Tears of the Crocodile: A Response

["katetegeilwe rwiza" <rwiza@hotmail.com>]

Thank you for your responses.  Your responses have been very educative.  I 
have been informed that the list (2020) is mainly concerned about local and 
regional development issues.  That is okay with me, but before leaving the 
list to discuss more relevant issues, I would like to clarify the few issues 
which were raised by the discussants.

(1)Kenya's president being the second richest man in the world!  Since 
independence, Kenya has had two presidents, namely the late Jomo Kenyatta 
and the present president Arab Moi.  None of the two was and is that rich!  
A president may be rich compared to the common man in the country, but not 
rich in a "global" sense.  Another fact is that you may build a mansion in 
Kenya using U$ 40,000.00.  A good house (with all the social utilities) may 
cost about U$ 15,000.00  Now, an American visiting Kenya may be impressed by 
the good houses in Kenya by giving them "American" values!

The above 'confusion' also has happened to me in America. Up to now I can 
not get used to the idea of paying U$ 400.00 per month for a two-bedroom 
apartment!  For that amount I will be living in a 'posh' area with a a very 
big house in Tanzania (may be with the diplomatic community).

By the way, Kenya is economically better off compared to the neighboring 
countries (Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania & Somalia).  Kenya is not a 
good example of a country where Aid has been misused - in a 'relative' 
sense.

(2)Sinks for green house gases, well, the main green house gas is carbon 
dioxide.  This gas is used by plants (forests) during photosynthesis.  
Satellite estimates of current forest distribution in the world is 49% 
Tropical, 29% Temperate and 22% Boreal (Nemani & Running, 1995).  
Photosynthesis takes place usually with availability of the sun rays.  We 
can say tropical forests use carbon dioxide throughout the year compared to 
the other forests (During winter, photosynthesis in the other forests is 
very minimal).  What is worrisome is the fact that, at present, tropical 
forests are believed to be undergoing the most rapid conversion to other 
landuses.  We may have more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to the fact 
that more carbon dioxide is being emitted as a product of developmental 
activities on one hand and on the other hand, the tropical forests are being 
reduced at an alarming rate.

I am not sure if what I wanted to explain and the the way I explained it are 
the same!  English is a not a simple language.

Regards,

Rwiza



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