HK - Why do Indians (asian) succeed in Kenya manufacturing?

[Nefertiti]

Which is more government control not less. hk doesn't get this. It's the liberal democracy mistake where semi-literate Africans are expected to make clever choices like Americans. Freedom is a function of the economy. We see this in China's one-child policy and mass application of eminent domain last couple of decades. Millions of folks kicked out of SEZ's and coastal towns; slavish labor and trade unions banned; etc. While democratic India has lagged behind. This is my reason for backing a strong Jubilee under a savvy Ruto. Not per se my love of the man.

Interesting article. I think they nailed it.The solution is to apply 5-10 times the fertilizers will apply to our soils and to engage in large scale irrigation schemes.  What they miss is that outside Africa and maybe Asia - most of argicluture is large scale - here in Africa we need to find profitable small-holder models - like KTDA.

[hk]

Which is more government control not less. hk doesn't get this. It's the liberal democracy mistake where semi-literate Africans are expected to make clever choices like Americans. Freedom is a function of the economy. We see this in China's one-child policy and mass application of eminent domain last couple of decades. Millions of folks kicked out of SEZ's and coastal towns; slavish labor and trade unions banned; etc. While democratic India has lagged behind. This is my reason for backing a strong Jubilee under a savvy Ruto. Not per se my love of the man.

I don't care about democracy robina. What I care about is economic freedom. The libertarian aspect of it. Ruto and uhuru(little exaggeration) abhor economic freedom, they like to control everything. Its evident in the way the e.g dairy board harasses milk vendors among other things.
China is doing better than india cause they have a freer economy.  Pinochet in chile was a dictator but he unleashed economic freedom that underpins chile economy even today making chile the richest country in latin america per capita. Venezuela with more resources is much poorer than chile , no wonder they rank much lower than chile in economic index.  Democracy matters little in terms of economic development and there's no direct correlation.   

[Nefertiti]

I don't care about democracy robina. What I care about is economic freedom. The libertarian aspect of it. Ruto and uhuru(little exaggeration) abhor economic freedom, they like to control everything. Its evident in the way the e.g dairy board harasses milk vendors among other things.
China is doing better than india cause they have a freer economy.  Pinochet in chile was a dictator but he unleashed economic freedom that underpins chile economy even today making chile the richest country in latin america per capita. Venezuela with more resources is much poorer than chile , no wonder they rank much lower than chile in economic index.  Democracy matters little in terms of economic development and there's no direct correlation.

Two things.

Libertarianism should not be conflated with good planning. The economic freedom you note in China (relative to India) is a temporary choice the almighty state has made under present circumstances. Should the environment change the state would impose any policy for the greater good of the people's republic. No liberty.

Economy and democracy are closely related. Consider these economic levers and tell me how they relate to democracy: a) One-child policy vs individual choice of sire b) Eminent domain vs property rights c) Labor cost vs worker rights and unionism.

China is not libertarian. We can argue Jubilee or Ruto merits but The Party is king in China.

[RV Pundit]

If there is one sector that seem we've nailed it; then it got to be cemment; from days of Bamburi monopolising the market - to now when Bahindis have turned it upside now. Now cement at retail price is 510 - and it could even go further down if Dangote and likes could take advantage of Kitui coal and limestone.

https://www.nation.co.ke/business/IFC-commits-Sh9-7-billion-in-National-Cement-expansion/996-4371262-5dli3hz/index.html
The retail price of a 50-kilogramme bag of cement in Kenya, for instance, has dropped to lows of Sh510 from highs of Sh740 in 2008.

[Nefertiti]

This is not nailed because it saps resources - together with farming - from manufacturing. Would GoK manage housing efficiently? better than the private sector? That is the question and hk's protests that GoK must keep off totally. When we get the balance of promoting growth in the right sectors while escaping the public service incompetence then we will have nailed it. Areas like ICT/telcos flourished once the mediocre GoK-run Telkom and KCB lost monopoly... without creating a negative side effect.

If there is one sector that seem we've nailed it; then it got to be cemment; from days of Bamburi monopolising the market - to now when Bahindis have turned it upside now. Now cement at retail price is 510 - and it could even go further down if Dangote and likes could take advantage of Kitui coal and limestone.

https://www.nation.co.ke/business/IFC-commits-Sh9-7-billion-in-National-Cement-expansion/996-4371262-5dli3hz/index.html
The retail price of a 50-kilogramme bag of cement in Kenya, for instance, has dropped to lows of Sh510 from highs of Sh740 in 2008.

[hk]

Two things.

Libertarianism should not be conflated with good planning. The economic freedom you note in China (relative to India) is a temporary choice the almighty state has made under present circumstances. Should the environment change the state would impose any policy for the greater good of the people's republic. No liberty.

Economy and democracy are closely related. Consider these economic levers and tell me how they relate to democracy: a) One-child policy vs individual choice of sire b) Eminent domain vs property rights c) Labor cost vs worker rights and unionism.

China is not libertarian. We can argue Jubilee or Ruto merits but The Party is king in China.

China does a very good job of not only planning but also ruthless execution of the plans. In essence China has followed japan but the government taking the lead role. Copying the west and domesticating technologies to catch up to the west. Though government companies dominate several industries they are relatively efficient to compete with private companies. The sheer competition is what makes chinese economy very competitive.
Conversely in Kenya, its clear government has been the problem irrespective who is heading it.

[hk]

If there is one sector that seem we've nailed it; then it got to be cemment; from days of Bamburi monopolising the market - to now when Bahindis have turned it upside now. Now cement at retail price is 510 - and it could even go further down if Dangote and likes could take advantage of Kitui coal and limestone.

https://www.nation.co.ke/business/IFC-commits-Sh9-7-billion-in-National-Cement-expansion/996-4371262-5dli3hz/index.html
The retail price of a 50-kilogramme bag of cement in Kenya, for instance, has dropped to lows of Sh510 from highs of Sh740 in 2008.

The global price of cement is about $50 to $70 per ton. We have along way to go though we have made strides. Ethiopia dangote plant was exporting cement to kenya despite poor roads connecting the two countries. The key is just more competition to drive down prices. The price of steel has been going up because there just a few companies in the business and heavy tax importation.

[RV Pundit]

Yeah and uhuru should focus on bring the cost down to 300shs per bag which help his big 4 plan on housing and also make our infrastucture cheaper..main bottleneck is cost of power and clinker which mostly imported.In addition we need more cement factories in kenya.