from ouko joachim omolo
Colleagues Home & Abroad Regional News
BY FR JOACHIM OMOLO OUKO, AJ
NAIROBI-KENYA
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2011
Hon Matha Karua, Gichugu Member of Parliament and Narc Kenya leader posted on her Facebook News Feed concerning the ongoing strike by teachers. She argues correctly that since Education is a key to development, the promise by Kibaki government to support education must be put into practice by employing more teachers to cater for hundreds of pupils who cannot be handled by few teachers.
On the other hand, Hon Danson Mbuya Mungatana, Garsen Member of Parliament and National Secretary General of Narc Kenya was on Power Breakfast Citizen TV show blaming FM radio stations for talking bad about politicians and for that reason he no longer listens to them. He claimed that most of the morning radio shows attack current members of parliament for not minding about their electorates but their interest.
The fact remains however, that even if Mungatana and the rest of MPs do not listen to FM radio stations or other media houses, most of current MPs do not mind at all the suffering people of Kenya. They do not mind whether they are dying of hunger, eat, and educate their children, home or homeless, employed or unemployed, need education, medical care among other basic rights.
Today’s Daily Nation cartoon (see attachment) to some extent reveal how selfish some politicians are and how they mind their own interest. There are two questions a teacher asks pupils: What is more important (A) Pay 222 MPs Sh 2 billion to cover their taxes or (B) Use that money to hire 222, 200 more teachers for public schools. The answer according to the pupils is A- and the teacher confirms it to be the correct answer.
In another cartoon by Standard (also see attachment), it portrays government official as giving directives to divert the Ksh 5 billion meant to employ more teachers to pay taxes for MPs and salary hikes for military officers. On the other side another officer is seen chasing away the teacher who wanted to know why the government has diverted their elsewhere-the officer tells him to go away because there is no money to employ teachers.
It is why in another cartoon, also by Standard when the teacher is telling pupils that the best way to resolve teachers problem is by dialogue, the pupils tells her that dialogue with our current government is not effective as going to the strike.
Finally in another photo by Daily Nation, one of the teachers carrying a placard stating his budget outside Harambee Avenue, Nairobi on September 6, 2011 with the view that, probably if the Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta or Education Minister, Prof Sam Ongeri have refused to listen to their plea, President Mwai Kibaki could.
The placard portrays a teacher who earns Sh 10, 000. He is to pay rent 7,000, house help 7,000, transport 3,000, food, 5,000, school fees 10,000- miscellaneous 5,000-balance is negative 25,000. It means that the greed of his politicians makes him and others to be slaves.
People for Peace in Africa (PPA)
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E-mail- ppa@africaonline.co.ke
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