Got home just to get news of Uchumi having gone under. How can I describe it ? Outrageous! Scandalous! Somebody must have seen it coming - the amazing thing is that we had individuals still speculating on buying it's shares even though in a few minutes it was going under.
I don't have the low down on what happened - but I notice the difference how information dissemination works in the stock market. The market can never be perfect but it should atleast instill confidence that there is some normality.
It's sad to see well managed companies continue to prosper and our Kenyan companies always struggling - which is next? I mean I thought with the negative publicity M&S would be a good candidate to be taken over, but it survived. Vodafone is struggling but there's a sense of optimism when you hear the CEO speak.
This news comes at the worst time - Kenyans have realized they can make money on the stock market. Wasn't it just the other day when an Uchumi IPO was issued? What are Financial Analysts saying about this? And the Stock Brokers? (Aww! And I can still see stock brokers are quoting it's shares - slow moving infor?) We should be more vigilant ask these top managers to be more accountable.
And the Auditors? I don't even want to go there - I'm sure I can smell something nasty here.
I hate to sound like just a critic or someone taking western ideas - I always hoped Uchumi had a proper turnaround strategy. Strategy? Sorry to say but to some people it only exists in textbooks.
Let me find out more before jumping the gun.
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