Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) – The Catholic Church in Kenya is showing its great concern for the situation of internal refugees and the sharp rise in the price of food products, which is threatening the lives of millions of people.
In a declaration entitled “The Current Cry of the Nation,” whose text was sent to Agenzia Fides, the Bishops’ Justice and Peace Commission of Kenya observes that in “camps like those at Afraha Stadium in Nakuru, Eldoret showground in Eldoret, Kirathimo in Limuru and Naivasha among others are still staggering with people who are helplessly in need of assistance. Some tents are torn especially after the rain, food and health services are nowhere. A few who had been promised to return to their farms through ‘Operation Rudi Nyumbani’ have been abandoned on the way... we urge the government and relevant organizations to take steps and end the suffering of those Kenyans through people-centered, effective and efficient interventions.”
The document continues: “It is regrettable to note that there are people who are dying of hunger in our midst. Even those with money fail to get food to buy, because in the past three months the prices have sky-rocketed. A loaf of bread which cost 20 shillings is now 38 shillings. The price of a kilo of meat has doubled. Cereals like maize have become a rare commodity. Where do we go as a nation if we cannot feed ourselves?
On food, we do not need to bargain, it is a basic right for every human being. Let it be the government’s agenda that every Kenyan has food to eat. Drastic measures ought to be taken to remove unnecessary taxation on essential commodities.”
The Justice and Peace Commission makes an appeal to the authorities, asking that they work to improve the economic situation: “Our economy has been hard hit to the extent that the salaries of low and average income earners can not match the expenses. The gap between the poor and the rich is continuously expanding. We request our economic experts to find ways of solving this puzzle.
It is common knowledge that in some areas, cash crops like tea, sugarcane and coffee are being uprooted. That is foreign exchange being lost and hence unemployment being created. Our parastatals, like Railways and Telkom among others, are privatized right and left without clear procedures.
We therefore call for any form of ownership be it public or private to respect the principle of common good with focus on the needy Kenyan citizens. The Kenya Bureau of Standards and Kenya Price Control Board should show that they are working. We cannot accept to be a nation of dumping counterfeit goods and drugs transit.” (LM) (Agenzia Fides 10/10/2008)
