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Kenya vs Jamaica: glimpses
Geof Brown
Friday, October 12, 2007
MENTION in contemporary Jamaica of Kenya evokes images of world-beating champion long-distance runners. Those who are older will think of the Mau-Mau rebellion and of the heroism of their patriot Jomo Kenyatta, who was defended by our own Dudley Thompson in a famous trial. To visit Kenya, however, is to be hardly conscious of those images. It is true that the paper currency retains the image of Jomo Kenyatta on every denomination, unlike the variety of faces of renown carried on different values of paper currency in many countries. But what one finds here is a vast country in East Africa which could swallow Jamaica many times with cities that have larger populations than that of our entire Jamaica.
Indeed, one of Kenya's national parks, Tsavo, is advertised in a tourist brochure thus: "At 7,720 square miles, Tsavo is larger than Wales and Jamaica." This is the same park where, for the first time, Janet and I went on a day-long safari.
Believe me, you feel the sense of size as you drive for miles through endless grassland gawking at the animals who make the park their habitat. More on that later. Here in the bustling coastal city of Mombasa you would never think of safaris and wild animals. Instead, you are struck by the extent of commercial activity. Heavy, multi-wheel trucks are in a constant stream in and out of the city pursuing trade within the country and with several neighbouring countries. Supplementing the constant flow of heavy trucks, Kenya's active railroad reminds one of the past railroad glory of Jamaica.
What is the industrial picture which supports the massive commercial transport flow? Surprisingly, only 20 per cent of the country's GDP is devoted to agriculture, despite so many millions of acres of rolling flat lands. Instead, 61 per cent is devoted to the service sector. And like Jamaica, a large proportion of this service sector is devoted to tourism. The Indian Ocean borders the east coast and as you head south from Mombasa the hotel beach strip is, like Negril, stretched out. One soon realises that the vastness of the Indian Ocean dwarfs the Caribbean Sea. My first night at the Hotel Serena left me uneasy as I could swear a tsunami was about to overrun the land. The great hollow sound of the distant surf was, of course, only the mighty unending waves breaking on the faraway reef. The Caribbean Sea is tame by comparison.
I would not have you believe that Kenya, despite the size of Tsavo National Park, is mostly about safari and semi-arid land. Time and again riding out to the countryside, the beauty of the tropical vegetation and type of the plants looked like carbon copies of the Jamaican countryside. Coconut, banana, sugar cane, corn growing richly transported me nostalgically home. But there the resemblance ends. For Kenya has no natural disasters to match our hurricanes and earthquakes. There is no hurricane season; there are not even storm-force winds. Our safari driver found it quite funny that we wondered if fallen trees meant some storm-force winds had passed. Oh no, he said, just the softening of the earth from occasional heavy rains caused them to fall. Of course, the gentle winds from the west of Africa become our storms and hurricanes.
The same driver was a most enthusiastic safari guide.
Among the animals he was usually the first to spot (except for the herds of elephants) were as many as we had ever seen outside a zoo. Impalas, ostriches, baboons, zebras, giraffes, a variety of colourful birds, tapirs, wild hogs, and antelopes were among the varieties of animals seen in safari country in our day-long sojourn. Regrettably, there was no sign of the king of the beasts, the lion. May I suggest that you need at least two days to enjoy the camp life under tents and more of the great variety of animals in the wild. Don't worry, all the comforts are provided. The safety record is very high and your vehicle gives you ringside views, equipped as it is for safe viewing.
A final note, on Kenyan versus Jamaican politics. Right now, a general election campaign is on. President Kibaki, having served one term, is seeking a second after succeeding the long-serving Arap Moi. Imagine our amusement to see his supporters wearing 'JLP' green while his opponents wear 'PNP' orange. The president is promising a rate of growth of twice the current 6.1 per cent he now claims. But in this country of 36.9 million population, the per capita GDP in 2000 of US$322 was well below that of sub-Saharan Africa at US$617 and contrasts with the world average of US$5,632. And in a country where the richest 20 per cent of the population earns 51.2 per cent of the income, and the poorest 20 per cent earns 5.6 per cent, the president has his work cut out for him.
Shades of Jamaica?
Geof Brown
Friday, October 12, 2007
MENTION in contemporary Jamaica of Kenya evokes images of world-beating champion long-distance runners. Those who are older will think of the Mau-Mau rebellion and of the heroism of their patriot Jomo Kenyatta, who was defended by our own Dudley Thompson in a famous trial. To visit Kenya, however, is to be hardly conscious of those images. It is true that the paper currency retains the image of Jomo Kenyatta on every denomination, unlike the variety of faces of renown carried on different values of paper currency in many countries. But what one finds here is a vast country in East Africa which could swallow Jamaica many times with cities that have larger populations than that of our entire Jamaica.
Indeed, one of Kenya's national parks, Tsavo, is advertised in a tourist brochure thus: "At 7,720 square miles, Tsavo is larger than Wales and Jamaica." This is the same park where, for the first time, Janet and I went on a day-long safari.
Believe me, you feel the sense of size as you drive for miles through endless grassland gawking at the animals who make the park their habitat. More on that later. Here in the bustling coastal city of Mombasa you would never think of safaris and wild animals. Instead, you are struck by the extent of commercial activity. Heavy, multi-wheel trucks are in a constant stream in and out of the city pursuing trade within the country and with several neighbouring countries. Supplementing the constant flow of heavy trucks, Kenya's active railroad reminds one of the past railroad glory of Jamaica.
What is the industrial picture which supports the massive commercial transport flow? Surprisingly, only 20 per cent of the country's GDP is devoted to agriculture, despite so many millions of acres of rolling flat lands. Instead, 61 per cent is devoted to the service sector. And like Jamaica, a large proportion of this service sector is devoted to tourism. The Indian Ocean borders the east coast and as you head south from Mombasa the hotel beach strip is, like Negril, stretched out. One soon realises that the vastness of the Indian Ocean dwarfs the Caribbean Sea. My first night at the Hotel Serena left me uneasy as I could swear a tsunami was about to overrun the land. The great hollow sound of the distant surf was, of course, only the mighty unending waves breaking on the faraway reef. The Caribbean Sea is tame by comparison.
I would not have you believe that Kenya, despite the size of Tsavo National Park, is mostly about safari and semi-arid land. Time and again riding out to the countryside, the beauty of the tropical vegetation and type of the plants looked like carbon copies of the Jamaican countryside. Coconut, banana, sugar cane, corn growing richly transported me nostalgically home. But there the resemblance ends. For Kenya has no natural disasters to match our hurricanes and earthquakes. There is no hurricane season; there are not even storm-force winds. Our safari driver found it quite funny that we wondered if fallen trees meant some storm-force winds had passed. Oh no, he said, just the softening of the earth from occasional heavy rains caused them to fall. Of course, the gentle winds from the west of Africa become our storms and hurricanes.
The same driver was a most enthusiastic safari guide.
Among the animals he was usually the first to spot (except for the herds of elephants) were as many as we had ever seen outside a zoo. Impalas, ostriches, baboons, zebras, giraffes, a variety of colourful birds, tapirs, wild hogs, and antelopes were among the varieties of animals seen in safari country in our day-long sojourn. Regrettably, there was no sign of the king of the beasts, the lion. May I suggest that you need at least two days to enjoy the camp life under tents and more of the great variety of animals in the wild. Don't worry, all the comforts are provided. The safety record is very high and your vehicle gives you ringside views, equipped as it is for safe viewing.
A final note, on Kenyan versus Jamaican politics. Right now, a general election campaign is on. President Kibaki, having served one term, is seeking a second after succeeding the long-serving Arap Moi. Imagine our amusement to see his supporters wearing 'JLP' green while his opponents wear 'PNP' orange. The president is promising a rate of growth of twice the current 6.1 per cent he now claims. But in this country of 36.9 million population, the per capita GDP in 2000 of US$322 was well below that of sub-Saharan Africa at US$617 and contrasts with the world average of US$5,632. And in a country where the richest 20 per cent of the population earns 51.2 per cent of the income, and the poorest 20 per cent earns 5.6 per cent, the president has his work cut out for him.
Shades of Jamaica?