KENYA: Doctors for the Haves, Lions for the Have-Nots

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Joyce Mulama

NAIROBI, May 24 2006 (IPS) - For Nalangu Taki, a simple glass of water can come with a heavy price. This resident of Narok in south-western Kenya says women in the district have to walk long distances to obtain water, sometimes getting attacked by lions.

“Women wake up at six am every day and walk for over 20 kilometres to get to water points. At the water points, they meet lions which are also searching for water,” she told IPS.

The scramble for resources claims lives. Taki, an official of the Encholla Farmers Women Group in Narok, says two women – one of them a relative – were killed by the animals last year. Two years ago, four people died in lion attacks as they went to fetch water: another two women, a man and a boy.

But, Taki is not calling for the lions to be killed. The solution, she says, is for government to establish water points closer to the homes of Narok residents.

Taki was speaking at the National Conference on Equity and Growth, held in Kenya’s capital – Nairobi – to discuss narrowing the gap between rich and poor in the East African country. The two-day meeting was organised by non-governmental organisations in conjunction with the Ministry of Planning and National Development; it ended May 23.

According to a 2004 report by the East African office of the Society for International Development, one of the organising groups of the conference, the top 10 percent of households in Kenya control 42 percent of total income, while the bottom 10 percent account for less than one percent of income.

The report, ‘Pulling Apart: Striking Facts and Figures on Inequality in Kenya’, formed the basis for discussions at the meeting.

The shortage of water in Narok is not Taki’s only concern.

“There are no schools in the interior parts of our region – our children learn under trees. They cannot compete equally with others in urban areas who are privileged to sit at desks inside classrooms,” she said.

“Besides, children in the interior areas lack enough teachers. You find only three teachers for eight classes. Where is equity in this country when some people cannot even access basic facilities?”

Joseph Ngichili, a resident of the north-eastern town of Isiolo, expressed bitterness at the shortage of health facilities in Kenya’s outlying areas.

“People die on the way as they seek health care…The hospitals are very few and lack doctors. This is the height of inequality,” he said.

According to ‘Pulling Apart: Striking Facts and Figures on Inequality in Kenya’, the doctor-population ratio in the Central Province – the wealthiest of Kenya’s eight provinces – is one to 20,000. In the North Eastern Province, however, it is one to 120,000.

Ngichili is also perturbed by disparities in land ownership.

“So many Kenyans are landless, while very few own big chunks of land. For example, big chunks of land are in the hands of the white settlers,” he said angrily, adding that other Kenyans made do with far less.

Key figures from the current and former governments also own thousands of acres of land, some illegally, according to reports by commissions of inquiry investigating land ownership.

To address this matter, a proposed constitution had stipulated that illegally-acquired land should be repossessed – and a ceiling put on land ownership. However, the constitution was rejected during a national referendum last year, in part over concerns that it placed too much power in the hands of the president.

Giovanna Prennushi, an economist at the World Bank’s Poverty Reduction Unit, told the conference that participation in development was key to improving the situation in Kenya.

“More people from marginalised groups must be allowed to participate in initiatives seeking to boost development, as well as more money pumped into sectors that directly affect the poor,” he noted.

Kenyan authorities say this approach will be taken in disbursing money from the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), intended to reduce poverty and spur development.

“CDF will be distributed to various constituencies not only based on the population, but also on the needs of each constituency,” noted Edward Sambili, permanent secretary in the planning ministry.

“Ultimately, it is up to the constituents to determine what the money should be used for, and which development areas they deem most urgent.”

But Billow Kerrow, an opposition member of parliament and shadow finance minister, says the CDF alone will not address inequality.

“Unless the government establishes policies that compel it to pump in more money for development in poor areas, the situation may not change,” he told IPS.

“For example, the government should target projects like building more schools, health facilities, and (providing) water in the poor regions.”

In addition to the CDF, government cites the Economic Recovery Strategy for Employment and Wealth Creation as being central to its efforts at fighting poverty.

“Following implementation of the strategy, the country’s economy grew by 4.3 percent in 2004, and it is expected to have grown by over five percent in 2005,” said Sambili.

Launched in 2003, the strategy will run until 2007, focusing on economic growth to raise living standards of the poor.