Heading (in our thoughts) east through the Dark Continent, we come to Kenya, the politics and corruption of which is the subject of Michela Wrong's excellent book It's our turn to eat : the story of a Kenyan whistle-blower (New York, Fourth Estate, 2009).
Kenya's capital, Nairobi, is today ranked as one of the most dangerous capital cities in Africa, and that's saying something. In spite of hosting the headquarters of a number of UN agencies and NGOs, it is not a good place for foreigners to visit, let alone live and work. You wouldn't want to be a diplomat or professional do-gooder if it means living in Nairobi.
News has reached us of the kidnapping of a Canadian aid worker, grabbed in broad daylight on Wednesday after dropping his child off at school. This is just one incident in an epidemic of kidnapping which began last year. Most victims [not all? ed.] have been released after a ransom was paid by mobile telephone transfer. No-one ever said Africans couldn't make use of new technology!
About half of Kenyans live on less than $2 a day but there is also a thriving class of "eaters" (see Ms Wrong's book) and other criminals.
The percentage of Zimbabweans who live below the poverty line is probably higher. No-one knows for sure because Zimbabwe's Central Statistical Office gave up on trying to measure such things following the collapse of the Zimbabwean dollar last year. But Comrade Bob Mugabe's quest to destroy the economy by "empowering" himself and his cronies knows no end.
The latest, perhaps the last, nail in the coffin is the enactment of Statutory Instrument 21 of 2010, comprising the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment (General) Regulations, 2010. Under the regulations, all white-owned businesses will be required to give a 51% share of their enterprises to blacks, meaning "Bob's-your-uncle" and his cronies.
This odious new law does for the rest of the Zimbabwean economy what the infamous land grab which started in 2000 did for the agricultural sector. One of Zimbabwe's leading pundits, Eric Bloch, calls it a "death sentence". Mr. Bloch is one of only a handful of influential whites to have remained in Zimbabwe rather than deserting the sinking ship. Now, however, events seem to have overtaken his optimism. Click here to read his comments from this week's Zimbabwe Independent.
I also recommend "Zimbabwe: a nation with little to celebrate", written by Geoffrey York, the Globe & Mail 's man in Africa. He writes: "A year after a historic coalition government was formed, most Zimbabweans are in no mood to celebrate today's anniversary. Civil servants are on strike, reforms are stalled, farmers are under attack, and the autocratic Robert Mugabe still controls most of the levers of power."
Mr. York's column would appear to have been written before the latest "legalized" theft by the Zimbabwean government. Before he writes a follow-up, Mr. York should talk with Mr. Bloch.
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