PLACE: FIESTA RESTAURANT, CHESTER HSE, 3RD FLOOR.
“The problem with Kenya is not the gavament or even the corruption. It is the people. Every body here wants to scam you. EVERY BODY. You get into a restaurant as a mzungu and they double the beer prices. You go out to eat at a roadside establishment and suddenly it becomes a five-star cost experience. Even in your darn matatus, they charge us wazungus double or triple the fare to Westlands, 200 shillings.”
“But the worst experience I have had is running my business. Nobody keeps their word, even on time. Somebody says they will see you on Wednesday, 10am, they come on Friday. A cheque that was supposed to be banked on Monday is banked 15 days later, if at all. Your own workers are always getting angles to steal from you through circuitous cash transfers, discounts and commissions. Running a business in Kenya is like running an entire criminal investigations department or a spy agency. You have to have informers who inform you on your other informers. It’s terrible really, terrible.”
“Mzee, I could get you a 100 million Danish krones almost interest free from banks in Denmark, but people back home now have a very bad attitude towards Kenya. You are becoming the second Nigeria. They ask me, why invest in such a high-risk social environment when we can take our money to Rwanda and sleep well? Mzee, how can I be sure you are not planning to scam me yourself? In two years I have lost my car to Equity Bank because I guaranteed a Kenyan friend, a business associate. At 61, I have also lost more than Sh15 million in investments to my Kenyan wife, Njeri, who I see nowadays with an old Brit in North Coast. You can understand that I have a problem with trust. Kenyans are very warm and very hospitable people. I don’t know why they are all thieves when they live in such a beautiful, beautiful sunny place”.
KAMA NI WEWE UNGESEMA AJE JAMENI?
Wachana na hii upuzi,I always know when reading your own stuff,very straight and articulate…
If only there was an institution that was mandated with enacting and enforcing policies in order to limit theft and miss use of public funds. I would even be willing to contribute a portion of my salary to enable it to function properly.