In 90s, Kenya had her coffers empty & loan taps dry, like today. One of IMF & WB conditions for loans was a lean civil service.
My dad was retrenched in 2000, after 21yrs of service, got only 40k.
Rest was said to have been spent on trainings he wasn't invited & never attended😭
How the govt would spend over half a million training employees on entrepreneurship, from their own money,for separation & only leave them with sh40k has always baffled me.
It's more saddening when these employees actual never had the benefit of this training. Money was stolen.
18 yrs in court & they lost in the hands of Justice Roseline Nambuye.
I know of many retrenched kenyan who committed suicide, killed themselves with alcohol or died of depression.
This is something I hope GoK never gets to repeat, ever.
I still remember the emotional letter my mum wrote to me while in high school then, with a sh20 note inside. Mzee didn't have even enough money to transport his stuff from maralal, samburu county.
The kind of trauma GoK has subjected her citizens can't be described in words.

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More from @TonyMurega

23 Feb
TRADE, not AID, is what Africa needs to achieve for economic growth & a transition to industrialised/developed status.
Thoughtless liberalisation, the kind Kenya seeks with developed world isn't the kind of trade we need.
We need more Intra-Africa trade & guarded liberalisation.
Opening kenya's economy to seriously unequal competition without laying down a foundation (& short term safeguards to domestic industry) to ensure stimulation of competitiveness by domestic industry in the medium term, incl technological transfer is a suicide pill to the economy.
Kenya's domestic industry was wiped out by this kind of thoughtless liberalisation imposed by brettonhood institutions (IMF &WB) in late 80s & early 90s. That mistake shouldn't be repeated.
Nations that embraced gradual & guarded liberalisation had different, but better outcomes.
Read 6 tweets
21 Jul 20
German economic miracle was driven by family-owned SMEs called mittelstand. Japan economic miracle was driven by locally family-owned SMEs in alliances known as Keiretsu. S. Korea had Chaebols. In Taiwan SMEs made 50% of world's umbrellas in 1989.
In Kenya, we are killing SMEs.
We fancy economic models of successful nation's but fail to emulate their examples. Our economic renaissance will not be driven by foreign-owned multinationals but by family-owned local enterprises (SMEs). Policies that promote their growth is what we need, not crippling taxes.
Kenya has sufficient local skills & vibrant entrepreneural spirit & only needs a conducive macroeconomic environment to deliver Kenya's economic miracle. That's the missing link.
Read 4 tweets
16 Oct 19
SGR was sold as an economic imperative necessary to achieve vision 2030. Its cost (mostly taken by land compensation) & urgency, point to another imperative. Land rents. Phase 2B to Naivasha was a detour. Who benefits from SGR project? Let's see..
bloomberg.com/news/features/…
First, Phase 1 of SGR project cut through the vast Taita Taveta county. Huge land compensations were made most to land holding companies that we clearly know are proxies of the real owners of land in the county. They said as much...
capitalfm.co.ke/news/2013/02/w…
The phase 2B (to Naivasha) and the dry port at Naivasha were a detour from the main plan. But notably, there is a Kenyan family that owns vast farms in Nakuru, Njoro & Rongai from early days of Jomo & has added more recently.
nation.co.ke/news/politics/…
Read 10 tweets
14 Oct 19
Let's connect the dots...

CBA offers to buy Jamii Bora bank at sh1.4bn in Jan 2019

NIC bank acquires the Jamii Bora's KQ loan of sh412 mn in June around the time CBA-NIC merger is expected to be finalized.
KQ offers to acquire JKIA from KAA ...
businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/comp…
Acquisition of JKIA is meant to help KQ, Jamii Bora's debtor (a debt bought off by NIC which in turn merges with CBA, return to profitability.
businessdailyafrica.com/news/Regulator…
KAA seem to have no objection ceding control over the strategic profitable airport to KQ just so that the loss making airline could boost revenues.
Someone pulling strings?

Portion of debts were converted to equity. CBA-NIC will be a shareholder as well.
businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/comp…
Read 4 tweets

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