Polonia Global Fund

The number of Polish tourists arriving in Kenya has risen substantially in the past three years following intensive marketing campaigns, a diplomat said yesterday.

Mr. Reshadi Noor, the honorary consul of the Republic of Poland in Mombassa, said no Polish tourists visited Kenya before the collapse of communism but the trend had now been reversed, with more than 100 visitors coming to Mombassa every week.

Mr. Noor, who had called on Mayor Abdulatiff Ubwa, said Kenya had also benefited from scholarships from the Polish Government, which offered Kenyans six places in the country’s universities every year.

He said Kenya and Poland had a historical relationship since a large number of Polish troops were brought to Kenya to defend the British territory against invasion by the Germans during the second world war.

Mr. Noor said his office would continue to market Kenya as an attractive and economical tourist destination.

Mayor Ubwa said the Mombassa Municipal Council and the town’s residents welcomed more tourists to visit Kenya. He added that there was need to start an exchange program between the council and a major town in Poland for the mutual benefit of their citizens.

BAMAKO – Mali’s president of 10 years, Alpha Oumar Konare, stepped down on Saturday to join a select group of African leaders ready to relinquish power without fuss.

Having won favor from Western donors for making Mali a beacon of democracy and economic reform in troubled West Africa, Konare ignored the temptation of some of his counterparts to change the law to stay in power.

“I will never stop being an activist, become a bystander or retire,” said Konare recently as he vowed that leaving office would not mean leaving politics.

Konare (56) was born the fifth of 14 children of a teacher in Kayes, the main town in a stiflingly hot gold-mining region in western Mali. He qualified as a teacher himself before heading to Poland in the 1970s to study history and archaeology.

Returning home, he worked with the Culture Ministry for several years before devoting himself to research. But he stepped to the forefront of opposition to the military dictatorship in 1989, when he launched a newspaper advocating multi-party politics.

When dictator Moussa Traore was toppled in 1991 and democratic elections were held a year later, Konare was well placed to win as a founding member of the socialist Alliance for Democracy in Mali (Adema).

Re-elected in 1997 in a vote boycotted by the main opposition, which was angry at the poor organization of parliamentary polls, Konare has implemented economic reforms to become the darling of Western donors.

He quickly put down suggestions from some of his supporters that he might try to change the constitution to be able to serve more than two five-year terms.

Having promoted Mali as a bastion of democracy and free-market development – despite the fact that its people survive on an average US$240 each a year – Konare is now tipped for a role on the international stage.

Some commentators have suggested he might land a post with the Organization of African Unity.

The new Polish Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency Grzegorz Wallinski has promised Poland’s readiness to aid Nigeria Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in the area of agriculture and agro allied products.

“The Polish government would offer financial and gather information for the Nigerian entrepreneurs for the uplift of the SME.”

He made this statement at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian-Polish chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture held in Lagos recently.

The ambassador said that the visit of President Olusegun Obasanjo to Poland last year has generated a lot of interest in Poland and has sensitized the Polish business community to investing in the Nigerian economy.

Speaking to Vanguard, Ambassador Walinski, said the main problem of SME is lack of information on the part of investors and that the embassy under his leadership would help provide this information and make contracts between Nigerian entrepreneurs and investors in Poland.

Ambassador Walinski, noted that the level of trade between Nigeria and Poland last year was in the tune of $30 million (thirty million USD) which was favorable to Nigeria, especially with the assistance Poland wants to offer the SME.

While congratulating the new directors to run the activities of the chambers, Ambassador Walinski urge them to invite new business partners into the chamber and he assured of his support to members and the business community, he asked that the next AM be held in Abuja, since the embassy has moved to the federal capital.

Meanwhile, the new president elect, Chief Alleger Bamidele has promised that the new board would create a more virile and relevant organization. He stressed further that the chambers would reach out to all parts of the country, by embarking on an effective membership drive nationwide. Dr. Adeyemi Kalejaiye was returned unopposed as the secretary-general.