THE SUGAR SHORTAGE FIASCO

THE SUGAR SHORTAGE FIASCO     

By STEVE .W.OSOMBAH

The country is facing an acute shortage of sugar perhaps the worst in the history of Kenya. First it was fuel    shortage then flour now it is time for sugar to take the center stage. It has come at the worst time when we are grappling with high inflation rates of about 13% and it is expected to continue going up the ladder. The high cost of living has already caused enough stress for Kenyans and when coupled with shortage of this sweet product, it becomes too much for one to handle. The price of    sugar has hit an all-time high price, with 1kg packet of branded Mumias/Sony sugar going for a whooping Ksh.250 while the unbranded ones go for about Ksh.190! Things have become thick even for the working folks. Families have been forced to cut down on expenditure especially on luxurious items so as to stay afloat in these difficult times. Here in campus we have not been spared either, the prices have been adjusted just like ‘outside there’. Am trying to imagine how we are going to survive here in campus since the weather is not so favorable, it’s damn cold and we need to keep ourselves warm at least with a cup of tea/coffee/cocoa. I guess we will have to reduce the number of cups of tea we take and visitors will have to accompany themselves with a packet of  sugar if they want tea!! Take no offence, it’s just that things are thick and we need to survive in this harsh  economic times.

Seven sugar companies…

But wait a minute ... It’s absurd to say that we have a sugar shortage, yet we have not one, two or three but seven sugar companies in the country! Kenya has seven sugar companies .They include Mumias, Chemelil, Muhoroni, Sony, West Sugar, Nzoia and Kibos Sugar and Allied Industries all located along the Sugar Belt in Western Kenya. With all these companies and some in the process of being set up the million dollar question is, where is the sugar? The sugar shortage is alleged to have been caused by close down of Mumias Sugar Company for maintenance. The sugar companies are claiming that the farmers are not delivering their produce to the      factories which has been downplayed by the farmers so it’s not clear who is telling the truth. Although Mumias is the largest producer of sugar among the seven, its   closure cannot leave the country in acute shortage of sugar! In addition to that, the country imports sugar from COMESA member states to supplement the       internal production.

Unscrupulous business people

I tend to believe that the sugar is there in plenty but somebody is hiding it. There are unethical business    people who are hoarding the sweet product making the situation worse than already is. They are hoarding sugar in order to create an acute shortage which in real sense is not there! They then increase the price and reap super normal profits. The high cost of living caused by high prices of oil, extended drought season, and the             selfishness of some business people have led some       individuals to abject poverty. What gratification does one get by hoarding goods? You can exploit people for now but don’t forget they will be your customers even after the crisis. Profit making is the primary motive of any business organization but it should be done in a  legal and ethical manner. Just remember don’t burn the bridge you may need it on your way back.

Bleak future…

The current high cost of living being experienced across the country has been largely attributed to high prices of oil in the world thanks to turmoil caused in Libya by Col.Muarmar Gaddaffi. Libya is among the largest      producers of oil though the prices are expected to come down since the dictator has been removed from power. It will take time since the country’s infrastructure was destroyed during the war. Ladies and gentlemen lets brace ourselves for tough times ahead; the future is bleak. The prices of virtually all commodities have sky rocketed and it is expected to continue rising and on the other hand, employers are not increasing salaries for the employees. I guess for us students we will have to engage in fresh negotiations with our parents to adjust the    subsistence fund and those folks from HELB to increase their disbursement.

Please send your comments, views and opinions to w.osombah@gmail.com

A faithful pal

A faithful pal

By Namwene Mukabwa

Wake up, wake up!

My darling pronounces

Shut up, shut up!

I reply with pounces

She doesn’t give up.

She stays by my side,

Firm she holds my floss,

If I take the bike she enjoys with me the ride,

On the campus lawns the grass she kills with me.

In the boring of lectures,

She lets me have her body to caress,

I do it with undivided devotion,

For she gives me unrivalled passion.

She doesn’t ask for chocolate or roses,

Nor does she care who I talk to,

She knows all about my concubines,

Still she doesn’t give a hoot.

My darling is fun,

She plays with me when she is full,

When hungry she cries for food

Chips-chicken is not her thing,

She demands a treat though,

20bob seals the deal…

My darling is faithful,

She will sit with me past midnight,

Helping me through the eleventh hour,

Of a month-long assignment due tomorrow.

My darling is a liar,

Her lies are sweet tweets,

She lies to my friends about my location,

Even when I am with another woman,

She has to guard her dignity,

Lest they laugh at her stupidity.

My darling kisses me goodnight,

Sometimes she walks me through the bleakest night,

And with the lightest strike of light,

She wakes me up hoping everything will be alright!

The phone is here to stay…

The phone is here to stay…

By Namwene Mukabwa

Just imagine age-long sayings like “as faithful as a dog” being replaced with the 21st Century                   creations such as “as faithful as a mobile phone!” I bet the latter would make more sense to anyone      regardless of their location as opposed to the        former especially in a generation where some        offspring of our species cannot differentiate           between a dog and a goat! If you haven’t read        between the lines, don’t worry, just revisit Sir. Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution-with a mirror before you- and you might just realize that you are not to blame!

Indeed, the 21st Century has been phenomenal, the mobile phone not withstanding. Ever since the     discovery of this gadget by one brilliant Dr. Martin Cooper, life has never been the same for billions of people across the world. I was thinking about the faithfulness of this gadget and crazy comparisons crossed my mind. Sweetheart, I am sorry if you are reading this but for a second, yours truly compared you, with his “mulika mwizi” phone. If I publish the findings, I know my fate with you will have been determined.

I am not sure what I have is what Dr. Cooper had in mind when he invented the phone, but I know I trust my phone with everything of mine. I trust it with all my secret conversations. I trust it with all my text messages-allowed and forbidden. I trust it with my coded information. I trust part of my       finances with it. It wakes me up to go for the early morning class. I know, with my phone, I am just  seconds away from the people I love. Sometimes I get a sense of security just by having this gadget as “getting lost” is out of my mind. Because of my “mulika mwizi” my current relationship seems to be working thanks to the reminder which does         miracles about “important” days in her life like birthdays, Valentine’s Day, anniversaries!

My friend Njoro, a classmate, confides in me over the phone that he has saved his “side-kick” as “MPESA” and therefore goes scot-free with text messages   emanating from the clandestine association.     Agreeing with him is Joan, a second year student in the School of Human Resource  Development who says that saving her School of Engineering boyfriend as “Battery low” beats his classmate-boyfriend’s  prying eyes!

Stanley, my roommate, discloses that losing his     current phone could amount to robbery as all his vital ATM PINs are saved there. Some of my        classmates cannot do 2-3 minutes without a social   network-2Go, Facebook, casual dating, tweeter, qeep, MySpace among others. Albert, one such             classmate, does not have real friends other than the online ones. My “mulika mwizi” on the other hand, cannot access the social networks but that does not deter me from “chatting.” I send text messages in real time and they are responded to the same way. Mobile phone service providers have heard the plight of yours truly by lowering the cost of sending text messages.

This small gadget can actually walk you through bleak moments including boring lectures and       assignments. I wonder what a 2011 CPR student would do in a CPR class of 1991! I cannot figure out another source of information to an assignment that is due the following day given the few and           sometimes irrelevant books in our MTL!

Courtesy of this gadget, I don’t waste time going to a friend’s room when he or she is not there. For those who have been here long enough, what do you think of “bei ya campo?” It should be back!