Kenya's Economy under Uhuru Kenyatta is in Limbo
I am not an
economist myself. What I know is that every good economist (forget the
neoliberal imperial boys from the IMF and the World Bank serving in Emperor
Kenyatta's inept and thieving regime) has consistently warned that Kenya’s
economy is on very bad rails. I long lost the count on David Ndii’s warnings or
Kwake Owino et al. Recently, one Ephraim Njega argued that Uhuru’s government
has economically plundered every single sector of Kenya's economy, including
Nyamakima traders and he advised those who are yet to feel the said plunder to simply hang
on as Uhuru is surely coming for them soonest. Now, reading this report which
has just been released by Amana Capital titled “Kenya’s Economic Puzzle-Putting
the pieces together.” It is chilling how Kenya is using the Central Bank of
Kenya (CBK) to literally cheat both the world and Kenyans about its fiscal and
financial rot. For instance, examination of 6 key indicators: debt, balance of
trade, employment, fiscal policy, currency and interest rates, the researchers
have found out and reported how the CBK has overvalued the Kenyan shilling by
30%. For pedestrians like myself, the simplest way to know that this is true is
the fact that Kenya shilling against the dollar has traded at 100 for almost 5
years yet Kenya has been on a borrowing spree. Another way is that truly what
you bought for 100 shillings a year ago has already probably doubled. The
shilling has lost value over time. You can feel it in your bones yet the CBK
numbers have remained stable. Now. This is not a good thing for you and me.
Because as the report warns “the country’s Ksh.5.2trillion debt has shifted
from being productive to unproductive and Kenyans risk being taxed even more.” The
report further states that “in 2018, for every Ksh.100 of tax collected, Ksh.25
went to paying interest on debt and as at June 2018, for every Ksh.100 in
revenue, Ksh.34 was used to service total debt obligations.” It is an upward
and worrying trend. Some of the real economic and financial risks that Kenya is
facing the study reveals is that “the country faces a risk of pushing exporters
to seek other alternatives since Kenyan products may become too expensive for
them in the short run” meaning that “export earnings will then decrease and the
Kenyan economy may slow down significantly.” Unfortunately few Kenyans consume
expert knowledge and that is the tragedy of my lifetime.
Kenya's Economy under Uhuru Kenyatta is in Limbo
Reviewed by Ibrahim Magara
on
May 10, 2019
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