This is great unity that Haitians seem to have,why can’t we get that in Kenya? You see IMF told their government that they should raise the price of petrol and they were going to.
A gallon of gasoline would have gone up from $3.39 to $4.68
( 1 gallon = 3.78541 liters, 1 USD = Kshs 100.6944)
So if we convert into Kenya figures to see the story in shillings and litres we find
A liter of gasoline would have gone up from ($3.39/3.78541)*100.6944 = [COLOR=rgb(184, 49, 47)]Kshs 90.1762334859 to ($4.68/3.78541)*100.6944 = [COLOR=rgb(184, 49, 47)]Kshs
124.491083397
The Haitians resisted such changes and rioted. They burned down 2 police stations and burned several cars.
https://www.dw.com/image/44573919_303.jpg
https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/f6qaza/picture214496429/alternates/FREE_1140/AFP_17B7D4
In Kenya we have tried to complain, beg, threaten and even reason with the government against these rising taxes but it all falls on deaf ears. As if it’s not enough we have MPs flying first class to Russia to take in the World Cup on taxpayers expense and then mock Kenyans when questioned.
I fully support what the Haitians did. It’s not everyday that the small guys takes on the government and wins.
The Haiti price increase was suspended following the riots and the PM resigned. However IMF is still insistent that fuel price must increase.
1804
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article214722915.html
Wait until I am out o f this god forsaken shithole country before you have an uprising.
It doesn’t have to be a violent one. Kama ile ya Zimbabwe… Property doesn’t have to be destroyed. Ni wakenya tuamue ku-block JKIA, parliament, Mombasa port, all major highways to and from Nairobi for a week.
In all that, violence is inevitable. Not everyone is thinking like you. It’s the reason why peaceful demos always tends to turn violent when hooligans take charge…
Yes the opportunists always take advantage.
The best revolution would be Kenyans from all sectors to boycott work and stay at home. But that one has its challenges like some people must earn everyday to eat that day
lots of peaceful demos in Kenya have been disrupted on purpose by policemen unless you are police spokesperson to deny
I have witnessed peaceful demos disrupted by police and demonstrators scattered and called it a day.
I have seen demos turn rowdy without interference by police, with motorists being pelted with stones, vehicles and shops vandalised, people robbed, until police have to be called in to intervene.
Remind me the last time university demos were peaceful prior to police interventions.
who talked about uni demos or are you now forcing examples on me?
Kwani when demos are called countrywide that are meant to compel the gava, whom do you expect at the forefront?
Ile ya everybody switching off car engines in the middle of the road na kujipea shughuli ndio huweza.
The whole story is not revealed. Everybody concludes that the drop in fuel subsidies is right. The subsidies were stiffling plans to stabilize the crippled economy in the country. However the government executed the strategy poorly.
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Transportation vouchers, and public canteens with free food that the government recently began rolling out, to poor families, were to be part of the plan but were not announced.
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Haitian government’s calculations include how much fuel prices would have to rise in order to bring the country’s prices in line with rising global oil prices. Haiti’s fuel prices are affected by failing fuel production in Venezuela where they could purchase fuel at discounted finances. This forces them to buy in the open market.
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The old fuel prices were subsidized by the government and unfairly benefit the rich. The government had just closed a $96 million in low-interest loans from the IMF to stop a $150 million bleed per year.
COUNT ME OUT,
Be careful what you wish for. Some Libyans too wished for the same, ask them how much their lives have improved to date. Haiti was once the richest country in the western hemisphere, today it is among the world’s poorest countries. That “great unity” has not helped Haitians in over 200 years!
It seems commendable that they burned down two police stations. To whom do those police stations belong? What about the cars they burned? Is that progress? Did the IMF blink and is crime infested Haiti safer now?
If you have never visited Haiti or made Haitian friends, you should and when you do, you will have a new found appreciation for life in Africa and why a place like Kenya would be like going to paradise for many Haitians.
Did you see they were going to raise the price per litre from Kshs 90 to Kshs 124? And you don’t support the protests?
Coming home to Kenya, what should we as Kenyans do to make our government see that Kenyans are suffering? Did you read about the farmers who were turned away from Cereals Board of Kenya because a few people somehow supplied all the maize that the parastatal could hold? What should those farmers do?
I don’t see you offering any solution other than criticise something that has succeeded.
Mass protests brought back multi party politics and ended one party rule. Mass protests and violence brought independence to Kenya. Everything else that has been attempted to change government position on things is usually ignored.
I’m happy when Haitians get partial victory against their government and IMF. I can only hope we get victory on some local thorny issues against our government.
It has never succeeded, these types of violent tactics have done nothing over 200 years for Haitians.
All the Haitians will have to show for now is the wastage of their own money (taxpayer funds) to reconstruct police stations. Cars for those who may have been insured (if indeed they are compensated) will be imported - loss of foreign exchange and a deeper imbalance of payments. Intelligent vs destructive protests are very different in the way they are done. I do not support protests or actions that result in a zero or negative sum game. Can you honestly claim that Libyans are better off now?
Violence begets violence. Wars for independence are not the same as wars fought post-independence. Just ask your ordinary South Sudanese brothers how they are faring now and if they would trade their way of life for yours. We show the same senselessness when we protest and burn tires. We destroy roads but we forget we are the ones who suffer at the end of the day as road users. When the road is repaired, guess who pays for it? The Chinese and other private contractors must be wishing for such protests so they can come in and make repairs at our own cost.
The Haitians victory is meaningless. It is the type of “victory” that does nothing to improve the lives of people in that country. They will soon pay for it one way or another. As they say, beggars cannot be choosers. We have the tools and means to change Kenya but we are our very own enemies when it comes to exercising our personal choices. Until we vote or push for change in a selfish manner and for our own interests, we will continue to suffer. Violence is akin to cutting off your own nose to spite your neighbour.
[COLOR=rgb(41, 105, 176)]It has never succeeded, these types of violent tactics have done nothing over 200 years for Haitians.
Don’t say it cannot work when it has worked.
Read about the 1804 war where ordinary Haitians massacred well armed French soldiers and became the first independent black nation.
But their progress was hampered by western nations who didn’t want the idea that black people can be free spreading globally.
Tariq Nasheed did a documentary movie about it called 1804: The Hidden History of Haiti
[COLOR=rgb(41, 105, 176)]All the Haitians will have to show for now is the wastage of their own money
[COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]The cost of constructing a few police stations is a drop in the ocean compared to the price they would have paid had they allowed petrol prices be increased from 90 bob to 124 Bob. It was well worth the effort.
[COLOR=rgb(41, 105, 176)]The Haitians victory is meaningless. It is the type of “victory” that does nothing to improve the lives of people in that country.
[COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]Are you serious right now? Do you know how central the price of petrol is in modern economy? Their victory is as big as Mt Kilimanjaro
Kibaki, come save us from IMF please
Yes. I am serious. We measure success by concrete, long term results. @Simiyu22 gave a good breakdown of what was planned Haitians rioted and resisted petrol price increase. IMF not satisfied - News & Politics - Kenya Talk
A government announcement of backing down followed by increased suffering by those who protested is what we call a phyrric victory.
The status quo can only result in greater social and economic costs, more poverty and mostly importantly no progress. Literacy is an important thing, otherwise a populace will not understand the simplest of changes. Haiti’s Literacy rate is about 61% and Kenya’s is about 79%.
I am glad that you have cited the 1804 war and the documentary, for it is 214 years since Haiti attained independence. For example the $20 billion (today’s equivalent) debt that Haiti owed to France was paid off in 1947. What has Haiti accomplished since then (we cannot blame Western nations indefinitely)? How do you explain that a nation that Haiti invaded for 22 years (violently) and plundered is more prosperous and the # 1 destination for Haitian “refugees” yet they share the same island? The greatest cancer ailing Haiti to date is poor governance and corruption and we are headed to indefinite impoverishment for most Kenyans unless we act urgently and intelligently.
Violence on the other hand does not result in a good outcome most of the time. Iraq, Libya, South Sudan, Colombia, Syria, Afghanistan, CAR, Sierra Leone, Somalia, former Yugoslavia are examples of where violence has resulted in worse outcomes for the populace with long term multi-generational implications.
Our politicians do not respect us once they assume office, it is time we changed that perception, peacefully. We sometimes aim too high, we aim for the big prize. Why don’t we aim low enough? If we cannot make an MCA resign, how will we make a MP, governor or CS resign? When these leaders start to respect the people then we will have a chance at making progress. They are after all our servants and employees. If the people of Homa Bay and Kenyans cannot force the refund of the funds used by the World Cup joy riders, then we have a long way to go before we can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel No comment. - News & Politics - Kenya Talk
Who said that University students are the ones to be at the forefront when it comes to demos? I expect everyone at the forefront and not just one group
That was not the point. Get back to what the thread was all about…and my point of argument. Sasa ukianza za oh, its doesn’t have to be students at the forefront…that’s beside the point…