The stories of women roping their stomachs to appease the
deadly pangs of hunger in far flung counties, of dying children and the blood cuddling
pictures of starving, hunger stricken old women awaiting death now ring through
the minds of most Kenyans as tough times reckon, this time round instigated by
the same government that promised to shield its citizenry from starvation.
Tough times indeed for the common man.
It is now clear that Kenyan Members of Parliament (M.Ps) threw
all caution to the wind and passed the now frowned upon and devastatingly
unpopular Value Added Tax Bill (VAT Bill) that among other things sought to
increase the prices for essential commodities like milk and flour, the staple for
the common man. Consequently sending the cost of living to the rafters, and condemning
Kenyans to a certain death knoll, death through starvation.
Death
through starvation
It is common knowledge that most Kenyans live below the poverty
line, or what the United Nations (U.N) describe as living below a Dollar a day.
And the move by the government can only sound like a sure
death sentence.
The aftermath of the ripples created by the said law have been
felt in every nook and cranny of the country, gripping a population with shock
and disbelief.
The cost of everyday essentials, the basic needs like food has
risen to unprecedented highs with a liter of processed milk now retailing for
Shs.130, up from the previous cost of Sh. 75, the equivalent of one Dollar,
while that of other commodities continue to compete on a free rise as
unscrupulous traders connive with the government to rip off the already
suffering Kenyan.
Majority of Kenyans eke out a precarious existence, some
living off garbage while a raft of others sleep hungry hoping against hopes
that tomorrow will be better, amid an avalanche of problems including run away
corruption, high cost of living, poor sanitation due to a rise in population,
mass unemployment, diseases ,poverty and deprivation.
Living
below the poverty line
Unless the U.N redefines the popular cliché of “living below
the poverty line” and sets it at three dollars a day, a colossal amount that
most Kenyans will definitely not afford, it seems that one dollar can buy you
nothing in Kenya now, save for a few rolls of chewing gum to assuage the
dreadful pangs emanating from the empty stomach.
Or a few rolls of
toilet paper, a move which will be self defeating in that the trips to the
lavatory will be infrequent and far between.
Tough times
ahead
It beats logic to realize that a government cannot raise funds
to finance its budget thereby resorting to hurting the already overtaxed Kenyan
and subjecting him to untold suffering and hunger leaving him staring
starvation, and death on the face.
And tough times are yet to come.
If Kenya Power, the company that supplies electricity decides
to make good their threats of raising the cost of power due to the now
effective VAT taxes, everything will shoot up, dealing the final and fatal blow
to a population.
VAT Bill
The VAT Bill was passed in April 2013 and the president of the
Republic of Kenya gave it the green light by assenting to its provisions,
setting the stage for and seating as a judge in a case condemning Kenyans to”
Death by Starvation”, and watching from the high table as the riffraff of the
society, yours truly included, suffer from anguish and deprivation.
The Bill is reported to have imposed tax on previously zero
rated items including foodstuff, bicycles, and a barrage of other basic
necessities, only months after the new government assured Kenyans that the cost
of living will be driven to an all time low and that essential goods will never
be affected by the bill.
My crystal ball tells me that a hungry man is an angry man.
Kenyans are watching. Soon, push will come to shove and they
will demand for justice.
Hut tax
A friend opined to this writer that during the colonial and postcolonial
era, there were all sorts of taxes being levied to poor Kenyans, from the
infamous hut tax, bicycle tax to a myriad of others, the government of the day
defiled its populace left right and center, not only making life unbearable but
also removing dignity from the very life, a scene that might sadly come back,
half a century later.
I end where I started. The Kenyan scenario resembles the
proverbial mother devouring her young ones.
The more things change, the more they remain the same.
photo credits remain with respective owners.
