If the government provides food, I shall queue

By Kipkirui K’Telwa

This government spends too on little or no meaningful services to its citizens. Imagine it built ‘nice houses’ in Lang’ata and forced former Kibera residents to move in. It forcibly moved people from the comfort of their slum dwellings and dumped them in multi-storeyed houses overlooking their former shanties.

But does a maize-roasting merchant or mkokoteni man need a two-bedroom house? Who will pay for his electricity and water consumption? Am told they are busy renting out their ‘palatial’ houses, at a higher fee of course, and moving back to their old shanties. They, too, become landlords.

It is never the duty of the State to put up houses for its citizens.

Hey! Do you remember that last year, the State ‘bought’ tractors to plough peasants’ farms? This, it was argued, will increase food production and reduce poverty. This was another ridiculous and scandalous generosity from the overbearing and overtaxing state given it was done when maize had ‘disappeared’ from strategic grain reserve stores and Kenyans starving to death.

El Nino rains are here and Kenyans expect the torturous power rationing to end. Instead, Kenya Power and Lighting Company has sneaked in what its officials call ‘special bulbs’ or ‘energy saving bulbs.’ But I will call them State-approved bulbs.

Despite numerous power ration and interruptions, which are costly to the consumer, Mr Ready Kilowatt wants to supervise how Kenyans utilise the unpredictable power supply. It forgets that electricity supplies both heat and light. But could someone be benefiting from this arrangement? I suspect. May be Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi should take a lesson from his Rwandan counterpart Alfred Butare who plans to slash electricity tariffs by a third and double power generation by 2012. The extra power will come from ongoing gas and hydropower generation projects.

We all know that government’s attempt to hoodwink Kenyans that it could provide free education failed before it took off. Both primary and secondary education have remain beyond reach to poor people.

Lucky pupils get writing material once in a term but many schools are sneaked in old tactics and started charging tuition fee besides demanding that learners purchase uniforms from specific outlets in urban areas. Single sourcing? But that should have invited anti-corruption agents.

That’s why public schools will continue to scandalously churn out semi-literate graduate as their private school counterparts grab the best places in both secondary schools and universities.

I do not like when a government pretends it can provide Kenyans with anything from pencils, biros, erasers and even bulbs. These freebies from the State are to blame for the high cost of living prevailing in the country.

Soon, we shall see Kenyans streaming to Special Programme Minister for food, recreation, accommodation, lodging and even State-approved chewing gums.

But if the government provides free food, then I shall be there early enough. On matters food, please count me in.

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