Post by Ed on Jan 24, 2006 9:17:19 GMT 3
Extravagance Amid Poverty
Sang2000
Wananchi,
In today's Kenyan press, it is reported that the German ambassador accused the government of extravagance, especially in regards to the luxury cars it lavishes on its cabinet ministers, amid the debilitating poverty, and the current famine ravaging parts of the country. He also accused it of paying lip service to the war on corruption. He is reported to have advised the government to be prudent in economic management and to ensure "effective control of expenditure".
Coming from a foreigner, and a white man at that, this will surely elicit some very loud condemnation from those who benefit directly or indirectly from the government. As sure as the sun rises from the east and sets in the west, we will hear the ambassador being invariably accused of racism, acting in a condescending manner, and being an enemy of Kenya. He will be given all sorts of warnings and told to mind his own business. In fact, at some point in the past, Paul Muite himself, who is not even in the government, had previously accused the ambassador and his fellow diplomats for working to overthrow Kibaki's government.
But lost in all the noise are the actual figures in question. They are usually conveniently ignored.
So I decided to do a little math. The Daily Nation reports that each cabinet minister owns a fleet of AT LEAST two top-of-the-range vehicles, each costing about Kshs8.5 million. There are 34 ministers. With two cars each, that totals Kshs.578 million. Assistant ministers get at least one vehicle each. There are 42 assistant ministers in total. At the same price per car, this adds up to Kshs357 million. So, the cost of motor vehicles for the entire cabinet, excluding the president, is a whopping Kshs.975,000,000. Add miscellaneous expenses, such as gas allowance, mileage allowance, and other perks, and you get a conservative figure of Kshs.1,000,000,000. That is one billion shillings! From the Central Bank's point of view, that is a cool EUR11,429,445.80, or US$13,888,888.00 cheque drawn to the Daimler Benz's bank account at Deutshe Bank. With this windfall, you couldn't blame the German ambassador for wearing a smiley face throughout, could you. He would be the happiest man on earth, no doubt. You would think that he would place a direct call to Dieter Zetsche, Daimler Benz's board chairman, to congratulate him for a job well done. He may as well have done that. Who wouldn't. But that's neither here nor there. How about those Kenyans who have no clue where their next meal would come from? Or, how about the workers who have been paying taxes all their lives, but getting nothing in return from the government, in terms of services?
Consider this. If this amount - 1 billion shilllings - were to be shared among all the 212 constituencies, each one would get Kshs.4,761,905.00. Kibaki's government disburses about Kshs5.5 million to each constituency's Constituency Development Fund, (CDF) - a very noble idea in deed. If the ministers were to forgo their perks, this would add almost 100% to the CDF, up to a total of Kshs.10 million per year.
And what about the grains. At Kshs1,200 for a 90-KG bag of maize, the amount would buy 833,333 bags. The population of North Eastern Province, the region worst hit by famine, is 963,143. Every single household would get one bag of corn and spare some for export, or for planting, if the rains come this year.
As for education, the average cost of secondary school education in Kenya per year is about Kshs30,000. If the 74 ministers had to forgo their vehicular luxuries, this money would pay the school fees for 33,333 students per year.
In the academic year 2002/2003, University of Nairobi loans board disbursed Kshs.284,982,500 to 8,426 students. That was Kshs.33,822 per student. If the ministers would ditch their cars, the savings would pay for 29,567 students at UoN for one year. There are 6 public universities and 13 private universities in Kenya with a student population of 50,000. The ministers would have paid tuition for 60% of the entire university student population for a year. Or, since some Kenyan students have opted to attend university in Uganda for Kshs.10,000 per year, why not give the money to Makerere University? It will educate 100,000 Kenyans for one year - or 25,000 Kenyans for four years. A whole bachelor's degree for 50% of the entire university population of Kenya. What an investment in the future of the country!
According to the World Health Organization's statistics, the cost of a hospital stay in Kenya is Kshs.269.44 per person per night. The amount from the ministers would cover the hospital stay for 3,711,401 Kenyans for one night. Or 265,111 Kenyans for two weeks. The same statistics show that the cost of an out-patient visit to a health centre, at the current 50% subsidy is Kshs.118.21 per visit. The amount would cover hospital visits for 8.4 million Kenyans. Or the cost of 3 hospital visits for 2,819,840 Kenyans. Imagine what wonders it would do to all those sick children scattered all over Kenya's hospitals. At 7% HIV+ prevalence, 2 million sufferers would benefit too. But I suppose we will leave such nuances to Bill Gates and Bill Clinton.
And how about shelter. The cost of building a 3-bedroom stone house in the rural area is about Kshs.250,000. Let's assume that this is the median for the entire country. With one stroke, the ministers would have provided decent housing to 4,000 Kenyans.
Finally, since land is the most important asset in Kenya, let's assume that the median cost for one acre of land is Kshs.100,000. Right there, 10,000 Kenyans each would be receiving title deeds.
This, mind you, does not include the salaries and all sorts of allowances, including housing, bodyguards, free phone airtime etc, which amounts to over Kshs.1 million per minister per month. If you are still sane enough to continue, that means a salary of Kshs.12 million per minister per year, (excluding assistant ministers, MPs and permanent secretaries). Add the almost 20 million for the car and you get Kshs.32 million. That's what a single minister consumes per year. He gouges one shilling out of every Kenyan.
With all these perks, you begin to understand why Mr. Bernd Braun is a racist who should mind his country's business.
Sang
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Sang2000
Wananchi,
In today's Kenyan press, it is reported that the German ambassador accused the government of extravagance, especially in regards to the luxury cars it lavishes on its cabinet ministers, amid the debilitating poverty, and the current famine ravaging parts of the country. He also accused it of paying lip service to the war on corruption. He is reported to have advised the government to be prudent in economic management and to ensure "effective control of expenditure".
Coming from a foreigner, and a white man at that, this will surely elicit some very loud condemnation from those who benefit directly or indirectly from the government. As sure as the sun rises from the east and sets in the west, we will hear the ambassador being invariably accused of racism, acting in a condescending manner, and being an enemy of Kenya. He will be given all sorts of warnings and told to mind his own business. In fact, at some point in the past, Paul Muite himself, who is not even in the government, had previously accused the ambassador and his fellow diplomats for working to overthrow Kibaki's government.
But lost in all the noise are the actual figures in question. They are usually conveniently ignored.
So I decided to do a little math. The Daily Nation reports that each cabinet minister owns a fleet of AT LEAST two top-of-the-range vehicles, each costing about Kshs8.5 million. There are 34 ministers. With two cars each, that totals Kshs.578 million. Assistant ministers get at least one vehicle each. There are 42 assistant ministers in total. At the same price per car, this adds up to Kshs357 million. So, the cost of motor vehicles for the entire cabinet, excluding the president, is a whopping Kshs.975,000,000. Add miscellaneous expenses, such as gas allowance, mileage allowance, and other perks, and you get a conservative figure of Kshs.1,000,000,000. That is one billion shillings! From the Central Bank's point of view, that is a cool EUR11,429,445.80, or US$13,888,888.00 cheque drawn to the Daimler Benz's bank account at Deutshe Bank. With this windfall, you couldn't blame the German ambassador for wearing a smiley face throughout, could you. He would be the happiest man on earth, no doubt. You would think that he would place a direct call to Dieter Zetsche, Daimler Benz's board chairman, to congratulate him for a job well done. He may as well have done that. Who wouldn't. But that's neither here nor there. How about those Kenyans who have no clue where their next meal would come from? Or, how about the workers who have been paying taxes all their lives, but getting nothing in return from the government, in terms of services?
Consider this. If this amount - 1 billion shilllings - were to be shared among all the 212 constituencies, each one would get Kshs.4,761,905.00. Kibaki's government disburses about Kshs5.5 million to each constituency's Constituency Development Fund, (CDF) - a very noble idea in deed. If the ministers were to forgo their perks, this would add almost 100% to the CDF, up to a total of Kshs.10 million per year.
And what about the grains. At Kshs1,200 for a 90-KG bag of maize, the amount would buy 833,333 bags. The population of North Eastern Province, the region worst hit by famine, is 963,143. Every single household would get one bag of corn and spare some for export, or for planting, if the rains come this year.
As for education, the average cost of secondary school education in Kenya per year is about Kshs30,000. If the 74 ministers had to forgo their vehicular luxuries, this money would pay the school fees for 33,333 students per year.
In the academic year 2002/2003, University of Nairobi loans board disbursed Kshs.284,982,500 to 8,426 students. That was Kshs.33,822 per student. If the ministers would ditch their cars, the savings would pay for 29,567 students at UoN for one year. There are 6 public universities and 13 private universities in Kenya with a student population of 50,000. The ministers would have paid tuition for 60% of the entire university student population for a year. Or, since some Kenyan students have opted to attend university in Uganda for Kshs.10,000 per year, why not give the money to Makerere University? It will educate 100,000 Kenyans for one year - or 25,000 Kenyans for four years. A whole bachelor's degree for 50% of the entire university population of Kenya. What an investment in the future of the country!
According to the World Health Organization's statistics, the cost of a hospital stay in Kenya is Kshs.269.44 per person per night. The amount from the ministers would cover the hospital stay for 3,711,401 Kenyans for one night. Or 265,111 Kenyans for two weeks. The same statistics show that the cost of an out-patient visit to a health centre, at the current 50% subsidy is Kshs.118.21 per visit. The amount would cover hospital visits for 8.4 million Kenyans. Or the cost of 3 hospital visits for 2,819,840 Kenyans. Imagine what wonders it would do to all those sick children scattered all over Kenya's hospitals. At 7% HIV+ prevalence, 2 million sufferers would benefit too. But I suppose we will leave such nuances to Bill Gates and Bill Clinton.
And how about shelter. The cost of building a 3-bedroom stone house in the rural area is about Kshs.250,000. Let's assume that this is the median for the entire country. With one stroke, the ministers would have provided decent housing to 4,000 Kenyans.
Finally, since land is the most important asset in Kenya, let's assume that the median cost for one acre of land is Kshs.100,000. Right there, 10,000 Kenyans each would be receiving title deeds.
This, mind you, does not include the salaries and all sorts of allowances, including housing, bodyguards, free phone airtime etc, which amounts to over Kshs.1 million per minister per month. If you are still sane enough to continue, that means a salary of Kshs.12 million per minister per year, (excluding assistant ministers, MPs and permanent secretaries). Add the almost 20 million for the car and you get Kshs.32 million. That's what a single minister consumes per year. He gouges one shilling out of every Kenyan.
With all these perks, you begin to understand why Mr. Bernd Braun is a racist who should mind his country's business.
Sang
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