By MOSES MUTUA 

As Kenyans bid goodbye to the holiday season and welcome the new year, there is still little to smile about with the Kenya’s economy still biting. The low-income households in particular are feeling the pinch of surge of prices of basic commodities. This group, which spends about 60% of their income on food is constantly lamenting on how life in urban areas is becoming unbearable. 

Erick Okutoyi, a boda boda rider at Kibera divulged that the transport sector had also taken a hit of the ripple effect of the high cost of living. “My business has been affected a lot. When fuel prices were going up every month, I was forced to up my prices so as to meet the skyrocketing costs. A distance that used cost Ksh.50 went up to Ksh.100. I lost regular customers who sought alternative means,” said the soft speaking boda boda rider.

Like any other Kenyan, Erick is struggling just to make ends meet. “This boda boda is not mine. I have hired it and I have to pay Ksh.500 per day. I have a family and they are all depending on me. Children are going back to school. The Ksh.1000 I make in a day is not sufficient enough to pay the boda boda owner, pay rent, feed my family and take my children to school. Books are expensive, uniforms and school fees are still high,” said Erick.

“I don’t even take lunch so as minimize on my expenditures. Most times I have to work past midnight just to get some extra cash to settle the overwhelming bills,” added Erick.

Despite the array of challenges, he is going through, Erick believes that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

“Through the Kibra Boda boda Sacco, I was registered and trained on electric motorcycle. I am happy by the end of January I will be receiving an electric bike,” reiterated Erick. “These bikes are affordable and cost friendly. With a small deposit and daily pay of Ksh.450, I will be able to fully own a motorcycle in 3 months,” he added.

“The advantage of these bikes is that with only Ksh.200, I will be able to get a battery swap that can last me all day. When I compare this to fuel, it is cheaper and it will increase my profit margins. I believe things will get better. The government should also do something,” added Erick.

Erick is one of many Kenyans grappling with the cost of living. The consumption habits of many people have been altered. Times are hard. And as the government is emphasizing on the importance of robust revenue collection for self-sustainability and economic development through taxation, it ought to be reminded that it is the common Mwananchi that bears the weight of all this.

The continuous increase in counterfeit and unlicensed products like alcoholic and illicit brews in circulation in Kenya is denying the country over Sh30 billion in annual revenue, a report by the Office of the Auditor General has revealed.

The auditor also says that the country has been losing over Sh40 billion in taxes annually due to the prevalence of counterfeit goods in the country. 

Illicit brews

The auditor blames the practice on corruption and inefficiencies at the Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA).

The sale of illicit brews has been a menace which has been blamed for the deaths of hundreds of youths in many parts of the country. 

Research by the ACA names China as the lead exporter of counterfeits to Kenya involving fast-moving goods such as phones, sound equipment, cables, clothing and automobile spare parts.

“Most of the goods are of inferior quality and are a threat to the health of the people and the environment,” states the report which is currently before parliament.

Local manufacturers and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) owners, states the report, lose over Sh6.5 billion due to weak enforcement of the law and regulations by ACA, its staff integrity issues and the authority’s lack of physical verification of destroyed goods.

“Counterfeit trade causes economic sabotage as the government and IPR owners lose revenue, unfair competition from counterfeit products, tax avoidance, illicit imports and dumping that leads to a reduction in market share,” the audit says.

The audit covered Nairobi headquarters, Mombasa, Kisumu and Eldoret Regional Offices as well as Namanga and Busia border points. 

A report on the economic impact of counterfeiting by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the audit says, shows that counterfeit products are made to closely imitate the appearance of the original product to mislead consumers.

This includes the unauthorised production and distribution of products that are protected by IPRs such as copyrights, trademarks and trade names.

The audit named software, music recordings, motion pictures, luxury goods, fashion clothes, sportswear, perfumes, toys, motor vehicle spare parts and accessories, and pharmaceuticals as the most hit industries. By Anthony Mwangi, People Daily