How many days will it take Zuckerberg to clear Kenya’s Sh3.6 trillion public debt?

Mark Zuckerberg

1 If Mark Zuckerberg was to pay off Kenya’s total debt at US$1 billion daily, how long would it take him to settle it?

Mark Zuckerberg is the co-founder, chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Facebook, a popular social networking website that allows registered users to create profiles, upload photos and video, send messages and keep in touch with friends. He dropped out of Harvard University’s undergraduate programme in Computer Science in 2005 to commit his time to building the social network that he founded at 19 in 2004. He has seen his net worth soar as the social network’s stock price skyrockets. His real time net worth is US$59.8 billion (approximately Sh6.1 trillion) according to Forbes.

Kenya’s total debt as at December 2016 as stated by the Central Bank of Kenya was at Sh3.8 trillion. Zuckerberg’s net worth is 1.6 times higher than Kenya’s total debt. Kenya’s domestic debt was at Sh1.9 trillion. If Zuckerberg was to pay 1 billion dollars every day, it would take him approximately 19 days (2 weeks and 5 days) to clear the domestic date and he would still remain with Sh4.2 trillion. If he was to pay off the total debt, it would take him approximately 38 days (1 month and a week). He would still have Sh2.3 trillion in the bank.

2 What is the estimated number of matatus operating in Kenya?

Kenya’s public transport has been dominated by rail and road transport over the years. Rail transport however collapsed in the 1990s and now a majority of Kenyans rely on road transport. The history of formal public road transport in Kenya dates back to 1934 when London-based Overseas Trading Company (OTC) introduced the first buses, a fleet of 13, on 12 routes in Nairobi. Initially, Kenya Bus was the major provider of public transport in Kenya’s major cities of Nairobi and Mombasa. By the year 1990, the total number of matatus licensed in Kenya stood at 17,600. By 2003, this number was 40,000. Currently, according to a presentation by the National Transport and Safety Authority, the number of matatus operating on Kenyan roads is estimated to be over 100,000.

3 How does Kenya compare with Uganda and Tanzania in the number of registered political parties?

Kenya is a multiparty democracy, where multiple parties are allowed to participate in national and civic elections. Political parties are a way to help promote democracy within a country. The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties, as at 4th of March 2017, listed the total number of fully registered political parties in Kenya as 77. This is 3.5 times more than those in Tanzania which has an estimate of 22 political parties and 2.6 times more than those in Uganda which has an estimate of 29 registered political parties.

4 What is the total number of Public Libraries in Kenya?

The development of libraries in Kenya is closely linked with the beginning of the British colonial rule and the arrival of European Missionaries and settlers, mainly from Britain, and the Indian traders from India. The earliest library to be established in Kenya was the High Court of Kenya Library in Mombasa in 1902 —which was later moved to Nairobi in 1905.

In 1935 the library moved to the law courts building. In 1910 the Kenya National Assembly Library was established to provide information to members of the Legislative Council and to store recorded parliamentary proceedings.

The Kenya National Library Services was established in April 1965. Its mandate is to develop, promote, establish and equip libraries in Kenya. The Public Library is a division of Kenya National Library Services. According to the KNLS website there are 61 public libraries spread across the country. Notably, 14 counties do not have a public library and Wajir has the highest number of public libraries —5.

5 How many planes made international departures from Nairobi in the month of March 2017 and what was the average delay time?

Nairobi has two airports; the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and the Wilson Airport. The Wilson Airport has flights to many regional airports in Kenya whereas JKIA, Nairobi’s main airport, serves domestic and international destinations. Kenya Airports Authority states that Wilson Airport is one of the busiest airports in terms of aircraft movement in East and Central Africa. According to Flight Stats for the month of March 2017, there were 3,566 scheduled flights from Nairobi. The average delay time for an airline from Nairobi was estimated to be approximately 47.5 minutes.