I think some people put too much stock on the views by journalists on regional economic performance, causes and prospects. In my opinion, many of those views are shaped by either having an axe to grind, a political agenda or what sells. Let me share some home truths with those who seem to have swallowed some PR stories on how bright the conditions of Ethiopia and Tanzania are. I have undertaken at least four month in-country research in each of these states. During the cold war, these two countries had socialist leanings - they both nationalized land. The two countries are therefore late comers in the market economy but with land still as the most mishandled resource - in my opinion the case of Ethiopia will take many generations to resolve. Tanzania may not sought it out in a hurry either because of the large mineral wealth - with transparency issues. Kenya is light years ahead on this crucial issue despite obvious gaps in fact we are ranked second after South Africa in Africa in terms of land registration and title deeds. We may quarrel and scratch but there is progress.

The quickest source of economic growth is from exploiting natural resources. @Kiash has hit the nail on the head in regard to Ethiopia. They are dishing out some of the best prime land to agro-industries but there are serious grievances from the group whose land was nationalized. Remember these guys were never colonized so these groups had held their holdings for hundreds of years. While landlessness is not a big issue, poverty is well and thoroughly entrenched. The exchange rate is controlled and that means access to foreign exchange - agro-industries use this carrot to acquire prime land - in main water towers and close to the main transport arteries but exclusively for export products. Its a nightmare if you are a local to just get the necessary permits even for modest developments.

Our brothers in Tanzania may have succeeded to bottle the toxic tribal rhetoric, that I see so often in Kenya but they are also sitting on a powder keg. In their case, abundant natural resources and their skewed benefits and burden will be their undoing especially when the education system is so messed up. I have great respect for the community spirit that I have seen especially in the villages but there are large doses of ignorance, scepticism and growing mistrust of the elite. Natural resources will eventually run out but without investment in proper education for the majority, they will not be able to grow the service economy.

Kenya may not yet be where we should be, but we are moving there and for those of us with some years we know we have come from far. In short to sustain long term growth, you have to tackle allocative issues, provide opportunities for social advancement and move more towards a greater service economy. That's it.

Murira that's quite deep stuff. I recognize Moi for ensuring education withstood the great error.

I'm encouraged by the fact that we aint just sitting pretty.

I could also add that the Ethiopian coffee industry larger and growing by far than in Kenya. This is because Ethiopians consume mostly black coffee at the individual household. But lets get some things clear. Ethiopian Airline has been around since 1948 when Kenya was been plugged into the most toxic phase of colonialism. They have had an aircraft simulator for decades mostly for their airforce and Kenyan pilots have also been trained there. Well KQ got theirs a couple of years ago and so that is history. By the way the jet fighter that UK is being shown above is a soviet era MiG. I have no comment on its capability but I can say that the technology is decades old. Finally, let me comment on the leather industry. I agree, this is larger better organized and more lucrative than our pathetic Kenyan case. However, I will never forget the mountain of bones outside the main Addis Ababa slaughter house - must be a couple of a thousand tonnes - which is an eloquent testament that the animal feeds industry is non-existent. What this short analysis suggests is that Ethiopia has flashes of brilliance in some sectors that we can learn from but they are scattered and far in between and need to be integrated into the whole to make a difference. By the way, I highly appreciate this thawing of relations with our 87m strong population Northern neighbour because in the long run, this is a huge untapped market for almost anything that the Kenya industry can produce. For instance, did you know that there is only one insurance company - with government as the major shareholder in Ethiopia just like the banking sector? We therefore should encourage openness because it will be mutually beneficial.

But comparing Kenya to Japan is pointless. Kenya is in competition with Ethiopia not Japan. If a potential investor wants to invest in East Africa, he has to choose between Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda or Tanzania. This is whom Kenyans have to compete with. So Kenya should strive to provide a better investment climate than Ethiopia. The comparison is appropriate.

I am not comparing Japan to Kenya... I am comparing a CITY to A CONTINENT... the second largest continent by size and population! and regrettably the city comes out shining.