Muthoni Kabara’s reaction to minister Kimunya’s courtship directed to investors

Commentary by Muthoni Kabara on earlier article by Njuguna titled:

Kenyan minister courting investors

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Njuguna,

Thanks for posting this well-articulated article on Kenya’s Finance Minister’s recent mission to woo Kenyans to invest back home. This is an election year and quite clearly Kimunya and company had more of a political than an economic success agenda to present. They had to spend millions of Kenyans’ hard-earned money to sell the government’s successes, but tactfully avoided discussing the grinding poverty levels that are well documented in recent reports. The Kibaki administration caters to the rich elite, and is never bothered about the poor Kenyans. I believe the trip cost so much, yet the same sweet words could have been spoken cheaply using new technologies like videoconferencing from Nairobi.
Kenyans in the Diaspora remit billions of their hard-earned money to their relatives in Kenya annually, and many can confess that they have uplifted their standards of living through this and not directly from the government. Kenyans abroad will never invest heavily at home unless the government is serious about addressing the pertinent issues posted in this article.

Kibaki and company should continue burying their heads in the sand, thinking that statistical figures on PowerPoint will translate into voting them back. The common mwananchi is still suffering and even if CDF has brought feeder roads, many areas are still not productive enough for these Kenyans to utilize those roads, because they have nothing to transport or sell.

Talking of poor salesmanship, I read that Martha Karua, the Justice Minister, nowadays acts as a die-hard-defender-cum-spokesperson for the Kibaki administration on local TV. I also understand that she was recently on BBC’s HardTalk, denying the obvious–corruption, crime and even dismissing the recent UNDP figures on the increased rich-poor gaps. It is the arrogance and over-confidence of Kibaki’s handlers that add to the poor image of this government. They should reach out for the poor and economically-deprived masses, instead of spending time selling only one side of their story to Kenyans abroad.

By Muthoni Kabara

Published by African Press in Norway, apn, africanpress@chello.no tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525