Our Planet with Anthony Mugo

  What has morphed into a trade war between the United States and China, resulting in imposition of punitive sanctions against China by the US has resulted in other democracies getting involved, concerned that escalation on this front might be a threat to all democratic societies and not just the US. Keen to counteract restriction of access to Rare Earth Elements (REES), the mining and processing of which is near monopoly for China, foreign affairs heads of the US, Australia, India and Japan issued a joint statement on 1st July 2025 Washington expressing their trepidation about the possibility of restriction and disruptions of global supply chains for REEs among other fears. On REEs, the Statement noted: “We are deeply concerned about the abrupt constriction and future reliability of key supply chains, specifically for critical minerals. This includes the use of non-market policies and practices for critical minerals, certain derivative products, and mineral processing technology...

  A new debate has emerged about technologies that have become popular as the preferred pathways towards enabling countries to enhance climate change mitigation initiatives. It is emerging that these technologies, particularly electrification using renewable energy sources, and the expanding influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) pose serious threats to the same environment they are seeking to protect. AI data centres have become some of the largest consumers of electric power, potentially surpassing global manufacturing. A new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) has predicted that the annual energy demand by AI data centres will be slightly more than that which is used by Japan over the same period by 2030. Data centre’s demand for energy is principally driven by the need for cooling of servers and other computing accessories. Due to increasing demand for tools such as Chat GPT, data servers are increasing their data processing capacity and hence requiring more ...

  As the global community marked the World Hypertension Day on 17 th May 2025, the national spotlight has turned to the unfolding public health crisis of rising incidence of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Kenya, particularly hypertension. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) NCDs, which are also referred to as chronic diseases, are ailments not transmitted directly from one person to another. Whereas they are still not the leading cause of disease and death in Kenya, these conditions are contributing significantly to the increasing economic and human resource loss burden and, therefore, undermining the country’s social and economic development. Responsible for 39 per cent of deaths in Kenya, NCDs have become one of the biggest public health concerns. According to the MoH, 30 percent of Kenyans have hypertension and majority are not aware, hence why it is referred to as the silent killer. If not well controlled, hypertension leads to the most common life-threaten...

  A message that has been going around on social media authored by Mr. Doanh Chau, President of Vietnam Gas makes very sobering reading. Having recently met with both President William Ruto and the Prime Cabinet Secretary, Musalia Mudavadi, Mr. Chau makes observations that have immense sense to any right-thinking Kenyan and African. His readers can reasonably deduce that Mr. Chau’s company may have received some kind of expression of interest from President Ruto and his senior officials about investing in Kenya. The conversations revolved around energy and about Kenya’s future— investment, infrastructure and public housing. The very honest summation of the Vietnamese’s impression of the two gentlemen, which he referred to as the “painful truth” was clear. He observed that the ideas being fronted by the Kenya Kwanza Government are very lofty and good. However, they are just that. Ideas. In his words, “there is no serious execution culture”. He goes ahead to identify the core rea...

  Consulting as an occupation remains poorly understood in Kenya beyond a few traditional professions such as medicine, law, accounting and human resources. For other professions, tertiary training programmes generally do not emphasise the possibility of their graduates starting their own practice in their areas of specialisation. This is even though some professions can offer vital capacities that are universally required and for which companies and individuals are willing to pay a premium to build. This situation makes it doubly difficult for those trained in some professions to package themselves as consultants. This is principally because there are very few or even non-existent tailored training programmes specifically for consulting, particularly in many non-traditional fields. For those who decide to navigate the murky waters and gain the requisite consulting skills through trial and error, the journey towards success can prove to be particularly arduous. Many get discour...

As the dust settles following the freezing of the activities of the United  States Agency for International Development (USAID) globally, work supporting climate change interventions, particularly Climate Smart Agriculture in developing regions of the world will face a serious setback. Most of this  work has been going on under the flagship USAID initiative known as Feed the Future (FTF). FTF was launched in 2010 by the United States Government and the Obama Administration to address global hunger and food insecurity. Divided opinion Opinion remains divided about the abruptness of the freeze, which will officially last for three months (90 days), and which was made on President Trump’s first day in office. The point of contention is whether it bodes well or ill for beneficiary countries. Those who support the move argue that for most developing countries, particularly those in Africa, including Kenya, still rely on donor aid for essential life support services – food prod...

The historic comeback by Donald Trump to the US Presidency, a country which is the world’s second largest source of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, after China, is a major potential setback for global efforts to combat climate change. Trump, whose climate scepticism is well known globally, adopted the mantra “drill baby drill,” while on the campaign trail. The implication is that he would remove any restrictions for drilling and use of fossil fuels in the US that have so far been justified on the basis of getting America to increase its share of renewable energy and, therefore, reduce emissions that are responsible for global warming. In effect, Trump was openly denying, as he has done in the past, the scientific evidence that the climate change being experienced today is the result of human activities. This despite indisputable proof by no other than the highly respected Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that most GHGs emission is as a result of use non-renewable fossil...

Time has come for African countries to step up their strategies for demanding fair treatment from developed countries that are responsible for causing global warming and, therefore, climate change. For the last decade and a half or so, African countries have had a unified voice, being too aware that the adverse impacts of climate change cause the most damage to the Continent yet it contributes negligible Green House Gas (GHG) emissions totalling only 4 percent. Taking a unified position during global meetings such as the annual Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) known as CoPs, forces industrialised countries to pay better attention. Hopefully this will compel them to take concrete action to fulfil their obligations to compensate Africa for the loss and damage emanating from climate change. To be sure, most industrialised countries have acknowledged this reality. In response, the global consensus, in the context of the Paris...

  If President William Ruto survives the ongoing onslaught by the Gen Z, Kenya and indeed many African countries where dictatorship has creeped in, have an opportunity to transform in ways not possible before. One of the declarations by the Gen Zs, that sounds like music to the ears of many among the older generations, is that they believe they are tribeless. Indeed, ethnic identity and politics of tribe have proved to be the main impediment to Kenya’s, and Africa’s progress. It is clear now that the Gen Zs, who constitute 75 per cent of Kenya’s population, realise the power that they can wield from their sheer numbers, not to mention high levels of literacy and availability of communication tools for mass mobilisation. The next thing they must do to achieve peaceful change now ought to be registering as voters, guarding the sanctity of the voting card with the same zeal they have fought for their right to picket and being ready to vote in their numbers. If they do that, they wil...

  Much as the forced displacement of people who have settled along riparian land in Nairobi is painful to those being forced out, it is a necessary measure to make right mistakes that have been made over the years due to poor leadership. No settlement should be allowed on riparian land. Period. One of the main reasons for this is now plain for all to see. Water follows its natural drainage course no matter what may have been erected along natural waterways. Obviously, the heavier the rainfall the more forceful the water and the more damage it causes, the most serious of which is unnecessary loss of human life. Time has, therefore, come for Kenya’s leadership to determine how much distance from a water body should be considered riparian land based on expert advice. Once this is done, this land must be left unsettled and allowed to regenerate naturally and human settlement or cultivation permanently prevented. Current measures being taken to remove people from riparian land in Nair...

  The current flooding being witnessed in Kenya and the larger East African region caused by unprecedented levels of intense rain has led many to re-focus attention on the negative impact of climate change. The extent and distribution of heavy rains that have affected every corner of the country and caused nearly 200 deaths (by 2 nd May 2024), the displacement of thousands of people and loss of more than 5,000 assorted livestock, has raised questions about the role of the international community in easing the burden borne by developing countries such as Kenya and her East African neighbours. Questions have arisen about global preparedness and capacity to cope, particularly by African, Latin American and Caribbean states and Small Island States and least developed countries, with what are anticipated to be increasing and worsening climate-induced catastrophes. It may be recalled that the topmost agenda of the most recent United Nations Climate Conference (Cop 28) was the operatio...

Having lived in an advanced country seems to be a positive factor on the quality of a president for Kenya. Three out of our five presidents so far lived in advanced countries for a significant part of their lives. Evidence so far appears to indicate that this experience made a significant difference in their management of the country and the legacies of their presidencies. Granted that the first President, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta came to power at the advanced age of 81, he had lived in England for 15 years. The most memorable evidence of his sterling leadership, and which was most likely shaped by his experience of having lived in Britain, was the choice of his first cabinet of 15 ministers. Kenyatta went for the most brilliant minds he could find and ensured that he assigned the dockets in line with the expertise of the people he appointed. Notably, he gave his ministers autonomy to run their dockets and kept them there for a long time. Kenyans of that age will recall a time when schoo...

  Like him or hate him, there is something tantalizingly refreshing about the manner in which President William Ruto has set out to run his government. Prompt and focused meetings, time-bound targets for government programmes and an apparently dedicated programme to improve the economic circumstances of the ordinary person. These measures are to be underpinned by drastically expanding the tax net and reinvigorating Kenya’s agricultural production. This to be done through directing resources towards production as opposed to subsidies; constructing massive dams;   focused and sustained provision of fertilizer and seeds; value addition intended at guaranteeing markets for agricultural goods; and removal of cartels and brokers from the agriculture value chain. From his inaugural live televised conference with journalists on 4 th January, 2023 to the recently concluded retreat with top government officials , held in Nanyuki between 5 th and 8 th January 2023, there h...