undersea cable, and investors are anxious about it.
.jpg)
"At the Nairobi stock exchange there is a possibility that things like day-trading will be introduced, where you make an order and in two minutes you will know if it has been sold or not," says Idd Salim of the Symbiotic Media Consortium, a software firm in Nairobi.
"That is not possible right now because you have to make an order today then wait for two or three days for it to clear."
Mr Salim says that Africa’s potential is being hindered by the absence of fast internet connectivity and this technological advance will open new avenues.
"For instance computer programmers cannot start a video service or a powerful website because the connection is slow," he says.
"You’ll see a lot of YouTube and Facebook stuff now made for Africa by Africans.
"Look at things like medicine – people will be able to be diagnosed from their homes because now we can have virtual hospitals."
The use of the undersea cable is expected to be immediate, save for some ISPs (Internet Service Providers) who may want to test it within their networks for a few days first.
Last month the Teams fibre-optic cable was launched in the coastal city of Mombasa, but it has yet to go live.
Return to top
If you are in Kenya, have you noticed a change to internet speeds Let us know using the postform below.
<p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Kenya boosts Somali border force
July 21st, 2009 |
No Comments
Kenya has promised to reinforce its border with Somalia after several abductions near the frontier.
Officials have been discussing how to stop incursions since the weekend, when militants snatched three foreign aid workers from the town of Mandera.
A defence spokesman promised to try to stop the militants, but said it was often difficult to identify them.
Meanwhile, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki blamed Somali insurgents for an influx of illegal weapons into his country.
Defence spokesman Bogita Ongeri said his forces were working with other nations to try to keep Somali militias such as the radical al-Shabab group at bay.
"My government will not spare any efforts to mop up illicit arms"
Mwai Kibaki
Kenyan President
"The challenge that we have at border points is that these people come from the same clan, and you find that sometimes to identify who is al-Shabab and who is not is a problem," he said.
"Our borders are porous and it is not a place where you can totally keep al-Shabab at bay. But we are trying our best."
‘Banditry attacks’
The BBC’s Ruth Nesoba, in Nairobi, says a series of incidents on the Somali border has raised questions about the ability of Kenyan security agents to keep the country safe.
On Saturday alleged members of al-Shabab crossed into Kenya, kidnapped three aid workers in Mandera and returned to Somalia – apparently without any resistance.
Our correspondent says the incident came just days after militants were reportedly sighted trying to recruit young men outside a local school on the Kenyan side of the border.
During a speech to the armed forces, President Kibaki linked the insurgency in Somalia to the rise of insecurity and crime in his country.
"The continued fighting in neighbouring Somalia has contributed immensely to the infiltration of these illicit arms into our country," he said.
"My government will not spare any efforts to mop up illicit arms that are used by criminals to carry out banditry attacks."
Earlier this year militants from Somalia abducted two Italians nuns from the same border area.
The two were released a few weeks later after ransom money was paid.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.