Use public funds in ways that take care of everyone's needs

This week, we continue to feel the stresses that poor governance has wrought upon us as a nation. Thanks to the temporary quashing of the movement for liberation, occasioned by the unification of government and opposition, it feels as though there is little recourse for action or improvement. Those who were supposed to speak truth to power directly are now speaking in one voice with the same government. As a consequence, this week nearly began with the threat of a teachers' strike, even as students across the country are set to begin a new term. First came the doctors, but this strike was quickly suppressed as the union leaders struck yet another deal with the government. Now, even with the teachers threatening a strike, which was called off at the very last minute, there have been several other categories of civil servants who have made known their distress, including the very police and prison officers who serve the needs of the government. Even though the strike has been called off, the issues raised by the teachers' unions still remain and give a sense of foreboding. The deprivation of resources for teachers is part of a much larger problem, with learners across all age groups feeling the brunt of corruption and resource restriction. For now, university learners appear to be the most affected, with many not being unable to enroll for courses that they have rightfully qualified for due to the extreme increase in university fees that has come with the neo-colonial mandate of the IMF and World Bank policies. However, this strain may soon be felt acutely by younger learners, who are faced with both a relatively new education system and a government that chooses to redirect public funds to the wrong places. That even those who work to serve the oppressive class are feeling discomfort under the current conditions should serve as a warning cry for the country's struggling economy. It is ironic that, as the youth took to the streets to call for better living conditions for everyone, certain categories opted to set themselves apart, believing that their needs do not align with those similarly flippant ones that the youth battled for. This trend, it seems, will be continuing for some time. As Kenyans, we ought to consider the trickle down effects of poor governance on all sectors of the public, without some sections of society considering themselves either as being cushioned or as being set apart in the ways in which they are able to approach the government should things go wrong. The same financial set up that the youths were protesting against - such as, for instance, the allocation of billions of shillings to the unconstitutional offices of the First and Second Ladies - forms part of the same coffers that the teachers are relying on to have their salaries and benefits paid out of. Whilst the entire collective of teachers is bargaining for a billion shillings, the offices of two persons were offered two billion shillings for services that remain unclear. With these struggles in mind, then, it is imperative that we understand the need to work collectively, as the effects of bad governance will always trickle down. As the saying goes, even for the middle class, one is only a health concern away from experiencing poverty. And even when our daily experiences do not bring us to the edge of despair, the fact that schools may not open, or hospitals may lack the medication and facilities to bring us back to health, ought to scare us into action so that we all work towards a country that caters for everyone, rather than for the corrupt few. Ms Njahira is an international lawyer

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