×
App Icon
The Standard e-Paper
Informed Minds Prefer The Standard
★★★★ - on Play Store
Download Now

Cost of hustling: How revised service fee squeeze Kenyans from birth to death

Vocalize Pre-Player Loader

Audio By Vocalize

Kenyans seeking passports wait in long queues at the immigration department. [Edward Kiplimo, Standard]

They are in debt even before they have a name. Each of the more than 5,000 babies born across Kenya yesterday owes more than Sh200,000, courtesy of the country's public debt that recently hit Sh11 trillion.

In a few years, they will join their compatriots in paying off this collective debt through aggressive taxes. Their parents, equally in debt, have the immediate burden of securing them a birth certificate.

Premium Article

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Bold Reporting Takes Time, Courage and Investment. Stand With Us.
Continue Reading  →
What you get
  • Unlimited access to all premium content
  • Ad-free browsing experience
  • Mobile-optimised reading
  • Weekly newsletters & digests
Pay via
M - PESA
VISA
Airtel Money
Secure Payments Kenya's most trusted newsroom since 1902
Real Estate
Centum Re begins handover of 400 apartments at Nairobi's Two Rivers
Business
Epra makes marginal hike on pipeline tariff, piles pressure on consumers
Business
ICPAK urges accountants to restore trust in public institutions
Real Estate
Alarm raised over lagging decarbonisation in construction industry