Corruption, high cost of living deprive Kenyans of basic needs

By Billow Kerrow

Ignore what the Government tells you about how well we are. The fact is most Kenyans are not satisfied with the quality of their lives. It is not about those elite or affluent folks in the cities but the ordinary Kenyans suffering deprivation of basic life requirements. The UN Human Development Index 2001 just published reveals how the lives of most Kenyans are getting more miserable. Our poverty levels are rising just when the global poverty population is declining.

The report that ranks Kenya at position 143 of 187 countries surveyed portrays a worsening quality of life for the citizens. Our people live a poorer quality of life than the citizens of the occupied Palestinian territories, Iraq or the Congo. In the region, we can only hold our heads high when talking to the poor little neighbours; not much to be proud of! Our per capita income of $1,492 is lower than that of many countries we look down upon, including Sudan, Djibouti and war-torn Yemen and below the mean for sub-Saharan region of $1,966.

It raises fundamental questions of access to better quality of life that all citizens expect from their governments. The UN index measures how a country provides basic needs to its citizens. These essentials then help the citizens to live a longer, healthy life, access education and live a decent life. Our life expectancy is 57 years; compared to 81 years for Norwegians who top the table.

An Ipsos-Synovate poll released this week confirms the UN reports. And 69 per cent of Kenyans polled last week indicated they are not satisfied with their lives and are worried about the high cost of living. In fact, 20 per cent say they are totally deprived of life’s essential requirements.

They have no access to food, shelter and live on handouts. The ravaging famine, unemployment and corruption top their list of worries. The high food and fuel prices have pushed inflation to more than over 20 per cent. And one does not need to read the UN report or poll results to assess the impact of poverty and deprivation in our midst. Ordinary Kenyans who do not find a meal a day can literary be seen in many towns, living one day at a time. Most are the youth who make up 30 per cent of the population and 75 per cent of the unemployed.

Yet, if we used our resources, our youth would not live in squalor or seek solace in militia adventure in other countries. The so-called Kazi Kwa Vijana programme is an apt example. In 2009, Sh3.4 billion was allocated for this programme, and a further Sh6.6 billion last year. Much of it was spent on poorly designed, unsustainable short-term projects with little or no impact on the lives of the youth.

Last year, World Bank chipped in with $60 million, with a focus on innovative projects and capacity building.

Parliament was treated to a circus that ridicules even the daftest in our society when the Government alleged World Bank concern was ‘ineligible expenses’ and that the Government would refund the same. The Treasury disclosed unashamedly that it refunded donors Sh2.6 billion this year arising from such ‘ineligible expenses’.

Ineligible expenses simply mean the money was misappropriated. The funds were used on wrong beneficiaries, or were spent on goods or services not intended for. In our common language, it was stolen; which is why the donors are diplomatically seeking a refund.

We have clearly demonstrated to our donors that the corrupt cannot be convicted. If you steal public funds, you can get away with a pat on the back. Corruption is a key factor in the poverty and deprivation that degrades our quality of life. If we do not express outrage on such plunder, socio-economic development will be an illusion.

—The writer is a former MP for Mandera Central and political economist