By Billow Kerrow
A study on inequalities in our society just published reveals a grim picture, and confirms how the government’s economic policies continue to relegate sections of our society into utter deprivation and poverty. Despite appearances to the contrary, nearly half the population of this country live below the poverty line, living on less than a $1 a day.
The youth have a reason to be restless; out of 20 million Kenyans of working age group, only 4.2 million are gainfully employed.
A household in Kenya spends on average Sh3,440 per month, with folks in urban centres spending ten times more than their rural folk.
And next time the President addresses the crowds, he should note that only 25 per cent of Kenyans have education at all, about a half have been to a primary school and worse still, only 23 per cent have had secondary education or above.
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As they leave his meeting for home, just less than a quarter have access to electricity and hence can watch his pronouncements on the TV.
And just a half of the country has access to improved sources of water, with only a quarter having access to piped water.
Successive government policies have also aggravated the disparities across the regions through application of elitist economic policies and skewed resource allocation based on political patronage that regrettably persists to this day. Our policies are focused on economic growth per se, not targeting the poorest sections of the society.
The result is increased gap between the rich and the poor, and huge inequalities. In societies with high inequalities, the rich benefit most in times of good economic growth. When the economy performs badly, it is the poorest who suffer most.
Mandera County, for instance, is the most deprived according to the study, with the lowest access to essential services measured across nine variables. It is the 46th poorest county, with 86 per cent of the people living below the poverty line. Only 7 per cent of the working age-group are gainfully employed.
The mean household expenditure per month is Sh1,300, well below the national average, and it has the highest dependency ratio in the country. 94 per cent of the residents have no access to electricity.
It is the 4th least educated county whilst health services are not worth mentioning. Above all, there is not a single kilometre of paved road. And there are many counties in similar situations. Devolution is not a panacea to these problems as only a fraction of the national revenue is cascaded to the counties. It is incumbent upon the Executive to direct resources to regions that need it most to address the inequalities.
This can readily be effected if every ministry or department makes a deliberate programme to share the national government’s resources equitably.
The status quo is unacceptable where political patronage determines who gets a road or a hospital in his area.
There is an urgent need for the government to prioritise its spending on sectors and projects that enhance economic development. It makes no sense to tax ordinary Kenyans on every aspect of their lives and spend the same on social elitist programmes and misadventures that do not change their lives, but enrich the pockets of the corrupt.
If we do not change course, millions of Kenyans will continue to wallow in abject poverty and misery long after this 50 years’ jubilee.
The defining legacy of this regime should be to address these glaring poverty and inequalities through purposeful attack on the challenges revealed in this survey.
