Few celebrate as Kenyan economy expands

NAIROBI – Rain pounds heavily on the corrugated tin roof as the fishmonger sits, gutting buckets of fish near an open sewer swarming with flies, preparing for the oncoming dinner rush in a slum on the outskirts of the Kenyan capital.

“My business, instead of growing, has grown smaller. I’m getting poorer and poorer,” Night Juma, 45, laments despite the unprecedented growth of the Kenyan economy in recent years.Although Kenya released the largest proposed budget in its history last week – on the heels of 6,1 per cent economic growth in 2006 – many Kenyans say poverty is increasing, slums are expanding and life is getting harder day by day.”I don’t see the benefits when the economy grows stronger,” says Juma, a mother-of-five who often has to decide whether to feed her five children or restock supplies for her food stall.Outside a nearby barbershop, several unemployed men idle on a bench watching enviously as scores of workers return from their jobs in the city centre.”I’m worse off this year than last year.I have no work and the prices of even simple things are increasing, like sugar,” says Allan Scotch, 30, who still lives with his parents despite being past the age “when that is acceptable.”While experts expect the Kenyan economy to continue on its upsurge, with Finance Minister Amos Kimunya predicting between 6,5 and seven percent growth by year’s end, both analysts and residents say the numbers aren’t indicative of life for most Kenyans.More than two-thirds of the east African nation’s population of more than 34 million live below the poverty line, eking out a living on less than a dollar a day.”The richer have become richer but the poorer have become much more poor.The figures being touted about do not correspond to people’s lives,” Evans Monari, a political analyst, told AFP.”Kenya does not have a system in which the wealth is properly distributed.We need serious social programmes that address what people really need to survive,” he added.Inside a ramshackle kiosk cluttered with assorted footwear, beneath a hand-painted sign reading “Shoe Doctor” that hangs crookedly, 26-year-old Nahashon Njoroge nods his head in agreement.Many are also concerned that the increasing poverty and unemployment are to blame for the rise in insecurity currently plaguing Kenya.Nampa-AFPI’m getting poorer and poorer,” Night Juma, 45, laments despite the unprecedented growth of the Kenyan economy in recent years.Although Kenya released the largest proposed budget in its history last week – on the heels of 6,1 per cent economic growth in 2006 – many Kenyans say poverty is increasing, slums are expanding and life is getting harder day by day.”I don’t see the benefits when the economy grows stronger,” says Juma, a mother-of-five who often has to decide whether to feed her five children or restock supplies for her food stall.Outside a nearby barbershop, several unemployed men idle on a bench watching enviously as scores of workers return from their jobs in the city centre.”I’m worse off this year than last year.I have no work and the prices of even simple things are increasing, like sugar,” says Allan Scotch, 30, who still lives with his parents despite being past the age “when that is acceptable.”While experts expect the Kenyan economy to continue on its upsurge, with Finance Minister Amos Kimunya predicting between 6,5 and seven percent growth by year’s end, both analysts and residents say the numbers aren’t indicative of life for most Kenyans.More than two-thirds of the east African nation’s population of more than 34 million live below the poverty line, eking out a living on less than a dollar a day.”The richer have become richer but the poorer have become much more poor.The figures being touted about do not correspond to people’s lives,” Evans Monari, a political analyst, told AFP.”Kenya does not have a system in which the wealth is properly distributed.We need serious social programmes that address what people really need to survive,” he added.Inside a ramshackle kiosk cluttered with assorted footwear, beneath a hand-painted sign reading “Shoe Doctor” that hangs crookedly, 26-year-old Nahashon Njoroge nods his head in agreement.Many are also concerned that the increasing poverty and unemployment are to blame for the rise in insecurity currently plaguing Kenya.Nampa-AFP