A plot of land in Karen, one of Kenya’s most showy neighborhoods, cost Kshs 1 million in 1998. A Permanent Secretary made Kshs 70,000 a month about the same period. A PS may purchase one acre of land with just two years of net salary.
In 2023, an acre in Karen is valued at Kshs 80 million, while the salary of a PS is Kshs 750,000. To purchase one acre of land in Karen, a PS must have 16 years of net salary.
Over the past 25 years, earnings have increased by a factor of ten, but land prices have increased by a factor of 80.
How did land prices increase eighty times while salaries increased only ten times? In my opinion, there are three main causes for this: the large inflow of pirate money starting in 2007, the money obtained through corruption following the establishment of the Nusu Makate administration, and speculative money.
Along with the introduction of devolution, the Jubilee government saw an increase in the entry of corruption into the real estate market.
Real estate became the quick and easy home for the hot pirate and corruption money, which therefore caused prices to soar beyond reach.
Conversely, the expectations placed by society on our elite are as follows: they are expected to live in a posh neighborhood, drive a large SUV, donate generously, send their children to prestigious schools, drink Pina Coladas, and eat caviar! All of this for a PS making a gross salary of $750,000 per month.
Half of PSs live in Karen because of those assumptions, even though we know they shouldn’t be able to. While it is true that some judges were successful prior to taking the bench, half of the judges in Karen live on salaries of $700,000,000, while the CEOs of state-owned enterprises live in Karen on salaries between $250,000 and $800,000.
What actions are available to us? Raise pay by an eight-fold margin. The economy is not able to pay. In three months, it will destroy this economy. It’ll bring about inflation a la Venezuela!
Cut land costs by 80 percent. Not in the slightest. There is only one workable answer: the black market. Stated differently, corruption. Elite corruption in Kenya will always exist!
By Newsmedia