We all know about the rivalry of Uhuru and Joho. These politics of theirs have really affected coast in infrastructure wise, development, business and mainly, the Tourist attraction.
Some time back terrorist attacks sent fear across the world. And we were stamped as unsafe province. Obama visited and only 2 or 3% rised in tourist.
Coast is a hustle now days. No money from outside. Houses are empty, business opens then closes down in no time.
If Uhuru is our next terms president, do you think coast will thrive?
If Raila is our next terms president, do you think he will do something about coast?
And one question for us people, as coast people what can we do to rise our development again?
una hoja nzuri lakini tumia kingiriama mwana. I can say the problem with Mombasa is mainly by divisive nature inherited from its leaders. The places doing well in terms of business are places with watu wa bara…visit, nyali, bamburi, mtwapa and people there are active…visit old town, likoni, kisauni where natives are located.
Sometime back, i used to have morning breakfast kwa kibada huko tudor(opp tiger gym), opposite kuna county headquarters and i could have a word with those county askaris nearly daily. Those guys used to work with chuki mostly ukiwa wewe ni wa bara ole wako. walikuwa wanajipiga vifua sana vile waliitisha mama wa mboga mkamba vitu ndio arudishiwe, mara kuna mkiuk wamechukua mat yake akam station awapatie kitu wote wagawane etc…
In short, Mombasa should be bombed are rebuilt again. The sultan mode of slavery still haunts everything. And finally dude, what’s the work of your governor? haujaandika kwa swali lako. amefanya nini?..see, ata kama tutapata trump as our president na bado mko na huyo jamaa wa betty, hakuna mahali mtaenda…poverty will still be there and the song hakuna matata will still be fading.
Trust me sir, this is replicated almost countrywide. From a simple look, I can tell that it has more to do with the way people are choosing to run their businesses. Most people think that running a business minus discipline can somehow work. It doesn’t. There is also the small issue of little or no disposable incomes for most people now that the govt taxes us more than ever before.
The others you can ask around, there are enough armchair professionals who may have details.
As a person who has lived in a fair good amounts of time in both towns (Mombasa & Nairobi) all I can say is it down to attitude! The people of Mombasa & The entire coast region have to have an attitude change/s for their fortunes to change.
The victim mentality, this can be summed up as ‘all’ my misfortunes are down to external factors! nothing I did or am doing personally that’s why things like radicalisation, MRC, sell easily in Mombasa, (there are Muslims all over Kenya). common phrases are ‘kivipi’ 'uta kubali aje 'Tumeonewa! Joho Played this card perfectly and Uhuru took the bait!
Taking education seriously! This is the basic most single thing that can have an impact on current and future generations, education is not taken as seriously in coast as other major towns in Kenya.
Caring too much about what others think, ‘watanichukulia aje?’ if I did A,B,C this was / is a major one which I still struggle with, its not uncommon to find a graduate ‘mtu wa bara’ working as a waiter, soja, hawker in most parts of Kenya but I can bet you will have a hard time finding an indigenous Coastarian well educated working a ‘below status job’
Thinking they know it all. again attitude! A common phrase is ‘utania ambia nini’? You don’t know it all! The quicker they realise this the better their lives situations will be! if you know it all why is it that most successful (I dare say all) in coastal towns are owned by either Arabs, or Upcountry people. If you know it all why are you (indigenous coastarians) mostly poor or barely eking it?
But generally biashara iko chini everywhere in the country, kwanza huko mashinani si kuzuri, watu hawana circulating disposable income. But I bet ni juu ya ukame
huyu anakaa Baba Malcom aka @MtuPombe pale twirra.
Valid points lakini. Alot remains to be done. Effects za economic marginalisation in Coast/Nyanza/N.Eastern/Upper Eastern i.e stiffle/kill economic activities like sugar, cotton, beef, fish farming.
Our leaders need to champion economic stimuli packages ama hata production for export…Education alone cannot sustain our pple(Nyanza for example has multiple academic institutions but poverty levels are still alarming.
First of all, Education IS the Panacea of most of our economic problems.
Who told you Nyanza has multiple academic institutions???The most educated region in the country has been Central Province which has the highest per capita number of high schools and had a University(JKUAT) in the province long before Nyanza ever did plus enjoying the proximity to Nairobi’s institutions like UoN and KU.
Nyanza, North Eastern and Upper Eastern,In addition to my own Coast Province in the rural parts have the highest teen pregnancy rate I have ever seen.Let us start with that area. How many people in Nyanza actually make it past secondary school?Especially the girls?
The reality, very few, at least in comparison to Central Kenya. Heck, no Country beats Kirinyaga which holds a 99% rate in attending Primary School and the highest transition rate to secondary school in the country. Those in Nyanza do not even compare with many in the Rift or Middle Eastern.
As for entrepreneurship.Kisumu would be a backwater without Asians.Honestly speaking.
I have said it before .Agriculture takes no country anywhere.The country with the largest agricultural sector on Earth, the USA, Agriculture employs 2% of the population and the sector barely forms 5% of GDP. Manufacturing and Services are the way to go.Not Agriculture. And thew only way both can go forward is if everyone, not just some people from Central Kenya and Asians took an actual interest in Entrepreneurship, instead of complaining of marginalization. Central Kenya was marginalized for 24 good years too.With coffee and milk killed off.
I agree with you upto a certain percentage.
However re-read my opinion and look out for;
adjectives (a) Multiple and (b) Most.
Please note multiple means more than one and info. frm the Ministry of Education shows Nyanza has more schools(primary&secondary) per sq Km than Coast(which is what I was comparing in my argument).
I said MOST not all…I am champion of education but education alone (note the use of alone!!!) cannot solve these issues.
Some areas of KE have been marginalized since independence kama N.Eastern, so 24 yrs in the cold feels like a baby’s day out!.
Econ 101 for prosperity we need to move from Agric to Manufacturing and Service industries. Hapo I agree with you.