This is an open letter to you Mr. President, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta. You may or you may not read it. Since you ran away from social media platforms, all we do is rant, hoping that the sycophants around you will let you know.
Mr. President, Kenya’s economy is on its deathbed. I don’t know what your handlers are telling you but whatever numbers they are feeding you with, are wrong. Things on the ground are totally different.
The economy of this country is ailing. It is bleeding. It is in the real economic Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and you as the surgeon, have no clue how to bring it back to life.
For the year 2018, one of your agency, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) told Kenyans, in broad daylight that the economy of Kenya grew by 6.3 percent.
From the figures they released, it was evident, beyond any reasonable doubt that KNBS were living in another Kenya, totally different from what Wanjiku knows.
During the same year of 2018, the same agency, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), said that more than 800,000 jobs were created. The house that you reside in, State House, took credit for the imaginary jobs but later withdrew the bragging.
Mr. President, your government is killing this country. The saddest thing is that it is killing the most vulnerable, those who hold the pillars of this economy; the Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
Your government has imposed the worst taxes in the history of this country to the SME sector. The SMEs are kicking their last with each passing day. Let your people not lie to you that the economy is doing fine. How?
Mr. President, do you know that 1,000 SMEs are dying daily in Kenya? Are you aware that over 30,000 SMEs are closing down in this country every month? And are you aware that the SME sector is the wheels on which this country thrives?
Mr. President, let me give you the basic advantages of the SME sector in this country. I know you know them because you are an economist yourself. First, the SME sector employs 86 percent of Kenyans. Second, the SME sector contributes to more than 45 percent of Kenya’s GDP. Those two are enough.
Mr. President, the people in your government have eaten anything and everything. We are now scared they will start feeding on us, which they have started by selling us poison to consume.
As one of the most corrupt regimes in Kenya, we are losing 1 trillion shillings every year to corruption. That is a whole one-third of our national budget going into the pockets of few individuals as Kenyans wallow in abject poverty.
Do you know what your corrupt officials say behind your back? They say you are a toothless dog that backs but has no powers to bite. That is why they are so daring, stealing anything public that comes their way. All you do is get furious and that is all. Nothing tangible.
You may or may not be aware of Mr. President that companies in this country are literally collapsing and people are losing their jobs. Some are incurring huge losses because of an unfriendly business environment.
Let me give you a list of 10 companies that have either collapsed or are empty shells surviving as a name:
- Kenya Airways
- Mumias Sugar Company
- East African Portland Cement
- Uchumi Supermarket
- Nakumatt Supermarket
- National Bank of Kenya
- Karuturi Flowers
- Nzoia Sugar
- Webuye Panpaper
- Imperial Bank
And your people are busy telling us to prepare and celebrate Mashujaa Day, what is there to celebrate. Mashujaa ni nyinyi.