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Zimbabweans and Kenyans eat “air burgers”

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Here are some excerpts from an article by Xan Rice writing for The Guardian Weekly. His piece is about the Kenyan government of national unity, how the government has done well for itself, while the poor eat “air burgers”.

Sounds a lot like Zimbabwe.

Evans Akula lost his Mercedes but got the message. During a late-night carjacking in Nairobi a few weeks ago, the assailants asked the Kenyan MP: “When will you people give us the new constitution or the jobs that you have promised?” The question encapsulated the main concerns in Kenya today: the urgent need for political reform and accountability, and the growing struggle of the mwananchi, or common man, to get by.

Poor people skip meals, eating “air burgers”, as the local saying goes. Government attempts to help the poor have been half-hearted at best, reflecting not only lack of money but a skewed sense of priorities. In the recent budget, finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta revealed that the projected revenues for this year would not even cover the state’s running costs, which went up steeply when Odinga and Kibaki nearly doubled the number of ministries to reward allies with seats.

To save cash Kenyatta announced that no government official would be able to drive a vehicle over 1800cc – the local Mercedes dealer quickly advertised several models at 1796cc – but several ministers said they would ignore the directive.

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