By Abdullahi Jamaa
Mr. Bakari Omar leans on the wall of Konzi mosque in down town Mombasa where the sun bites on a capricious Monday afternoon. No doubt with his dry parched lips he is a hungry man, too shy to beg and too religious to complain.
“I don’t know where to start from” he told Smart Muslim “Suddenly I became jobless and idle. I am not alone, thousands of people in Mombasa are now jobless”
Bakari has been unemployed since June 2018 when he lost his job, he is helpless, unable to feed himself and three other mouths back home in Likoni: his wife and two daughters. They survive on a wing and a prayer.
A long-distance truck driver who has been behind the wheel for over a decade, he now feels the heat of being without job for more than a year. Life has become worrisome for him. His family’s next meal is always a mind-boggling puzzle.
Yet Bakari is one man who doesn’t beg at any heat of starvation. He is a man of God, a staunch Muslim who has true reliance on his Lord. He hides his hunger behind hope and contentment.
“The economy of Allah is boundless.” he says “Yesterday, I had the best breakfast in spite of my joblessness. By Allah, I will never miss my share of provision” he notes
He is a victim of massive job cuts resulted by introduction of SGR, a project that has turned Mombasa’s economy upside down in an unprecedented level.
The impact of its economic problems are unbearable, every business is up against a brick wall and every family feels the pinch. Activities are sharply dwindling, there are more idle people on the streets than ever before.
A group of listless and depressed beggars line-up in the mosque’s front gate. Composed of few old men and many young men, they escort congregants seeking donations as Mombasa reels under protracted fiscal catastrophe.
The port city’s economic woes burdened its many Mosques where beleaguered residents seek solace amidst a harsh economic spell, a potent manifestation of degeneration of a city that harbours East Africa’s largest sea port.
Observably, mosques are now stomping grounds for beggars: Muslims and non-Muslims alike, young and the elderly. It’s a nightmare for Imams, equally overstretching the few who still have a steady means of income.
A cosmos of biting and boring poverty invaded the town spreading further into neighbouring counties. People are barely surviving on the edge of destitution as rumblings of economic trouble grows louder and more distinct.
One bakery owner says it’s no longer easy to sell a loaf of bread in Mombasa. People have lost the purchasing power to buy essential commodities. What this means is that the majority of residents sleep on an empty belly.
“When people cannot buy a bread, it means there is a problem. Things might worsen because companies are closing every day” observes Musa Yusuf, a resident.
At the centre of the city, along Nkurumah and Moi Avenue more buildings display ‘To Let’ posters, a sign of a dying town. If you ask, the inhabitants will tell you there is little to do for earning a livelihood while many eke out a living in the most deplorable conditions.
Mombasa’s over reliance on port revenue is a test of its existence and with Nairobi taking over the proceeds, its residents face a looming livelihood crisis with deep entrenchment of poverty getting more certain than ever before.
For sure the situation is already gruesome, with few economic activities employment options are scarce. If the current hopeless situation lasts longer without doubt more people will be rendered jobless from every sector of the local economy.
According to Okoa Mombasa, a coalition of organizations and individuals fighting for the wellbeing of Mombasa residents, the city lost roughly Sh.33.3b from only three sectors: transport, fuel and container freights stations.
“These statistics do not account for losses in other sectors which would compound the losses.” The coalition said in a statement before its disrupted launch on Saturday 2nd of November.
The moribund economy further spreads its bleak effects to towns along Mombasa-Nairobi highway affecting millions of Kenyans. It’s surely a menace, an evident problem from every side of life. One wonders if authorities are supervising entrenchment of poverty.
“The issues facing Mombasa have repercussions that stretch beyond the Coast region,” said Khelef Khalifa, Chairman of Muhuri, a member of the Coalition. “They raise broader questions for all Kenyans”
A recent study by the University of Nairobi highlighted the depressing reality that the county faces as it approaches an abyss of economic decay, losing Sh. 126b in revenues as a result of the introduction of SGR freight trains and the order by KPA and KRA that all imported cargo from the Port of Mombasa be transported by rail.
No dispute that there is more harm than good. The economic and social consequences of the project far out weights the benefit. Yes, there’s always a price tag for development, but the billion dollar question is: Who should pay the price? Should poor citizens be the ones who sacrifice when the government tries to do a big project?
“We have said for many years that the SGR project is not economically viable. It has been demonstrated in reports that this railway cannot service its debts” economist David Ndii says
It is now beyond a blame game. The negative consequences are evident, it is a question of ‘can we handle the debt burden without inflicting the people of Mombasa into further economic destruction?
“If SGR is good why do you force people to go for it? If it’s effective don’t force people, they will know what to do. But when you force people and you see the consequences of less employment then you know there is something wrong” activist Maina Kiai asserts
Mombasa is broke. It faces a huge exodus of businesses, plummeting revenues and skyrocketing inflation, saddling the city with staggering costs that today threaten the safety and quality of life of people who live here.
For now, like many residents of Mombasa, Bakari wonders whether the government is at war with its own people, because he believes that no reasonable authority will promote a project that destroys the future of its citizens.
“The economy of Mombasa is destroyed for good. But how comes there is no feeling and sense from concerned authorities to see and feel what we are going through in this city.” he finally sighs
