DEVELOPMENT OF KENYA

In the 21st Century I stand here as proud to be Kenyan but I am not proud of
the rate of development. It is appalling that today in Nairobi there is no water
flowing in taps where people have the money to pay for the water used.
What happens to those who cannot even afford water to drink, those who
have no taps, not even houses to install the taps?

Is this the growing GDP that we want? Every day I recall as I worked at my
Computer services business in Nairobi's Satellite Estate in Kawangware,
there would be a blackout at 7:55 am in the morning. We have lived in a
blackout for long enough I think and its time someone shed some light on the
real extent of this huge disregard of Kenyan's basic needs by the corrupt
Government system.

After starting business early in the morning with a blackout, I sat outside my
shop watching as the sun rose, as fellow Kenyans walked on 6" inches of
snow...oops! I mean dust on their way to work. Loses are part of the Kenyan
dream, a dream lived by each person trying to make a living. vehicles and
buses speed outside my shop as if the bumps are mere molehills, leaving
behind enormous clouds of dust that is swept by the wind right into the
shops and houses next to the road, right into my nostrils as I try to cover my
mouth and right into the fans of my computers and photocopy machines. A
neighborhood that looks like a garden, when you get to the bus stop you
have to get your shoes cleaned, perhaps get a pedicure to rid you off the
layers of dust, germs and who knows what that has piled up on your legs and
arms as you try to head to work.

It is a painful story when I recall the huge loses I incurred when trying to fix
machinery owing to dust as my fellow Kenyans rush to the garage to spend
thousands every week on shock absorbers that have been destroyed by the
pothole riddled roads. Millions of shillings are spent on loses caused by the
poor development of our roads, of our infrastructure that never was and
corrupt Government system.

I sit outside my shop basking, watching the sun rise and waiting for the
power blackout to end, for some electricity to return so I can do some
photocopy services and make a living, maybe get food for lunch. Deep in
mind I know that power may not return till the sun sets, and so I sit chatting
with my fellow businessmen. Riruta Satellite which was then under Beth
Mugo was known to be a desert because of lack of water. Water is a scarce
commodity is this place and so it is even more pointless for me to wash my
shop. On the opposite side of the road we see women and children bending
at the roadside holding water jars and containers for carrying water. They
manage to tap water from a leaking pipe. The pipe has been there for many
years and is always leaking. This is a great help to the many families that
rely on this alternative water source, when the City council is unable to
provide a regular water supply to the homesteads of this Constituency.
On the opposite side of the road we keep a vigil watch for the City Council
pickup that might show up any time and arrest all the businessmen and
women who have not paid a license for their shops. Arresting people and
charging fines is something they do so well. At least people can be sure that
they will come over to collect their weekly dues but there is no guarantee
that there will be water, electricity or security that night.

In the evening I sadly close my shop having made little sales due to the
blackout and head home hoping to find some food after a day of work
without eating. Travelling home is not an investment tonight or an expense
but rather I will pay for transport as a loss because I made no money the
whole day. At the end of the month, it is certain that some of us will not be
able to pay our rent dues, our electricity bill and other expenses.

This is the state of difficulty, stress, hurdles and challenges faced by every
Kenyan trying to make a living. Even matatu owners feel the pinch when
their buses are stopped 15 times a day by police officers demanding a bribe,
or are it extortion because failure to give bribes results in the vehicle being
apprehended for the many possible traffic violations that may please the
officer that night. The also feel a pinch every other week the vehicle spends
a day in the garage undergoing almost a complete makeover.

The level of development available to Kenyans today is deplorable and that

is one of the most important things that need to be tackled. One of the most
important rights that we as Kenyans need to fight for is development which
we can demand from our legislators such as Beth Mugo who cares little
about her constituency. I feel it is time we as youth should get together
Tuchangamke. Ngong' Road is deplorable, they can as well have a sugarcane
plantation on that road.

The most distressing part of this story is that our beloved leaders have
traveled every so often to the developed nations such as the US and UK and
they understand very well what basic needs are and what exactly is the
definition of a road. Please let us not be fooled by free education. Free
education cannot keep people alive. Every day we see pictures of children
dying from hunger. I think they also deserve a life and after they have a life
they can then have free education.
I think that we need an education before we can even make it free. 150
children in one class room can never be education that is a CRUSADE!!!

Please Kenyans let us open our eyes and demand for water on our taps,
electricity, roads, food, security, healthcare and education before they can
even make it free!!!

Hola if you see what I'm talking about and let us share the different ways we
can ensure that the likes of Beth Mugo do their work!!

Sammy Kiguru View discussion on this

Copyright © All rights reserved