Curse of poverty stalks Kenya at 50

Kenya’s aspiration at Independence was to be a great nation but successive regimes have literally chipped away our international credibility.

We celebrated our heroes and heroines Sunday during Mashujaa Day. The dream of these forefathers was to build a united, strong nation whose peoples are well fed, living decently and enjoying good health.

But 50-years later, the first government’s mandate to eradicate poverty has never been met although we have made major strides in various sectors such as education and health.

Today, we have nationalism devoid of a development agenda. There is no patriotic nationalism to drive the entire country together towards greater goals.

Inheriting debt

But as Kenya celebrates her best, one of the key challenges identified since Independence — poverty — still stalks the country menacingly. Poverty remains disturbing. A recent Parliamentary report - MPs Budget Watch 2013/14  - estimated that over 3.7 million households now live below poverty line. The report says the number of poor Kenyans increased between 2005 and 2013.

At age 50, the country can do better by cushioning its most vulnerable against abject poverty. Kenyans live from hand to mouth. The waged class has debts over their necks. Kenya herself has an external debt in excess of Sh1.6 trillion.

It means all adults will now bequeath debts to the generations that come after us. Deep-rooted poverty has been reported in rural and urban areas alike. Nairobi remains one of the most unequal cities in the world, with some of the most rich as well as some of the poorest.

Averagely, informal settlements cater for 60 per cent of the total urban population.  The Government and private sector must all rally to fix poverty.

With official Treasury reports that over Sh300billion are lost annually to graft, such resources would go a long way to reduce poverty. We can do better. We need heroes to fight poverty!