Forgetful Kenyans : Pyramid Schemes
Antonio MascaroVillage Elder
One Trait that unites us Kenyans is our forgetful nature. Am not sure if its just that we forget ama we ignore.
Remember that cop (kirui) who killed a guy in Kisumu during PEV and emotions ran high kukakua fire like this ? I suspect anakula mshahara yake mosmos from an undisclosed location.
Tubaki hapo 2007, kumbuka position ya Ruto in the politics of that time na sai. You have to forget / ignore a lot for the current setup to materialize. The Guy was more radical than Rao man. Nikikumbuka Kalonzo kupitia katikati yao, man, you need selective amnesia to crack a coalition between him and Rao.
Pyramid Schemes
Politics aside, Pyramid Schemes. A few months after the collapse of DECI, Some Tanzanian friend of my mum's alikua anamshow kuhusu a chama where you invest 10 k and in 3 weeks unapata 18,000. So mathe thought it would be a good idea. But she had to ask for opinions. A certain uncle akamshow to it would make more sense if she took her 10k to some pricey restaurant and enjoyed some lunch with it. She ignored the call by her TZ'an friend. 4 months down the line, the Tanzanian Lady lost 60k.
These schemes often morph and come back in forms that you need some analytical capabilities to figure out its nature as a pyramid scheme.
* Like those guys who tell you, "Imagine with 25 k you can own a plot in Joska!". So you take your 25k and are shown a place. But unaambiwa plot is worth 500k, its yours but you can only start developing once your installments get to a certain percentage of the total cost. During your installments submission, the older members are moving into their plots and you get hopeful. But the plots are paid for by money submitted by the growing base of newer members. So you introduce your cousins, business partners, neighbors...In no time the Scheme is raking in millions a month. Then Poof, Ofisi hakuna, walihama, registry of societies hawatambui hio jina....
* Then there is the classical Pyramid scheme. Leta 5k, come after 2 weeks utapata 8k. Ukingoja zaidi, 6 weeks, utapata 12k. So you say, whatever they sell i dont care, naweka 50 k na niwapee 6 weeks. Poof, 50 gone.
Lifestyle Products "Business"
To a degree, I find "Lifestyle products" kama Tienshi, GNLD...companies as pyramid schemes if you look into it. Come with 8k for initial stock, You sell products at 150% of the prices we sell you at come back for more, 2 years down the line "You will be a rich, Silver Manager". Just like these "Managers" here among us who now afford quarterly vacation trips to Seychelles and other Tropical islands. And build a network of referees to whom you will be selling stock. Yaani, wewe si business man. Wewe ni customer yao. Na wewe ndio utawaletea customer wengine. A friend of mine aliingia Forever living, his first stock ya "Healthy Tea" alikunywa mwenyewe. Na waliingia na sistake who had also purchased a 16k worth of starting stock ya skin care products. Utajipaka hio makadamia tropicanus hadi umalize.
BULLISH TRADE
So they took it to the interwebs.
Oh man, this one here, they got a lot in this one. They lied to guys ati you are doing forex Trade. Guys didn't know what was being bought or sold. The most important thing was, Weka pesa, pata 150 % of the amount after 2 weeks. Man, didn't Kenyans join. And for every refferal you make, the moment the referral ameweka deposit ya kwanza, you get like 30 % or something of the deposit.
It didn't make sense to me at the time how this worked and I knew it was a scam based on pyramid scheme principles. So an "Expert" told me about HYIPS (High Income Yielding Investment programs..or something like that). That they are basically pyramid schemes that you can join, make some quick cash and exit in time if you are a smart one. Make sure you leave before they collapse with investors' money. And that there are these monitors you can use to check the creation, lifetime, membership trends and more to ascertain whether you can get in or need to leave ASAP.
Shida ya Bullish Trade was, the payment process
Umejitahidi sana, bahati mbaya umedandia basi kwa nyuma Na limesha changanya mwendo. Pole sana!
