The State can’t convince us that coffers have run dry

NAIROBI: While the refrain in government has been ‘can’t pay’, ‘won’t pay’ and complaints of a ‘bloated civil service’ and a ‘huge wage bill’, all indications are that there is enough money in the country to make everybody, not just the political elite, happy. There is a maxim that figures don’t lie, but I don’t fully subscribe to it. Take the latest World Bank report that says Kenya’s economy will be the fastest growing in Africa in the next 15 years. The projection is that the country will register a steady 6.2 per cent economic growth rate all the way to 2030. So far Rwanda is the only country in Africa that has enjoyed a steady economic growth in the last ten years where it has averaged over 6 per cent growth annually.

In Rwanda, all systems work and government delivers services. There is no disconnect between the citizenry and the leadership of the country, which operates within strict political and economic regimes. Economic gains trickle down to the common man. Rwanda is the only African country that can assuredly preach gender parity and equitable distribution of wealth. Women representation in politics is the highest anywhere in the world. But, interestingly, the World Bank report now says Rwanda’s economy will decline without giving plausible reasons for it.

The same World Bank report does not give convincing reasons for the growth that Kenya will register amid all the chaos we see. Systems don’t work anymore; education, health, security, agriculture; take your pick. The shilling has been comatose without signs of recovery any time soon, despite frantic efforts to revive it. The political climate does not bode well for the tourism industry and all efforts to market Kenya are yet to bear fruit. Our Industries are dying out at a rate that spells economic disaster, which begs the question; what will make Kenya’s economy grow?

Figures by the National Bureau of Statistics show our economy operates in reverse gear. The latest opinion poll by Ipsos indicates an increase in poverty levels in many parts of the country. Thus, the inference is that there is systemic impoverishment of specific areas for political gain. While the World Bank says the economy is robust, there is nothing on the ground to prove this. Many areas face food shortages. Unemployment is at its highest in many years. Drug and alcohol addiction are leading many youth astray.

On not having enough money, how can the government convince Kenyans it is broke when you consider this; ten individuals at CAK shared Sh317 million. Ward representatives spent Sh3 billion on sitting allowances, Sh6.6 billion and Sh4.2 billion respectively on domestic and foreign travel in the last financial year. The Controller of Budgets says Sh696 billion for development lying idle in banks. What is the rationale behind this and who stands to pocket the interest earned on that money? There was no hustle allocating Sh25 billion to the troubled NYS and Sh90 million to the African Union. The government has been able to set aside at least Sh20 billion for disaster response in anticipation of El Nino even as parastatal chiefs squander Sh600 million in three days of an induction course. The other day the president appointed a big number of people to parastatal boards. Some will be drawing salaries while others will be getting hefty allowances.

Where then does this nonsense of the government not having money to pay teachers, doctors and other civil servants come from?