Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Davos v. Kibera

This article from South Africa's Mail & Guardian Online contrasts life in Kibera with the fact that the Kenyan government pays 40 percent of its annual budget to service its $9 billion national debt and forks out $6.3 million a month to phantom Health Department employees who are no-shows at work. At the same time, many of my friends in Kibera survive on between 2,000 and 3,000 Ksh ($26 to $39) a month.

And while on the subject, check out this, noting that Kenya's chief of anti-corruption activities has resigned.

Things have gotten so bad that the U.S. is cracking the whip, freezing aid. U.S. ambassador William Bellamy actually said this: Kenya has "an executive branch of government in whose ranks the kingpins of corruption operate." Strong words for a diplomat. Here's more:
East African Standard
Daily Nation (registration required)
Juma Kwayera in the Tanzania-based Guardian

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