Girls and their mothers are supposed to have a special bond and though ours is not perfect, I can say I’m definitely one of the lucky ones. More than anyone else in this world my mother has definitely been integral in the formation of my identity. She gave me my name and my frame and I can’t wait to see how our journey together evolves from here.
The book highlights the high-level political negotiations that are undertaken just to decide on who becomes a member of the commission and the top officials of the secretariat. These negotiations take on regional, political, ethnic, and even fraternity associations aspects. One must get the blessings of these associations to even make a cut for consideration. It involves shuttling from one office to another, meeting top political leaders, key door-openers (including brutes) and opinion leaders.
Parliament, in particular, continues to hold back information from the public regarding its operations. Recently in the Senate, the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya coalition accused their Kenya Kwanza counterparts of being against devolution. Instead of KSh 407 billion as the Senate’s standing committee of budget and finance had recommended, the house approved KSh 385 billion in equitable share to the counties. Senators from Azimio staged a walkout to show their displeasure, but what they did next revealed how transparency in law-making is manipulated for political ends.
Why would a country’s citizens be against a loan given by an international financial institution such as the IMF? Well, for those Kenyans who survived (or barely survived) the IMF-World Bank Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) of the ‘80s and ‘90s, the answer is obvious. SAPs came with stringent conditions attached, which led to many layoffs in the civil service and removal of subsidies for essential services such as health and education, which led to increasing levels of hardship and precarity, especially among middle and low income groups. African countries undergoing SAPs experienced what is often referred to as “a lost development decade” as belt-tightening measures stalled development programmes and stunted economic opportunities.
One change that still seems far from Kenya is the cashier-less supermarket, where money leaves your account as you walk out of the store. Of course, cashier-less services such as Amazon Go are only ever possible because of all the personal data that is continuously collected. Security of the data and privacy are obviously concerning, but its seamlessness makes it very alluring.
There’s this expectation placed upon women that if they don’t want to be labelled a gold digger (assuming that there is gold to dig in the first place), if they want to be respected as equal partners, then one of the things they should do is take on half of the financial responsibility in a relationship. If they’re dating, this means going Dutch on dates and splitting vacation expenses halfway. If they are married/cohabiting, then this would be going half on rent and utilities and groceries and all other things that are necessary to build a functional life.
From the foregoing, it is clear that the investigation into what exactly Mackenzie was up to and what crimes were committed at Shakahola is, at best, at its halfway point. This is further emphasised by the fact that investigators have begun a second phase of exhumations from Shakahola, raising the death toll and further horrifying an already shocked nation.
While the affordable housing scheme could be lauded for improving the quality of housing for low-income people, the reality is that these people will most likely be edged out of any low-income affordable housing scheme, which will most likely end up benefiting middle-income groups, or will be hijacked by the rich. The ultimate beneficiaries will be the contractors and private investors who will construct these houses – not to mention the government officials who will take kickbacks to award the tenders.
Perhaps that is why we cat lovers fall over ourselves to please them, because we are so enchanted by these self-assured creatures that are so unlike us. They have none of our insecurities or uncertainties, they know they can never fail. Imagine moving through the world with the knowledge that you could never fail. Imagine the things you could do, the life you could live, the magic you could create.
Other than the preying strategy pyramid schemes use to recruit people, the reason I see them as cults too is their ability to similarly brainwash their members into believing whatever hogwash they’re spreading. For example, for those selling supplements or other health-based products, it may go haywire fast. They’ll start you out schilling Vitamin D tablets and then in the blink of an eye, they’ll have you convincing your Facebook connects about ‘force fields’ and ‘protection zones’ that can be afforded by adorning a necklace with a pendant stuffed with a powder only they know the ingredients of.
