Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja serves President William Ruto lunch at Toi Primary School under the Dishi Na County programme.
Chapati politics was all the rage last week. However, President Ruto may not have realised it when he used it as just another campaign token issued by the roadside, but chapatis could herald a whole industry. The fact that it has become such a staple in our homes is all the more reason an efficient and faster method of creating chapati is realised.
There is such a thing as producing chapatis on an industrial scale. It happens in the West, and why not in Kenya as long as they can tolerate the preservatives that come with it? I am saying tolerate preservatives because Kenyans are a spoilt lot when it comes to fresh produce and not keen on preserved foods except dried fish such as Kamongo eaten largely in Western Kenya.
Despite parts of the country suffering perennial drought, there are other areas where food is grown in abundance to make Kenya food secure and even have enough for export, especially vegetables, tea, coffee and avocados. The idea of cooking from scratch that happens in many homes in Kenya is highly commendable as many families still use fresh foods for cooking rather than preserved ones. This culture is slowly shifting as Kenyans in urban areas take to consuming fast foods, an indication that we are becoming time-poor.
The more reason, hence, to consider preservation of foods to save on cooking time and help build food industries that will create more jobs for Kenyans at home. Crucially, preserved foods will help Kenyans who could otherwise have no access to food during the drought season. Preserved foods also come in handy during emergencies where fresh foods are not easy to transport due to poor weather or, heaven forbid, war.
Kenya’s education system is more focused on creating a large base of PhD holders of ridiculous academic knowledge with little skills to help build the country literally than skilled workers, who are the backbone of running industries that are important in building a strong economy. I bet the many PhD holders we have don’t know how to change a bulb or fix a broken nail. Many fake PhD holders get away with it because they do not have to prove themselves like a graduate from TVET (Technical Vocational Educational and Training) with a certificate in bricklaying or electrical skills.
At one time, many Kenyan students preferred to go to what were then Polytechnic colleges to acquire life skills such as car mechanics, electricians, plumbing and building work and such students leap-frogged their colleagues who pursued degrees in Arts financially. Too much political interference and lack of genuine economic growth plans destroyed
Jobs created
Polytechnics and reduced the importance of such institutions in preference of academic pursuits leading to the mushrooming of PhDs that have little impact on the socio-economy of the country. It is commendable that the government is now reviving the Polytechnics through TVET. The food industry alone needs people with skills in food biotechnology, packaging, IT, engineers, designers etc and if we apply that to many other industries, we are looking at millions of jobs created at home. The government’s focus on exporting labour abroad is misinformed and drains the country of human resources it needs to run industries needed to produce goods for the country and export.
Chapati industry
The reason we don’t have a chapati industry, which we are capable of, given the amount of chapatis consumed in Kenya, is because, like everything else our industries are affected by too much politicking and lack of vision from the government. Politicians waste a lot of time campaigning back-to-back between elections rather than sitting down in their offices to think of how best they can grow Kenyan industries and other new and innovative ways to create employment.
The campaign circus that keeps travelling across the country is in fact, disruptive and highlights the number of Kenyans out of work who have time to gather at political rallies day in and day out when they should be engaged in economic activities. Young people pushed to boda boda business are becoming a nuisance and a security risk as we saw at the recent political rally in Nairobi.
The boda boda business was not started with a view to help the young per se but to be used by politicians in causing terror in some cases. President Ruto's plan to buy machines for the young people to make more chapatis is just another of the many vote-seeking schemes thrown in the air without a thought.
If I were a politician, I would spend more time in the office to create policies that would create viable industries to absorb all the young and jobless people who are now turning out to be the opposition they didn’t expect. An idle mind is the devil’s workshop the saying goes. If the government had focused on getting Gen-Z into work, they may not have had the revolt they had last year. Just saying. So let us be serious about building industries, the chapati industry included. It shows commitment to Kenya’s economic aspirations.
Ms Guyo is a legal researcher, [email protected], @kdiguyo
