- Reducing the cost of living is, therefore, not an exclusive role of the government.
- We must play our part by going back to farming.
Image: FILE
Kenyans are a worried lot, and it is understandably so. The cost of living has gone up quite tremendously and the hope of a better future is diminishing each day.
The difference between what one could buy with Sh1,000 in a supermarket five years ago and what you can purchase with the same amount of money right now is insanely huge.
The lower-class households are especially badly hit by the ever soaring cost of living. With the prices of basic commodities hitting the roof, and continuing to increase each day, many families are living in destitution and are not in a position to afford three meals per day. A majority cannot even afford to put food on the table.
The middle class has not been spared either. The rising costs have forced them to find ways to adjust to the new harsh realities. I watched recently on a local television news channel how Kenyans have concocted new ways to cope with the current economic situation. Reduction in the expenditure on social life and luxury was more prominent.
This is attributed to the steep slump in disposable income in many households. The sharp fall in disposable income among Kenyan households is attributed to a number of global factors, including the war in Ukraine, which has disrupted supply chains across the world igniting a spike in prices of commodities. It will be a tough year financially for many ordinary citizens as costs blow out for non-discretionary items.
Unfortunately, the cost of living crunch is predicted to slow Kenya’s economic growth, as household consumption growth is set to significantly plummet this year. Kenyans are frustrated by rising costs, yes. But they are also frustrated by how much more attention they must pay to these rising costs.
Latest statistics indicate that inflation in the country edged down to 7.9 per cent in the month of June, following May's eight per cent. June's figure represented the weakest inflation rate since May 2022, but was slightly above market expectations. The result was driven by moderating price pressures for housing and utilities and transportation.
This is quite encouraging as it is a sign that the economy is gradually easing up for Kenyans. The government has made a solemn commitment to ensure that the cost of living does not bludgeon Kenyans to death.
President William Ruto’s commitment to this course is never in doubt. He truly understands the situation on the ground and has placed his best foot forward. It may take time before government instituted short and long-term interventions are seen to bear any fruit, but we are hopeful it will certainly do.
Even as he genuinely tackles the economic situation in the country, the President has received his unfair share of blame as far as the present state of affairs of our economy is concerned. The people are justified in pointing fingers at their leadership, but it is equally important to understand that the rain did not start pounding us today or yesterday.
For us to reach this stage, it has been years of economic mismanagement dipped in the abyss of maleficence, unmitigated borrowing and negligence. Certainly, it isn’t possible to ameliorate the effects of years of rot by the stroke of a pen.
That is why the Kenya Kwanza administration’s economic recovery intervention strategies that the government has clearly outlined to Kenyans should be supported for they are geared towards mitigating the mess we are in. It needs bold steps to be taken. Most of them may appear unpopular, but they have to be implemented for they hold the key to unlocking a better and prosperous future.
It also means that as a country we must have a paradigm shift and stop over reliance on food imports. This is our achilles heel. It is a pity that we have abandoned farming and depend on foreign countries to feed us. Back in the village, swathes of land lie idle. Farming has greatly reduced while in some places owners of such parcels of land have completely abandoned farming.
The net effect is that we have low supplies of food items in the market thus pushing prices of basic commodities above the reach of many Kenyans. Reducing the cost of living is, therefore, not an exclusive role of the government. We must play our part by going back to farming. The idle lands must now be put to good use so that as a country we can be food sufficient to reduce reliance on foreign aid and donations.
That means taking advantage of the government subsidised fertiliser and encouraging the youth to relish farming. A lot more will also need to be done to make farm inputs not only affordable but also accessible to farmers. The untapped opportunities lie in the agricultural sector, which has been deliberately ignored by millennials and Generation Z who prefer dancing on Tik Tok to soaking their feet in mud.
MDG party leader and Ugenya MP