Walking to work and the sad economic reality in Kenya

Kenyans walk to work as rising living costs continue to strain household budgets. [File, Standard]

Artificial intelligence (AI) can be exciting. I prompted Gemini to get me “the price of hiring a helicopter for an hour in Nairobi.”

I got a range from about Sh194,000 to Sh278,000 per hour, depending on the model and number of passengers. Is that cheap or expensive?

That is a return ticket from Nairobi to Alaska in the United States. I used Gemini because I know a Kenyan who has been developing it in California.

Why the obsession with helicopters? The price per hour indicates why the helicopter has become a status symbol. Its versatility makes it a choice for politicians trying to attend as many rallies as possible to maximise audience reach. 

Why not business executives who make money and time is so precious to them? Owning a car is now for everybody, even hustlers.

The new status symbol is helicopter ownership, let alone hiring. Hiring helicopters is also a big business for travelling around and sightseeing.

That pricing indicates why the 2027 polls will be very expensive. I guess contestants know that and have been looking for money. How and where, I will leave it to your imagination. 

The price also shows the level of inequality in Kenya. About 96 per cent of Kenyans earn less than Sh100,000 per month! Someone burns twice that amount in one hour.

Let’s leave the air and get down to earth. Every morning, hordes of citizens fill Waiyaki Way, Langata and Thika roads, walking to town because they can’t afford the bus fare.

That keeps me awake at night:  the helicopter rider can downgrade to V8 if the economy is not doing well. Salon car owners can downgrade to buses or matatus. What if the person walks to work? What other downgrading can the person do? Don’t say dying, please.  This drives home what economic hardship is for ordinary Kenyans.

When citizens complain of economic hardship, it’s real. That is why advanced economies have provisions for such economically disadvantaged citizens; they get subsidised housing, food and welfare benefits.

They give capitalism a human face.  Remember, almost everyone there pays taxes, and money is available for that. Can we put our tax into such a “good use”?

Do we spare a thought for the disadvantaged members of society?  Their socio - economic background makes it so hard to start off economically.

Even an engine needs a battery to start. A fire needs a matchbox. What are our economic matchboxes for the poor, disadvantaged?