Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

Mr. Chairman and staff of the Nation Group, I must say I am very happy again to be here to see this building in full operation. It is a really exciting time for me because it is in fact a fulfillment of bringing to Kenya a communication company that would one day achieve the highest level of communication sophistication.

The far more important issue to me in the history of Kenya concerns the flow and control of information around the world. To me it seems very important that Africans should communicate about Africa to the world in their own language, their own environment and on their own terms.

Africans must take charge of communication and information flow. And in this communication process the information about Africa should be sourced by qualified African men and women and should not just be received from foreigners.

Africans should not just be receivers of foreign news written and packaged by foreigners.

The Nation has come a long way in building the capacity to communicate in a balanced and objective manner.

That notion of the capacity to communicate about your country, about your society, about your history, about your culture will always depend on organisations that are sophisticated and competent enough. And today, tomorrow and in the future this notion will come true for Nation Newspapers.

That is why I want to tell you how really happy I am today.

The second point I want to make is that in setting up our own style of communication, let that style be chosen in good taste, in good journalism, in wisdom and in competence so that the voice of the people of Kenya and Africa will be well heard. This is why the Nation group has spent time to improve quality.

Today I have the opportunity of celebrating with long serving members of staff who have served the company for up to 35 years, because these historical memories of an institution like the nation group are its real strength.