Kenyans struggle to celebrate Easter amidst economic hardships

Despite confidence exuded by the President William Ruto's administration that country is in the right direction, companies are laying off staff, uncertainty has now enveloped parastatals after the recent State House meeting which sent a message of changes that will come with job losses, some employees facing delayed salaries, health workers strike that has caused ineptitude in service delivery, school principals deciding to close early for April holidays because of fear of further costs.

A cross section of Kenyans polled by The Standard said they would spend the weekend at work, at home or in church and let it pass like any other weekend.

"The Easter Holiday is for sharing with the less fortunate. Unfortunately, the hardships facing many Kenyans, including me, will not allow us to engage in charity events as huge as before. I will spend the period with my family at home, attend church events and let the holiday pass like any other weekend," Andrew Nyabuto, a Nakuru resident said.

Traders rush to salvage their property after one of the premises caught fire. [File, Standard]

"I will nonetheless mark the end of the holiday on Monday by having a sitting with friends as we do every evening around the Lurambi bus stand and enjoy a cup of coffee and mandazi that go for Sh20," he told The Standard.

Other than the general increase in the cost of most goods, Kenyans are also grappling with reduced incomes. This is on account of factors such as higher taxes that have led to lower earnings for employed Kenyans as well as those running small businesses. This is even as many Kenyans lost their jobs.

The high cost of living has pushed many Kenyans deep into debt, with many of them borrowing especially mobile loans for consumption while in other cases, they are borrowing to help out friends that appear to be worse off than them.

A February report by Old Mutual showed that nearly half of Kenyans are in financial distress. The report showed that 38 per cent of people who took part in a survey said they are borrowing for everyday expenses. Another 33 per cent are borrowing for an emergency while 11 per cent of the respondents in the survey were borrowing to repay a loan, while another six per cent were borrowing to lend money.

Only 40 per cent are borrowing to buy stock or equipment for their businesses.

"Almost half (48 per cent) of working Kenyans are financially stressed. An overwhelming nine in 10 Kenyan consumers are earning less than or the same as they did before Covid. This means that the majority of these consumers currently have less money in their pockets than they did before being impacted by the pandemic," said the Old Mutual Financial Monitor.

It added that Kenyans had resorted to borrowing to make ends meet. While some Kenyans in formal employment have such options as credit cards that charge lower interest rates and repayments are staggered over time, many are borrowing from friends and family, who are equally struggling and the amount advanced is marginal. Others have emptied their savings.