Mr. President, you took office promising so much hope for hustlers, aka mama mboga and watu wa boda boda. Many stepped out to set up their hustles, hoping your government would ‘boost’ their businesses. Unfortunately, it hasn’t happened. Some hustlers have kept their foot on the ground, but government enforcement officers have let you down. Enforcement officers have made it difficult for poor hustlers in start-up businesses! Some of these businesses are “kiosks” – small establishments, about 4ft x 4ft. You can judge by this setup that the owner is just trying to earn a living, not running a business per se. The moral question is, how much can the ‘hyenas’ calling themselves ‘enforcement officers’ scavenge from such an establishment?
The poor hustler gets started, and before long, “Kanjo” (county government askaris) pounce. After arrests here and there, the hustler somehow pays up the Kanjo fees, hoping it’s the end of the visit. To his surprise, it’s just the beginning of other hyenas on the prowl.
Shortly after, officers from Kenya Power are the new vampires baying for his blood! Reason? Power has been connected without proper procedure! But surely, can such an establishment afford KPLC installation charges? Of course not! They usually get into an arrangement for subletting, though the overall consumption is still paid on one meter. KPLC officers will hear none of that; they proceed to arrest the poor hustler for “illegal connection” and impound his cables (which they sell back again through the back door). The poor hustler then parts with a good amount for his freedom, and another amount to continue using the ‘illegal connection’.
Next on the queue are KRA officers, demanding the installation of eTIMS. On that impromptu visit, they demand the poor hustler produces books of accounts for the last three years, as if they keep any! Immediately, they compound an offense of not charging VAT, even though the law is clear that businesses with an annual turnover of less than KES 5 million need not charge VAT. If you parts with with chai ya wazee they go. If you don’t co-operate they log into the iTax System and impose some frivolous amounts and penalties, they later follow it with demand notice. So you either co-operate or find yourself in a mix!
The poor hustler procures a subwoofer to plays music to keep him going as he waits for customers. That attracts a hyena from the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK). They ‘arrest’ the poor fellow for playing music without a license. Of course, his freedom comes with a price the Kenyan way, after he parts with something substantial.
If the hustler is dealing in beauty products, he will not have enough of the Anti-Counterfeit Agency (ACA). They come up with a ‘crackdown’ on contraband goods targeting the last man in the chain—the hustler. They ‘arrest’ the poor fellow, and after parting with something to the tune of KES 10,000, they are set free. I have nothing against ACA; my problem with ACA is that they protect the big boys in the chain and harass the poor. They turn a blind eye in the chain of distribution but wait to ‘impound’ whatever is deemed to be ‘counterfeit’ at the last point of distribution— on the hustler’s shelf. These ‘counterfeit’ products are imported by sea, entering through our ports. KPA has relevant enforcement agents at the point of entry, how come they don’t get confiscate this contrabands? After entry, the contraband gets transported and storage in the big boys’ warehouses. ACA will not act; instead, they get ‘protection’ fees. So, they wait till the product reaches the hustler’s shelf to conduct the ‘crackdown.’
The other issue with ACA is defining what really is counterfeit! Nowadays, a counterfeit is their word against yours. If they decide one morning product X is counterfeit, it’s their call. You ask them to show how they arrived at that conclusion but they won’t explain. So they have to bite a chunk off the poor hustler and his freedom comes with a price. I am waiting for the day ACA will conduct a crackdown on big boys’ warehouses and not from small vendors.
Woe unto the poor hustler if he’s stocking batteries. Anti-Radiation is lurking in the vicinity. The first allegation is that the batteries are ‘emitting’ some radioactive waves and the premises was not been approved! Yet they can see it’s an Exide Chloride Battery. They will never visit the headquarters on Enterprise Road to ‘test samples,’ but they will confiscate the batteries from the poor hustler for testing and even arrest the poor fellow. Again, a bribe of about KES 10,000 will see them off.
If the business is a Wines and Spirits outlet, too bad, the hustler has set himself next to the jaws of the hyena! Even if he has all the prerequisite licenses, he must enter into a silent deal with the are OCS for ‘protection’, otherwise, he will face countless arrests and get arraigned in court trumped-up charges. The OCS will frustrate him until he either gives in (pays up protection fees) or closes up shop.
If the business is selling items like flour and granules, including glucose, expect greetings from the Anti-Doping Agency! They will suspect the hustler of handling narcotics, so they arrest and ‘seize’ samples for testing. On this the bribe is much higher!
For those serving uji power, tea, and snacks in the market, you’ll be in a continuous cat-and-mouse chase with “Kanjo” health officers. They will also arrest and confiscate your tools of trade unless you enter into a ‘protection’ deal. Otherwise, you’ll be out of business soon.
The hustler government that carried so much hope for the hustler is now ‘La Tormenta’ of mama mboga na watu ya boda boda. They’re out there frustrated. Many are trying to settle down and start families, which has also been compounded by the rising cost of living. Imagine what it is to have a family that you cannot afford to provide for even the basics of life. What do you expect? Nothing but maandamano!
Finding a job in Kenya is an uphill task unless you have a godfather or can raise the bribe that is in hundreds of thousands. Bearing that in mind, those who have put their foot forward to start a business deserve better. The best your government can do is advance them loans, but we know the promise drowned with the El Nino Rains. A better way is to provide them with an environment to flourish or perhaps protection from your vampires. Mr. President, it is worse with you, You’ve just let your hyenas unleash havoc on the struggling hustlers!
Moving forward, Your Excellency, you must intervene urgently to protect hustlers. Businesses that are at the infancy stage or merely trying to sustain survival should be exempt from harassment from your enforcement officers.
My suggestion: Set up a system in every county for Licensing and Accrediting small-scale businesses so that they may be identified and accorded some preferential treatment. A good number of those Gen Zees protesting in the streets would not have turned up if they had their small hustles running.
I set up my younger sister to start up, but I also got tired of bailing her out from your hyenas. Eventually, she had to close down. It annoys us that she closed not because she was unable to do business, but because your hyenas devoured her out of business!
