By David Maillu
Published January 27, 2024

One of the newspapers recently published a cartoon of President Ruto in
a deep hole with a shovel in which he is throwing soil out from the deep
grave of bankruptcy he is digging. Outside at the edge of the grave is
an IMF person giving Ruto an extra shovel for digging deeper. It is the
story of Kenya blindly borrowing money from outside without considering
the grave consequences of that borrowing. Indeed, it is driving Kenya
into an economic dungeon for total exploitation by the economic monsters
of the so-called developed countries.

It wasn’t long time ago when President Uhuru, in office, publicly said
the Kenya State House is losing 2,000,000,000 shillings every day
through corruption. Then he stunned the nation by asking, “What do you
want me to so?” This is happening in the backdrop of rocketing
unemployment, cost of living, collapsing government economic projects,
rocketing foreign debts, and unprecedented corruption in civil service
where ghost workers are making fortunes. We are watching the economic
hope of the country dying. The President lies to the nation openly and
gets away with the murder because citizens can’t do anything about it.
They accept being beaten to death while lying down.

Take this as an illustration of government’s extravagancy of citizens
money. If the President is visiting Naroko town, almost the entire
fleet of his executives driving fuel guzzling monster cars in the
company of their lovers, drivers and body guards follow him paralyzing
civil service in many places. Some of the executives land there from
helicopters. The President is mobbed by his bodyguards. Military and
Police chiefs are there, where the President is going to say or repeat
what he had said in other places of little or, if any, economic value to
citizens. Or he is going to deliver another lie to the crowd to show
that he is with them. The government has to foot the entire bill. At the
end of the day count the government money and labour force wasted. He is
always flying from one place to another to say the same thing, month
after month, year-in-year out at taxpayer’s expense.

In good sense, for example, if the President has got any serious
business in Taita that cannot be executed without President’s order on
the spot, he can take a helicopter flight with a few executives
following an order commanding the presence of a few people involved in
the project, address the matter and fly back without involving so many
people at governments expense. That would save a lot of money. Most of
what he wants to say can also be done through the media at no expense.

What are all those frightening crowds for accompanying the President?
How does that mob add value to the economic development of the country?
Come the President attending a funeral service and watch and count the
government’s expense on that funeral.