"Haaaayaaaaa!" Raila Odinga aka Baba roared this week, before announcing a raft of plans to cripple the Kenya Kwanza administration's quest to garner over Sh.3.6 trillion from the citizens to fund its expansive budget.
If one-third of the taxes will be stolen, as recent research has proven-perhaps the figure might go up since more experienced thieves have taken charge-then we can safely say the reason for the unprecedented aggressive taxation is to secure more loot for the kleptocrats.
But that's too simplistic; I don't think anyone would be so brazen about theft and go about extorting from every citizen in broad daylight. So, I'm starting to think there could be more to this bottom-up business, beyond its pompous, newly acquired stilted cadence: "bottom-up transformative agenda."
It seems that, indeed, they want to push everyone to the bottom, then all of us can rise together. That's not bad at all, as long as we rise.
As for Baba and his "haaaayaaa," the last I heard of him he proposed Kenyans who trek to work and back should start carpooling as a way of denying the government tax revenues. Where would they get the vehicles, in the first place?
He also proposed matatus to ferry passengers "double their capacity," while still observing road safety. Where again did you say Baba went to school? Haaaaaayaaaaa!
I think the man's simply tired and could do with some rest. And it was good the police kept off the streets, so he can't say he was absorbed by matters of his own safety.
