There is another thing about Kenya that we are not looking at. Kenyans have money! In sub-saharan Africa I believe Kenya comes a good 3rd economy-wise after SA and Nigeria. This can lead to another argument on economies but ...
I'm no economist so I'll speak from my simple observations:
Ignore the poor Kenyans for a while (respectfully). Nairobi is parked full of thousands of cars. Rent is up but people are still paying. High end restaurants and shopping areas are up and running. Profits from $afcom, banks, etc, and on and on.
One of the reasons the poor man might be suffering is that the demand for goods has shot up and prices along with it. I think this is so coz people are spending more or are buying wiser especially the generation in their 20s or 30s who are in good employment and have a small number or no children. This category of people are well educated and have planned the direction of their lives. Many of them don't come from rich backgrounds and have struggled to earn their wealth. I believe this now forms the new middle class of Kenya which raises the bar from the previous middle class and the poor have been caught with their pants down.
It's not practical for someone who earns USD 200 a month to compete in purchasing the same basket of goods as someone who earns USD 1,000. That brings me on the next point.
I believe in Kenya all income groups compete for the same basket of goods. These goods are essential! Unga ya Ugali, Sukuma wiki, mafuta, transport, mobile credit, etc. That's so because of poor planning (failure of institutions) such that people who earn about USD 100 a month are forced to compete with those earning 10 times that. The only difference is their tax brackets.
It has been said that poor people pay more for goods and services than the rich. I believe so. Goods bought in bulk are cheaper, yet there is no way a family in the slums will afford to buy in bulk.
I hope the data collected in the coming census will be used to create policies that make life affordable for the lower income group. Such as establishing special shops where same goods are at lower prices. But we saw what happened to the Unga ya Ugali!
O_O
--- On Wed, 7/8/09, Okechukwu <okechukwu@gmail.com> wrote:
From: Okechukwu <okechukwu@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Skunkworks] OUT-OF-TOPIC: Kenya a Failed State...?
To: "Skunkworks forum" <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke>
Date: Wednesday, July 8, 2009, 7:17 AM
I don't think policies and politics can replace leadership qualities, for instance, courage, goodwill towards the people you represent and many more. I can only be glad for the few good leaders who know what they are doing.
Look at South Africa for example - they have Zuma for a leader yet nothing goes wrong, why? because they have structures in place and it doesn't matter who is at the helm of leadership - structures first, before leadership qualities
./Ok3ch
But i stopped myself these questions :-)
R
D
On Tue, Jul 7, 2009 at 3:16 PM, Okechukwu <okechukwu@gmail.com> wrote:
We can say these all our lives but won't change even a bit. We need to put structures in place to go beyond personalities, then things will start working. Moving out of this state reqiuires political goodwill which doesn't seem to be anywhere in sight.
./Ok3ch
On Tue, Jul 7, 2009 at 3:10 PM, Rahim Kara <rahim@applecentre.co.ke> wrote:
Maybe This will help.
I'm Gonna Make A Change,
For Once In My Life
It's Gonna Feel Real Good,
Gonna Make A Difference
Gonna Make It Right . . .
As I, Turn Up The Collar On My
Favourite Winter Coat
This Wind Is Blowin' My Mind
I See The Kids In The Street,
With Not Enough To Eat
Who Am I, To Be Blind?
Pretending Not To See
Their Needs
A Summer's Disregard,
A Broken Bottle Top
And A One Man's Soul
They Follow Each Other On
The Wind Ya' Know
'Cause They Got Nowhere
To Go
That's Why I Want You To
Know
I'm Starting With The Man In
The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change
His Ways
And No Message Could Have
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better PlaceI
Take A Look At Yourself, And
Then Make A Change
Sent from my iPhone
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