sajini
Gold Member
Nyumba,
As our leaders try to shove the East African Federation dream down our guts, are we actually going to benefit or to lose? Personally, I think the idea is ill advised, and should be killed at the earliest opportunity. This is because all the three countries are chasing different economic and political paths. Kenya of course is seen as the monster that is waiting to devour her partners. As a result our brothers and sisters in Tanzania have become unjustifiably aggressive. Xenophobia is at its highest level, not just against Kenyans, but other East Africans as well.
The only solution for this emergent xenophobia from our Tanzanian neighbors is to wake up to the reality that the E. African federation is an illusion and deal with Tanzania at formal levels, just like the way we deal with Ethiopia or Sudan. As the Kikuyus will say "kũbatithagio ũrĩa wĩĩrirĩĩte" (only those who have accepted the doctrine get baptized). For her own economic interests, Kenya should enter into partnership with Uganda and other willing countries for the mutual benefits of all involved.
My view is that Tanzania is fighting the South African economic war by proxy. As we all know, S. African monopolistic companies have had no success in Kenya as in other East African countries. It also happen that Kenya is a prize they are salivating for, not just because it is the largest economy in the region, but also because it can stand on its own, then it will become a front for competition. Kenya and Tanzania have always had their differences, remember those times when there rhetoric of man-eat-man society and man-eat-nothing society? How comes that there was no Xenophobia then? Again you might guess-the hand of South African. How come the Tanzania Xenophobia comes at the same time that South African Xenophobia has increased?
In addition, the Stability in Tanzania is overplayed. Like the S. Africans, they try to deny the existence of tribalism. Yet they do talk of the Chagga's enterprising spirit, or Kikuyus of TZ, the Wamachinga hawkers, the Wahaya and prostitution, and the likes. Talk of tribal-less community! In addition, they do not have a vibrant multiparty system to write home about. The structures of CCM of Nyerere's era are still intact, and those who challenge them are dealt with ruthlessly. Ask the Zanzibaris. That the Tanzanians are making a demand for democracy in Kenya, how laughable? It is Kenyans who should be telling Watu wa bongo to straighten up their political system before we enter into any political agreement. How can we be enjoined if we have structures that are as different as heaven and earth?
I am happy that South African was finally able to break the yoke of apartheid, but I am not happy with their imperialistic agenda. They have this idea that they are the light of the rest of Africa. Mbeki's "African Renaissance" is based theory of on the diffusion of the South African models into the rest of Africa. For this reason, South Africa is ready to ‘destabilize' and ‘undermine' other countries that stand in their way. They hoodwink the world with sounding phrases like "the home of Madiba" "the icon of democracy', ‘the peaceful country', ‘political stability', ‘united country' and the likes. This creates the impression that South Africa is the gateway to the rest of Africa, especially the East and Central Africa. The clamor to have AU office move to S. Africa from Ethiopia, and the hijacking of the EASSY-project are just some of the examples.
That tribalism is a problem I cannot deny, but I will also say that tribalism is not as deep as it seems, it only manifest itself in political cycles, especially at the elite level. The ordinary mwananchi, unless incited, does not harbor ill feeling towards other wananchi. It is just out of their ignorance because of misinformation or lack of proper contact with other ethnic groups. In any case, our youth's inter-ethnic mixing is soon debunking the tribal incompatibility myth. Slowly, we are smothering this monster of negative ethnicity, but our charged political climate shoves these positive developments under the carpet.
Tanzanians think that they are getting a raw deal from Kenya, but I think that Kenya is getting NO deal at all. I have heard countless complaints about Kenyan take over of Tanzanian economy, but I have not heard a whisper about the South African takeover of Tanzania economy, Why?
Nyumba, I beg you to say NO to the East African federation
Thegere igĩrĩ itiremagwo nĩ mwatũ
http://kikuyu.com/eve/forums?a=userposts&sortType=1&u=741108978Papa Daad
Silver Member
Hi, wachana na East African community, ina wenyewe. They are called capital investors. These are the people who don't want to see boundaries between their investments. Their philosophy is investment without boarders.
The few boarders there are, the less the tax for them. The higher the profit, they will pocket. How many Kenyans are members of this club? This is an exclusive club. Take my word, the East African Community Secretariat and its organs in Arusha are funded directly and indirectly by this club. It is their project.
Those of us who do not control capital as you know are called Wananchi wa Kawainda, the commoners. However, even in Britain, they do not know the doors of the House of Commons. The sole responsibility of commoners is to provide labour, a necessary factor in capital investment and production. The concerns of the commoners, therefore, should be on the impact of integration on the labour market and wages. Is the integration going to increase employment? Is it going to increase wages? Is it going to add sufurias of ugali on their tables? If you are an ambitious commoner like Papa and Sajini, you should also be concerned about the likelihood for the integration increasing your chances to become a controller of capital. Will it be possible for Kenyans to get greener pastures in Uganda and Tanzania? Will it be more profitable for us to do our Jua Kali business in Tanzania or Uganda than it is in Kenya? How about marketing the Jua Kali products in Tanzania?
How controls capital in Kenya? Who owns the industries we are dying to protect against the monopolistic South? Do we control and own these industries? Will integration lead to increase or decrease of industries? What is the difference if the capital investor is a Kaburu from the South, a mbemberu from Britain or an Yankee from America?
The whole idea should be about increasing investment so that there will be more jobs for the commoners since currently they do not have access to capital. A commoner cannot get a loan because he does not have collateral. When they join hands to form cooperatives, the management turns against them because they are able for control the new capital. They start creating their own capital. The commoner has therefore been condemned to sustainable poverty. This poverty is sustained by providing labour at a low cost so that the investments of the capital owners can be sustainable. However, sustainable poverty in Kenya is not as bad as in Tanzania. Tanzania for along time had closed their doors to capital owners. This is how they became a man eat nothing society. They forgot that nature is sustained by the dynamics of the rule of jungle, where things eat other things. This eating and being eaten is controlled by forces that tend to maintain equilibrium. However, chaotic it might look, it is a very orderly phenomenon. The lack of equilibrium in the man eat nothing society nearly crippled the economy of Tanzania. The society nearly collapsed on its policies. The man eat man society in Kenya has attained a sustainable equilibrium and has kept the country afloat.
Allow me to revisit the issue of cooperative movement in Kenya. The main constraint that commoners face is lack of social capital. This is why they are not able to exploit the power of numbers. When ever they have initiated a channel to build capital, their leaders have been hijacking such opportunities with an aim of climbing the social ladder. Most of them have closed to the other side of the poverty line. They are no longer commoners but capital controllers. This phenomenon is mirrored by their political cohorts. The custodians of public capital have joined the private capital holders. The three, holder of private capital, holder of commoners' capital and the holder of public capital, always work hand in hand to enable them to continue denying the commoners the power to control the capital.
From social political perspective, the commoners in Kenya have a lot to learn from Tanzania. Uganda has already copied the social political system of Tanzania. In fact, political integration will accelerate political devolution in Kenya. It is the only member state that is not practicing the Power to the People Policy (PPP). It is the only one practicing centralized planning and economic management. From experience, it will be hard for any regime in Kenya to allow devolution of political power, planning and management of economic development. If you analyze most of the so called developed countries, you will realize that, most of them have adopted the ancient Greece city state type of political, planning and economic development. This has empowered the commoners, who have been every active in designing their destiny. In this set up, no community ever blames the government for denying it Maendeleo. The political elites have no control on how communities develop their economies. Over the time, it has become immaterial where the political elites leadership comes from. Since political elites cannot influence the destiny of any particular community, the national macroeconomic and social political policies impacts equally to all communities within the boundaries.
Sajini,
You also raised a very fundamental issue on tribalism. Just like Kenya, Tanzania is composed of different tribes. In fact, more that 60 tribes. But that does not make the country tribalistic. Just like our nine clans, Tanzanian behaviors are by and large reflects their genetic and environmental backgrounds. Among Kikuyus each clans has peculiar characteristic. This does not make us hate each other. It plays no part in political appointments. It does not influence the voting patterns in Kikuyu land.
Undu uyu dugiritie Angari makorwo na Ungari wao, Acera makorwo na Ucera wao, Ethanga makorwo na Withiga wao, Anjiru makorwo na Unjiru wao, Ambui makorwo na Umbui wao, Agaciku makorwo na Ugaciko wao, Aithirandu makorwo na Uithirandu wao, Aiithe Kahuno makorwo na Uithe kahuno wao.
Angari do not vote for Angari. Aithe Kahuno do not appoint Aithe Kahuno. Agaciku do not promote Agaciku. Acera do not protect Acera. Ambui do not feel more at home with Ambui. In fact we do not remember that we belong to certain clans. It never bothers us that the cattle-dip chairman is from the other clan. But look at Somali and their clans. It bothers them. This is the difference between Kenyans and Tanzanians.
The tribal poison impacts on community when one is denied an opportunity because of his tribal background. This has been evidenced in Kenya for the last 44 years. Each president has tended to position his tribal cohorts in strategic political and social economic area of government management. Not because they are the most competent, but because they come from their tribes. When members of other tribes are allocated positions, it is only an incentive to the tribe to be loyal to the president. You have been seeing the Meru community going to state house to bargain their share in the cabinet. This is tribalism at its ugliest order. Look at Kenyatta regime. He appointed only Kikuyus in the strategic ministries of Defense, Finance and State. Kibaki has followed suit with his Mt Kenya Mafia cohorts manning Defense, Finance, State and Constitutional affairs.
When we are told that the Kikuyus cohorts are corrupt, them they (kikuyus) prepare a list of names to show that even Kalenjins are corrupt.
I am skeptical on whether the young generation less tribal than the old guards. Being the majority voters in Kenya, it is evidence that they vote along the tribal lines. Their opportunity to detribalize themselves has been impacted heavily by the presence on tribal radio stations which eats, plays, sleeps and preaches tribal abhorrence. These are the stations that forms our opinion as overtime, whatever is broadcasted on the radio is taken as gospel truth. So, when Professor Njoroge (a real professor in tribal hatred and kikuyu chauvinism) takes the better part of the evening broadcasting what he knows and practice best (kikuyu bigot), he is taken as a source of nothing but truth. He has taken the advantage of the ignorance of the mass to sharpen (Kunora na inoro) the hatred towards other tribes.
On the other hand tribal religious sects, such as the Tent of the Living God of Ngonya wa Gakonya (may he rest in peace) Mungiki and the Akorino fraternity have taken advantage of the young generation among the Kikuyus. Other tribes have their religious sects too with similar impacts. It is unfortunate that nearly all Kikuyus now belong to NARC-Kenya, a party without a manifesto, without a constitution, just because they are Kikuyus. On the other hand, the Luos now belongs to ODM-Kenya just because they are Luos.
http://kikuyu.com/eve/forums?a=userposts&sortType=1&u=1231079851MpigaKura
I think am overwhealed about the Pron's and Con's of having the community.
So shoul we unite, will the poor ones benefit or just only capitalist!
_________________
Regards/MpigaKula!!
"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail--- Ralph Waldo Emerson....
Location: Cairo-Misri | Registered: 21 February 2007
