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Crucial call for soldiers

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By  Editorial

What you need to know:

  • There is no good reason why soldiers should be pampered with free meals when their fellow Kenyans are struggling to get even a single meal.
  • Theirs is a patriotic duty of protecting the country, but they should not be overly favoured when other Kenyans are struggling to feed their families.

As the popular saying goes, tough times call for tough measures. Whenever people face serious challenges, it is crucial to take decisive actions that may be difficult, unconventional, or even appear unfair in a bid to overcome the difficulties.

A tough decision to reverse a tradition that has been part and parcel of the country’s military’s social system comes to mind. Soldiers are going to start paying for their meals as the government has, from today, scrapped the food subsidy programme for the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).

The tough economic times, with the rising cost of living, call for austerity measures. The government has been forced to effect budget cuts.

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For the military personnel, this decision will ruffle feathers, but they will just have to get used to the axing of this popular tradition. There is disquiet, especially among junior officers, who fully rely on the subsidised meals.

New Pay-As-You-Eat system

However, the Ministry of Defence has explained that this is not peculiar to Kenya. The decision is in line with the best military practice regionally and globally.

Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya says the new Pay-As-You-Eat system is meant to eliminate inefficiencies and wastefulness and save resources for other critical needs.

There is no good reason why soldiers should be pampered with free meals when their fellow Kenyans are struggling to get even a single meal for their families. Theirs is, indeed, a patriotic duty of protecting the country’s territorial integrity, but they should not be overly favoured when other Kenyans are struggling to feed their families.

After all, soldiers earn salaries like every other employee and also receive some allowances. And they are not among the worst-paid Kenyans of their same level of expertise and experience in similar disciplines. There is a need for comprehensive guidelines to ensure a smooth transition to the new system.