Raila: Charity twisted to suit the goals of the “charitable” can be very exploitative

The coronavirus pandemic and the government’s efforts to control it have resulted in an economic meltdown whose impact will be felt for years to come. While everyone is feeling the pinch, the youth, who were going through the strains of unemployment even before the pandemic, and small scale traders, who have long been the force behind Kenya’s famous resilience, have been hit the hardest.

Small businesses like salons and barbershops were forced to shut down in the pandemic’s yet-to-be-fully-understood patterns.

Even when they reopened, fear of contracting Covid-19, lack of money and the subsequent hard choices Kenyans now have to make in their spending habits have ensured these businesses operate far below normal capacity.

Imposing stringent conditions for businesses to remain operational has meant that kiosk owners, matatu touts, boda boda operators, and bar and restaurant workers are ran out of business and have had to look for other things to do or just sit back and let fate play with their families.

RISE IN CRIME

That, in turn, has meant fate taking charge of the future of the nation, with a rise in crime, teenage pregnancies and domestic violence being reported in many parts of the country.

In times like these, Kenyans are known to look up to some acts of charity to enable them get through another day. Others, particularly the youth, easily become dependent on handouts.

While charity and handouts can help fill holes in the lives of struggling people, they are temporary, inadequate and unreliable. Charity twisted to suit the goals of the “charitable” can be very exploitative, demeaning and disempowering.

We must make every effort against any attempt to make huge sections of our populations believe that there are enough handouts to take them through the turbulence that is already with us and is set to continue for a good duration of time. Instead, we must create viable alternatives that ensure the affected retain their dignity and are able to plan their lives on their own terms.

This economy will only begin making the baby steps towards getting back on its feet when we put money into people’s pockets in a way that is consistent, predictable, reliable and accountable while adding something to the ability of our vulnerable members to market themselves in future through skills acquired in the middle of the crisis.

HANDOUTS

While charity and handouts can benefit some, they don’t build careers or CVs, they don’t confer experience and skills on beneficiaries. Instead, they keep most beneficiaries stuck in a vicious cycle of seeking help

This is why the Kazi Mtaani programme currently taking off across the country needs the backing of everyone who wants to see those struggling, and especially the youth, get on their feet and fend for their families.

Putting over 270,000 young people to work for a wage of Sh400 per day for a period of three months may not sound like a big achievement. But at a time like this when the young people, their parents and relatives have all been out of work and have not been able to put food on the table, this is a boost indeed.

Four months ago when Kazi Mtaani was launched by the National Government in just a few counties and the youth were being paid Sh600 per day, the number of beneficiaries was much less. But, in an amazing show of empathy and willingness to be each other’s keepers at a difficult time, the families which benefited appealed to the government to bring in more youth into the programme even if it meant reducing the pay per day by half.

The government responded positively, increasing the number of beneficiaries exponentially but putting the salary a little higher than the half requested by the youth.

MULTIPLIER EFFECT

There is no doubt that the salaries earned by the youth will have a multiplier effect, given the structure of our grassroots economies and the persistence of the extended family as a social insurance for ordinary people at times of economic crises.

An economic depression such as the one occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic brings to bear a crisis for the extended family as a social welfare mechanism. Faced with a sudden and massive unemployment of the majority of its bread winners, nothing comes in handier than Kazi Mtaani.

It is by the same logic that we initiated Kazi Kwa Vijana during the Coalition Government. Back then, the post-election violence had struck as a rude shock to our labour-intensive enterprises like the flower farms of Naivasha, the tea farms of Kericho and the quarries all over the country.

We responded by establishing a stimulus project for the youth, who found themselves suddenly unemployed — and perhaps suddenly homeless.

The programme was later replaced by the Kenya Economic Stimulus Programme, introduced in the 2009/2010 Budget, and whose aim was equally to jumpstart the economy towards long term growth and development following the election violence, prolonged drought, a rally in oil and food prices, and the effects of the 2008-2009 global economic crisis.

Both programmes faced administrative challenges that should provide vital lessons as we embark on current efforts.

EMERGENCY MEASURES

At both times government has reacted by taking emergency measures to create employment for the youth so as to access basic needs in full knowledge that while the youth can be vulnerable, they also have the energy, mobility and flexibility to push forward a nation.

It is these positive traits of the youth that we should enable in times like these, not preying on their vulnerabilities, fear, uncertainty and anger.

The challenge we face this time seems to have inspired Kenyans on a positive trajectory. We are seeing great determination by the nation to stand on its own. The youth are on a rare race to be inventors and counties are trying to be manufacturing hubs. So this crisis presents a chance for us to recalibrate our national character with regard to fending for ourselves.

Of course there is need for a much bigger and more ambitious enterprise of creating a sustainable economy in the long run. But we must remain clear that our recovery as a country depends on our capacity to formulate sustainable policies that put money in the pockets of all, especially the vulnerable, without relying on the goodwill or deep pockets of individuals or picking the pockets of others.

ECONOMIC GROWTH

We have a fine example of how putting or keeping money in people’s pockets works wonders in the quest for recovery; introduction of Free Primary Education in 2003. That single act released parents to save the money previously spent on education and spend it on other productive aspects of the economy. It marked the beginning of the long journey that saw our country rely entirely on domestic sources to finance its growth.

While Kazi Mtaani still pales in magnitude and potential compared to FPE, it can provide the basis for recovering the lost ground in our economic growth path which was already faced with hurdles due to poor policies and bad governance such as corruption and rent seeking.

I have noted with much appreciation that our county governments are already putting their minds to this and working on how to reconfigure the growth trajectory in counties by expanding the scope of Kazi Mtaani to encompass other sectors.

By reviewing interventions on health with specific attention to Personal Protection Equipment and hospital gears, governors are seeking to build on the crisis to create jobs out of local manufacturing of these items.

Governors are pursuing how to re-calibrate the model to make Kenya self-reliant in areas like sugar and overall food production in the event of a prolonged lockdown, in addition to relooking our urban living spaces and infrastructure. This is the kind of mindset that will yield sustainable results.

These initiatives will need to be backed by broad democratic and nationalist coalitions and a sustained drive to rid the country of corruption. Hence the importance of the BBI proposals which are soon to be unveiled for public debate. It is possible for the country to turn the tide of decline in the middle of the pandemic.

Raila Odinga is leader of the Orange Democratic Movement.

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