I am not against anyone making tonnes of money, but I want us to focus on beating unemployment first by creating opportunities, sticking with them and expanding them to include others. We want everybody to get busy doing something productive, earning a living to sustain themselves and their families, improving our local economy and sprucing up our neighborhoods.
Since there are no new jobs available in the City and other major towns, that is why we should concentrate on creating jobs right where we live. The people who were lucky enough to get jobs in the City and major towns do not get wealthy from the salaries they get. They may come home visiting on weekends and on holidays looking “successful” but if only they could tell you their story, you would realize you are better off right where you are, if only you can get a little income. Think about this for a moment: A single person earning Kes.50,000 in Nairobi. After taxes and other deductions they take home Kes.35,000. Sounds like a lot of money. Right?
Hold that thought and look at their expenses below:
15,000 – One bedroom apartment far from downtown where they work
4,000 – Simple lunch in town @200 daily for 20 days.
2,000 – Bills: Water, Electricity, Garbage collection, Security
2,800 – Bus fare @140 daily, 20 days a month
10,000 – Shopping for food and other necessities
33,800
The Kes.33,800 expenditure is a MUST. There is no escaping any of the above expenses as long as one lives in the city and has to report to a job on a daily basis. They are left with Kes.1,200 only, from the salary that sounded so big. This single person with a “good” salary is living paycheck to paycheck, with nothing left to handle an emergency. What if this person has a family to support on that same salary? Do the math.
Think of yourself working from home where you were born and raised, with your family around you and supporting your efforts. You cannot go hungry even if you didn’t make money on a particular day, or week. Your parents have been feeding you all these years without any financial contribution from you, they can feed you for the week you don’t make money. Consider how life would change for all of you if you earned Kes.10,000 a month. You can comfortably give your parents Kes.4,000 a month as your contribution towards the family budget. You can spend Kes.3,000 for your own needs and save Kes.3,000 a month. Your expenses as a family are minimal considering you grow your own food and live in your own home. You end up in a better financial position than somebody who works in the City earning the Kes.50,000 a month that may sound much until you put it into perspective.
