Shame on the Kenyan Government

The talk everywhere is the omni-present poverty in Africa and how the global economic crisis has affected the third world countries the most. While the dire poverty has destroyed lives and dreams of the majority of, others people have been living the ‘life’- Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have been cursed by drought and the ravages of famine; this has hit home. Why do I say this? This entire week Al Jazeera TV has been highlighting the misfortunes of the people living in northern Kenya. Very disturbing images were aired showing women breaking down as they explained how their hungry children died on as they helplessly held them in their arms. These women are forced to spend hours collecting wild berries, before boiling them in swamp water to remove the toxins that make the raw berries inedible. The Al Jazeera crew highlighted a particular village called Urum, where these berries are becoming the staple food.Turkana District, Northern Kenya, has become like another country within Kenya. Successive years of poor rains and crop failures have caused an acute shortage of food. For many years this place has received little of no attention from the Government. Yet while all this hunger bites, Kenyan politicians, who live flamboyant lifestyles, are among the highest paid in Africa. The Kenyan cabinet now is the country’s biggest ever and costs Kenyan tax payers nearly USD 800million per year; a huge burden for the suffering average Kenyan. This is shameful. According to statistics that Kenyan press quoted a while back, while Kenya’s average salary is less than Rwf210, 000 per year, a Kenyan cabinet minister makes approximately Rwf 10million per month, plus enjoys allowances like countryside homes, club membership and two new cars. These same reports reveal that Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki earns 615,000 US dollars a year, tax-free- far more than that of a British Prime Minister, who earns about a ‘mere’ $ 373,000 or even Barack Obama who earns a measly $400,000. Would it be touch to ask these ‘fat cats’ to take a salary reduction for the greater good? Maybe this balance would then be used to help their countrymen who are starving. What would harm would the MP’s from Northern Kenya suffer is they all sacrificed one month salary to feed their people? The Kenyan political class, somewhere along the road, stopped caring about their populace; I mean, how can someone spend the taxpayer’s money on Mercedes in a country where most of the roads aren’t fit for bicycles? This goes way beyond lavishness ad reaches a point of moral failure. For a nation to grow, pro-people initiatives must be encouraged. Rwanda has made very noticeable economic strides so far. The Government, through the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy has rightly given priority to the creation of improved safety nets for the poorest and the most vulnerable people. Kenya needs the same if the scenes from the Al Jeezera are to be avoided. karuthum@gmail.com