Kenyans have never felt poorer in the last 20 years than they do today. This is also thanks to tax reforms initiated and promoted by the International Monetary Fund. Before President William Ruto came to power on September 13, 2022, Kenya was tilted toward China and Japan, but there was sound wisdom behind it.
The IMF believes we pay too little in taxes. The truth is never far from this. Sadly, the IMF believes that falling government revenues are a factor in the lax collection. On the contrary, Kenyans do not have the money to spend on increasing collections.
Unless President Ruto abandons his hustlers and embraces the elitism of the Western world, the Kenyan and perhaps broader African psyche will continue to believe that my brother's problem is actually my own problem. Masu. To put this in perspective, only about 2 million children in total have made the transition from primary to secondary school, but about the same number of children will have completed their secondary school certificate in Kenya in 2023. Seeking opportunities in higher education institutions.
A significant proportion of these children are from poor backgrounds, which means that their parents are reliant on the goodwill of the wider family to cover the associated costs. And these are only present in the transitional cohort. Examining the entire educational background re-enacts funding from family and friends, only that parents have a platform to negotiate more generous payment terms. In the eyes of the IMF, the burden is borne by a small and severely “undertaxed workforce”, as at least half of households are not in any form of employment and thus do not have a stable income. has been done. However, the education funds that Kenyans consistently collect through Harambee are among the social services provided in most developed countries. They should be in the country tab.
Private institutions usually promise a better learning environment as they are less crowded during classes, while public institutions usually have more than 100 students. Additionally, despite congestion, new neighborhoods sprang up around the city, miles from the nearest public school. As the number of public primary schools has increased from only 6,000 schools since 2002 to approximately 23,600, these supposedly privileged households are increasingly unable to pay for their children's private school education themselves. There is.
Cumulative enrollment in primary schools during this period almost doubled in 20 years to 10.4 million, making it logical that the IMF's recommendations should prioritize the establishment of more schools. This suggests that it should be ranked higher.
Rather, this elitist US-funded financier is oblivious to the facts, overlooking the most important guidance, and pursuing short-term profits from the loans provided to Kenya by the IMF and other financiers. Sadly, education is just one of several social services in which governments have failed their citizens. Week after week, Kenyans continue to raise money for sick relatives who require specialized care not available in public hospitals.
But even when services are available, a lack of enthusiasm among public health workers means that patients die while waiting their turn to see a doctor, even for obvious emergencies, including childbirth or physical injury. It's happening one after another. Even poor services are not free, and even if covered by national health systems, patients must prove they can pay, which also undermines trust among providers. It's not something that evokes.
The costs of caring for elderly parents, maintaining roads, water and sewage systems in communities, and hiring askaris are rising, among other aspects of social demand. In effect, the households that the IMF wants to tax many times over are paying huge costs to the state through punitive taxes on already stagnant income.
President Ruto can tax Kenyans as much as he wants according to the wishes of his advisors, including the IMF, but he must be fully aware of the fact that the people pay for some services for which the state should be responsible. is. In the meantime, please allow us to claim refunds for the money we spend on private school tuition, out-of-pocket health care, roads, water, security, and all other “black taxes.”
