FEEDING THE THIEVES

So I’m sitting here filing the tax returns thingy. I’m on this last section conveniently labelled ‘Tax Compilation’. My eyes are stuck on this box that has amount of tax payable. I can’t help but think that part of this tax collected over the last year was stolen by some rogue government operatives and their associates.  My mind shifts to the NYS Saga. Some faceless lady was about to swindle slightly over Ksh. 600M. I believe that we have already lost more money than those in charge are willing to admit. In hindsight, this IFMIS thingy should be thoroughly audited and overhauled.  Anyway, I feel like crying as accruing this income was no walk in the park. As a matter of fact, the right side of both my shoe sole are longer there. The hustle has milled them to thin plastic chips.

While wandering in my thoughts, I also think of what I could have done with money which has now been stolen whilst it could have been used for the good of the people.  I could have settled part of my student loan commonly referred to as HELB loan. Now this HELB is like a mortgage you can pay till you die! Jeez! You pay Ksh.5 and reduces by Ksh.2. And such is life. By the way, debt is not good for your financial health. Don’t be hoodwinked by those sassy sales ladies from commercial banks.

But I ramble. Moving on.

I also could have kwachuad   ka ¼ acre in some remote area in the armpit of Kajiado County.  I mean could have done so many things with this tax bill. Somebody stole it plus those of others for his/her own good. It’s okay. I’m one of those who believe that karma is a bitch; law of natural justice.  I’m no longer sure whether I will reveal all my income streams in future as they come as I am skeptical if they will be used properly as they should.

I strongly believe that our indifference as Kenyans has contributed to the high theft cases of the public coffers. The thieves know too well that we will just sit back and watch as they rob us in broad day light. We can’t leave this task of fighting graft to Boniface Mwangi, Okia Omutata, Transparency International, Mars Group Kenya and other players in the civil society.

Everyone must join the fight. It doesn’t matter which political divide we belong to because at the end of the day it’s both our monies that are being illegally siphoned. Join the hashtags, the demos when called upon. You can’t afford to play safe when it comes to corruption. Our voices must be heard. 

OF KIBERA AND DECENT HOUSING

Development in Kibra is a complex issue than majority seem to realize. You see sometimes back, Raila launched slum upgrading project in Kibra and a number of other informal settlements in Nairobi and Kisumu. This programme that roped in partners from the government, World Bank, and UN agency for Urban Settlement among others was set to provide the residents with decent housing.

However, the development partners were in for a rude shock. After building the apartments and relocating residents, they went back to their informal houses and rented the apartments allocated to them. The development partners were baffled because in their minds they wondered why someone would opt to live in squalor instead of a decent house that has all the amenities. I remember engaging my friend Samson Onyango, a Regional & Urban Planning Expert to shed light on this peculiar phenomenon as it didn’t make any sense, at all!

Upon inquiry by the development partners, the residents gave a number of reasons for opting for their old homes. One of the prominent reasons was that living in apartments denied them the opportunity to engage in economic activities that they used to partake while living in the slums. For example, they could no longer sell their groceries, fish or charcoal among other small businesses in front of their houses. Without this income from their ndogondogo businesses, they could not live in the apartments as they had no other jobs. Some found the apartments to be too nice and did not match up to their stature. They felt as if they were living a lie and preferred to go back and live an ‘authentic’ life.

Studies have shown that living in slum conditions for a long time makes one to effectively adapt to slums lifestyle and they wouldn’t want to change that. I believe it’s for this reason that little progress in terms of decent housing has been realized in Kibra and other slums. The development partners had to pose and think of another strategy.

I think what we need are jobs, jobs, more jobs; gainful employment. The jobs that Waiguru & Co are chest thumping about are not sustainable. What will happen after drenching of all the sewer passages and construction of the toilets, toilets? They will be jobless again. For my friend Samson Onyango and other Urban Planners out there, we need ingenious sustainable urban plans.

HIGHER EDUCATION IN KENYA: IT’S TIME TO SCALE BACK TO BARE MINIMUM

In Overall, higher education in Kenya has really grown in terms of capacity and training. However, more effort should be channeled towards research so that we can find solutions to never ending problems that come up every single day.  

Koitalel Arap Samoei University and Nyamira State University to be established in Nandi & Nyamira Counties respectively will be the next entrants in higher education. While that is commendable, I want to believe that we have somewhat successfully managed to elevate higher education in Kenya and it’s time to focus on creating jobs for the thousands of graduates that we train in these numerous university lest we make the already deteriorating situation much worse.

Statistics show that Kenya produces approximately 50,000 graduates annually and this number is expected to rise steadily in the coming years.  While the government records show that 116,000 formal jobs were created last year (2014), we still have thousands without jobs. Referring to the statistics, it means that we had 56,000 surplus jobs.  Undoubtedly, there is inconsistency with the data and most probably it’s not accurate as it does not represent the reality on the ground. The number of university graduates is not in sync with the jobs created.

With the significant growth, we should then scale back the budget to bare minimum for higher education and divert the funds to basic education (primary & secondary) which is in dire need of searious upgrading.

#My2Cents #Budget2015

OF SONKO AND HIS GOODIES

I have seen pictures of Sonko circulating in the social media showing him shopping for Fire engine somewhere in Dubai. His acts of “charity” has enabled him to acquire massive grass root support across the political divide. However, I believe his model of development and assistance is not the right one. As a matter of fact, it’s a catapult to the dependency syndrome that we are working hard to eliminate. The middle class seen him as an attention seeker but a psychologist will tell you that in his earlier for life he probably had self-esteem issues. That’s why I wouldn’t criticize him harshly despite his ridiculous antics.

That aside, if he is really interested in helping people then he should empower them to fend for themselves instead giving handouts. With his deep pockets, he can begin with establishing a factory/ industry, a fertilizer manufacturing plant for instance. We don’t have one despite the fact that our economy is anchored by the agricultural sector. The industries will have multiplier effect besides creating sustainable jobs for the ever increasing jobless graduates. On the whole, I am not sure whether the ‘philanthropy’ is only meant to hoodwink people to vote him the next governor for the lovely people of Nairobi. Will it stop once he becomes the governor? I guess time will tell.